Comment Archives: stories: News & Opinion
Re: “Reductions at All City High may signal trend”
http://www.salon.com/2013/06/03/instead_of_a_war_on_teachers_how_about_one_on_poverty/
Here's a solid article that points out some of the flaws of "reformers" like you Mrs. Remis, and your local education cronies ( Gantt, Warren, Williams, etc). Charter's are a corporate hustle and don't deal with the real issue that is holding back many RCSD students, overwhelming concentrated POVERTY. You can call out teacher accountability and unions and support charter schools until you're blue in the face, but more and more people are realizing the dishonesty and lack of evidence to support this new con game. How is your child's unionized, non-charter, affluent, suburban school performing?
Re: “Feedback 6/5”
Fracking and energy independence are an interesting pair....until you realize the gas industry is preparing to sell fracked gas to foreign countries.
Re: “Teachers may take over some schools in Rochester”
AMEN HOWARD EAGLE...I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!!! Sad to see, but it appears that 9 people "dislike" hearing (reading) the truth. You keep speaking that truth brotha cuz the people that really care about our children are listening and reading!!!
Re: “Analysis finds racial disparity in pot arrests”
There has been some national coverage of this finding. I saw that some scholars pointed out this was perhaps indirectly associated with a more aggressive police presence in minority inner city neighborhoods (which has been significant in reducing black-on-black violence).
I still have not seen the obvious explanation. Some African Americans are smoking marijuana much more openly than any other group I am aware of. My overwhelming exposure to marijuana in the city (via smell) has been from young African Americans smoking in public.
Leave it to the ACLU to push their innuendo.
Re: “Budget hangover”
Mr. Partner's statement illustrates the problem perfectly - RCSD admin is detached from what goes on day-to-day in their schools. As a former agency employee, I relied heavily on Student & Family Support Center Coordinators to help me ensure that I met my program (funders) goals. School SWs & counselors are already overwhelmed - to think they can step in and fill the void of a SFSC Coordinator is downright foolish. What RCSD will end up with is disorganization, disruption of academic time, duplication of services, violation of student & family privacy, violation of RCSD & school policy, and a lack of awareness among teachers & students as to what services are available and how to access them. The services will be less effective and less efficient, plain & simple.
SFSC Coordinators also act as liaisons to the community - not just the programs located in the school. How will that be replaced? By SWs that can only work with the Special Ed population? By Guidance Counselors that already have a caseload of 300 students? This is RCSD pulling the wool over everyone's eyes - even their own.
This is NOT about money - not when RCSD gives the Hillside Work Scholarship program $600,000 - a program that will only accept students already on the path to success and that will terminate a student with quickness if they fall by the wayside. This is going backwards. Really expected more from Vargas (a guidance counselor himself). What a shame.
Re: “Reductions at All City High may signal trend”
Parents should be cautious of the charter conversion option. Converted charters are not 'real' charters: they have the same contracts and work rules as the district schools. Charters in name only.
Re: “Budget hangover”
This is a sad, sad state of affairs. If the center's counselors and social workers saw more than 5,000 students in the 2011 to 2012 school year, um...that's a lot of kids who received support. And now ten positions have been cut, so other social workers with be over-burdened in an attempt to deliver the same kind of quality care to the same numbers of students in a school district that is currently ranked one of the WORST in our state? Seems like you should be hiring social workers, not firing them.
I understand that counseling programs are expensive, but jail is even more expensive.
Is there REALLY no where else fat could have been cut? Seems like these kinds of support services are critical to the city youth population.
Re: “State says Monroe Community Hospital is back on track”
Jeremy,
Any chance you'd be interested in interviewing past and current residents at MCH to get THEIR take on how awesome it was and is?
Dave
Re: “Analysis finds racial disparity in pot arrests”
In the end it's a personal choice. The outcomes that you experience in life will depend on the choices that you make, not your neighborhood or any other factor. Yes some neighborhoods require (and have) better police coverage than others, so if you choose to sell or use illicit drugs then your chances of getting caught may vary as compared to someone else's. Stay away from drugs and you won't need to worry, or roll the dice and get caught-up in use and/or sales, it's your choice. Marijuana leads to harder drugs and is associated with turf- and debt-related violence. The "everybody's doing it - it's unfair that I'm being singled out" excuse common from those charged with what they view to be low-level activity isn't persuasive. Put the focus on yourself. If you're arrested for marijuana possession, chances are you were involved with open-air drug sales. Police have limited resources to conduct undercover buys therefore street corner dealers are often charged only with possession. Make healthy choices and develop a habit of following the rules, or choose to roll the dice but don't cry "unfair" when your questionable decision making leads to a conviction record.
Re: “Sheppard, Warren events stress dire need”
Truth girl, if you spend more than a few seconds on our site you'll see that we do, in fact, welcome opposing viewpoints. What we do not allow, however, are insults or personal attacks. That will not change.
