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MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ spotlight on schoolsCommissioner John KingVisits with NYS RegentChristine Cea in Staten IslandPresident Susan Fuhrman PresentsAwards to Distinguished Alumsat Teachers College7By Dr. Pola RosenA strong group of about 40 leaders in specialeducation in Staten Island gathered for an intimatetalk with NYS Commissioner John Kingand Kevin Smith, Deputy Commissioner, NYSEducation Department about building strongerpathways to continuing education and vocationaleducation early in a student’s life.King stated that the focus should be onpartnerships. Several principals and superintendentsexpressed the need to begin transitions assoon as possible, for example, in independentliving centers.King asked the group what was working welland what resources they needed. A principal inDistrict 79 suggested that career technical educationbe expanded. Another suggestion fromPort Richmond High School was for programsto co-exist. Some said that programs have to beconnected to jobs. King agreed: programs haveto lead to careers.Some of the programs cited as examples forinclusion were culinary, financial literacy, letterwriting and how to get a job. The HungerfordSchool has been helping special needs studentsfor over 40 years and according to principal, Dr.Mary McInerney “our population is aging andDr. Christine Cea & Dr. John Kingwe have to find ways to support them in theirolder age.”King summarized, “We must set meaningfulstandards and apply them across grade levelsand ability levels.”Kudos to Dr. Christine Cea for bringing educatorstogether with the Commissioners for aninformed conversation about special needs students.Conversation and collaboration can onlylead to crystallizing goals and implementingchange together. All agreed this conversationshould take place 3-4 times per year. #(L-R) Professor Jeffrey Sachs & Dr.Matthew PittinskyAcademic Festival at Teachers College,Columbia University provided a great opportunityto learn, interact and discover what othersare doing in education around the nation.The keynote speaker was Professor JeffreySachs, head of the Earth Institute at ColumbiaUniversity; Dr. Matthew Pittinsky, founder ofBlackboard received the President’s Medalof Excellence and Dr. Pola Rosen, founderof Education Update received the President’s(L-R) TC President Susan Fuhrman &Dr. Pola RosenAward of High Distinction. Pittinsky and Rosenare graduates of Teachers College. The day wasfilled with seminars and panels on topics suchas financial literacy and technology in the 21 stcentury, technology in the classroom, connectingcommunities online.Among the alumni honored was CommissionerJohn King. Trustee Dawn Duques held a sumptuousfeast in her 35th-floor penthouse precedingthe awards and attended by trustee Joyce Cowin. #

8 spotlight on schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012‘The Intuitive Teacher’: A Series Based on the Works of Dr. Caleb GattegnoHow AnsweringQuestions Could BeDetrimental to LearningGetting a lot of questions from students is usuallya sign of interest in a topic. But as a teacher,should you be jumping at every opportunity toanswer these questions?First let’s consider a question worth askingyourself- ‘what is my ultimate goal as a teacher:Is it to dispense information or is it to be a causeof learning?’Getting at the heart of how we truly learnwas the lifetime pursuit of Dr. Caleb Gattegno,whose world-famous pedagogies are summarizedas the “subordination of teaching to learning.”Gattegno believed that learning is thesame as self-learning, and ideally the teacherfacilitates self-learning which is different thanjust the telling or giving of facts and information.In the classroom, this entails that the teachercreate the conditions or “challenges” that inspirestudents to seek their own answers to questions.Only under these conditions does learning actuallyhave a chance to take place.Dr. Cecilia Bartoli, who for years trainedother teachers in the Gattegno approaches, characterizedher own shift in teaching as relying onRussellcontinued from page 14Carole Hankincontinued from page 15friends, but they don’t provide much occasionfor developing closeness. Inviting a friendfor dinner or a sleepover can be a wonderfulway for your child to get to know his or hercompanion better. When appropriate, allowingchildren to include a friend or two in otherfamily activities and traditions can also go along way toward helping them discover thatdifferences can be as valuable as similarities inbuilding friendships.If your child is shy, or seems to have difficultymaking new friends, remember to besupportive. Anxiety about new situations,including meeting new people, is not unusual“responsibility as a technique”.In this context, she did not attempt to answerquestions nor offer judgment about “right” or“wrong” answers. Instead, she throve to ensureproblems were presented in a way where bothher and her students could mutually explore allavenues in seeking solutions and “responding”adequately.In applying this approach, Bartoli came tobelieve that answering a student’s question abreach of “boundaries” necessary to promoteself-learning. “I realized the first thing I had todo was clearly distinguish my tasks from theirs.In other words, I had a place, they had theirs;and attention had to be paid not to trespass oneach other’s ground.”In doing so, she realized that: “if I helpedthem with an answer, I was in fact taking theirplace; and taking someone’s place is also a lackof respect for, and trust in, the intelligence andcapacity of that person to untangle a problem.”With this guiding philosophy something akinto the “shock and awe” of military doctrine isbrought to the classroom, except the enemyhere is a student’s own deeply rooted prejudicesabout what they can and cannot learn.“How many times have I heard a student say:‘I can’t learn a foreign language, I’m hopeless?’queries Bartoli. “ The challenge in this case is tosurprise your students by working in ways theying time when they take high-stakes examinations,such as the SAT, GRE, or LSAT. The endresults are that otherwise qualified disabled studentsare being rejected from colleges and universitiesbased on test scores that do not reflecttheir true abilities.At the state level, pressure is being placed onstate lawmakers to reduce the costs that publicschool districts face. For example, advocatesfor districts across the state are urging cuts totransportation budgets. This would be an unfairburden for thousands of families of disabledstudents across New York State.There are, however, a few bright spots in thestruggle to preserve the rights of disabled studentsincluding the work of Rep. Bill Cassidy,M.D. (R-LA) and Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) whohave proposed a bipartisan dyslexia congressionalcaucus to raise awareness of the challengesdyslexic students face on a daily basis.Representatives Cassidy and Stark, both parentsof dyslexic children, plan to pursue policies thatwill permit dyslexic students to reach their fullpotential.To deny disabled students the access to the programsand accommodations that they are rightfullyentitled to under the law further exacerbatesthe considerable challenges that these studentsface every day in schools. America cannot affordto waste human capital or squander the talents ofany of its students. #John J. Russell, Ed.D. is the Head of TheWindward School in White Plains, N.Y.in children. Children who are reticent maynot develop friendships quickly, but do oftenhave relationships once they are established.Talking to your child’s teacher is a good idea;teachers see children in the group setting andmay be able to help by pairing your child witha compatible peer during a classroom activity.Another way to help children make new friendsis by encouraging participation in extracurricularactivities that appeal to their specialinterests. Discovering others who share theirenthusiasm for a particular activity can openthe door to great relationships.Whether your child is shy or outgoing, takingthe time to make sure he or she develops goodfriendships is well worth the effort, and thebenefits are certain to last a lifetime. #are not used to.”Therefore, by not answering questions, youbring to the classroom something new andunfamiliar that challenges a student to begin todiscover and rely upon their inherent facultiesto learn, the greatest of these being the developmentof intuition, which is the undisputed championof every great new idea in history.Precise techniques or actions for beginningthis process can include, for instance, callingon other students to answer questions insteadof doing it yourself, when it is appropriate; orencouraging multiple responses to a single question.When correct answers are put forth, youcan have the student or students describe howthey arrived at the correct response and vise-versafor how they reached an incorrect conclusion.Ultimately, this process begins to build theinner criterion in every student that can lead himor her to becoming highly effective and confidentlearners who are capable of creating andexpanding their knowledge at will.You can learn more about Dr. Gattegno andhis approaches to learning by going to www.calebgattegno.org and www.educationalsolutions.com.Middle School IS 62, BklynTrains Student LeadersStudent Ross Navarro of IS 62 in BrooklynBy Dr. Rose Cherie ReissmanA newscaster reports on the closing of aKensington Pizza shop. Another newscasterstands in front of a local branch of the publiclibrary which has been closed. Students workwith teen students from IVDU a special needsparochial school to survey views on financialliteracy. The educators from Muslim, Russianand Brooklyn backgrounds learn about Jewishculture. A team of students brainstorm questionsfor Daily News journalist Denis Hamill.Student designers design poster boards thatwill be used in a 2012 student expo. Studentsdesign model personal memoir boxes. Studentspractice reading aloud poems using a microphonefor the Bowery Poets Club open mikereading. Student web designers analyze authorsites to create fan sites. A young writer workson a chapter in an upcoming book on literacyand technology for a national society.These are snapshots from the lives of IS 62middle school students making a differencein their neighborhood. The school’s leader,Barry Kevorkian, ensures that the curriculumincludes rigorous academic, arts, sports andlaw courses providing students with leadershipopportunities.Ditmas learners (ELL, Newcomers, enrichment,CTT, special education) learn to voiceperspectives. They meet journalists, Holocaustsurvivors, and diverse residents. They work toproduce the Ditmas News Network an ongoinglocal news around school broadcast. The studentshave recorded two podcasts for TeachingFinancial Literacy, produced by Mark Gura.In partnership with educators Carideo,Downes, and Liotta, students have the opportunityof meeting working journalists including:Clem Richardson, Denis Hamill and FilipBondy of the Daily News. Student journalistsmirror the hometown news style of the DailyNews. Reissman’s Writing Institute programmakes writing come alive as students work ondigital and published books. They assume publishingroles, including editors, graphic artists,photographers, writers, illustrators, publicistsand marketers.Students learned from author AndreaPinkney at Scholastic books. Students ranLiteracy Expo with over 400 parents andguests. Writing Institute students went to theBowery Poetry Club in Manhattan to readaloud original poetry (composed in Ms. Xavierand Ms. Rodriguez’s classes). On May 5th,over 20 student leaders went to York Collegefor their annual presentation of leadership.At Ditmas IS 62, civic and literacy leadershipintegrate rigorous Common Core learning.Middle school can be the place wherestudents take on leadership roles and expandliteracy.#For further information about DitmasStudent leadership opportunities, contact:Barry Kevorkian, Principal bkevork@schools.nyc.gov ; Dr. Rose Cherie Reissman (cherie.reissman@yahoo.com)

Philanthropist Tina Flaherty Helps Churchill’s Words Cross theAtlantic to Hunter College & the Morgan LibraryBy Lisa K. Winkler“A little mouse of thought appears in the room,and even the mightiest potentates are throwninto panic,” British Prime Minister WinstonChurchill said in his “Defence of Freedom andPeace” speech, a radio broadcast October, 16,1938 to the American public, calling for supportin the early days of World War II.Soldier, statesman, Prime Minister, war leader,orator and writer: Churchill’s life and wordsare well documented in countless biographies,movies, and exhibits. His writings — rangingfrom letters to his parents to his speeches andbooks — are collected in vast archives, morethan 3,000 boxes holding about one millionpieces of his work. Some of these archiveswill be the focus of the Morgan Library &Museum’s exhibit, “The Power of Words,”opening June 8 and running through September23 in New York City.Education Update recently visited with AllenPackwood, director of the Churchill ArchivesCentre based at Cambridge University; theAllen Packwood & Tina Flahertyexhibit celebrates Churchill’s relationship withNew York and will introduce the statesman,who died at 90 in 1965, to younger generations.People will see what Packwood calls the “rawmaterial of history.” Documents will transportviewers to the actual events, allowing visitors tosee the correspondence Churchill had with otherworld leaders, including President FranklinRoosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and generals duringthe war. Special listening pods will allow visitorsto hear his speeches and read the words onthe screen.Why study Churchill? For Packwood, that’seasy. “He’s fun. He had an amazing life, chargingwith the British cavalry, writing for newspapers.His political career allowed him toengage in the most important episodes of the20th century — two World Wars and the ColdWar,” Packwood said. “To understand the worldtoday, students need to understand how theworld evolved.”Additionally there’s the power of Churchill’swords. Showing how words can engage andmobilize others to act empowers others, saidPackwood, who is organizing the New Yorkexhibit. Always passionate about history, havingvisited castlesand battlefieldsas a youngchild, Packwoodmajored inhistory atNottinghamUniversity andthen becameinterested inmedieval history,which ledhim to archives.The TinaSanti Flaherty— WinstonChurchillLiterary Serieswill also beheld at HunterCollege underthe aegis ofPresidentJennifer Raab.The exhibitwill includeartifacts fromChurchill’shome, includingthe honorarypassportgranted him byPresident JohnF. Kennedy in1963. Resourcesfor educatorsand schooltours are beingplanned inaddition to alecture seriesfunded by philanthropistTinaSanti Flaherty.Winston’sconnection withNew York Cityis legendary: hismother Jenniewas born inLearning Leaders Holds Debate:Randi Weingarten and Steven BrillBy Rachel GellertLearning Leaders, a nonprofit volunteer program inNew York City, recently held its annual Education Forumat the Kimmel Center at New York University. Theforum featured a panel discussion about reforming publicschool education between Randi Weingarten, presidentof the American Federation of Teachers, and StevenMAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ spotlight on schoolsBrill, author of “Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to SaveAmerica’s Schools.” Joyce Purnick, a journalist at theNew York Times and political analyst on WNYC, moderatedthe conversation.Learning Leaders, founded in 1956 with 20 voluncontinuedon page 18Brooklyn; he was run over by a car on FifthAvenue as a young adult and had to be taken toLenox Hill Hospital. #“An Intimate “An Intimate Place Place to Learn to in the Heart of a Great of a Great City” City”“An Intimate Place to Learn in the Heart of Great City”“An Intimate Place to Learn in the Heart of a Great City”York Preparatory SchoolYork York Preparatory School School40 West 68 th Street – New York, NY 1002340 coeducational West 40 West 68college th Street th preparatory – New NY 10023school York, serving NY students 10023 fromcoeducational college preparatory school serving students fromgrades 6-12.grades 6-12.coeducational college preparatory school serving students fromgrades 6-12.Outstanding AcademicsOutstanding AcademicsOutstanding AcademicsSuperb College GuidanceSuperb College GuidanceChampionship Sports TeamsChampionship Sports TeamsSuperb College GuidanceEndless Extracurricular ActivitiesEndless Extracurricular ActivitiesAn Oasis of Learning and CompassionAn Oasis of Learning and CompassionChampionship Sports TeamsThere IS something for everyone at York Prep!There IS something for everyone at York Prep!Endless Extracurricular ActivitiesFor more information, contact our Admissions Office atFor more information, contact our Admissions Office atadmissions@yorkprep.org or 212-362-0400.www.yorkprep.orgadmissions@yorkprep.org or 212-362-0400.www.yorkprep.orgAn Oasis of Learning and CompassionThere IS something for everyone at York Prep!9

10 spotlight on schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012MIDDLE SCHOOL HAPPENINGSParents, Council MembersDebate Best Middle Schoolfor Upper East SideBy Yuridia PeñaUpper East Side parents came in droves toa Community Education Council District 2(CECD2) meeting recently to advocate for oneof two resolutions that would decide what type ofmiddle school will open when space at P.S. 158becomes available: a school for general educationstudents or for the gifted.After listening to the public outcry, CECD2members voted for the creation of a district middleschool in the top floors of the P.S. 158 buildingand opposed the introduction of a satellitecampus of The New York City Lower LaboratorySchool for Gifted Education, or Lower Lab.P.S. 158, located on York Avenue and East77th St., is situated in an area where a middleschool is in high demand. “District 2 is a tremendouslysprawling district that almost coversall of Manhattan,” said Alan Cohen, the LowerLab PTA co-president. Cohen advocated for theopening of Lower Lab Middle School. “Thereare not enough middle schools in the Upper EastSide,” he added.P.S. 158 parents strongly opposed the LowerLab expansion. “The middle school should beopen to all District 2 students,” said AlisonBower, a parent who called the resolution an“elitist and self-serving proposal.”Ann Lindenbaum, another P.S. 158 parent,clamored for a freestanding school. “It is imperativethat all children in District 2 have equalaccess to these new seats,” she said.The meeting got heated when Lower Labparents spoke to the audience. “I will not toleratepotshots at our kids,” said Lower Lab parentDavid Cohen.During their deliberation, CECD2 membersopenly expressed their reluctance to the LowerLab expansion. “The resolution, as it stands, Iwill not support,” said Tamara Rowe. Anothermember, Sarah Chu, said, “Because we were hitwith all this data today that we don’t understand,I think that we can’t definitely say yet what weneed in this community.”CECD2 members also raised the question ofhow the principal would administer the LoweLab Middle School if it were housed in P.S.158 — nearly 20 blocks away from the elementaryschool.Demetri Ganiaris, a CECD2 member, suggesteda special session to specifically expressthe logistics of the resolution to expand the giftedand talented school. However, the other membersdid not uphold his request and the majority votedagainst the proposed expansion.Parents also expressed their dissent to housinga charter school in P.S. 158 or anywhere else intheir district. Earlier that week, a Daily Newsarticle announced Eva Moskowitz’s plans toexpand her dynasty — Success Academy charterschools — into high-performing neighborhoods.“We definitely do not want a charter school inour building,” said Cynthia Wong, a P.S. 158 parent.At the meeting, CECD2 First Vice PresidentSimon Miller said there have been talks percolatingin the Department of Education about openingcharter schools in affluent neighborhoodslike the Upper East Side for some time. He thensaid: “You really have to remain vigilant.” #DiscoverMarymountBeating the Odds: Lesson fromTurnaround Middle SchoolsBy Adriana VillavicencioIn New York City and around the nation, thereis intense interest in trying to answer the question,what does it take to turn around a strugglingschool? Current turnaround strategies outlined infederal and state policy include school closures,conversion to a charter school, dismissal of theprincipal and a substantial proportion of teachers,and the reassignment of students to other schools.This study conducted by The Research Alliancefor New York City Schools (RANYCS), was motivatedby a desire to learn more about how a groupof middle schools substantially improved withoutdramatic reform strategies. The report, “Learningfrom Turnaround Middle Schools: Strategies forSuccess” documents the strategies by which aset of turnaround schools improved student performanceby drawing on existing resources anddeveloping internal capacity to educate studentseffectively.The study focused on two groups of initiallylow-performing schools with comparable levelsof high-need students. One group exhibitedsignificant growth in academic performancebetween 2006 and 2010, while the other sawminimal growth or remained stagnant duringthe same period. While the study is limited tosix schools, the rich data we collected drawsinsight directly from principals and teachers,which allowed our team to better understandhow these schools improved. This type ofqualitative research can inform the work ofeducators and the districts that support them byproviding school-level descriptions of the practicesthat played a role in school improvement.A primary lesson from our study was theimportance of leadership. Three essentialleadership-driven conditionsemerged as the foundationfor the schools’ success:Aligning needs, goals, andactions: Principals displayeda similarly strategic placementof resources and energytoward specific areas most inneed of improvement. Theyalso shared an ability to communicate theirvision to school staff.Creating a positive work environment forteachers: Positive principal-teacher relationships—establishedthrough professional andpersonal support—helped ensure alignmentbetween schoolwide goals and teacher work.Addressing safety and discipline: Principalsand teachers also cited the importance of establishingorder in their school buildings as essentialfor improvement. Minimizing disciplineissues freed teachers to direct more time, energy,and resources towards instruction.According to principals and teachers, theseconditions established a school context inwhich they could implement specific strategiesto improve teaching and learning. The mostcommon strategies included: 1) developingteachers internally, 2) creating small learningcommunities, 3) targeting student sub-populations,and 4) using data to inform instruction.*The findings from this study highlight theimportance of cultivating strong leaders for strugglingschools. School districts might consideroffering incentives to successful principals totake positions in persistently low-performingmiddle grade schools or providing sustainedmentorship between these successful principalsand principals in low-performing schools.Second, leaders should be trained in both strategicgoal setting and addressing disciplinary issuesas the first order of business. Schools with highsuspension rates and a large number of incidentreports may particularly benefit from such training.Finally, this study highlights the importanceof providing regular and ongoing opportunitiesto develop teacher capacity within the building.Although this kind of improvement may not bepossible for all low-performing schools, the experiencesrecounted in this report suggest importantlessons for educators and policymakers, both herein New York and around the country.#*For more details on each of these, see thefull report.Adriana Villavicencio is a research associate,NYU Steinhardt Research Alliance for NYC Schools.Marymount School of New York1026 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10028 212.744.4486 WWW.MARYMOUNTNYC.ORGpreschoolACCEPTINGAPPLICATIONSFor 2012-2013 School YearVisits by Appointment Only•Open year round 8:30 am–5:30 daily•Part time & full time•Licensed by NYC Dept. of Health•Established 1993•NAEYC Accredited•Celebrating 18 yearsCoNtACt wEbsitE for APPLiCAtioN(212) 229-9340247 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011www.thekidskornerpreschool.com

