Stringent new standards for grading state English and math exams are leading to reduced grades, forcing principals to cut many students from gifted programs that no longer meet the requirements.
Below is an excerpt of a New York Times article detailing the problem. With 29 schools offering gifted programs in Education District 22 – which covers Sheepshead Bay – it seems likely that many area schools could be calling up parents to deliver bad news. Have any readers’ families been affected by the new changes?
Here’s the excerpt:
LINDA L. SINGER, the principal of Public School 255 in Gravesend, Brooklyn, has some phone calls she is dreading to make.
Among them: informing 10 families that their children, scheduled to enroll in gifted programs, will no longer qualify, because of new, tougher grading on state English and math exams. And letting the rest of the teachers know that their A-graded school, which had shown consistent progress for years, plunged to a 65 percent passing rate in English, from 85 percent, according to standardized scores released last week.
“When I got these scores I thought I would die,” Ms. Singer said, echoing the feeling in many principals’ offices throughout the city. “Everything is changed.”
There were large drops in passing rates across New York, reflecting new requirements intended to correct for years of inflated results. The exams, state education officials said, had become too easy to pass, their definition of proficiency no longer meaningful. Citywide, the proficiency rate in English fell to 42 percent, from 69 percent last year; 54 percent reached grade level in math, down from 82 percent.
As the plummeting scores sunk in, principals planned strategy and contemplated the unraveling of other achievements, which they were suddenly informed were illusory. In New York City, where test scores are the cornerstone of school accountability, the new numbers, principals feared, could mean the end of their A grades from the Department of Education; a rise in negative teacher performance reviews, which are based partly on state tests; and substandard principal performance reviews.
Read the rest of the New York Times article.
For those of you following the very emphatic Facebook page of THIS IS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, you know that the class of 1990 and friends of Sheepshead Bay High School alumni are planning a special summer get together and reunion for anyone who graduated from the school.
The event will have a sports spin with a planned basketball game. Here is the information in a cut-and-paste from the Facebook page (date clarification added). There is also a mingling party planned at TGIF restaurant in Sheepshead Bay the night before the reunion. There’s not much time left to pay the entrance fee, unless you use the PayPal payment option.
Check out the details of the Sheepshead Bay High School gathering
Community District Education Council 22 (CDEC22) is having its annual membership meeting this Thursday, July 22.
The Council is a 12-member board responsible for communicating the needs of local schools, their leadership teams, and parent-teacher associations to the Chancellor and the Panel on Educational Policy.
The group is offering free giveaways for back to school, and they’re also asking for suggestions, concerns and feedback for future meeting topics.
CDEC22 will be voting in the annual officers at this meeting and discussing upcoming events for the year. There are currently two vacancies on the Council.
When: Thursday, July 22 at 7 p.m.
Where: 5619 Flatlands Avenue – Room 115
Fore more information, contact (718) 968-6111, cec22@schools.nyc.gov or cdec22@hotmail.com
Refreshments will be served.
A Kingsborough Culinary Arts student at work
If you’ve ever watched Hell’s Kitchen or Top Chef and said to yourself, “I wish that was me” – this is your chance to develop some real culinary skills for free!
It goes without saying that our economy is in a difficult time. With so many qualified applicants flooding the job market, younger and less experienced job applicants can find the search daunting. If you’re not currently employed or a full-time student, then the CUNY Young Adult Program has a wonderful opportunity for you to add to your skill set and open up a career path. The program is providing free Food Service/Culinary Arts training to eligible people at KBCC. The program is being advertised via Facebook and Craigslist in an apparent bid to appeal directly to 18- to 24-year-olds.
We told you about Kingsborough’s newly-launched Culinary Arts major back in May. The new kitchens, expert faculty and innovative program make this a bargain for young adults.
View the full advertisement and get more info
Photo by Leon L.
P.S. 254 students and their leaders hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday morning for the new school playground. With just a few weeks before summer vacation, the finished playground made its tremendous debut with dignitaries giving speeches and a full day’s program.
Borough President Marty Markowitz came without his light saber, while Congressman Anthony Weiner came without his goat (although he did take jabs at his own expense making reference to his latest political “injury”).
After the speeches, dances, and special performances were out of the way, the kids assembled with their physical education coordinators to show their parents just how much fun they plan on having in their new playground and garden area.
When the playground was demolished back in September 2009, we were told that the work could be done as early as October. But though that never happened, it seems the kids’ suffering without a schoolyard has paid off with the brand spankin’ new fixtures, fields and artwork. And this is a project the larger public can enjoy; the park will be open from dawn to dusk, including weekends. [Corrected]
View the photo gallery
Photo by Dan Cavanagh - That's what we call teamwork
Police and local leaders believe today is senior cut day, an unofficial high school tradition in which seniors give themselves the day off.