Re: “Our tone-deaf governor: Cuomo and the cities”
More BS from the bureaucrats.....typical.....NYC should be a district capital (DC) like Washington, DC...we need to chop it off and let it stand on its own, all of upstate pays for all the waste that happens down there.....their budgets for security, cameras, rent control, tax abatements and all the other stuff is in the billions of dollars....I used to live down their and some rents and taxes that are charged are still from the 50's, I think it is 2013....no wonder we are broke, we pay for them and all the poor that get better healthcare than my family and they get it for free.....
We need to reform everything in this country from the local to federal governments, the spending, corruption, consistently creating more and more stupid laws that reduce productivity in the country....we need to get back to freedom, life, and liberty and get far far away from these bureaucrats that think they can save us......
We want less government....MUCH LESS......you bureaucrats have only gotten in the way of private progress....you do not solve problems, you are the problem......
Again, Cuomo is bidding for the 2016 election......he will do whatever it takes to look good at the tax payers expense...especially where all the population is, Albany and NYC.....he has done nothing for NY and will do far worse as a president.......
Re: “Will historic conversions save the City of Rochester?”
not sure how disadvantaged people can create real paying jobs for people that can buy homes......what a dumb concept, give money to people that most likely do not have the skills, education or experience but are disadvantaged, that will pay off big....
going downtown for office locations does not make a lot of sense, first the traffic sucks, there is no parking or you have to pay for it, no one really stays downtown after 5pm because of the potential crime and then walking to your car alone in the dark...not exactly fun for the females......
very poor decisions, the sagamore went over real well......with tax abatements for years and prices of $500k...now the damn things are worth $100k to $200k less than they were....these people that develop and the city think this is NYC....not sure who really wants to live downtown, not the people who pay $500k, they will live in Pittsford, brighton where they have access to all the amenities......
again we have a city mayor that is a lawyer/politician and not a business person...while I understand they are trying but it will work against them once again...it so easy and fun to spend other peoples money, we need to tie their pay to the results of these projects and then see if they are willing to take these risks....right now if they fail, they do not care the tax payers always fit the bill.....tie to their jobs and pay and they will really do their due diligence....
most excellent business people do not want to run for public office because they can have better lives without the incredible BS that they have to deal with at the bureaucratic places that are a nightmare and you cannot fire any of them......plus they crawl up your arse for any tiny problem you had in your past and make it seem like you are a freaking felon, so there you go, you get squeaky clean candidates that suck at what they do, because they have never really done anything in their lives, can you say Obama.....
Re: “Costello lays out CityGate plans for Mt. Hope neighbors”
another waste of tax payer dollars to a city/county where taxes are one of the highest in the nation and where we have not added any really good jobs....also our population for the entire western NY area keeps decreasing.....this stuff makes no sense.......again we have stupid politicians agreeing to things they do not understand with developers who have little risk because of grants from government.......we will go broke again.....
Re: “Sheppard, Warren events stress dire need”
I didn't know this publication censors and removed comments. There was nothing that was unrtue or profane in my comment it was factual and my opinion. It may not be popular iwth a liberal publication but id guess I didnt realise that opposing thoughts would be deleted. Not cool!
Re: “Northampton Park neighbors furious over fair proposal”
Here is a link to the planning of the fair at Northampton by the County (http://www.13wham.com/media/lib/16/e/7/5/e75feac2-3982-493b-ace4-406b72cc230f/agricultural_festival_rfp.pdf). In it, it describes changes to the park, as well as planned uses, which includes rides (which Leg. Colby said WOULD NOT BE AT THE FAIR), alcohol, and the proposed location of the festival site would encompass the area of Northampton Park adjacent to the western boundary of Springdale Farm, in the vicinity of Hubbell Road (both sides). Infrastructure improvements including water lines, electricity, pedestrian walkways, vehicular access roadways and parking. The contractor will also be EXPECTED to construct, at the contractor’s expense, any new facilities associated with hosting such a festival. The County ANTICIPATES that this would initially include three permanent pole barn type structures, each with a footprint measuring 30’ x 60’, two of which would be open, including electrical service and water hook-up, (suitable for livestock and/or poultry holding/exhibition) and one of which would be enclosed, including heat, electric and water service (suitable for interior agriculture related displays), as well as a fenced open-air riding ring with seating. In addition to the agricultural festival, the contractor will be permitted to use the "festival site" for a mutually agreed upon number of dates, not exceeding 10 per year.
With these changes, the park's rural nature will be permanently altered and will impact the many users of the park.
Pat Pawlaczyk
Re: “Our tone-deaf governor: Cuomo and the cities”
Yep. A man of action. It's how things get done. Pass a gun control bill without allowing any input from anyone. It leaves a lot of mess, anger and uncertaintly to be sorted out later, but it as long as Cuomo's political aspirations are served, he doesn't care.
Re: “LGBT poverty bucks stereotype”
Thanks Tim,
The article points out that non-discrimination laws are very important to ensure that LGBT individuals have the same access to jobs. But let's face : even if non-discrimination laws exist, if they are not vigorously enforced, these laws make no difference whatsoever. It is still a very real, and not surprising, fact that many straight males, even liberal ones, are uncomfortable reporting to a gay supervisor, regardless of whether that gay boss is open or not. Straight men feel emasculated in the workforce in such a situation and since so much of the corporate power structure is still based on adolescent male playground politics, highly competent gay males suffer. But our society suffers as well and so do those businesses who end up with less competent supervisors to run the show.