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ For Parents, Educators & Students ■ Education update11By Barbara MartinsonsCounting all the people in jail and on probationor parole you get over 7.2 million peopleunder the supervision of Corrections. This isone in every 31 U.S. adults [as of March 2009].Almost all current inmates will be released intime, and will re-enter their communities. Ofthese, roughly 2/3 will end up “recidivated,” rearrested,and some 40 percent to 60 percent willbe re-incarcerated, within three years after theirrelease (Langan and Levin, 2002). For many, theprison exit is a revolving door.Education for those in and those in transitionfrom prison is part of the solution to recidivism.The US Department of Justice released a studyin 1994 that is often cited. It showed that of275,000 prisoners released from prison in theearly 90s, 67.5 percent had been rearrested withinthree years after release, and 51.8 percent wereback in prison. There are also many studies ofHigh School Students Gather atthe United Nations to DiscussHuman ExploitationBy Zara JamshedAt the 36th annual UNIS-UN conference,high school students from the United NationsInternational School and 300 students fromaround the world congregated at the GeneralAssembly Hall of the United Nations to discussa topic of global relevance.This year’s topic was “Human Exploitation— Exposing the Unseen.” Many esteemedguests from various fields of study deliveredspeeches at the conference concerning themesof labor and sex trafficking, child soldiersand prostitution. Katherine Chon, cofounderof the Polaris Project, explained how shehad first become aware of human traffickingand how she became inspired to try andcombat this type of crime. Daniel Persico,vice president of KEMET, talked about howthe large manufacturing company was ableto extract necessary minerals and remain 100percent conflict free. Rachel Lloyd, ExecutiveDirector and Founder of GEMS, was once avictim of sex trafficking, but used her experienceafter she escaped to create an organizationin New York dedicated to helping youngwomen reintegrate into society.One remarkable feature about the conferenceis the active participation of the students.During the student panel, five studentsfrom various countries — Turkey, Argentina,Japan, India and the United States — gatheredto discuss how human exploitation affectsthat student’s country and society as well ashow governments handle these problems.Every panelist took a different angle to thewide problem of human exploitation. A studentfrom the United States focused on therepercussions of the enslavement of AfricanAmericans on his society while the studentHigher Education In and After Prisonthe impact of education in generaland college in particular onrecidivism. Each comes to thesame conclusion: recidivism isreduced when inmates attendschool/college while in prison,and that this reduction correlatesto the amount of schoolingcompleted.Perhaps the work on recidivismand college is bestsummed up by ProfessorMichelle Fine, DistinguishedProfessor of Psychology, UrbanEducation, and Women’sStudies at the Graduate Centerof the City University of New York in a reportcalled Changing Minds, written in collaborationwith incarcerated women at the BedfordHills Correctional Facility (BHCF). The studyfrom India focused on labor exploitation aswell as mail-order brides. Other studentsreferred to the status of prostitution in his orher home country or the popularity of pornography.This panel, followed by a questionand answer session with the entire populationof students allowed for great student involvement.The student debate was conducted underthe resolution statement, “RESOLVED, adultprostitution is a violation of the individual’shuman rights and should be deemed illegalby governments internationally.” The affirmativeteam from Japan argued how sexualencounters for profit are often nonconsensualand therefore violate an individual’s humanrights. However, the American students onthe negative side claimed that restricting theoccupation of a person is in itself deprivationof rights as well as that it was impossible forgovernments internationally to completelyabolish prostitution. After a lengthy discussion,the students voted the affirmative teamas the side that had presented most convincingly.The student film competition alloweddifferent schools to present their perspectivesin an engaging way. All of the films took differentperspectives on the theme of exploitationunique to their particular lifestyle.This year’s UNIS UN conference broughtto light an issue that students were not necessarilyaware about and gave them a plethoraof viewpoints and experiences to take backhome. Hopefully this type of awareness willdecrease ignorance and inspire youth to havean impact. #Zara Jamshed is a junior at the UnitedNations International School and an intern atEducation Update.found that college programsfor those in prison radicallyreduced recidivism rates from30 percent for women whodid not attend college while inprison to 7 percent for womenwho did. “College in prison is apowerful intervention and relativelycost effective,” accordingto Professor Fine.I would argue that dollarfor dollar, education is amore effective crime-fightingstrategy than re-incarceration.As the study mentionedabove demonstrates, providinginmates access to higher education is fiscally farmore efficient than incurring the high rates ofre-incarceration and diminished employability.Specifically, the report estimates savings of about$9 million for every 100 prisoners over a periodof four years. The Hudson Link college programHershensonMoralescontinued from page 17Although CUNY is not one of the twomain partners of the high-tech graduate sciencecampus to be built on Roosevelt Island,the university has ties to Cornell and Israel’sTechnion, and will be involved in various collaborativeefforts (the president of City Collegeis a Cornell graduate, and many science facultynationwide are CUNY graduates).It’s not all science, of course. Hershensonspeaks of the “renaissance” at CUNY in alldisciplines — new professional schools in thehumanities and social sciences, the Macaulaycontinued from page 17When Education Update caught up with Dr.Morales, he had just returned from the college’s11th annual Undergraduate Conferenceon Research, Scholarship and Performance andwas filled with admiration for what he saw andheard: over 170 poster presentations and performancesby more than 300 undergraduates whowere doing work more commonly associatedwith doctoral-level projects. Morales was quickto point out the “hard work and dedication ofthe college’s faculty who mentor our students,”adding that the “faculty play a central role inmentoring and guiding student research.”He was especially taken with posters describingresearch regarding the resurgence of turtlepopulations at the former Fresh Kills Landfill(which will soon be transformed into New YorkCity’s largest parkland), anti-Semitism and itsrelation to attitudes toward Israel, and breastcancer. Underscoring the president’s commitmentto inclusion was the presentation by theLittle Fe Supercomputer Team, comprised ofsome of CSI’s best students, technical staffand an exceptionally talented high school students.The diverse, interdisciplinary team hasserving the men at the Sing Sing CorrectionalFacility, for example, has been in place for 13years with almost zero percent recidivism.Higher education during the transition fromprison is equally crucial in preventing recidivism.College and Community Fellowship, an organizationthat helps women returning from prisonto make the transition and complete college andgraduate school degrees, guides students throughschool while promoting their leadership, selfadvocacy,artistic expression, civic participationand long term economic security. The recidivismrate of these women, over 13 years, is less than2 percent.Barbara Martinsons has taught college classesin sociology and American history at the CUNYGraduate School, at Marymount ManhattanCollege and at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility,Sing Sing Correctional Facility and at SullivanCounty Correctional Facility. She serves on theBoards of Hudson Link for Higher Education andCollege and Community Fellowship.Honors College and New Community College(NCC), (Scott Evenbeck, president) acrossfrom Bryant Park, scheduled to open thisSeptember. “Our community college populationis over 100,000; we’re bursting at theseams,” he said. NCC will be based on afull-time credit model called ASAP, whichthe Chancellor instituted five years ago toimprove community college graduation rates.Where “this reform engine” has already beenin place, the change has been dramatic, risingfrom 25 percent graduation in three years to 60percent. Hershenson would go on … withoutnotes … but even Mr. CUNY has to get backto business. #expertise in a broad range of computational science,mathematics and engineering and includesmembers with physical and developmental challenges.The team built a high performance, parallelprocessing supercomputer and is currentlydeveloping the software to power CUNY’s firstautonomous vehicle.President Morales has a B.A. in history (secondaryeducation) from SUNY and a Master’sand a Ph.D. in Education Administration andPolicy Studies from SUNY Albany. His over32 years in higher education were in seniorexecutive positions at SUNY, CUNY and theCalifornia State system. For sure, he knows thelarge urban university scene. In fact, he representsCUNY on many national boards and coalitionsthat focus on urban colleges and universities.He serves on the Executive Committees ofAASCU and HACU, and CUMU, and furtherkeeps the University on the national stage byparticipating on task forces that concern themselveswith college readiness and reducing thenumber of students entering college who needremediation — constant questions for collegesand universities around the country.He soon paused in the recital of data to note —a heartfelt expression — that he also truly lovesStaten Island. #

12 Special Education ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012Harvard Expert Dr. Louisa Moats Introduces Educators to theReading Rope at the Windward SchoolBy Rich MonettiThe Windward School under the expert leadershipof Dr. Jay Russell recently held its annualconference. Dr. L,ouisa Moats spoke at theWindward School in White Plains, N.Y. andpresented “Reading like a Detective: The Essenceof Comprehension.” The new Common CoreStandards for Reading and Language are notlikely far removed from a collective anxiety overupcoming September lesson plans, Dr. Moatssaid to the audience of approximately 500 educatorsand parents.The deep understanding the Common Coreis aiming for means students must be able toanalyze and synthesize complex texts and summarizethe central ideas fluently. “A lofty expectation,”she said, “but how do you get thereby high school.” She referred the audience toScarborough’s Reading Rope as a primer. “Itscientifically analyzes measurable areas of deficiencyand allows teachers to develop strategiesto address them,” she said.In this, the Vanderbilt and Harvard educatedteacher, psychologist and author elevated theimportance of being able to fill in the gapsbetween the actual words and the ideas the writerexpects the reader to infer. She used a StuartLittle passage to demonstrate the deficiencyIs your child Dyslexicor experiencing school failure?If so, we may be the solution.We strive to help childrennot only have the skills neededto learn, but want to learn.TheSterlingSchoolWe take our commitment seriouslyOrton Gillingham trained staffSmall classes with Individualized attentionArt, music, culinary arts andcomputers for a rich educationDr. Jay Russell and Dr. Louisa Moatspoor readers have in distinguishing betweenwhat’s referred to as the “surface code” and the“text base.”The troublesome mouse “laces up his skates”after a long indoor bound bout of “bronchitis”and hits the sidewalk but “doesn’t get far” beforebeing faced down by an “Irish Terrier.” He thenmust “shinny” up for his life, landing in a garbagecan using a “celery grove”as cover. A weak readermight not know whatBronchitis is — thus missingthe eager abandonmentStuart has for setting hissights on a nearby pond.She then may misinterpret“not getting far” as ameasure of distance ratherthan the obvious threat an“Irish terrier” presents andthe urgency demonstratedin a “shinny.” Finally, notcatching how a leafy “celerygrove” suits the mealymouse as camouflagepaints the full picture ofStuart’s desperate situation.“How much meaningwould be lost if you don’t get reference from thetext base,” she asked.The same question arises when a child’s backgroundknowledge is taken into account. “Theless you bring to a text, the less you get out ofit,” she said. Conversely, knowledge serves asa framework in which new information can beslotted in among the old. As a result, she says,“A mental web of facts and ideas are constructedas we read.”Nonetheless, common core recommends thattime shouldn’t be wasted on background. “Don’tlisten to that,” said Dr. Moats.Making time, as might be expected, means thatyour lesson plan must read like a detective. Inother words, lose the workbook and be an activereading guide by providing an ongoing Q&Awith students. “I get it, we’re supposed to understandwhat we teach before we teach it,” wasthe epiphany Dr. Moats recalled from a 35 yearteaching veteran upon getting with the ReadingRopes program.In the end, being able to construct the mentalimage required to become an engaged readerbecomes a skill that emerges from repetition.“It’s a habit of a reflective, purposeful approachto each word, sentence, paragraph and chapter,”she concluded. #ADAM JEFFREY KATZMEMORIAL LECTUREMay 16, 2012, NYCPart I: 4:00pm-5:00pmADHD: Causes, Policy, Stigma, and MedicationStephen P. Hinshaw, PhDProfessor and former Chair, Department of Psychology,University of California, BerkeleyPart II: 5:30pm-6:30pmAcademy Award ® -WinningProducer Brian Grazer andHarold S. Koplewicz, MDA conversation about the challenges andsuccesses of living with dyslexiaNOW AcceptING ADmISSIONScall 718-625-3502WWW.SteRLINGScHOOL.cOmRuth Arberman,Director of the Sterling School299 pacific Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201Register Now: childmind.org/KatzLecture

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ Special EducationTeachers College Conference: NewHope on Rights for the DisabledDavid Morrissey, Executive Directorof the US InternationalCouncil on DisabilitiesBy Sybil MaiminComing in a motorized chair via subwayto speak at the Teachers College Conference“When Worlds Collide 2012: OngoingChallenges of Special Education,” DavidMorrissey brought optimism and hope.Executive Director of the United StatesInternational Council on Disabilities, an NGOin Washington, DC, Morrissey is a leadingadvocate for the 2006 UN Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).Explaining that the treaty has led to the disabilitiesrights movement “exploding aroundthe planet” with 153 countries signing and 110countries ratifying it so far, he is campaigningvigorously for US ratification. To “sign” thedocument means to show support, to “ratify”means to commit to making it legally binding.Barack Obama signed the Convention in2009, making it the first UN treaty to be signedby a US president, but getting it ratified ismore of a challenge as this country is traditionallywary of accepting laws made outside ourcountry. (For example, the US has not signedthe UN Treaty on the Rights of Women or theKyoto Protocol on global warming.) The USdoes have the Americans With Disabilities Act(1990), but some say ratifying the UN treatywould give broader protections and demonstrateAmerican leadership in the area.Morrissey is hopeful of eventual Senateapproval because “disability knows no party,no religion, no race,” and it is possible to attach“reservations” and “understandings” to a treatybefore signing that protect a nation’s laws andThe conference was organized underthe aegis of Dr. Linda Hickson,Professor of Education & Director,Center for Opportunities and Outcomesfor People with DisabilitiesProfessor Emeritus Leonard Blackman and his sons Gary and Mark Blackmanparticipated in the conferenceinterests. Morrissey suggested all politiciansneed to make some gestures toward bipartisanshipand, “Because it is so universal, disabilitiesbecome a convenient bipartisan space. .. Unanimous consent would be a tremendousaffirmation and message to people with disabilities.”The Convention, which was drafted withfull participation of people with many typesand stages of disability, covers all aspects oflife and sets a benchmark standard of generalhuman rights, not new or special rights. Article24, which covers Education, mandates a universalright to education without discriminationand lifelong learning with full developmentof human potential. It calls for changes onthe ground for children with disabilities andindividualized support and use of mechanicalaids to achieve potential. Access to tertiaryand vocational education must be assured, andskills recognized and opportunities offered.Reasonable accommodations must be made forpeople with disabilities.There are 93 to 150 million disabled childrenin the world and, depending on their culture,many are unlikely to start or stay in schoolleading to poverty and dependency as adults.The treaty has been embraced by many developingnations that see it as an aspirational partof their development.Despite increased awareness of the needsand rights of the disabled around the world,Morrissey admits that changing attitudes isslow and meaningful progress takes time.Employment rates for the disabled in thisResetting the ArtificialBiological ClockBy Jacob M. Appel, M.D., J.D.Rule of Lawcontinued from page 15when the example set by one of our largest andbetter-managed public companies is somethingless than what is right? Even though Wal-Martmay not be able to be prosecuted on some ofits actions because the statute of limitationson some of the offenses may have run out, itsactions were wrong and a violation of law. Bysecretly coding its receipts and not properlyaccounting for its expenditures, it would appearthat Wal-Mart knew that its actions were wrongat the time engaged in. We are a society thatfollows the rule of law. Excusing Wal-Mart forits actions, no matter how rationalized, is justplain wrong.THE ETHICS COLUMN13Since the birth of the first “test tube” baby,Louise Brown in 1978, in-vitro fertilizationhas become increasingly widespread. Morethan four million children have now been createdas a result of the process. In New YorkCity, IVF is a staple of the reproductive arsenalfor many couples, both gay and straight, andfor a sizeable number of single professionalwomen. Unfortunately, despite these technologicaladvances that could liberate women fromtheir proverbial “biological clocks,” prospectivemothers continue to face gender-based agediscrimination at fertility clinics.No laws in the United States place anyupper age limit on IVF treatments — unlikein Western Europe, where several nations limitIVF to women under 50. In practice, however,many American reproductive medicine specialistsand clinics unilaterally impose their ownage limits on prospective female patients. Ifthese specialists imposed their caps for purelymedical reasons — for example, because theyfeared pregnancy in one’s 50s was inherentlymuch more dangerous than pregnancy in one’s40s — that would pose a challenging ethicaldilemma.How much risk, society might ask, shouldwe allow an older woman to assume in orderto achieve motherhood? And is that a decisionfor her or for her doctors? Similarly, if theconcern were for the baby’s health, these specialistsmight have a plausible concern. Alas,since older women usually use donor eggs fromyounger females, the risks of genetic defects insuch babies are actually lower than in the generalpopulation. The real reason that many physiciansand clinics impose these limits is that theysimply believe 55 is “too old” for motherhood.Note that I wrote “motherhood” — not parenthood.To my knowledge, few — if any — ofthese specialists or clinics place similar limitson the age of prospective fathers. In fact, thesesame clinics often use the sperm of older malepartners to inseminate younger women, eventhough older paternal age has been associatedwith diseases such as schizophrenia and autismin offspring. In other words, a 55-year-oldwoman with a 40-year-old husband will frequentlybe refused IVF, while a 49-year-oldwoman with a 75-year-old husband will not.Although the American Society forReproductive Medicine issued a statement in1996 finding “no medical or ethical reason”to object to post-menopausal IVF in all cases,many OBGYNs impose their own moral standardswith impunity. Ironically, some specialistseven defend this distinction on the grounds thatit is “unnatural” for women to give birth beyonda certain age.The reality is that discrimination againstolder would-be mothers reflects a much broaderand pernicious double standard: The samecritics who find motherhood past 55 morallyobjectionable are merely amused when StromThurmond fathers a child at 75 or Tony Randallenters parenthood at 78.At its best, IVF should be used as a tool toincrease reproductive equality — not to diminishit. If society wishes to limit IVF to youngerparents, the rules should apply to both fathersand mothers. #We try to teach our children that laws arenot made to be broken by the mighty. That thesame laws apply to all of us. Merely becauseno one is physically injured does not excuse awrongdoer. White-collar commercial briberyis not just wrong, it is illegal, and when it isundertaken by a corporation like Wal-Mart, itonly encourages smaller and less successfulentities to do the same. This is not an instancewhere we need to set an example, but one inwhich Wal-Mart should be treated like anyother offender and be properly penalized underour existing laws which are enforced by theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission andDepartment of Justice. #Arthur Katz is a member of the law firm ofOtterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C.country have not improved in twenty years,even though new technologies support peoplein the workplace as well as children in school.Morrissey reports that about 1 billion peoplein the world (15 percent) are disabled, andthe number is growing due to better reporting,aging, and more chronic, rather than fatal,diseases. He believes an international protocollike the CRPD gives an important messageto the world: the disabled must not be invisible,and they have needs and rights that mustbe met. #