Police will be out in force in Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay, scooping kids up on their way to the beach. Kids can either be brought back to school or to the truancy center in Coney Island. In previous years, law enforcement officers were criticized for allegedly demanding identification from minorities only.
UPDATE (10:00 a.m.) We’ve just got word about some of the stepped up enforcement. Scooters are guarding the footbridge on both sides; mounted, motorcycle and bicycle cops are patrolling the area; and there is a Brooklyn Borough South Mobile Command Post. Undercover officers are walking around near the bus stops in Manhattan Beach, and there are barricades ready to close the beach if necessary. This info is coming in via phone from Dan Cavanagh, the blogger over at GerritsenBeach.net.
To any students reading this, you might enjoy your day a lot better if you stay away from the beaches.
Over the years that Steven Cymbrowitz has been in the State Assembly, I must’ve walked past his 1800 Sheepshead Bay Road office hundreds – if not thousands – of times. And yet, a little piece of community culture that adorns his window always seems to go under my radar.
Since November 2003, Cymbrowitz has been using his storefront window as a “walk-by art gallery” for student artists. Every month during the school year, a new exhibit goes up by students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade classes, all from local schools.
“Assemblyman Cymbrowitz believes that art is an important component of a student’s education and every child should be encouraged to expresses themselves artistically,” said Oswalt Heymann, the chief of staff for Cymbrowitz.
Each exhibit follows a theme given to the teacher about issues that would be of interest to children. This month’s show came from eighth graders of Mrs. Davis’ class at I.S. 238.
Now, if you’re wondering how Georgia O’Keeffe is of interest to 14-year-olds, well, you’ll understand when you’re older…
A student prepares hors d'oeuvres for the crowd
Melisa Carbajal’s relationship with Kingsborough Community College is coming around full circle. After finishing an Associates Degree program at the school in 2007, the student is returning to be a teacher. She’ll be one of a handful of chef-instructors in the school’s budding culinary arts program, where she’ll teach healthy cooking for cancer patients and survivors in a partnership with CookforYourLife.org.
“So many good things have happened,” Carbajal said in front of a crowd of about 100 people at Kingsborough last night. “I couldn’t have started in a better place than Kingsborough Community College.”
But had it been a few years earlier, Carbajal never would have had the opportunity.
The group Carbajal spoke to was celebrating the launch of the Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts, the latest – and biggest – step towards maturing a program that was only born in 2001.
Keep reading to learn more about Kingsborough Culinary Arts program’s development
Is this undercurb water leak a symptom of something bigger?
On Wednesday, April 19, 2010 this hydrant was observed in use at the side entrance of P.S. 254 on East 19 Street. There was nothing apparently out of the ordinary about its use, except that there was a pool of brown water collecting at the curb.
Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that there were three or more little fountains of water spewing out from the seam where the curb meets the sidewalk. (The picture doesn’t show the little fountains, but if you look closely you might see one of them towards the left of the picture.) That definitely seemed out of the ordinary, because usually water flows from the hydrant to the hose attached to it.
Is water supposed to be spurting out from the curb or is this a sign of a major leak to come?
Let’s hear from all of you water conservationists and hydrant specialists.
Crossing guard sits in her car & chats with another visiting crossing guard while kids cross themselves. (Photo by Ray Johnson)
At the corner of East 19th Street and Avenue Y, the crossing guard stationed there is not always, ummm, stationed there.
Children attending P.S. 254 can be seen crossing themselves, while the crossing guard sits in her parked car chatting on her cell phone. When this photo was taken, the crossing guard’s co-worker was chatting with her as she sat sheltered from the chilly temperature. Just a few minutes after this photo was taken just before 8:40 a.m., she was seen driving off. That is more than 20 minutes before her shift was officially over. It appears to be a regular occurrence, because during this investigation we observed her leaving early on numerous occasions.
One parent told us that since the crossing guard began manning the corner a few months ago, she has often been observed talking on the phone during work hours. Another parent said, “Why doesn’t the school do something about her? She leaves early and doesn’t pay attention to the kids. It’s not safe for these kids. We’re better off not even having a crossing guard here than someone who doesn’t do her job.” Since, school crossing guards are NYPD employees, the possibility exists that the message did not get to the 61st precinct.
Have any of you noticed the missing crossing guard at Avenue Y and East 19th Street? If so, did you complain about the problem and your complaints went unheard? Write in and let us know.
Correction: The original post incorrectly identified the corner as East 18th Street. The intersection where the crossing guard works is located at East 19th Street and Avenue Y. Thanks to the readers for bringing this typo to our attention.