Re: “Elections: Who's in, who's out”
Fien here:
This piece deals only with the primaries. Other parties' candidates will be part of our general election coverage.
Re: “Elections: Who's in, who's out”
Even the stodgy D&C acknowledged Green Rochester is contributing new energy and ideas to the campaign. City – given Fein's longstanding hostility and inexplicable hardheadedness about the issues Emily Good addressed when she videotaped the arrest outside her home – simply ignores third party voices. They must complicate the (yawn) compliant, cop- and commerce-friendly tone you've developed in the last couple of years. City's lead articles used to be a fount of info and hope. Now it's a great guide to food, art and events. Oh yeah. And beer. Good beer coverage.
Re: “Reductions at All City High may signal trend”
PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE ARTICLE ABOVE. IT IS MOST INTERESTING, IF NOT AMAZING, FOR SEVERAL REASONS:
1) Some of the comments in the article MAY be indicative of the very first time that any semblance of a small fissure of public disagreement has occurred between Dr.'s Vargas and Urbanski --- who have pretty much, walked in lock-step (at least publicly) concerning all major education issues --- since the time that Vargas was first hand-picked to so-called "lead." In fact, development and implementation of All City High was obviously an almost exclusive, joint-venture between leaders of the Rochester Teachers Association and Rochester City School District's top Administration.
2) Surely it is not news that the 7 people who were elected to lead the RCSD are totally out of touch. Instead of them issuing policy directives, and insisting that the highly-paid Superintendent adheres to their directives --- they are continuing their long-standing abdication of responsibility, and literally begging the highly-paid Superintendent to keep them informed of what he's doing. So, we have the 7 people who are elected to lead the school district NOT holding the highly-paid Superintendent accountable for his actions, and you have us (voters and taxpayers) NOT holding the 7 people who are elected to lead accountable for their in-actions. So, NO ONE IS HOLDING ANYONE ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING. WE LITERALLY HAVE THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND, AND WE WONDER WHY CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT NEVER OCCURS? A couple of clear, outstanding examples of the phenomenon referenced above are as follows:
a) "Some board members say the superintendent's decision caught them off guard." WHAT???!!!
b) "Something is very inconsistent about all of this," says school board member Van White. "All along we've been asking for data on All City High, and just two weeks ago we were told everything is fine there." WHAT???!!! Well, now that Board members know (based on the latter quote) that the highly-paid Superintendent has essentially been lying to them --- what do they intend to do about it? And, if Board members follow their long-standing, normal pattern of not doing anything about it, what do we (voters and taxpayers) plan to do about the fact that they are not going to do anything about it? Will we all just continue the long-standing pattern of no one holding anyone accountable for anything? When will heads roll?
3) There are some statements in the article that are disingenuous (to say the least), and designed to bamboozle and hoodwink the public into believing that some type of magical transformation has occurred. The following is a classic example: "But school officials say that All City High was always intended as an immediate option for students floundering or at risk of dropping out of the five schools that are being closed. The school has fulfilled that mission, officials say,..." WHAT???!!! Are we to believe that there are no longer any students who are "floundering or at risk of dropping out?"
4) The article also contains some brand new language, which the writer seems to be attempting to palm off as part of the norm. It is not. For example, we have heard, and read general rhetoric concerning the idea and possibility of future, "teacher-led-schools," but there hasn't been any mention of parents being a part of leadership until now. Thus, based on the following quotes, apparently someone has had an epiphany, and realized that, with regard to leadership, it's critically important to include parents: "Urbanski says he supports more innovative schools, such as parent-and teacher-led community schools. But he says that Vargas wants to convert the failing schools to parent-and teacher-led charter conversion" schools." I repeat, the term "PARENTS" in the latter quotes is BRAND NEW LANGUAGE. Yet, (based on past rhetoric), it is my unequivocal view that parents need to be very cautious, and even suspect. That is, we have heard TALK in the past about "shared leadership and decision-making," but for the most part, it has boiled down to nothing more or less than just TALK. Additionally, in my humble, but firm view, it is important for us to reject the idea, and past practice of hand-picked parents being assigned as our so-called "leaders" (such as, for example, many of those who are part of the so-called District Parent Council) who are clearly disconnected from the vast majority of RCSD parents and guardians. Instead, we must insist on a completely democratic process that provides equitable opportunities for involvement and engagement of ALL RCSD PARENTS AND GUARDIANS. According to information in the article, there is already a serious, potential, fundamental problem with Vargas's idea of "parent- and teacher-led charter conversion" schools," i.e., "A majority of the teachers [BUT NOT THE PARENTS] in the school would have to agree to the conversion..."
Indeed, parents and guardians, especially those whose children are struggling the most, should be skeptical of any type of charter school arrangement --- because one thing is crystal clear: Charter schools definitely "siphon off the better performing students from the host school system, leaving the district with mainly low-performing, disruptive students — those requiring more and costly special services."
It is important to give credit where credit is due. If he is really serious, Urbanski is correct about one thing: “The goal should be to fix the broken system, not opt out of it."