14 Special Education ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012Disabled Students Under SiegeBy John J. Russell, Ed.D.Since the Individuals with DisabilitiesAct (ADA) and the Individuals withDisabilities Education Act (IDEA) wereoriginally enacted, the rights that theselaws grant students have frequentlybeen denied by schools. The case thatTom Freston brought against New YorkCity is a prime example of the constantstruggle that parents of disabledstudents face. In 1997, Mr. Freston’s son, then8 years old, was having difficulty with reading.After educational consultants, hired by Mr.Freston, determined that the educational optionsoffered by the New York City public schoolswere inappropriate, Mr. Freston placed his son ina private school that specialized in learning disabilities.He then sought tuition reimbursementfrom the City under the provisions of ADA thatentitled his son to a “free and appropriate education”.The City refused to pay claiming that achild must first fail in a public school before aparent can place the child in a private school andreceive tuition reimbursement.Mr. Freston filed a lawsuit in which he statedthat he wanted to make sure that families withdisabled children receive appropriate servicesfrom public schools. If the public schools cannotprovide these appropriate services, then parentsare entitled to tuition reimbursement. In October2007, ten years after the initial suit, the UnitedStates Supreme Court affirmed a lower courtruling that New York City had to reimburse theFrestons for their tuition payments. Mr. Frestondonated the reimbursed funds to establish atutorial program for struggling public schoolstudents.Tom Freston’s lawsuit established that thenation’s principal special education law guaranteesevery student a free appropriate publiceducation and requires school systems to pay forprivate placements when their ownprograms or classrooms are notsuitable. While this was a landmarkvictory for all students withdisabilities, it is just one chapter ina continuing battle to ensure therights of disabled students.Here is the very troubling realitythat far too many students face:8 million American students ingrades 4 to 12 are not fluent readers (U.S.Department of Education, 2001) and 3,000 studentsdrop out of high school every day becauseof poor reading and writing skills (Partnershipfor Reading, 2003). The National Assessmentof Educational Progress consistently finds thatabout 36 percent of all fourth graders read at alevel described as “below basic.” According tothe International Dyslexia Association’s newKnowledge and Practice Standards for Teachersof Reading (IDA, 2010), between 30 and 50percent of students are at risk for inadequatereading and writing development. The reportposits that most of these at-risk students are notbeing identified as eligible for special educationservices. As a result, they are not receiving thetype of instruction that they require; instead theyare dependent on the instruction given in mainstreamclassrooms.As these appalling results clearly indicate,there are far too many teachers and administratorswho are woefully ignorant of the researchbasedstrategies that have been proven to help allstudents read proficiently and to reach their trueacademic potential.At the federal level, the GovernmentAccounting Office (GAO) released a reportshowing that many students with learning andother disabilities, including dyslexia, are beingdenied accommodations, such as extended testcontinuedon page 8Kennedy Child Study Center CelebratesPeter Gorham & Elizabeth Schmeelk(L-R) Executive Director Peter Gorham, Board Chair Michael O’Shaughnessy,His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan & Board Member Marty KeatingFounded by Rose and Joseph Kennedyin 1958 in memory of their son, Joseph P.Kennedy Jr., the Center, located in Manhattanand the Bronx, has been providing outstandingservices to preschool children with developmentaldisabilities.Funded in part by the archdiocese, governmentmoney and private donations, the KennedyChild Study Center (KCSC) honored PeterGorham, executive director of the KennedyCenter and Elizabeth Schmeelk, philanthropist.Over 500 attendees gave a standing ovation toseveral young graduates of KCSC who sangand swayed to music and to the performanceof Daniel Trush, a young man who suffereda brain aneurysm at the age of 12, recoveredand now at the age of 27 helps others composeand sing. Some of his lilting lyrics were:For the people that helped me healFor their love and keeping it realWho know when I’m good or need to restWhose care and affection are the best.Marty Keating, a member of the Board ofDirectors, organized the benefit. His EminenceEdward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop Emeritusof New York gave the awards; and MonsignorSullivan gave his unwavering support. MageeHickey, a Channel 11 reporter, and daughter ofthe late Board Chair, Lawrence Hickey, was afabulous Emcee. #ELL ResultsELL ResultsLiteracy ResultsELL ResultsLiteracy Resultswww.openbooklearning.comLiteracy Resultswww.openbooklearning.comNew YorkMid-Atlantic

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ Special Education15Moral Integrity andThe Rule of LawBy Arthur Katz, JDThe New York Times recently publisheda lengthy article entitled “VastMexico Bribery Case Hushed Up byWal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle.”Although it ultimately may be shownthat The New York Times got some ofits facts wrong and that some of theanticipated legal ramifications are incorrect,what appears to have happened is that paymentswere made in Mexico on a number ofoccasions in connection with expediting thegranting of various building and other permitsthat Wal-Mart’s Mexican affiliate needed inorder to build its various stores.The article, among other disclosures, said thatan aggregate of at least $24 million was paid,that the issued receipts were coded to reflect thetrue nature of the services rendered, that suchpayments were known by senior managementnot just in Mexico but also in the U.S., thatprompt actions were not taken to fully investigateor to terminate the activity and, indeed,actions apparently were taken which may havefostered the continuation of the illegal activityand a continued culture of commercial briberyin the right circumstances.Some of the actions taken by Wal-Martand its Mexican affiliate violated the law.FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S DESKMaking New Friends and Stayingin Touch With Old OnesWal-Mart apparently did not properlyaccount for the payments made on itsbooks, which was and is a violation By Dr. Carole Hankinmutual consideration and respectof law. Moreover, and despite what with Deborah Frenchfor differences, as well as appreciationthose of us who work in the field Most parents and teachers recognizefor the similarities that broughtwould say were “best practices” atthat children’s lives need tothem together.the time the acts were committed and be balanced with a healthy mix ofGood friendships made duringreported up to senior management, learning and socialization. In this agechildhood and adolescence have asenior management instead of fully investigatingwhen children are so often pluggedlasting positive impact and can leadthe activities and causing Wal-Mart to take in to iPads, iPods, iPhones and otherto rewarding, intimate relationshipsaggressive actions to make sure that the illegal devices, it’s all too easy for them to become so later in life. As friendships mature, they continueactivity was discontinued, apparently made absorbed that they’re distracted from engagingacross time and distance. Having anan effort to minimize and even cover up what in meaningful relationships with their peers. ongoing relationship with one or more specialoccurred. The attitude exhibited by senior Wal- The importance of peer relationships in children’sfriends can be a tremendous source of emotion-Mart management obviously was not the properdevelopment is well-researched — and al strength and encouragement for your childtone from the top that regulators and lawyers those of us who have remained close to a friend as he or she grows into young adulthood andencouraged at the time that the events occurred or two from our own school days can attest to progresses through the various stages of maturation.or at the present time.the lasting value of childhood friendships.In times of joy (graduation from college,It now appears that, before the story was Friendships provide the opportunity for childrenweddings, the birth of a child) and times ofreleased and after Wal-Mart learned that anto learn important social skills, as well as distress (illness or injury, the death of a lovedinvestigation was being pursued by The New to develop self-esteem and a sense of companionshipone), a close, lifelong friend is a mainstay.York Times, Wal-Mart took the affirmativeand belonging. Early childhood friend-Encourage your child early on to develop aaction it should have taken more than six years ships begin as essentially self-centered experiencesfew close friendships by making sure he or sheearlier and started to treat the matter with thebased on pleasure. Very young children has the opportunity to spend one-on-one time,seriousness it deserved.seek out others who have similar interests, but as well as time with friends in small groups.What does this episode show us? How can we they typically do not engage in much conversationLarge-group activities are excellent for foster-teach our children and students to be honest, tooutside of these shared experiences. As ing team-building and cooperation skills, ashave a sense of integrity and to obey the law children grow and mature, their friendships well as introducing your child to potential newcontinued on page 13 go beyond sharing toys and taking turns tocontinued on page 8BE INFORMED. BE INSPIRED.TRANSFORM LIVES.Windward Teacher Training Institute provides professional developmentbased on scientifically validated researchin child development, learning theory and pedagogy.The IMSLEC-accredited training program leads to national certificationin multisensory structured language education.Summer Courses and Workshops• Expository Writing Instruction • Multisensory Reading Instruction• Language, Learning and Literacy • Improving Math CompetenceHelp all children realize their potential.Speak up at:childmind.org/speakupforkidsFor Further Information:• (914) 949-6968, ext. 1270 • wtti@windwardny.org• www.thewindwardschool.org • @WindwardTTIWindward Teacher Training Institute is a division of The Windward School,an independent school for students with language-based learning disabilities, located in White Plains, NY.

16 DISTINGUISHED LEADERS IN EDUCATION 2012 ■ MAY/JUN 2012Dr. Charlotte Frank,Sr. VP, McGraw-Hill Educationby joan baum, ph.d.r. Charlotte Frank, former just-abouteverythingin education, who hasbeen for the last several years SeniorVice President of McGraw-HillEducation of The McGraw-Hill Companies,shows absolutely no indication of slowing downin her efforts to address “critical issues of educationand their importance for business,” the themeof many of her articles and lectures. Honors continueto mount — just this past April she wasgiven a “salute” by The Bank Street College ofEducation for a lifetime of achievement in educationthat included a celebration of her smooth,mid-life change of career, from being the head ofcurriculum instruction in New York City, whereshe introduced curriculum bulletins for all NewYork City teachers in all subject areas, whichincluded Essential Learning Outcomes beforethe concept of national standards was in place.She embraced at McGraw-Hill new challengesof national and international significance. Thereshe also coordinates the Harold W. McGrawJr. Prize in Education and co-chairs with Peter(of Peter, Paul and Mary) Yarrow the innovative,much-admired and successful program,Operation Respect: Don’t Laugh at Me.Indeed, each month, awards come her way.In March she received the East Meadow, L.I.Tikkun Olam “Repairing the World” Award forher work in Combating Bullying and aroundthe same time a Proclamation from the NassauCounty Legislative Assembly of the State ofNew York. In June she will be a recipient of aDistinguished Leader in Education 2012 plaque,given by Education Update at The Harvard Club.And May? She’ll in effect be working towardwhat will probably be another award in recognitionof ideas she’ll present at an internationalforum on politics and peace in Istanbul, Turkey.Her panel is entitled “A Better Education, ABetter Future,” and she’s thinking of focusingon “the digital world,” “student performance andclosing the achievement gap,” as well as on “theimportance of real-life learning” — the concernof countries around the world. The conferencewill bring together professionals from the worldof politics, finance and education, three areas Dr.Frank can readily lay claim to.Dr. Charlotte Frank, a former Regent of theUniversity of the State of New York, doesn’tmove on, she moves out, widening and deepeningher involvements in education but keepingclose to the center — curricular development.She is driven by the belief that we can accomplishwhatever we want to; it depends on how muchwe care. Her trajectory was — and is — the moreremarkable because she started out in a predominantlyman’s world at the time. She was the firstwoman in her physics class in high school andthen decided to go into the school of engineeringat City College. She decided to major in statisticsand economics, getting a BBA. After working invarious teaching and supervisory positions, shewas appointed Executive Director of the Divisionof Curriculum and Instruction for The New YorkCity Board of Education. Receiving the tribute atBank Street, she recalled how, when she graduatedfrom high school, her father was not too keenon her going to college. It was her mother whostrongly encouraged her to go on, to achieve,to be independent. Her determination to keeplearning continued to play out when she earneda Masters in education from Hunter College anda doctorate in Education Administration from theSteinhardt School at NYU in 2000.She also established The Frank AerospaceStudy Center in Arad, Israel, to advance scienceand technology education and continues to beactive in the American-Israel Friendship Leaguethat sponsors high school exchange programswhereby students stay with host families inboth countries. In addition, she leads a missionof U.S. school superintendants and other educatorsfor a six-day visit to Israel. Her involvementsfocus not just on content areas but on “characterbuilding,” an interest that began during theKoch administration when she was asked by themayor, in response to concerns of the police, fireand sanitation departments, to develop materialsshe called “Citizenship in New York City.” Thecommon idea is to turn out educated studentswho feel themselves to be “citizens” — of theircities, of their country, of the world. Towardthat end, she has been a generous supporter ofvarious endeavors for high school students inall subject areas but with a particular emphasison the STEM disciplines, identified as crucialto American and global economic well being:science, technology, engineering, mathematics.At CCNY she established The Dr. Charlotte K.Frank Center for Mathematics Education; andat Hunter, where she was inducted into the Hallof Fame, she has endowed The Charlotte Frank(smart) Classroom. The NYU Science Centeralso bears her name. Clearly, her future will beone of continuing service, success and awards. #President TomÁs Morales,The College of Staten IslandBy Joan Baum, Ph.D.ow in his fifth year as the thirdpresident of the College of StatenIsland (CSI), Dr. Tomás D. Moralesexpresses delight at hearing that anearly April preliminary report from the MiddleStates evaluation team indicated “a very positiveoutcome” for CSI. Out of 14 assessmentareas for “standards of higher education excellence,”the president notes that 12 received“commendations.” “Commendations in 12 outof 14 assessment areas doesn’t just happen,”reflects Morales, “it comes about due to thehard work and dedication of our faculty andtheir invaluable contributions to the process.”He is especially pleased, he adds, because his“philosophy” about assessment is that it shouldnot be just about what an institution does butalso about how it is “transforming itself into alearning organization,” not just for students, butfor faculty, administration and staff. The presidentnotes with pride how all college divisionsand committees worked together toward meetingthe evaluation challenge and how the prospectof evaluation under the new Strategic Plan,“Many Voices, One Vision,” prompted CSI torevise its mission, vision and values statements.And, of course, he was delighted to noteCSI’s importance in the grand CUNY schemeas the home of the university’s InterdisciplinaryHigh Performance Computing Center, the largestacademic HPC center in the New Yorkmetropolitan area, currently serving 400 users.The consulting firm of Hendrickson, Durham& Richardson was recently selected for professionaldesign and construction-related servicesfor a new 175,000 gross square foot, $210 millionacademic computational science researchbuilding that will house the CUNY IHPCC onthe CSI campus.What would President Morales say to parentsand prospective students about what makesCSI stand out? He pauses for just a second tocatch an enthusiastic breath: “CSI is all abouttransforming lives. We embrace hands-on undergraduateresearch and scholarship with worldclassfaculty mentorships in a global classroom,are home to over 300 international students,offer the only student teaching opportunity in theGalapagos as well as many other study abroadopportunities, and recently inducted our secondclass of faculty, staff and students into thePhi Beta Delta honor society for internationalscholars. As the only public institution on StatenIsland, we are dedicated to our community byoffering students a full spectrum of services,whether they are in our two-year programs,opportunity programs, or working towards agraduate degree. Our campus is also home tomore than 130 full-time Ph.D. students, and ourfaculty and staff continue to earn prestigiousnational awards.”Reflecting the history of CSI, which grew outof a merger between Staten Island CommunityCollege and Richmond College, the college isparticularly focused on ensuring that A.A. students“transition successfully” to baccalaureatedegree programs. Additionally, since 2007, theschool has seen a 66.5 percent increase in baccalaureatefreshmen, an 84 percent increase in thetotal number of baccalaureate students on campus,a doubling of the baccalaureate-to-associate’sfreshmen ratio, a tripling of the baccalaureate-to-associate’stotal student ration, and a 22.5percent increase in the number of baccalaureatedegrees awarded. So far, President Morales says,these accomplishments have raised expectationsof excellence, and the college is currently enjoyingrecord enrollment. Data also show a greateroverall baccalaureate graduation rate. As fordirect entrants from high school, the presidentpoints out that during the five years he has beenat the helm, SAT scores have risen considerably.Articulation — the smooth transition fromassociate’s to baccalaureate — is certainly onereason for greater admissions and retentionat CSI, but the college’s various and diversementoring programs for all students have certainlymade a difference. A two-day mandatoryorientation–advisement session for enteringstudents that was piloted last summer has beenextremely effective, the president reports. Atthe end of the program, all students leave withtheir schedules complete, and thus, no registrationanxieties. New academic offerings —“whatstudents want”— have also played a major rolein strengthening efforts to attract and retainstudents. From 2006-2007 and from 2010-2011,the number of CSI students studying abroadincreased 110 percent. The president also pointsout that on his watch, there has been a 38 percentincrease in CSI students participating in theMacaulay Honors College, and his scholarshipprogram has record numbers of valedictoriansand salutatorians from high schools in Brooklynand Staten Island enrolling.continued on page 11

