I remember how it was -- JR
The UFT’s cynical war on charters
Friday’s court hearing on the United Federation of Teachers lawsuit to block the co-location of two Success Academy charters was packed — thanks to parents outraged that their kids’ interests weren’t being represented.
That’s because Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank refuses to let Success have any voice in the case, even though the UFT’s goal is to prevent its use of space in a Far Rockaway middle school and the Sheepshead Bay HS campus.
The UFT claims the Department of Education’s building-use analysis overlooked the impact of the new law requiring smaller class sizes.
Bull: Class sizes in the schools now operating at these sites at the two schools are already under the new cap, and their overall enrollments have been falling.
That’s why there’s plenty of room now, and will be for the foreseeable future.
And since the class-size law kicks in gradually, while each Success school will only expand slowly by adding new grades, there’s ample time to adjust if long-term trends suddenly reverse.
At the very best, the UFT might have some technical claim that some form wasn’t filled out properly.
More likely, this is just one more nonsense suit in the union’s decades-long “lawfare” on Success (and other succesful charters, too).
SA has beaten over a dozen such suits in the past, which is probably why the union got the judge to prevent the charter network from presenting its case as a party to the suit — even though it’s plainly the real target.
The city Department of Education, meanwhile, manages to lose to the UFT all too often.
Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor David Banks worked though the legally-mandated process to get these co-locations approved, respecting the needs of all students and families, SA and DOE alike.
Heck, the UFT’s needs aren’t even threatened here, only its wishes: It wants to crush every charter it can.
It doesn’t care that SA has a decade-long track record of providing excellent educations to its scholars — overwhelmingly black and Latino kids from low-income families.
Actually, the UFT resents that record, because it shows what’s possible for a well-run public school to acheive.
That’s right: Charters are public schools; any NYC family can enter the lottery for entry into any NYC charter.
But these public schools operate outside the UFT’s power, and the main DOE bureaucracy (which is all too vulnerable to UFT influence).
That’s key to their success.
The one thing the lawsuit is achieving for sure is to leave Success parents of kids destined for the newly co-located schools fearing that their children won’t have a place to go if the case prospers.
With Judge Frank not expected to issue a decision until the fall, they’ll be on edge all summer.
“It’s outrageous, ridiculous. The UFT is working against the parents and the students,” said Chanee Mitchell, whose daughter, Monay Bradley, is a fifth grader at the Success Academy Far Rockaway MS.
And as the schools it largely runs continue to fail for their students, while charter kids prosper, expect the bullying to grow ever more outrageous — and more naked.
https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/the-ufts-cynical-war-on-charters/
*********************************************************Vanderbilt Receives $17 Million for Diversity Hiring
Vanderbilt University and its Medical Center recently received a $17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a new program to increase diversity in its biomedical research staff, according to The Nashville Post.
The money will go toward Vanderbilt’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation Program to strengthen hiring, promotion, and retention of minority biomedical researchers.
Consuelo Wilkins, senior associate dean for health equity and inclusive excellence, who leads the program, said in a statement, “Vanderbilt is foundationally committed to inclusive excellence, and the V-FIRST Program puts us on a fast-track to being an example of how to evolve into a diverse, self-sustaining research community.”
It is unclear exactly how the money will be used. It is difficult to imagine how hiring, promoting, and retaining employees would cost $17 million, but Vanderbilt will doubtless find a way.
Especially in the medical and research fields, hiring should be on merit, not a pre-determined set of race, gender, or sexual orientation criteria.
The NIH funds many grant programs to further diversity and equity in medical fields. Many of them are worth millions, and do not require any clinical trials to be performed to prove the efficacy or reliability of their research or initiatives.
The NIH has a core mission to use tax dollars to further medical research, and it must remain vigilant to ensure its spending them in a way that maximizes scientific advancement.
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Australian Left announces racist plan for Indigenous Australians, help for failing students and push for more Aussies to get degrees
Anthony Albanese's Government today announced a massive shake-up of the higher education sector, unveiling an affirmative action plan to double the number of Indigenous students at university over the next decade.
A raft of recommendations the Government will adopt includes universities guaranteeing funding for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who achieve the grades required, help for failing students and a push for more young people to get degrees.
'More and more jobs require a university degree,' said Education Minister Jason Clare.
'That means we will need more people with university qualifications in the years ahead.'
At the moment, only Indigenous students in rural and remote areas are guaranteed funded spots, which the Government says disadvantages those living in urban areas.
Mr Clare estimated the measure will cost $34 million over the next four years, representing a 'pretty good investment'.
'If you're a young Indigenous person today you are more likely to go to jail than you are to university,' Mr Clare told ABC Radio.
'The cost of having somebody in jail every year is about $120,000. The cost of a university place is $11,000.'
He added: 'This is not about lowering standards: you need to get the marks and qualify for the course.
'If you do qualify for the course, you're guaranteed to get access to a Commonwealth-supported place.'
Nearly 50 per cent of people under 25 are enrolled in a bachelor degree in Australia, while only about seven per cent of Indigenous people in their 20s and 30s have a university degree, according to Productivity Commission data.
The new affirmative action scheme could double the number of Indigenous students entering university by 2034 – from 5,000 to 10,000.
The Universities Accord, which will make more than 70 interim recommendations later on Wednesday, will also see the Albanese Government invest $66.9 million to double the number of university study hubs across the country.
This is designed to tackle a major barrier to study for many young Australians: the cost of moving closer to a campus or a long and expensive commute.
The report calls for greater certainty in university funding by extending the Commonwealth Grant Scheme, guaranteed to December 2023, into 2024.
It will also extend tertiary education access to rural and regional students and abolish the 50 per cent pass funding rule, which sees students lose government funding if they failed more than half of their subjects.
The rule was introduced as part of the Morrison government's job-ready graduates scheme and requires students to pass at least 50 per cent of total attempted units to remain eligible for fee assistance.
It's estimated more than 13,000 students had been forced to quit due to the rule - the majority of whom were from poorer backgrounds.
Mr Clare said he would look to introduce legislation to abolish the 50 per cent pass rate rule when parliament resumes.
'We shouldn't be forcing students to quit we should be helping them to pass and universities should be putting those supports in to help students who need that assistance,' he said.
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http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
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http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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