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ DISTINGUISHED LEADERS IN EDUCATION 201217‘‘President Jennifer Raab,BY JOAN BAUM, Ph.D.nterdisciplinary learning” and“collaboration” are terms yourepeatedly hear when talkingto Jennifer Raab about HunterCollege’s strategic plan initiatives currentlyunderway and the new facilities being completedthat will help to realize those initiativesin dramatic ways. Now in her 11th year asPresident, Raab sees her position as continuingto get more challenging and more rewarding.“College” hardly describes Hunter’s presenceand role in New York City. It seemsmore like a university, boasting the largestundergraduate and graduate arts and sciencesschool in the CUNY system, which consistsof four freestanding professional schools, andbuildings all over Manhattan.A new complex in East Harlem, opened in2011, brings together for the first time theSchool of Social Work and the School ofPublic Health and unites them in one of thecity’s most underserved neighborhoods. “Webroke the silos down,” says President Raab.People in academia tend to get insular andnot see or act on the benefits of talking topeople in other disciplines. AIDS research, forexample, is often viewed either as belongingto science or social science, but in the newEast Harlem complex, faculty — and students— will be working beyond “boundaries” andthus more effectively. The president expectsthat in 15 years it will be apparent that Hunterwill have made a difference in East Harlem —that people in the community will be healthier,more socially secure and better educated.She attributes the changes that will occurin East Harlem to what she terms GIS – geophysicalinformation system. GIS will enableresearchers to map data in a way analogous tohow GPS works in a car. Scientists and socialscientists will be able to integrate census andhealth data, for example, showing block-byblockconcentrations of people with asthmaor diabetes, and respond — and educate.Political and civic association leaders in thecommunity are supportive of this initiative,President Raab notes, because of Hunter’sintention to study and stay. “Don’t just cometo do research on us and leave,” they said.“The college listened,” and extended itself.As part of the East Harlem complex initiative,Hunter has partnered with P.S. 7 and the “IHave a Dream Foundation” to bring healthcare into the schools.Another segment of the strategic planinvolves strengthening the bond betweenHunter and Weill Cornell Medical College.A $50 million federal grant given to Cornell,called a “translational research grant,” linksHunter College faculty with doctors and withthe community — enhancing research andinternship opportunities. Other grants givendirectly to Hunter will bring together doctorsand nurses and social workers. Hunter willHunter Collegealso be moving onto a floor of a Weill Cornellbuilding at 69th Street and York Avenue.Hunter gets bigger, it gets better, but it’s notall science.The thriving Roosevelt House’s PublicPolicy Institute certificate programs, locatedin the historic space on East 65th Street, continuesto host a prestigious group of leadersfrom government and the private sector.Hunter is also creating a “21st century artsschool” in Tribeca that is arguably among themore dazzling of strategic plan initiatives.Already a highly competitive program, theMFA in Studio Art gets 600 applications for50 spots and has global outreach. The newbuilding, scheduled to open January 2013,will include a street-level gallery, more performanceand exhibition space and will be able tooffer teaching artists in all disciplines greateropportunity to train future artists, while thefuture artists, the students, will be able toafford shows, museums and performances.Jobs of course are extremely important,but, as the president points out, 80 percent ofHunter students, an overwhelming number ofthem immigrants, already have jobs. The academicgoal is “to give them aspiration to builda career,” to undertake options their parentsdidn’t think of. She mentions the pre-law studentfrom Russia, whose parents wanted her tobe a doctor, and a Filipino woman who foundshe did not want to study nursing, as she hadbeen urged, but music, and it was only a fullmusic scholarship from Hunter that allowedher pursue her dream.A solid liberal arts education, the presidentbelieves, with Hunter’s broadening emphasison interdisciplinary study, and an academicprogram that collaboratively links classroomto internships and the professional world innew and imaginative ways, will allow allHunter students to fulfill their dreams. #Sr. Vice-ChancellorJay Hershenson,The City University of New YorkBY JOAN BAUM, Ph.D.oming up soon on 30 years as vicechancellor under six chancellorsand over 100 trustees, Senior ViceChancellor for University Relationsand Secretary of the Board of Trustees JayHershenson, easily — and joyously — wearsthe nickname recently given to him by BoardChairman Benno Schmidt: “Mr. CUNY.”It’s not just that Hershenson is probably thelongest-serving top administrator in CUNY’sexpanding environment (24 schools, a halfmillion students and 270,000 in credit-bearingdegree programs), but that he brings to theposition a long and diverse history as a CUNYinsider: a community and senior college student,a student political leader, an adjunctteacher, a publicist, a government liaison andan activist in promoting academic and communityrelations.“Been there, done that” would describe hisrecord were it not for the fact that he’s stillthere … and doing still more. He is, arguably,one of the rare few at the university who canwith sincere passion and passionate convictionsay that CUNY student accomplishments,such as those recently winning so many majornational awards, “make my heart sing!”The first in his family to go to college,Hershenson started out as a student atQueensborough Community College, went onto Queens College where he earned an undergraduatedegree in Communication Arts andSciences and University Administration, andthen an M.A. from Queens in Urban Studies.He has the distinction of being the first electedstudent trustee to the Board (1974). He’s beenan evening student, a day student, a part-timefaculty member at Hunter and Queens colleges,and he’s done doctoral work at TeachersCollege. He has deep regard for working students,recalling how a visit to a morning classat Borough of Manhattan Community College“brought tears to my eyes,” hearing how manystudents had just come off a night shift.Given the fact that over half of the university’sstudents transfer from communitycolleges (true, nation wide) — many of themworking students, immigrants, first-generation,students with disabilities — he gives thesepopulations special consideration in the framingof “signature programs,” he conceived suchas Citizenship Now. In partnership with TheNew York Daily News and with the assistanceof approximately 450 volunteers from lawschools, law associations and local media, whospeak over 50 languages, the program has, sinceits inception ten years ago, fielded over 100,000calls. “The phones never stopped,” he said. Thisis CUNY at its best, he remarks, “a large urbanuniversity performing public service as part ofits mission,” and is certainly part of its history,which was to welcome immigrants.Well aware that graduates are concernedabout jobs, jobs, jobs, the Sr. VC moderatesthe program at every annual Big Apple JobsFair at the Javits Center. This past April onceagain saw a “great turnout” of employers andagencies, and how serendipitous that CUNYhad a room overlooking the Hudson River, andlo! The space shuttle went by, reminding peopleof the Challenger and Enterprise. “Challenge,”in the form of “leveraging social media in ajob search” was certainly one of three themesthe Sr. VC took note of. Another “enterprising”workshop was how to convert an internshipinto a full-time job, an initiative from an organizationcalled New York Needs You. The thirdwas on international careers (“overseas jobs”).In his day “the person next to you in class wasnot likely to be from China or India.” Now,with “the smartest and most diverse students”in the country, CUNY is eager to provideresources that will enable graduates to competehere and abroad. To that end, the Sr.VC’s workat CUNY TV, notably the 30-minute multipleaward-winning show on Latino culture, “NuevaYork,” stands out. But there is more, lots more.Given Chancellor Matthew Goldstein’s declarationthat 2005-15 would be the CUNYDecade of Science (including continuing partnershipswith public schools in STEM disciplines),Hershenson has signed on as ExecutiveProducer of the CUNY-TV series, “Science& U!,” which highlights the work of scienceeducators around the country — “many of thebest scientists work with universities.” Thisyear, he proudly states, 16 CUNY studentswon National Science Foundation ResearchFellowships. No one else in the Northeastexceeded that,” he said.continued on page 11

18 Education update ■ For Parents, Educators & Students ■ MAY/JUN 2012Mimi Levitt Sponsors EssayContest at Hunter College:$2500 First Prizeby dr. Pola RosenSpring, sports, balmy weather and the bustleof the college cafeteria did not distract themany students who crowded into the FacultyDining Room to read, share thoughts and collectprizes along with award-winning writersFrancine Prose, Carol Higgins Clark and LewisBurke Frumkes, head of the Hunter WritingCenter. Sponsor and benefactor Mimi Levittwas on hand to applaud and enjoy the youngHunter students who were finally being givenrecognition, many for the first time.Francine Prose gave important advice to thebudding writers: take a passage of jargon andtranslate it into plain English. Write as if youwere actually talking to someone. Read all thetime and as much as you can. She admittedthat she learned to write by reading, not takingclasses. She concluded with “have faith in whatyou’re doing.”The title of the essay contest was the samefor all the writers: “The Most Important LessonI Ever Learned.” The top winner of the $2500prize was Jonathan Mezelaar who wrote ofJonathan Mezelaardepression and good people who are kind toyou.Lorianna Roman won $1000 and dedicatedher essay to her grandmother, who recentlydied. She concluded, “Family is my life.”This memorable day will be indelibly etchedin the minds of the faculty, students, friends andfamily who attended.#Learning Leaderscontinued from page 9as the New York City School Volunteer Program,now has almost 10,000 school volunteers. Thesementors work with over 230,000 students within450 schools across the New York City. Thevolunteers provide individual instruction andsupport in reading, writing, math and ESL forelementary to high school students.Weingarten expressed the desperate needfor collaboration within schools and betweenschools and their communities. She mentionedthe importance of an “efficient and effectiveway” to ensure teacher and administrative quality,while pushing the necessity of parentalinvolvement and “wraparound services” thatprovide support for students and their familiesoutside of the classroom. Weingarten praisedprograms like Learning Leaders that involvelocal parents, residents and small businesses inmaking schools centers of the community.Brill disputed Weingarten’s answer, sayingthat her “idea of collaboration is suing everytime a charter school decides to expand, [and] ismaking sure that the workplace of all the K-12teachers in the United States does not ever judgepeople by their performance.” However, bothagreed on the necessity of pushing ineffectiveteachers out of schools.Weingarten then described the current state ofpublic schools as a “toxic environment” whereleaders “default to a fight” instead of collaboratingto fulfill the obligation of helping students ata time of economic crisis.Purnick suggested that if you asked theBloomberg administration, they would arguethat it is the teachers’ unions, like the AFT, thatare bringing that fight. Weingarten contested thatit “takes two” in these discussions, while StevenBrill added that this toxic environment comesfrom “challenging interests who are used to gettingtheir way.”Brill argued that most educators don’t want torely on testing, but principals and other judgesare too subjective and we do not want that either— therefore “since we can’t do it perfectly, wedo nothing” and teaching remains the only professionalfield where, instead of being paid basedon performance, teachers are “paid according tohow long you can keep breathing,” he said.Weingarten posited, “How do we stop thepolarization and get people to work together?”She addressed the need to have “good leaderswho are trained in terms of how to move aninstructional agenda.”Brill added, “Principals are crucially important.”He said that there are outstanding principalswho can achieve the collaborationWeingarten discussed. These leaders, against theodds, are truly able to help teachers and studentssucceed. However, he argues, there is a need foraccountability “up and down the chain.” #STUDENTS’ WRITINGsSummertime, ButThe Living Isn’t EasyBy Ariana SalvatoreA beach towel. The newest Ray-Ban sunglasses.Lightly sun-kissed skin. For manyteenagers, nothing more is required for a perfectsummer. But according to some New YorkCity kids, a check at the end of each monthwill substitute for the fashion magazine, and acheery “camp counselor” t-shirt complete witha feigned smile will replace the bikini top.For many students, summer is a time toescape the stress a nine-month long, demandingschedule can evoke. However, a few exceptionalgirls won’t have surfing the waves or tanningfor hours on the top of their summer to-dolists this year. They only have a few summersbefore college, and want to make the most oftheir three months.Marymount School is a private, all-girlshigh school in New York City. When its studentswere asked about their summer plans,a shockingly low percentage of them claimedthey chose to simply enjoy their time underthe rays and wait until the forever-ambiguous“next year” to start working. Paula Assou andCaitlin Vanderberg are two girls who aren’t theminority and won’t be lounging on the beachthis summer.Paula Assou is going to be a junior next yearand has already determined her passion in life:ice-skating. She will attend a sleep-away camp,Lake Placid, for the third consecutive summer.She describes Lake Placid as a place whereanyone can go to improve their ice skatingskills as well as make friends and countlessmemories. Most days she will take classes thathelp her enhance specific skills for ice-skating,but she recounted her favorite memory as seeing“Despicable Me” and eating Chinese foodwith her friends one day after practice, due tothe freedom that Lake Placid allows the campersto enjoy. Paula also mentioned the tangiblesense of camaraderie the camp creates, which isone of the reasons why she’s counting down thedays until she can start packing.Unlike Paula, Caitlin Vanderberg won’t begoing to camp this summer; rather, she willbe working at one. This year will classifyher as a second-year counselor at MarymountSummer, her school’s day-care program fromJune through August. Caitlin emphasized herlove for the job because last year she workedwith all the children in gym class, whichallowed her to do everything she loved: playingsports and bonding with campers!Although girls like Paula and Caitlin won’t belounging around the beach during the summer,their plans will help them grow and gain independence.And when they look back on theirmemories in the sun, it’s experiences like thosethey will never forget. #Ariana Salvatore is a rising junior at theMarymount School in New York City.By Jamie LandisIn Los Angeles, Tom Fisher was getting readyto attend his new school called Burbank HighSchool, on the planet Galactic. Tom had been introuble in many of the schools in Los Angeles.His dad suggested Burbank because it is great forkids who needed more help learning.Galactic is located between the Earth’s moonand Saturn and is famous for all its celebrities.Tom was excited in so many ways, but mostimportantly, for a chance to see Galactic in person!Tom met a few kids who were also heading toBurbank High in Tom’s class. Isaac Anderson,Hope Quincy, Zadak Moby, Ron Tweesley, andJohnny DeMaggio boarded the rocket ship. Thetrip was exactly one minute long! The kids blinked,and when they opened their eyes, they saw theplanet of Galactic. They then boarded a CadillacEscalade to Burbank High School. Behind thewheel of the car was Jay Leno.The car suddenly ran out of gas! Tom wasbummed that he was missing the first few minutesof school, but also secretly excited at the sametime. All of the kids shouted, “Come on, Leno!”Jay sped into the nearest 7eleven to fill up thetank. They finally arrived, and the kids went to theauditorium to watch the presentation. Standing onthe stage was principal, Sir Richard Branson. Tomwas shocked to see such a famous guy.When Principal Branson was finished, he sentthe 11th graders to their homerooms. Zadak,Hope, Isaac, Johnny and Tom all went to roomGalactic PART 1137 where they mettheir teacher, Tim fromBrainPop. The kids werepretty excited to have such a well-known guyas their teacher. Hiding in the corner was hisassistant, Moby. Tim and Moby handed the kidstheir class schedules. Tom noticed that physicswas next. His teacher was Albert Einstein! Tomknew that this was going to be a great school.“DROID,” the loudspeaker said. “Time for nextperiod,” Tim said.Tom headed to physics, where he was greetedby Mr. Einstein. Everyone in the room was wearingan Einstein wig. Tom passed on the offer, ashe knew his mom would not want lice cominghome! As he looked around the classroom, hesaw Einstein quotes all over the walls. His favoritequote stuck out to him: Imagination involveseveryone. Within the thirty-minute period, Tomlearned so much about physics. He couldn’tbelieve how much he learned in just one day!This sure beats being home-schooled, which heused to do.The next period was study hall. Dr. Seusswas his study hall teacher! In order to get intothe classroom, Tom had to say, “A person is aperson no matter how small!” In study hall Tommet Annie from BrainPop! Then Tom heard,“DROID!” and he was off to his next class, gym.#Jamie Landis is a fourth grade student atChurchill School in NYC.Part 2 will be continued online at www.educationupdate.com.

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools 19My College — My FutureNYSCASASSOCIATE’S AND BACHELOR’S DEGREES:Business Management and Administration • Human Services • Psychology • Education • BiologySocial Sciences • Computer Science • Desktop and Web Publishing • Liberal Arts and Sciences** also in conjunction with the School of Health Sciencesnot all programs can be completed at all sitesAssociate in Science in PARALEGAL STUDIES877.369.7227 x1043BACHELOR OF SCIENCE/DOCTOR OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINESCIENCE HONORS TRACK 212.463.0400 x5440a 7 year track leading to B.S. and D.O. Degrees at NYSCAS divisionof Touro College and Touro College of Osteopathic MedicineCERTIFICATE PROGRAMS:• DMX—Digital Media Arts | 212.463.0400 x5588• Desktop and Web Publishing | 718.336.6471 x30119Other Professional Opportunities: Pre-Law, Pre-Medical, Pre-DentalMANHATTAN: 212.463.0400 x5500 Midtown212.722.1575 x101 UptownBROOKLYN: 718.265.6534 x1003Bensonhurst, Kings Highway, Flatbush,Brighton, Starrett City, Sunset ParkQUEENS: 718.520.5107 Forest Hills718.353.6400 x107 Flushingwww.touro.edu/nyscasTouro College is an equal opportunity institution

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools 21Arthur Levine Attends ISAevent in NYCBy Jennifer MacGregorAccording to Dr. Gerry House, president ofthe Institute for Student Achievement (ISA),“the organization’s mission is to help transformpublic high schools so that studentswho are traditionally underserved and underperforming,graduate prepared for successin college.”Among the honorees this year were Dr.Arthur Levine, president of the WoodrowWilson Foundation and president emeritusof Teachers College, Columbia Universitywho enabled inner city young people to haveincreased access to higher education. His ownInterview with Prof. Kenneth WongPart IIBROWN UNIVERSITYroots in the Bronx, New York prompted himto revisit his original apartment and write abook about the occupants and the community.He arranged for one young man in thepredominantly Latino community to get a jobat Teachers College (TC) in the admissionsoffice. Now five years later, that student is stillworking successfully at TC.Other honorees were Kathryn Chenault,Esq.; Lutricia Edward, VP of Citi CommunityDevelopment; Daniel Leeds, president of TheNational Public Education Support Fund;and Phyllis Slater, president of The HillSlater Group. #By Gillian GranoffThe Obama administration established innovationgrants and improvement grants to affectchange on state and local levels. The administrationhas also focused on selecting a new cropof teachers and providing new research and datato evaluate charter school performance.The allocation of education resources, theintrinsic bias in standardized tests, and inefficientresource allocation to poorer communitieshave contributed to widening these achievementgaps. But the system is adapting. Programs likeTeach for America, and its local offspring, theNew York Teaching Programs [inaugurated byFormer School Chancellor Joel Klein], havebeen influential in helping to bridge thesegaps. The goal of these programs has been toempower underperforming schools with theteachers and the tools to deliver a higher qualityof education. These programs place newlygraduated teachers in failing schools locatedin disadvantaged neighborhoods and providethem with mentors, who can train them over atwo-year period, and challenge them to reach ahigher level.Wong sees a correlative relationship betweenthe improvement of test scores and higher ratesof high school graduation and college graduation.As the director of the Masters programin Urban Policy, Wong strives to cultivate acommunity of leaders who will go on to play ameaningful role in shaping school reform andcreating school policy.Wong’s goal has been to graduate a communityof leaders who will become policy experts,consultants and leading researchers in the field.Recent graduates of the program have gone onto work in think tanks throughout the country,create charter schools and as policy experts ineducation non-profits throughout the world.Wong is trying to develop more globalexchange opportunities among teachers in differentcountries. He developed an internationalexchange program with China, hoping to broadentheir understanding of how to integrate principlesof diversity and democratic principles intheir curricula. The exchange program teachesthe history of Brown v. Board of Education andgives them the knowledge and skills to integratethese lessons in their curricula when they returnto China. He hopes to instill these democraticvalues and multicultural strategies of educationin foreign teachers to motivate them to usetechniques in their home country. “I want tocreate global and state agents who have the skillsets to analyze data and use social science data,manage and design schools and work to recruittalented teachers more effectively.”Wong and other professors have collaboratedon research for the Annenberg Institute atBrown to provide consulting services to schoolsthroughout the country on issues of schoolchoice, reform, and the role of charter schools.The Choices for the 21st Century EducationProgram is a national education initiative developedat Brown University’s Watson Institutefor International Studies. The Choices Programprovides teaching resources on historical andcurrent international issues, offers professionaldevelopment for classroom teachers, and sponsorsprograms that engage students beyondthe classroom.Wong explains that the challenge schoolreformers face today is creating change ina climate where tenured, unionized teachersand administrators are reluctant to embraceinnovative teaching methods and new schoolpolicies that may threaten their job security. Tomeet this challenge, mediators are needed tohelp bridge the dialogue between traditionalistsand reformers.Programs like Teach for America and theNew York City Teaching Fellows program haveprovided a tool to train new teachers to go intothe most underperforming school in the poorestneighborhoods to help raise the standardsand challenge the low expectations of studentachievement in these communities. #The Association ofGoverning Boards StressesEducational QualityCUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein on panel(L-R) CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, Tori Haring-Smith & Mark EpsteinBy Mohammad IbrarThe Association of Governing Boards (AGB)of Universities and Colleges held their NewYork Regional Meeting recently, addressingthe board’s responsibility for the oversight ofeducational quality. Panelists discussed howboards can take on issues affecting academicquality without overstepping the rights of facultyand academic administrators.The AGB responded to multiple factors currentlyaffecting educational quality at highereducation institutes. Peter Eckel, vice presidentof governance and leadership programs atthe AGB, initiated the meeting by providingeducators, chairmen, college presidents andguests with numerous statistics that illustratedthe problems and changes plaguing highereducation.A majority of the data presented stressedthe amount of federal support colleges anduniversities are receiving. In the last decade,federal support for colleges and universitieshas increased by $125 billion, according to theAmerican Council on Education. Despite theincrease in funding, recent college graduatesare earning a lot less than they expected orthey are working outside their area of interest.When asked about the current job market,Chancellor Goldstein indicated that a studywas currently being conducted by CUNYindicating where the greatest demand for jobsare today. Additionally, studies conducted bythe Organization for Economic Cooperationand Development (OECD) depicted that thepercentage of adults aged 25-34 with a graduatedegree in the United States is less than thepercentage in Canada, Korea and Japan, instillingthe message that American education hasfallen behind the rest of the world. All of theinformation presented bolstered pressure forgoverning boards’ accountability for ensuringeducational quality.The panelists introduced relevant topics suchas productivity and efficiency, student learningoutcomes assessment and effective relationswith faculty and academic administrators.The panelists included Matthew Goldstein,chancellor of the City University of NewYork; Mark Epstein, chairman of the Board atCooper Union; Tori Haring-Smith, presidentof Washington and Jefferson College and PeterEckel as the moderator.They discussed how members of boards attheir meetings spoke at greater length on fiduciarymatters than academic issues. All threepanelists agreed that one of the difficultiesof talking about academic quality was due tothe questionable validity and accuracy of currentmeasures of student learning outcomes.President Smith said, “It becomes difficult tomeasure student quality. It makes the boardand faculty uncomfortable, because how doyou measure quality?” Epstein believes thesolution to the boards’ distance and disabilityto communicate effectively on academicissues is due to the boards’ composition. “Itneeds to be comprised of more academic-basedindividuals who will push and focus on theeducational sector and educational quality,”Epstein said.Based on the two recent works by the AGB,the board has ultimate responsibility for theworth of the institution’s product, i.e., its education,and not only the financial health andfiscal integrity of the institution. The qualityof teaching and learning is a responsibility thatis delegated to the board; it is the faculty andadministration’s job to implement it. Boardmembers, college and university presidentsand faculty realize that effective board engagementin academic aspects is imperative for anyinstitution to succeed. #

22 COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012by dean alfred posamentier,mercy collegeIn our classrooms we are not concerned abouta number’s mystical connections; our interestin numbers is purely mathematical. Yet, insome societies for curious reasons some numberssymbolize good luck and others bad luck.For example, an inordinate number of childrenwere born in China on August 8, 2008, andover 17,000 couples were married in Beijingon that date. It was also the date on which the29th Summer Olympics opened in Beijing at8:08:08 PM. Why that date? For the Chinese,8 is a lucky number and that date can be writtenas 08-08-08. What makes 8 so special is openfor interpretation. Mathematically speaking, 8is a perfect cube: 8=2 3 ; 8 is the only cube thatis one less than a perfect square, 9. Also, 8, thesixth Fibonacci number, is the only Fibonaccinumber (other than 1) that is a perfect cube.On the other hand, the number 666, popularlyknown through its biblical association, is oftenreferred to as the “number of the beast,” andsignifies bad luck omens. Yet, again, we areonly concerned about this number’s mathematicalproperties, many of which are quite amazing.To begin with, the number 666 is obviouslya palindrome – that is, it is a number that readsthe same in both directions. Yet, if we were towrite this number in Roman numerals – 666 =DCLXVI 1 – we find that all the numerals lessthan 1,000 are used and in descending order!The number 666 just happens to be the sumof the first 36 numbers:1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+•••30+31+32+33+34+35+36=666Not only is the sum 666, but, since the sumof initial consecutive natural numbers 2 alwaysyields a triangular number 3 , 666 is a triangularnumber. Surely, we know that 36 is a squarenumber (that is, 62 ). Therefore, for 666, wecan say that a square number of initial naturalnumbers has given us a triangular number.To further demonstrate the uniqueness ofthe number 666, consider the first seven primenumbers 4 :2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17. If we take the square ofeach of them and then find their sum, yes, wearrive at 666.2 2 + 3 2 +5 2 +7 2 +11 2 +13 2 +17 2 = 4 + 9 + 25 +49 + 121 + 169 + 289 = 666.Another amazing fact about this strangenumber, 666, is that the sum of its digits (6 +6 + 6) is equal to the sum of the digits of itsprime factors. That is, since we have in primefactored form, 666 = 2•3•3•37, the sum of thedigits, 2 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 7 = 6 + 6 + 6.It is also curious that the sum of two consecutivepalindromic 5 prime numbers, 313 + 353, isequal to 666.The number 666 is equal to the sum of thedigits of its 47th power, and is also equal tothe sum of the digits of its 51st power. That is,The DEAN’S COLUMN: Mercy collegeProviding Mathematics Entertainment as Enrichment:A Most Unusual Number66647=504996968442079675317314879840556477294151629526540818811763266893654044661603306865302888989271885967029756328621959466590473394585666651=993540757591385940334263511341295980723858637469431008997120691313460713282967582530234558214918480960748972838900637634215694097683599029436416You can check this by finding that the sum ofthe digits of each of the above large numbers isequal to 666.The number 666 is equal to the sum of thecubes of the digits of its square, plus the digitsof its cube. This means that if we find thesquare and the cube of 666:6662 = 4435566663 = 295408296And then take the sum of the cubes of thedigits of the square of 666: 43 + 43 + 33 + 53+ 53 + 63 = 621, and add it to the sum of thedigits of cube of 666: 2 + 9 + 5 + 4 + 0 + 8 +2 + 9 + 6 = 45We then get 621 + 45 = 666.Another peculiarity of 666 is that if weconsider the prime factors of each of the twoconsecutive numbers:20,772,199 and 20,772,200, each of the sumsof their prime factors is 666. That is:20,772199 = 7 • 41 • 157 • 461 → 7 + 41 +157 + 461 = 66620,772,200 = 2 • 2 • 2 • 5 • 5 • 283 • 367 →2 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 5 + 283 + 367 = 666A strange occurrence of the number 666 iswhen we try to insert + signs into the sequenceof numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.Here are two ways to do it:1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 567 + 89 = 666,or 123 + 456 + 78 + 9 = 666.If we consider the reverse sequence, 9, 8, 7,6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, we can do it as follows: 9 + 87+ 6 + 543 + 21 = 666.The value of p is known to about 1.24 trillionplaces, where the decimal digits followno discernable pattern 6 . Yet, strangely enough,when you take the sum of the first 144 decimalplaces 7 you find it to be 666.p ≈ 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359.The sum of the digits is: 1+4+1+5+9+2+6+5+3+5+8+9+7+9+3+2+3+8+4+6+2+6+4+3+3+8+3+2+7+9+5+0+2+8+8+4+1+9+7+1+6+9+3+9+9+3+7+5+1+0+5+8+2+0+9+7+4+9+4+4+5+9+2+3+0+7+8+1+6+4+0+6+2+8+6+2+0+8+9+9+8+6+2+8+0+3+4+8+2+5+3+4+2+1+1+7+0+6+7+9+8+2+1+4+8+0+8+6+5+1+3+2+8+2+3+0+6+6+4+7+0+9+3+8+4+4+6+0+9+5+5+0+5+8+2+2+3+1+7+2+5+3+5+9 = 666.This remarkable – and sometimes “unlucky”– number seems to almost have a boundlessarray of number “coincidences” embeddedwithin, such as that the sum of the numbers ona roulette wheel is 666.Here are a few delectable number relationships,which lead to the 666:666 = 1 6 – 2 6 + 3 6666 = (6 + 6 + 6) + (6 3 + 6 3 + 6 3 )666 = (6 4 + 6 4 + 6 4 ) - (6 3 + 6 3 + 6 3 ) + (6 +6 + 6)666 = 5 3 + 6 3 + 7 3 – (6 + 6 + 6)666 = 2 1 • 3 2 + 2 3 • 3 4We can even generate 666 by representingeach of its three digits in terms of 1, 2, and 3.6 = 1 + 2 + 36 = 1•2•36 = √1 3 + 2 3 + 3 3Therefore, 666 = (100) (1+2+3) + (10)(1•2•3) + (√1 3 + 2 3 + 3 3 )The number 666 is also related to theFibonacci Numbers 8 is in a variety of ways.Consider the following, where F nis the nthFibonacci number:F 1– F 9+ F 11+ F 15= 1 – 34 +89 +610 = 666and when you inspect the subscripts, you get:1 – 9 + 11 + 15 = 6 + 6 + 6Similarly for the cubes of the Fibonaccinumbers:F 1– F 9+ F 11+ F 15= 1 – 34 +89 +610 = 666and when you inspect the subscripts, you get:1 – 9 + 11 + 15 = 6 + 6 + 6F 13+ F 23+ F 43+ F 53+ F 63= 1 + 1 + 27 + 125+512 = 666And now the subscripts give us:1+2+4+5+6=6+6+6.Our fascination with the number 666 is justdone to exhibit the beauty that lies in muchof mathematics. Considering the recreationalaspect of mathematics is a nice by-product ofthe importance it has in all of scientific explorationand discoveries.Dr. Alfred Posamentier is dean of the Schoolof Education and professor of mathematicseducation at Mercy College. He is a memberof the New York State Mathematics StandardsCommittee, and has authored over 45 mathematicsbooks, including: MathematicalAmazements and Surprises (Prometheus,2009), Math Wonders to Inspire Teachers andStudents (ASCD, 2003), and The FabulousFibonacci Numbers (Prometheus, 2007).1. D = 500, C = 100, L = 50, X = 10, V =5, I = 12. Natural numbers are simply our countingnumbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …3. For example:1=11+2=31+2+3=61+2+3+4=101+2+3+4+5=151+2+3+4+5+6=21which are all triangular numbers, that is,numbers that can represent the number of dotsthat can be arranged in the form of an equilateraltriangle.Triangular numbers will be investigated ingreater detail beginning on page 000.4. A prime number is a number (other than 0or ± 1) that is divisible only by itself and 1. Onecan also say that a prime number is a numberwith exactly two divisors.5. Palindromic numbers are those that can beread the same in both directions. They will bepresented beginning on page 000.6. See A. S. Posamentier, and I. Lehmann π:A Biography of the World’s Most MysteriousNumber (Prometheus, 2004).7. We refer here to the numerals after thedecimal point.8. The Fibonacci Numbers are: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5,8, 13, 21, 34, 55, …, where each succeedingterm is the sum of the previous ones. See A.S. Posamentier, and I. Lehmann The FabulousFibonacci Numbers (Prometheus, 2007).Bank Street Gala Honors CharlotteFrank and Yolanda Ferrell-BrownPresident Elizabeth Dickey of BankStreet College, a leader in education,recently saluted Dr. Charlotte Frank,senior vice-president of McGraw-Hill andhonored Yolanda Ferrell-Brown, presidentof Ferrell-Brown Design and a collegetrustee. Speaking at the podium and extollingthe achievements of the honorees wereHunter College Dean David Steiner andDick Parsons, formerly chair of Citigroupand Time-Warner. Among the guests thatcame to pay tribute were Charlynne Goins,Esq., Dr. Warren Goins, Sue Kaplan andBank Street Dean Fern Khan. #Yolanda Ferrell-Brown

Photography InnovatorCindy ShermanBy Jan AaronAll of us fuss about our hair, makeup, hemlines,and home décor. But few are as compellingas artist Cindy Sherman. In her 170-work retrospective at the Museum of ModernArt, she astonishes with unforgettable images.Sherman, aided by wigs, makeup techniques,props, masks, and occasionally prosthetic bodyparts, uses herself to express various stereotypes:B-movie queens, Palm Beach snobs:fashion victims, and old masterpieces. Whatis she saying about women by playing thesemultiple roles? She once explained her workas feminist or feminist influenced. She worksalone so everything she puts on canvas is herdeliberate choice.Sherman, who was born in New Jersey in1954 and grew up on Long Island, is rightlylauded by MoMA as “the unchallenged cornerstoneof postmodern photography.” So, thisretrospective is a deserved tribute to her workand shows how she has produced unique worksthat surprise year-after-year. In their artistry,Sherman’s photographs trick us into identifyingwith the character she portrays and theirpainstakingly recreated worlds she creates untilMAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ Music, art & DanceDr. Tamara Freeman: Teachingthe Holocaust with MusicBy Lisa K. WinklerIf the viola Dr. Tamara Freeman plays couldspeak, perhaps it would tell us the name of theoriginal owner, a young Polish woman who perishedin the Holocaust. Her gentileneighbor rescued the viola, a 1935Joseph Bausch, from the woman’sapartment, protected it throughoutthe war, hoping to reunite it withits owner. When the woman neverreturned, this neighbor sent theinstrument to the United States, tothe home of the owner’s sister, whohad escaped before the war.Finding this viola on a routinevisit to a bow maker to repair her violin andviola strings, Freeman knew this instrumentwas “her lucky break” that would help her gainthe trust of the survivors she’d been tryingto meet.When New Jersey mandated that all schoolsinclude Holocaust education in their curriculumsin 1994, Freeman volunteered to attendworkshops to obtain materials and lessonsfor her school district. While she gatheredinformation for teachers of all disciplines, shebecame particularly fascinated with the musicand songs that pervaded the period and becamesymbols of survival.“I realized this music had a lot of charactereducation lessons that needed to be told. Thesheet music and songs described a spiritualresistance. They evoke loss and longing andhelp us understand what was happening historicallyduring that time,” Freeman said.you make them part of yourlife, not hers.Curated by Eva Respiniwith Lucy Gallun, theSherman MoMA story is told in galleriesdevoted to individual subjects, starting with“Untitled Film Stills” and ending with therecent searing society portraits of women ofa certain age. Her huge gaudy clown portraitsblaze from walls in three galleries. Sherman’smost recent works at the show’s entrance areoutsized murals of the artist without make-upand in badly tailored costumes.In my favorite gallery” History Paintings”there’s Sherman as playful Bacchus as paintedby Caravaggio. The very last gallery, “DollClothes” is charming. Created with loopedanimation, here paper doll Cindy, flips throughvarious fashions until she decides on the outfitshe dons. (MOMA, 11 W. 53rd St. 212-708-9400)Also, women are in glorious fashions dancingwith male companions in a beautiful, smallRenoir Show at the Frick. But hurry. Theywaltz away May 13. (Frick 1 East 70th St. 212-288-0700)She found some resources of music, mostlyfolk songs, from the ghettos and the concentrationcamps. Yet finding no specific curriculumdevoted to bringing this music into schools,Freeman decided to create one,resulting in her earning a Ph.D.in 2007 from Rutgers University’sarts conservatory, the Mason GrossSchool of the Arts. Her dissertation,“Using Holocaust Musicto Encourage Racial Respect: AnInterdisciplinary Curriculum forGrades K-12” is aligned with thestate’s requirements.Freeman interviewed 24Holocaust survivors as part of her research. Atfirst, many were reluctant to share their experiencesuntil she played songs they rememberedon the rescued viola. “They would sing along;their eyes would fill with tears. They were sograteful someone respected their music, knewthe composers, and understood the importanceof sharing this with the world,” Freeman said.Given that only five states mandateHolocaust education — New York, New Jersey,Connecticut, Florida, and California — shebelieves there’s much work to be done ensuringthe lessons of the Holocaust aren’t lost. #Contact: http://holocaustmusic.orgDeveloping Skills of Imagination, Creativity, and InnovationInternational Educator WorkshopJuly 9–13 and July 16–20, 2012 | New York CityMOVIE REVIEW23Summer 2012Hands-on professional development in arts education from the world’sleading performing arts center. Enhance student learning through thearts, using Lincoln Center Institute’s practical philosophy and provenmethod.Open to educators, administrators, and artists working in any subjectarea and at any grade level.Mark BussellLCI8880_Ed_UpdateAd.indd 1Register today:LCInstitute.org/workshops-and-courses212.875.5535 lcireg@lincolncenter.orgJane Hoffer4/20/12 2:02 PMWhen the 3 R’s Fail toTeach: ‘Monsieur Lazhar’By Jan AaronWriter-director’s Philippe Falardeau’sMonsieur Lazhar, the French-Canadian filmthat was a nominee for this year’s foreign languageOscar, belongs in the general category ofteacher-student movies. But it’s not the usualuplifting tribute to the transformative power ofeducation. It’s a thoughtful, sometimes painfulexamination of the possibilities and restrictionsof the teacher-student relationship. Themain character, Bachir Lazhar (the Algerianactor-writer Mohamed Fellag), who steps in toteach a Montreal Middle school class after theirbeloved teacher commits suicide, is no motivationalactivist, but a soft-spoken rather courtlychap, who has a problem adjusting to needs andexpectations of today’s youngsters. He tries toget the kids to transcribe from Balzac, whenthey’re at the Jack London level; when a studentacts up, he casually cuffs the side of his head.Quickly, the dedicated, but exhausted principal(Danielle Proulx), cues Lazhar into the“The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world,but they may be able to change human beings whomight change the world.” —Maxine Greenecustoms of contemporary education: “no touchingunder any circumstances.” Not even a congratulatoryhug. And, above all, any mentionof Martine, the dead teacher, is to be avoided,except during periodic visits from the overbearinglysoothing school psychologist.Of course, it takes more sugary reassurance tohandle the children’s grief and confusion, andthe classroom remains haunted by Martine’ssuicide, who in an startling opening scene, isdiscovered hanging in the schoolroom by analready-disturbed boy named Simon (EmilienNeron) and another student Alice (SophieNelisse),who also saw the body, repeatedlybrings up the teacher’s death in the classroom.In one of several movie moments that catchthe viewer off-guard Alice’s oral presentationfor the class about her school starts outpleasantly until she starts talking about herdead teacher. In another, we discover Simonsecretly carries a photo of Martine with him.Then, there’s Lazhar’s story: He’s mourninghis own losses, in a private but no less painfulway. He finally gives way to his grief andso will you. But when you leave the film youwon’t feel down. If the movie has a messageit’s this: That even life’s most searing woundssometimes heal. #

24 COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012Roosevelt House at Hunter CollegeHolds Presidential Leadership ConferenceBy Sybil MaiminAt a symposium on presidential leadership atHunter College’s Roosevelt House, Randall B.Woods, professor of history at the Universityof Arkansas, described LBJ as “the educationpresident.” Wood explained, “Everyone claimsthe title,” but passage of The Education Act of1965, makes LBJ the clear winner. Confirmingthis assessment, LBJ’s daughter, Lucy BainesJohnson, revealed that at the opening of the LBJPresidential Library in 1971, the first documentthe ex-president examined was The EducationAct despite expectations he would showcasethe Civil Rights bill. Explaining his choice toher, he said, “If you don’t get the educationyou deserve you won’t fulfill your full potential”and that, she said, “was the core of all hisdreams for The Great Society.”Lyndon Baines Johnson, thirty-sixth presidentof the United States (1963-69), is identifiedwith “The Great Society” and “The Waron Poverty.” Groundbreaking legislation inhis administration included the Civil RightsAct of 1964, Medicare and Medicaid, HeadStart, School Breakfast and Lunch programs,Community Health Clinics, Voting Rights Act,Fair Housing Act, and the Elementary andSecondary Education Act. Despite these politicalsuccesses, at his core, LBJ was a teacher.Born in the rolling Hill Country of Texas, heattended Southwest Texas Teachers Collegeand, while still studying there, got his first job,instructing poor Mexican-American children ina school in Cottula, Texas.After graduating in 1930, he taught highschool in Houston before being lured toWashington, D.C.as legislative assistantto a politicianhe admired. Deeplyattached to Texas andthe area of his birth,he never forgot thedirt-poor children hetaught and the inequitiesthey faced. At thesigning of the mostsignificant educationlegislation in US history,the Elementary andSecondary Education Actof 1965, which funds programsto assist low-incomechildren and reduceachievement gaps, he said,“I never thought I wouldhave a chance to help. NowI do. I have that chance andI’m going to use it.” Hewas determined that equalitybe a “fact,” not just “aright or a theory.”Are LBJ’s goals beingmet? A distinguished panelfrom the field assessed theDr. James Comer‘‘If you don’t get theeducation you deserveyou won’t fulfill yourfull potential.”current state of education and found it wanting.Patricia Albjerg Graham, a professor ofthe History of American Education Emeritaat Harvard, explained that the 1960s was adecade of high birth rates, overcrowded schools,shortages of teachers, and debates and fearsover progressivism in a society that had operatedunder “race, religion,and rules.” LBJunderstood the needfor reforms and usedhis political skillsand strategy of sendingmoney directlyto needy districts toget his bill passed.Teachers today areDean David Steiner inadequate, saidGraham. “Many don’thave a clear idea ofwhat school is for.”They lack the neededpassion for learning, andare often poorly educatedthemselves; “Theweakest college graduatesare hired as teachers.We need to changethat.” Graham supportsresearch and measurementsto “informreforms” and come upwith ideas for improvingeducation.James P. Comer,M.D., professor of ChildPsychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center,confessed that hearing Johnson give his GreatSociety speech changed his life. He went intochild psychiatry to make a difference for poorchildren who, he believes, are “not ready, underdeveloped,and unprepared” for school and“teachers and administrators are unprepared to– Lyndon Baines JohnsonThat quote was the core of allhis dreams for The Great Society.Lucy Baines Johnson, Pres.Johnson’s daughterCitigroup’s Parsons Speaks at KossoffLecture Series at Baruch Collegeteach underdeveloped students.” The centralityof whole child development to educationis not recognized, he asserts. “Today it is allabout curriculum … and kids, parents, andthe community are paying the price.” Whileacknowledging the many paths to good education,Comer emphasized the centrality of developmentand connections between teachers andstudents, a “known factor that is being ignoredby reformers.”David Steiner, dean of the School ofEducation at Hunter College and former NYState Commissioner of Education, reported theperformance gap between wealthy and poorstudents has increased by 40 percent since 1960,fed by an “extraordinary difference in amount ofresources” spent on education in rich and poordistricts. He believes you “cannot hide fromthese truths” and, while controversial, accountabilityis a vital step to improvement. Thechallenge is separating “the diagnosis from thecure”; accountability must not be based on fear.He suggests bringing teachers, administrators,researchers and other concerned peopletogether to work on changes school by school.Teamwork is essential. Steiner asserts we doknow something about improving schools. Mostfunding goes to underperforming schools and,while it has flaws such as taking money fromcritical pre-K programs, the Race to the Top(recipient of LBJ’s Education Act funds) is“helping to produce better schools.” Educationhistorian Graham sees “a ray of hope.” IfJohnson got his Education Bill through, thanperhaps we, too, can come up with new ideasand necessary reforms. #Baruch College, under the able leadership ofPresident Mitchel Wallerstein, holds the prestigiousannual Kosoff Lecture Series, namedafter alumnus Burton Kosoff and endowed byhis wife, Phyllis L. Kosoff in 2003. RecentlyCitigroup Board Chairman Richard D. Parsonsspoke to an overflow crowd of business leaders,students and faculty as part of the BurtonKossoff Business Leadership Lecture Series.Parsons participated in a conversation moderatedby David Birdsell, Dean of the School ofPublic Affairs, at Baruch College.Parsons is a Senior Advisor at ProvidenceEquity Partners, Inc., a leading private equityinvestment firm specializing in media, communicationsand information companies. He isalso Chairman of the Board of Citigroup, Inc.Prior to serving in those roles, Parsons wasthe Chairman of the Board and CEO of TimeWarner, Inc., the world’s largest media andentertainment company, from 2002 to 2008.In its January 2005 report on America’s BestJerry SpeierPhyllis Kossoff and Richard ParsonsCEOs, Institutional Investor magazine namedParsons the top CEO in the entertainmentindustry. In 2008, Parsons served as a memberof then President-Elect Barack Obama’sEconomic Transition Team. His other civicand non-profit commitments include ChairmanEmeritus of the Partnership for New York City;Chairman of the Apollo Theatre Foundation andof the Jazz Foundation of America, and serviceon the boards of the Museum of Modern Artand the American Museum of Natural History.Parsons is also a member of the boards of theEstee Lauder Companies, Inc. and MadisonSquare Garden, Inc.Phyllis L. Kossoff created the BurtonKossoff Business Leadership Lecture Seriesin August 2003 in memory of her beloved husbandand his commitment to his alma mater.Each year, the lecture series invites prominentbusiness leaders to share their perspectiveson the most pressing issues in business. Mr.Burton Kossoff ’46, was a graduate of BaruchCollege and an inaugural member of theBaruch College Fund, serving as a trustee from1970 to 1990. As a Baruch student, Mr. Kossoffwas a member of the Sigma Alpha and BetaGamma Sigma business honor society, a memberof the Spanish Club, Vice president of theVeterans Club, a staff member of The Tickercollege newspaper and the Lexicon yearbook.During his tenure on the Board of Trustees,he served as secretary and as a member of theExecutive and Minority Business committees.In 1946, Kossoff received Baruch’s prestigiousMonroe D. Franklin Award to a returningveteran, in recognition of his scholarship,integrity and heroic service to his country.Mr. Kossoff was committed to public service,also serving in leadership roles with the YoungPresidents Organization and Business Men’sClub of the YMCA, the American Legion,New York Athletic Club, Inner City HandballAssociation, Temple Emmanu-El, and ParkAvenue Synagogue.When Parsons was asked what the optimalage at which to start learning about financeswas, he immediately replied, elementaryschool. He recalled vividly the bankbook hehad as a second grader and how he had saveddimes and quarters each week until, by theend of sixth grade, he had saved the seemingfortune of ninety-six dollars.#

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools 25President Barack ObamaTo Receive BarnardCollege Medal of DistinctionInterview with SVAPresident David RhodesPart IIJudge Judith Kaye DeliversKeynote Address At Touro CollegeJudge Judith Kaye, former Chief Judge ofthe State of New York, will be the keynotespeaker at the Touro College Division ofGraduate Studies commencement ceremoniesto be held on June 4 at Lincoln Center’s AveryFisher Hall.Currently Of Counsel to the prestigious NewYork-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate,Meagher & Flom, Judge Kaye served in theNew York State Judiciary for more than 25years, appointed in 1983 by Governor MarioCuomo as Associate Judge of the Court ofAppeals, the state’s highest court, and thenin 1993 as Chief Judge of the State of NewYork. She is the first woman to be appointed toeither position. During her tenure, she gained anational reputation for both her groundbreakingdecisions and her innovative reforms of thestate’s court system. She is a graduate of NewYork University School of Law (cum laude)and Barnard College.Judge Kaye will address over 2,000 candidatesfrom six of Touro’s graduate schools thatare part of the Division of Graduate Studies:business, Jewish Studies, education, psychology,social work, and technology.Other highlights of commencement seasoninclude the inaugural commencement of theTouro College of Pharmacy in Harlem at theNew York Academy of Medicine (NYAM).President Barack H. Obama will deliverthe keynote address at Barnard College’s120th Commencement ceremony on ColumbiaUniversity’s South Lawn. He will addressapproximately 600 members of the Classof 2012 and receive the Barnard Medal ofDistinction, the College’s highest honor. “Thisis an extraordinary honor for Barnard, andwe are thrilled to welcome President Obamafor this important moment in the lives of ourgraduates and their families,” said BarnardPresident Debora L. Spar. “His commitmentto empowering women is so meaningful to ourstudents, who aspire to lead and make theirmark on the world. No doubt, the President’swords will make this year’s Commencementtruly unforgettable.”University President Lee C. Bollinger said,“All of us can be proud that President Obama,the first Columbia graduate to serve in thenation’s highest office, has chosen to honor theimportance of women’s leadership by returningto campus at our historic sister liberal arts collegefor women in New York.”President Spar will preside over theCommencement ceremony, confer the BarnardMedals of Distinction, present the degree candidates,and address the Class of 2012, theirfamily and friends, and faculty, staff and guestsof Barnard.The graduates will also hear from JolyneCaruso-FitzGerald ‘81, chair of the BarnardBoard of Trustees and CEO of the AlberleenGroup. Helene D. Gayle ‘76, president andCEO of CARE USA; Evan Wolfson, founderand president of Freedom to Marry; and SallyChapman, Barnard professor of chemistry, willreceive Barnard Medals of Distinction. #Sixty-three Doctor of Pharmacy candidates willreceive their degrees. Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D.,president of the NYAM and Professor of PublicService, Health Policy and Management at theRobert F. Wagner Graduate School of PublicService will give the commencement address.Dr. Boufford formerly served at the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services andas the U.S. representative to the World HealthOrganization. She received her B.A. magnacum laude from the University of Michiganand received her M.D. with distinction from theUniversity of Michigan medical school.Also in Harlem the Touro College ofOsteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM), will holdits second commencement, presenting candidatesfor 131 doctor of osteopathic medicinedegrees at the famed Apollo Theatre inHarlem. Addressing the graduates will be Dr.Martin Levine, DO, president of the AmericanOsteopathic Association (AOA) and a facultymember at TouroCOM. Civil rights activistDr. Hazel N. Dukes, former president ofthe National Association for the Advancementof Colored People (NAAACP) and currentlypresident of the NAACP New York StateConference, will receive an honorary doctorate,following an introduction from the Rev. AlSharpton, civil rights activist and television andradio talk show host.Transcribed by Mohammad IbrarOn June 10, also at Avery Fisher Hall,Lincoln Center, approximately 700 baccalaureateand associate degree candidates will bepresented at the 38th annual commencement ofeight of Touro’s schools dedicated to enhancingthe Jewish heritage: Lander College of Artsand Sciences – Flatbush; Lander College forMen (LCM) in Queens; Lander College forWomen – The Anna Ruth and Mark HastenSchool (LCW) in Manhattan; the School forLifelong Education in Brooklyn; MachonL’Parnasa-Institute for Professional Studies,Dr. Pola Rosen (PR): Where are some ofyour successful graduates today? What kinds ofjobs were they able to acquire?David Rhodes (DR): Some of the mostinteresting jobs have come out of the brandingprogram, which is our version of a Master’sprogram in advertising. Students have beenemployed at 3M, Proctor and Gamble and others.They are landing jobs that are paying sixfigures, right out of school. They make sure thatthe value invested in the brand is maximized.They come up with strategies for putting thebrand in front of the public so that it makesa lasting impression. They will design campaigns,what goes into the campaigns, whateverneeds to be done to promote the brand.PR: What is the most popular major?DR: The largest major is graphic design atthe undergraduate level followed closely byphotography.PR: Are there job opportunities available forthese students?DR: We have been finding that there areopportunities available, particularly in design,because it is a very robust industry as it continuesto grow in the city. Photography is in aninteresting period: magazines are closing down,but websites are expanding. Illustration is influx, because it is going through a difficult period.Art directors are using more photographyrather than illustration. So, students are creatingtheir own books. We had a retrospective showfor our MFA students about three years ago andapproximately half of the students had theirbooks published. So they have taken the coreelement of the program and taken it one stepfurther — publishing their works commercially.PR: What is the role of interdisciplinary studiesat SVA?DR: Here students choose a major uponentry, whether at a graduate or undergraduatelevel. They become immersed in a discipline,and if they would like to move out of the discipline,it can be done, but most students don’tdo that. They would rather fully engage themselvesinto their study, than rather move fromone discipline to another.PR: What about study abroad programs andinternational students at SVA? Does such aninterchange exist?DR: Twenty-two percent of the undergraduatestudents are international and thirty-twopercent are graduate students. At the sametime, we run a series of student exchange programswith institutions abroad; a certain numberof students study abroad for a term and theircounterparts study at SVA for a term, usuallystudents in the junior year. SVA runs a seriesof summer programs at Barcelona, Florence,Shanghai, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua. We generallyuse our own faculty and also hire localfaculty to conduct different study abroad programs.We collaborate with institutions abroadto use their facilities.PR: Some of the areas you have expandedare the theater and the writing program on criticism.Can you elaborate?DR: Yes, we have two programs with a thirdone coming up: an MFA program on literarycriticism, a two-year program on design criticismand a one-year program on critical theoryin the arts. In the fall of 2012, we will be introducinga product design program and designfor social innovation. Additionally, SVA hoststhe Dusty Awards for outstanding projects atSVA [named after President Rhodes’ father, thefounder of the school].President Rhodes’ office is filled with photographsfrom his travels around the worldincluding underwater photography. A greatsea turtle adorns one wall, while his encounterwith a walrus that almost overturned his kayakhangs on another. #also in Brooklyn; Touro College Los Angelesand Touro College South in Miami.By the end of the 2012 commencement season,the Touro College and University System isexpected to have awarded approximately 6,000doctor of philosophy, doctor of osteopathicmedicine, doctor of pharmacy, juris doctor,master’s, baccalaureate and associate degreesto students from its 32 schools and collegeslocated in the U.S. and around the world. #For further information on Touro College, goto: http://www.touro.edu/media/.

Education 26 Update Graduate AdCOLLEGES2012_Layout 1 5/4/12 12:33& GRADuatePM Page 1Schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012Borough President Diaz, MercyCollege & Truman HS Form TheGRADUATE STUDIESBronx Achievement PactCOLLEGE OF STATEN ISLANDCREATING LEADERS, CHANGING LIVESMASTER OF ARTS AND SCIENCEBiology (MS)Business Management (MS)Cinema and Media Studies (MA)Computer Science (MS)Education (MSEd)• Childhood Education• Adolescence (Biology, English,Mathematics, and Social Studies)• Special EducationEnglish (MA)Environmental Science (MS)History (MA)Liberal Studies (MA)Mental Health Counseling (MA)Neuroscience, Mental Retardation,andDevelopmental Disabilities (MS)Nursing (MS)• Adult Health• Gerontological718.982.2019masterit@csi.cuny.eduwww.csi.cuny.edu/graduatestudiesPOST-MASTER’S AND ADVANCED CERTIFICATESLeadership in Education (Post-Master’s)• School Building Leader• School District Leader• School Building Leader andSchool District Leader (Dual Certificate)Nursing (Post-Master’s)• Adult Health• GerontologicalNursing (Advanced Certificate)• Cultural Competence• Nursing EducationDOCTORAL PROGRAMSThe College of Staten Island offers Doctoral programsjointly with The CUNY Graduate CenterBiochemistry (PhD)Biology (Specialty in Neuroscience) (PhD)Computer Science (PhD)Nursing (DNS)Physics (PhD)Polymer Chemistry (PhD)Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT)By Lauren GelosoThe Bronx Achievement Pact, is an innovativenew educational initiative that aims to raisehigh school graduation rates, enhance collegereadiness and maximize college enrollment.“This innovative program has the potential tochange the way we prepare our students forcollege not just here in the Bronx, but acrossthe entire City,” said BronxBorough President Ruben DiazJr. By leveraging the resourcesof colleges and universitiesand collaborating with existingpublic high schools, theBronx Achievement Pact isa comprehensive and scalablesolution to the educationcrisis. Educational indicatorsin the Bronx are the lowestin New York City, with just59 percent of Bronx studentsgraduating from high schooland only 17 percent considered “college ready”by the New York State Education Department.“A quality education is the critical factor inachieving economic success, personal satisfactionand social stability,” said Mercy CollegePresident Dr. Kimberly Cline.“The Bronx Achievement Pact will improveeducational outcomes for Bronx students andsecure a better and more prosperous futurefor generations of Bronx residents. We areexcited to undertake this revolutionary initiativewith our committed partners, and welook forward to further collaboration withadditional partners as we move ahead.”The Bronx Achievement Pact uses a comprehensivestrategy that integrates successfulhigh school and college experiences:• Early College Program: Offering students30 hours of transferable college creditsduring the regular high school day, withthe option of completing an additional 30credits to earn an Associate’s degree duringsummers, weekends and school breaks,Rockefeller Universityall at no cost to students or their parents• College and Career Exploration: Buildingawareness about all aspects of the collegeprocess and various career pathways• Learning Excellence: Facilitating focusedtutoring and mentoring relationshipsbetween high school and college students• Summer Support: Engaging struggling studentsby sharpening skills in literacy,math and critical thinkingand exposing them to college• Parent and CommunityEngagement: Providing parentswith the knowledge and skillsto support their children on thepath to and through college.“Student success in school—both in achievementand aspiration—is largelyPresident Kimberly Cline, a function of the dedicationof the adults guidingMercy Collegethe students: the teachersand the parents,” said Mercy College Schoolof Education Dean Alfred S. Posamentier.“The Mercy College School of Education isdedicated to producing first rate teachers andadministrators for the Bronx Achievement Pact,as well as establishing a Parent Center at ourBronx campus that will serve the entire boroughand should be a paradigm for the rest of the City.”The pilot, Bronx Achievement Pact, willlaunch in September 2012. It will expand toinclude one additional high school in September2013, and then will continue to expand into2-5 schools each year until all Bronx highschools with a graduation rate below 70 percentcan join the Bronx Achievement Pact.“The Bronx Achievement Pact is the bridgethat students need to make a successful transitionfrom high school to college,” said Harry STruman High School Principal, Sana Q. Nasser.“Bronx students will be fortunate enough tohave the support that they need to gain acceptanceinto college, but also to flourish as lifelongscholars.” #continued from page 27summer but often increased for middle and upperclass children, which he attributed to stimulatingsummer activities. Parental socialization of children,such as reading and talking to them, affectIQ. By age three, middle class youngsters haveheard 30 million words while their lower classpeers have been exposed to 20 million words.Some computer programs help improve memory,but most computer games have not been shown toimprove intelligence.Citing the great gap between socioeconomicclasses in this country and the “toxic” and “handicapping”affects of poor environments, Nesbittsuggested policy implications of his findingsinclude enriching programs for the poor and providing“the very best education for the neediest”starting form birth through ninth grade. Pre-Kprograms that include intellectual material andelementary school interventions have proven successfulin improving skills. Involving parents ina child’s education is recommended. Nesbitt saidresearch has yet to be done on whether enrichmentscales up but, he declares, “Some programshave proven to be highly effective” and, “If wedon’t know all the answers, it’s worth trying tofind out.”Dr. Nesbitt’s talk was part of a free seriespresented by Rockefeller University’s Parents &Science initiative, a program designed to helpparents “understand science as it affects children’shealth and well-being.” For more information,visit www.rockefeller.edu/parentsandscience.#

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools 27Michigan Professor Speaksat Rockefeller University onImproving Children’s IQby Sybil MaiminAn overflow crowd of eager parents and educatorsfilled the auditorium at Rockefeller Universityto hear Richard E. Nesbitt, Ph.D., share his latestfindings on “Intelligence and How to Get It: WhySchools and Culture Count.” A psychologistand Distinguished University Professor at theUniversity of Michigan, Dr. Nesbitt is determinedto reverse the commonly held but controversialview, put forth by Charles Murray and Richard J.Herrnstein in their 1994 book “The Bell Curve,”that IQ Is determined by genes. Countering“hereditarism” with the new “environmentalism,”Nesbitt presented evidence that nonhereditaryfactors, such as education, parenting, culture, anda range of interventions play a huge role in determininga child’s IQ. Acknowledging that geneticshave some influence, he explained that much canbe done to modify and raise intelligence scores.Environmental factors are numerous. While alarge gap exists between white- and African-American student scores, the difference is shrinkingas schools do a better job of teaching. Theoft-cited abilities of Asian and Jewish studentscan be attributed to cultures that emphasize hardwork and achievement. And, studies of twinsseparated by adoption but exhibiting similar IQscan be linked to the general similarity of adoptivehomes--affluent and stimulating.Schools make “a massive contribution to IQ,”he explained, and kindergarten and first gradeare crucial. While research shows that religiousand charter schools (with some exceptions) andteachers with higher degrees do not affect studentoutcomes, experienced teachers and the qualityof their instruction and interactions, as well asclass size, make a huge difference. One yearof early classroom instruction equals two yearsof IQ growth, advised Nesbitt, casting doubton the advisability of holding children backfrom starting school. Other environmental factorsaffecting development of intelligence includefamily moves, summer break, socioeconomicstatus, and stress. Nesbitt found that intellectualskills dropped for lower-class students during thecontinued on page 26INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONIsraeli School Superintendents& Principals Visit NYC SchoolsBy Smadar Zeller, Principal,Shapira Sci-Tech School, IsraelOur entire group of educational leaders wasimpressed by the educational system in NewYork City.Unfortunately, we all must deal with highdropout rates in specific groups of the population.The effective measures we used in Israelwere based on the perspective that a personwho feels related, connected and meaningfulwill cling to the educational system. We mustbase every step on a social habit and on theunderstanding that children must understandwhat they gain and what they might lose ifthey quit school.I am not sure I can give any advice to theeducators of NYC. I only know that I believeshowing those kids that we love them, wewant them to succeed and improve their livesand that we believe in them as well as beingvery clear in the requirements and persistencemight lead them to cling to the goal of studyingand adopting other cultural behaviors.The most popular careers that college graduatesare going into in Israel and the careersthat would enable them to support a familyin the future according to the main statisticoffice of Israel are medicine, dentistryand architecture.The careers that nowadays are the mostprofitable in Israel are computer engineering,science, mathematics and law. Analystsfrom Bar-Ilan University claim that the followingoccupations are going to become themost needed and profitable ones: therapyspecialists, hospital advisor, e-mail advisorand whisperer, who is a person that works inpublic relations and is supposed to calm downunsatisfied customers.Another needed job is a head hunter fortalented people and also the special job ofa person who is responsible for the ego andsatisfaction of the employees in the company.Bioinformatics and all that has to do withgenetic research is going to be very needed.I am a principal of a very unique school inIsrael since it is one of a very few schools thatare purely technological. As part of the pedagogicalperspective, we chose to combine twospecial programs. Entering the school our studentsstudy leadership. On the stage of firstyear in high school they learn how to becomea meaningful member of our community, howto contribute to the society we are part of.In the second year of high school (11thgrade) they have a program of financial literacyeducation in which they study how torelate to incomes and outcomes, how to managetheir own budget and the family budgetand many other financial aspects that arerelevant to their lives.Both programs are experimental programsdeveloped in Israel sci-tech schools network.#Congratulations to theGraduates of 2012Benjamin Van Doren,White Plains HS, White Plains, NYHigh schoolsenior BenjaminVan Doren hasbeen named aFinalist in the 2012Intel ScienceTalent Search forhis work in ornithology.He plansto continue hisresearch at CornellUniversity.Ethan Arberman,Johnson & Wales, Providence, RIEthan will begetting a degreein NetworkEngineering fromJohnson & WalesUniversity. Aftergraduation he willbe working for asmall technologycompany inMassachusetts.Explore new heights throughContinuing Education atHunter CollegeJoin us at an upcoming open house:Legal Studies 5/14 6:00-7:30pmLegal Nurse Consulting 5/14 6:00-7:30pmMedical Coding & Billing 5/15 6:00-7:30pmGeneral Open House 5/16 12:00-2:00pmFitness Instructor 5/16 6:00-7:30pmGraphic Design 5/17 6:00-8:00pm& Web ProgrammingTranslation 5/24 6:00-7:45pm& Interpretation 5/31 6:00-7:45pmSUMMER 2012To RSVP for an Open House, call 212.650.3850or e-mail ce@hunter.cuny.eduFor more information and full course schedule visit:www.hunter.cuny.edu/ceBrooks O’Brien,Marymount Univerity, Arlington, VABrooks MorganO’Brien, graduatedfrom LandmarkCollege, AAdegree and fromMarymount U., inArlington, VA witha BFA. Will starta job in graphicdesign with USAToday.Ken Hayes,Eastern Michigan University, MIKen will begetting an MSin ExercisePhysiology. Hewill begin ajob as ExerciseSpecialist, Strength& ConditioningCoach, and YouthProgram Director.68th Street & Lexington Avenue

28 Education update ■ For Parents, Educators & Students ■ MAY/JUN 2012Review of ‘ProfessionalCapital: TransformingTeaching In Every School’Teach. Grow.Master. Mentor.Whether you want to teach math andscience, help special education students,lead in educational settings or obtain dualcertification in a number of specializations,Hofstra offers courses of graduate study inmore than 40 areas, including:Family and Consumer Science • LiteracyStudies • Mentoring and Coaching •Special Education • STEM-ElementaryEducation • TESOL & Bilingual Education• and more including 4 doctoral programsPrograms offered entirely online include:Educational TechnologyGifted Education Find Out MoreGraduate Open HousesJune 5, July 10, and August 8hofstra.edu/teachProfessional Capital:Transforming Teaching In Every SchoolBy Andy Hargreaves and Michael FullanPublished by Teachers College Press: 2012, New York andOntario Principals Council, Toronto. 220 pp.By Merri RosenbergI don’t think it’s an accident or coincidencethat I’ve been reading and reviewing booksabout teachers lately. Few conversations areas impassioned, or as compelling, as figuringout what makes a good teacher. The urgencyis heightened by national concerns aboutmaintaining America’s competitive place in aglobal economy and how our schools need toprepare the next generation to meet whateverchallenges arise.As the authors write, “Teaching is at acrossroads, a crossroads at the top of theworld. Never before have teachers, teachingand the future of teaching had such elevatedimportance … But alongside the urgency, orperhaps even because of it, there is a lot ofargument and more than a little aggravationabout what high-quality teaching looks likeand what’s the best way to get it and keepit. The crossroads are shrouded in a fog ofmisunderstandings about teachers and teaching,and if we take the wrong road forward,precipices are looming on many sides.”For Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan,proposals to cut teacher pensions, pay teachersaccording to how their students score onstandardized test (an unfortunate consequenceof the Race to the Top grants), or diminish theprofession’s standing by relying on prescribedcurriculum, technology substituting for expertteaching, or alternative, fast-track certificationprograms are wrong roads indeed.What they propose instead is the concept of“professional capital,” which includes usingscientific evidence when appropriate, developinga sense of collective responsibility, andtaking ownership of the work within the contextof a school. It’s not about merely improvingindividual teachers. It’s about havingstrong schools, with vibrant cultures that supportand respect all teachers as professionals.Which means that teachers, no matter howcontinued on page 29Review of ‘The Gypsy Twist: AMax Royster Mystery’The Gypsy Twist: A Max Royster MysteryBy Frank HickeyPublished by Pigtown Books: 2012. 189 pp.By Merri RosenbergGo ahead. Have fun. Summer vacation definitelybeckons — and this is an ideal bookto tuck into your beach bag for your welldeservedbreak from the classroom.I’m not normally a fan of mysteries, butFrank Hickey’s assured, confident voice couldmake me a convert (or at least to his work).He knows his way both around the genre, andthe world of detectives, suspects, low-lifes andhard-boiled reporters. The result is a compellingpage-turner about a serial killer who preysupon rich students, in perhaps the ultimatescary teacher revenge.Hickey’s detective, Max Royster, is an incisiveand cynical observer of what he and hiscolleagues term the “Playpen” of the UpperEast Side (will be hard for me to walk aroundMadison or Park Avenue again without seeingthose exalted locales through Max’s perspective).As he writes, “I call it the Playpenbecause it is so well protected. Safe enoughfor children to play in. You could live and diein the neighborhood without ever having to seethe real, the dirty side of life. If you staggerhome dead drunk, a doorman will catch youbefore you fall flat on the sidewalk. Politicians,bartenders, businessmen and cops all cooperateto keep the Playpen safe for its wealthyinhabitants. There is no other neighborhoodlike it in the city. Maybe the world.”Hickey captures perfectly the world of privilegethat informs elite, pricey private schools,as well as the benign disdain that its inhabitantsdisplay, often unknowingly, towards thosewho work for them.Add in some detours to New Orleans andSan Francisco in pursuit of a truly creepy serialkiller (much better to read this on a sunnybeach instead of a cobweb-infested summercabin in the woods), with the requisite red herrings,false leads and pitch-perfect descriptionsof those who live on the margins, and you havean ideal summer read.What makes this even better is that Hickeyknows the tropes well enough to play withthem, from the film-noir descriptions ofwomen, stereotypes of traditional Irish cops,and the wealthy, with just enough edge tomake them contemporary and interesting.In describing a briefing to reporters, Hickeywrites, “They nodded like spanked schoolchildren.Like Max, they did not earn enoughto live comfortably in the Playpen. Theywere allowed to work here only so long asthey did not upset the working relationshipbetween their publishers and the neighborhoodpowers.”Exactly. You’re in excellent hands with thisassured writer. Enjoy. #Ad_GradEdOHGarcia_EducationUpdate.indd 15/10/12 5:01 PM

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ BOOK REVIEWS29Review of ‘Diagnosis and Designfor School Improvement’Diagnosis and Design for School ImprovementBy James P. Spillane and Amy Franz Coldren.Published by Teachers College Press: 2011, New York: 134 pp.By Merri RosenbergScarcely a day goes by without anotherdiscussion in the public space, whether in thepaper, on a local news program or the Internet,about improving student performance on highstakestesting and ensuring that teachers are upto the task.There’s no going back to the era whenteachers and students explored curriculum,sometimes in unconventional and creativeways, behind closed doors. Transparency andaccountability demand that teachers be alignedwith state-defined learning standards. A keyjob requirement and expectation for schoolleaders is providing clear direction and guidanceto achieve successful results for studentachievement.Still, the authors caution, smart and strategicleaders have to recognize that there’s moreto improving schools than simply a focus ontest score data. Schools are complex, livingorganisms, with various stakeholders oftenarriving at different conclusions from similarinformation.“Combining student achievement data withother bits of information,school leaders and teacherscan construct evidence of aproblem, sometimes defining aseemingly singular problem indifferent ways,” Spillane andFranz Coldren write. It’s especiallycritical for school leadersto be both diagnosticians andparticipants in the process.Setting up appropriate organization and routinesthat can be embraced by teachers matters.As the authors conclude, “For diagnosisand design work to bear fruit in terms of studentachievement and educational attainment itmust be anchored in the core work of schooling— classroom teaching and student learning…While some readers may be looking for aquick fix to improve teaching and learning intheir schools, we have intentionally tried toavoid offering prescriptive recipes for schoolleadership and management that school leadersare meant to implement intact.”The approach, with its framework of academicresearch bolstered by ample examples fromclassroom observations and teacher interviews,offers a practical guide that any principal, assistantprincipal or curriculum supervisor wouldfind useful. #STANDING UP for TEACHERSBad Teacher! How Blaming TeachersDistorts the Bigger PictureKevin K. Kumashiro“Kumashiro explains why we should thinkdifferently about the prescriptions that arenow taken for granted—and wrong.”—Diane Ravitch, New York UniversityArgues that scapegoating public schoolteachers, teacher unions, and teachereducators masks the real, systemicproblems.Teachers College PressNewNewProfessional CapitalTransforming Teaching in Every SchoolAndy Hargreaves & Michael Fullan“Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan’s latestbook shows that transforming our publicschool system isn’t magic: It comes fromsupporting all educators to ‘teach like a pro.’”—Randi Weingarten,President, American Federation of TeachersCombats the tired arguments andstereotypes of teachers and teaching.800.575.6566 • www.tcpress.comReview of ‘Bad Teacher! HowBlaming Teachers Distorts theBigger Picture’Bad Teacher! How Blaming TeachersDistorts the Bigger PictureBy Kevin K. KumashiroPublished by Teachers College Press : 2012,New York: 104 pp.By Merri RosenbergSometimes it seems as if teachers are blamedfor almost everything that’s wrong in America.It’s amazing that teachers don’t pull the coversover their heads and simply stay home.In this slim but pointed volume, KevinKumashiro pushes back at the attacks thatteachers face as he attempts to reframe the contextin which the relentless barrage of criticismoccurs. As he writes, “Politicians and punditstoday seem to be unable to talk about educationalreform in terms other than competitions,such as being the best in the world of racing tothe top, in which only some can win while allothers must lose.”How did we get here? As Kumashiroexplains, in recent years the focus on metricslike test scores, reporting requirements, andteacher evaluations relying solely on studentperformance on standardized test scores, hasdistorted the conversation. In turn, these measurementsoften prevent teachers from actuallyteaching in their classrooms.“Under current reforms, the more studentsstruggle, the less their schools are allowed toteach, and the less they are made to look likeflourishing school systems in this country andto other nations,” he writes. When hearing, orreading, about the crisis in education, mostAmericans don’t perceive the problems withina system, but instead drill down to what’sgoing on in their child’s individual school orProfessional Capitalcontinued from page 28talented, gifted, or proficient, can’t retreatbehind the walls of their individual classrooms.As the authors explain, “The onlysolutions that will work on any scale are thosethat mobilize the teaching force as a whole —including strategies where teachers push andclassroom. Which, in turn, means the criticalgaze falls on the individual classroom teacher.Here’s how Kumashiro distills the perceptualproblem. “The common sense about schoolsand teachers today does not call on Americansto see the bigger picture, to see a broadersystem of education. Rather, common sensenarrows our vision to the level of the individual.Good teachers make for good schools,and since we hear repeatedly that our schoolsare bad, so too must be our teachers. At least,some of them.” Add into that the larger landscapeof standards-and-testing that No ChildLeft Behind exemplifies, and no wonder weend up with an MBA-driven system promotingaccountability and outcomes.Nor does it help that the underlying drumbeatof personal responsibility, free-marketreform and privatization (quick, if the publicschool is failing, let’s put in a private charter)makes the struggle even more challengingfor public school teachers. Other culprits, inthe author’s view, include the trend to certifyteachers by alternative, fast-track methods,which undermine more traditional preparationmethods.Then there’s the money. Kumashiro discussesthe influence of wealthy individuals whosupport private foundations and think tanks,many of which produce studies that furthererode respect for public schools and the professionalswho work in them.You don’t have to agree with all his points orarguments to admit that this is not a great timeto be a teacher. There’s no simple solution,either. Kumashiro’s ultimate recommendationis that real reform requires “that we need tobuild a broader movement for educationalreform.” Good luck. #support each other.”The authors recognize that working conditionshave to be just as professional and supportiveas the new breed of teachers this bookis designed to develop.The beneficiaries, of course, are the students— and our society. This provocative, thoughtfuland challenging book is an excellent placeto start a much-needed conversation. #“A room without books islike a life without meaning.”—Thomas Jefferson

Dr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson covers the reasons to give,considers values and concerns, and o fers advice on howto give wisely. She talks abou the wealthiest donors, innovativegivers, social entrepreneurs, celebrities, governmento ficials, nonprofit professionals, volunteers, and socialmedia networkers. Analyzing the major areas for giving,she reviews religious philanthropy, education K-12, highereducation, science, health, arts, culture, humanities, sports,multipurpose umbre la organizations, awards, and internationalaid. Finally, readers are shown how to evaluate charities, make choices,and realize their commitments. A valuable resource, Giving Is Not Just For TheVery Rich is an inspiring, easy-to-use guide which presents numerous creativeideas on how to reap the many benefits of giving. It’s a l about feeling connectedto worthwhile programs, achieving a sense of purpose, and deriving immeasurablepleasure from helping others.needed great work ahead.”ISBN 978-14681110409 781468 11104030 BOOK REVIEWS ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ may/jun 2012Review of ‘Sunday Is For TheSun, Monday Is For The Moon’Sunday Is For The Sun,Monday Is For The MoonBy Sandra Priest Rose and Glen Nelson.Published by Reading Reform Foundation: 2012,New York: 105 pp.By Merri RosenbergWith the relentless, dreary drill-and-kill scenariothat has come to dominate too manyclassrooms in this high-stakes testing environment,it’s a relief to come across an alternativeapproach that celebrates the joys of readingrather than teaching only for the test (I’d loveto ask the authors what they think of the recent“talking pineapple” fracas.)This is a most welcome antidote that shouldbe read by classroom teachers, literacy specialistsand elementary school principal. Slim andslender though this volume appears, it’s packedwith passion and persuasion.The Reading Reform Foundation sends 35mentors to schools around the city as wellas Port Chester and Mt. Vernon in nearbyWestchester County. Working with teachers,these specially trained mentors offer guidanceon how to teach reading in an effective way toreach a wide variety of students. According tothe authors, there are currently 78 teachers in23 schools who are receiving this training, witha direct impact on 2,000 students.It’s axiomatic, as the writers observe, that“The degree to which children begin to masterliteracy sets up many landmarks of successin their lives. Conversely, a failure to masterthem creates monumental roadblocks. Thecomplications of a child learning to read andwrite spring from this simple statement: humanbrains are hard-wired to speak, but not to readand write.”The promise of the Reading Reform programis that, using little more than “pencils, paper,chalk and books”—and, of course, dedicatedand properly trained teachers, children canbecome enthusiastic, competent and lifelongreaders. Using a careful, precisely constructedcombination of phonetics and a multisensoryapproach (like having beginning readers drawsounds and letters in the air before writing themdown on paper), students learn what wordsmean as well.The authors offer a brief history of the teachingof reading in the United States from Colonialtimes, including Noah Webster, Horace Mann,and John Dewey—even the classic Dick andJane Readers so familiar to baby boomers — aswell as an examination of the whole languageversus phonics debate that I remember from myown children’s educational experience.As they observe, “Teaching reading continuesto spark controversy. The only losers inthis battle are the children, who continue to lagbehind as adults bicker over what should nolonger be points of debate.”After all, the ultimate goal in this program issimply to acknowledge the fundamental purposeof teaching reading. As they write, “Thiscareful analysis of words, often as new to theteacher as to the students, is the beginning ofthe intellectual journey that is the birth rightof every child. Let us train teachers to clarifytheir understanding of English so that they cantransmit a rational system to their students.”Isn’t that what we all want? #New Cookbook Tells Tales OfOlive Oil In Recipes & StoriesKnowledgeable, riveting, and unique arethree words to describe chef Henri Lorenzi’snew book, The Golden Touch Olive Oil: A Lifein Recipes and Prose. According to Lorenzi,olive oil is not just something we use everyday but something that can improve our everyday lives.A foodie, world traveler andraconteur, Lorenzi gives readersan insider’s view of hislove of olive oil. He digs deepinto the uses, history, healthbenefits, techniques, and recipesto pour olive oil into. And,he recounts the details of hismany journeys to find the bestingredients from the FrenchRiviera to the Scottish countryside,from the vineyards ofItaly to the olive groves inrural Greece.With artwork ranging fromdetailed modern graphicdesigns and artistic colophonsto historical photographs and upclosephotos of Lorenzi’s dishes, The GoldenTouch Olive Oil: A Life in Recipes and Prose isa visual feast as well as source of informationabout food history.Illustrating in both words and pictures howto use olive oil in everything ranging from aGreek salad to a barbecue dish, Lorenzi revealshis own recipes and breaks down exactly howto prepare these dishes complemented by servingtips.SUMMER READINGOlive oil is something in all our cabinetsand it is waiting to be served. Added benefitsof olive oil include reduction in cholesterol,risk of plaque obtrusion, blood pressure, sugarlevels, and more. Cooking with olive oil is aneasy way to improve and maintain health andwell-being; Lorenzishares his extensiveknowledge about thefood and hospitalitybusiness to advocateand advise readersabout healthy eating.Whether you are avegetarian, meat eater,or love spices thereare recipes for you.Lorenzi doesn’t miss abeat as he makes sureto touch on every foodgroup and every foodtype. And, his fascinatingstories delve intothe history behind hisrecipes. Order the bookat www.henrilorenzi.net.#Henri Lorenzi is far from just a chef. Hehas had experience in research, hotel management,restaurant management, and as aprofessional painter. Alongside his professionalskills Lorenzi has lived through nine decadesincluding Europe’s German occupation duringWWII. Despite this directly affecting his family,Lorenzi has come out on top with more driveand love for life.The Golden TouchOlive OilA Life in Recipes and ProseHenri lorenziImproving Pre-Kindergarten — High School EducationThrough PhilanthropyBy Susan Aurelia Gitelson, Ph.D.Part one of a two-part seriesMany private individuals and foundations arecontributing in substantial ways to improve K–12education. Let me give some examples of dedicatedpeople who want to reform and improveeducation, especially for disadvantaged youth.The outstanding example is Teach for America,started in 1990 by Wendy Kopp and based on aproposal she made in her Princeton undergraduatesenior thesis in 1989. The goal is to enlist topstudents from major colleges to teach all over thecountry, especially in regions with the neediestschools. By 2011, there were already about 17,000Teach for America alumni.Richard Barth, who originally assisted Koppand is now her husband, went on to run theKnowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, a charterschool network that improves education, especiallyfor low-income students. KIPP was founded bytwo Teach for America alumni, Dave Levin andMichael Feinberg, in Houston and the Bronx. Ithas grown to a nationalnetwork of around100 schools. Mr. Barthsaid, “In a countryas great as ours, whyshould where you’reDr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson received Council of the Columbia School ofher B.A. from Barnard Co lege and her International and Public A fairs (SIPA)M.I.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.She was a trainee a the Rockefeller Gitelson Policy Forum and the Gitelsonand supported the Columbia SIPAFoundation and later was an assistant Peace Publications of the Truman Instituteof the Hebrew University. She hasprofessor of international relations atthe Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For been president of International Consultants,Inc. Dr. Gitelson has publishedmany years, she headed several sma linternational business firms, using her books and articles on four continents,income to sponsor cultural and educationalprograms. Awarded the presti-Advisers of the National Commi tee onand is a member of the Board ofgious Alumni Medal for Distinguished American Foreign Policy. She is listedService by Columbia University, she in Who’s Who in America and Who’sserved as co-chair of the Dean’s Who in the World.“Dr. Susan Gitelson reminds us of how much good philanthropy hasdone and how much remains to be done. The book will inspire theDr. Anthony W. Marx, President and CEO, The New York Public Libraryborn dictate your life outcome. … Anyone, bornanywhere, should have access to high-qualityschools.”Since Bill Gates is concerned with the dangerthat deteriorating schools will lead to a small, educatedupper class and large poorly educated underclass,the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hasgiven around $5 billion to education grants andscholarships from 2000 to 2011 and has been supportingcharter schools, especially in inner-cityneighborhoods. KIPP has been a major recipient.The Gates Foundation is also sponsoring studiesto evaluate teacher effectiveness and manyother programs.Dedication to teaching can carry beyond anindividual classroom. For example, Valerie Rowe,GivinG is not Just For the very richDr. Susan Aurelia GitelsonGivinGis not JustFor the very richA How-To GuiDefor GivinG AnDPHilAnTHroPyDr. susan Aurelia GitelsonForeword by Robert M. Morgenthaua former teacher, gave $1 million toStudent Sponsor Partners, which grantsscholarships to at-risk high school studentsat 26 schools, mostly Catholic ones,around New York. Each student receivesa mentor to guide him or her through fouryears of high school. About 1,400 werepart of the program in 2011, its 25th year.Let’s say you want to make a difference, butyou can’t become a teacher. You can contributethrough DonorsChoose.org to your choice ofclassrooms. Public school teachers from all overthe US post requests for what they need most:microscope slides for a biology class or musicalinstruments for a school recital. You can lookthrough the project requests and give whateveramount you wish to the projects. When the fundinggoals for particular projects are reached,DonorsChoose will deliver the requested materialsto the schools. You will get photos of yourproject being carried out, along with the teacher’sthank-you letter and a report showing how thefunds were spent. If you give over $100, youwill also get hand-written thank-you notes fromthe students.They call this “citizen philanthropy,” whereeveryone can receive the choice, transparency andfeedback usually reserved for mega-contributors.DonorsChoose.org was founded by Charles Bestin 2000 when he was a social studies teacherat a Bronx high school in response to lack ofeducational materials at his school. He felt manypeople would want to help needy public schoolclassrooms if they had some say over where theircontributions were going. They could chooselocal schools or those in other places they wereconcerned about and could help in many fields.So much has been done and so much moreneeds to be done to enhance education from prekindergartenthrough high school. Your contributionscan be meaningful at whatever level youchoose: local, national or international. #Dr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson is the former presidentof International Consultants, Inc. and hasbeen consulting for international business, educational,cultural and other institutions. She is theauthor of “Giving is Not Just For The Very Rich:A How-to Guide for Giving and Philanthropy.”

MAY/JUN 2012 ■ For Parents, Educators & Students ■ Education updateFifty Years of Union Celebration:CSA Dances the Night AwayMagee Hickey Honors HerFather’s Memory: An UnusualChannel 11 News Team Performsat Convent of the Sacred Heart31(L-R) Dave Barger, JetBlue CEO,CSA Pres. Ernest Logan& Michael Haberman, CEO, PENCILMore than 780 guests celebrated the Councilof School Supervisors & Administrators’ (CSA)50 years of unionism recently with a dinnerand dance that included a high-profile appearancefrom actor and activist Susan Sarandonas well as a powerful speech from AFL-CIOpresident Richard Trumka. The gala took placeat the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue, whichprovided a hint of old New York elegancethroughout the evening. The union, under thecurrent leadership of Ernest Logan, has playeda pivotal role in public education and hasan unswerving commitment to its membersand the children they serve. Logan deliveredan impassioned speech about education thatreceived a standing ovation.Guests included Dr. Randi Herman and AnitaGomez-Palacio, union officers, in addition toChancellor Dennis Walcott, CEO of Jet BlueDave Barger and Pencil Exec Director MichaelHaberman. “We shouldn’t wait another 50years to do something like this,” said Jim Phair,Principal PS 107 in Queens, as the educatorsdanced the night away. #On the Scene with BenjaminStimson, a Rising DirectorBy Mohammad IbrarAn interview with Benjamin Stimsonrevealed that taking the unconventional path isdifficult, but it can lead to success. BenjaminStimson never received any formal training oreducation in filming and movie production, buthe is the founder of Almost Blue, an up-andcomingproduction company that specializesin marketing, promoting and connecting hisclientele with its targeted demographic usingmicro-documentaries and film.Graduating from Green Mountain Collegein Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in art,he knew he didn’t want to be an artist, but hedid know that he wanted to make documentaries.Stimson’s knowledge of film productionwas very limited, yet with his vision,drive and a Panasonic camera, he developeda superb documentary — his first-ever aboutNew Orleans urban music. “I’d never done anyof those things before, and yet, I was able toaccomplish my goal,” said Stimson about hisinitial venture.Stimson soon turned his talents towards asales job at a radio station, and soon after heconducted fundraisers for Isabelpratt, a publicrelations firm. Strengthening his connections,interpersonal skills and professional portfolioall the while, he began to monetize his passionand developed Almost Blue.(L-R) CSA President Ernest Logan& Richard Trumka,President, AFL-CIOFrom an early age,Stimson saw thingsdifferently — he wasa visual thinker. In thesixth grade, he becameimmersed in an unusuallearning experienceat the New CitySchool located in St.Louis. In retrospect,the incredibly progressiveschool alteredhis entire perception. Benjamin Stimson“I wanted to help studentsin the same way that I was helped,and not criticize them, but to help them as amentor,” said Stimson. By teaming up withthe Greenwood School in Vermont, Stimsonruns an internship program called “Kids withCameras” that engages students in all aspectsof movie production.“Creativity is key,” emphasized Stimson. “Ifyou want to enter the field, you need to focus,and choose one thing at a time. You may haveto start working for free.”Stimson also advised nascent videographersto disperse and publish their material on theInternet, utilizing social network sites and videocommunity sites such as YouTube, Dailymotionand especially Vimeo to the fullest extent. HeThe Hickey family sings in unisonBy Dr. Pola RosenWhat brings the news team together singingand dancing a la Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennettand Fred Astaire? Why none other than redheaded,energetic, vivacious Magee Hickey,whose mother was an actress and whose father,Lawrence Hickey, was an active parent atConvent of the Sacred Heart when his daughterswere students there. He was the founder ofthe Astor Services for Children and Families inthe Bronx and Rhinebeck, N.Y.Raising money for developmentally delayedchildren was always foremost on his list as itis for his grown children today. Frank Hickey,CollegeBound InitiativeGrads CelebrateBy Dr. Pola RosenTears flowed freely among the hundreds gatheredto pay homage to the victory of inner-cityhigh school students who conquered seeminglyinsurmountable odds including living in sheltersfor years, lack of funds and single parentfamilies, to gain full scholarships to some ofthe best colleges in the northeast. The triumphof the students was shared by the founder of theCollegeBound Initiative Ann Tisch, as collegepresidents from Gettysburg, Rochester and aprovost from Cornell were awarded plaques.How did it happen? Ann’s vision was tohave a full-time expert college counselor inhigh schools around the city. In speaking to thealso recommended using the Internet to helpsolve remedial problems when filming by visitingonline video forums and searching the Webfor solutions to technical issues.“Studying art in college helped inform myskill set,” said Stimson. He remains passionateabout his profession and continues to work withlocal companies in Vermont. He will soon focushis lens on other states. “Filmmaking combinesall of my interests: culture, arts, photography,music — that’s why I love it so much.” #For more information and to view AlmostBlue Productions’ videos, visit almostblueproductions.comChannel 11 broadcasters performMagee’s brother,an author (hisbook is reviewedin this issue) andher sister also sangand danced.In attendance wasGabe Pressman, Mr.G and other luminariesof channel 11.What a great cause Gabe Pressmanand what an innovativeway to do it! Lawrence Hickey, you wouldhave been proud of the cabaret in your honor! #students below aboutwhere they were heading,all from differenthigh schools, all withdreams of differentmajors, they all agreedon one thing: the collegecounselor whomChad Singhthey consulted every day was the key thatenabled them to succeed.Auguri Ann and Andrew Tisch for making thedreams of young inner-city students come true!Some of the students were: Amber McComb,student at High School for International Studies,going to Marist College, English major.Nicole Dailey, student at Global Studies HighSchool, going to St. Bonaventure University.Kassandra Rosales, student at Academy forSocial Action, going to University of Albany,mathematics/engineering major.Victor Allen, student at Global Studies HighSchool, going to Daemen College, internationalbusiness major.Ledwin Martinez, student at Urban AssemblySchool, going to New York University, politicalscience major.Chad Singh, student at Urban AssemblySchool for Applied Math and Science, goingto Syracuse University, the superb master ofceremonies. #

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