ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
ISSUE
December 2008
Volume 42, Number 4
Local 1, American
Federation of School
Administrators, AFL-CIO
CSANEWS
COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS
‘Put the Parent Back
in Public Education’
LOGAN RALLIES MEMBERS AT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
C
SA President Ernest Logan
called upon his members to
be more outspoken in response to policy decisions
made in a top-down manner, outlined
some key recommendations about
amending mayoral control and called
for more parental input as he spoke at
the 44th CSA Educational Leadership
Conference on Nov. 15.
“Every time you see them do something where they have not brought the
greater school community in it, you’ve
got to call them on it… That’s not
your job, to explain somebody else’s
initiatives. You want to be focused on
what happens in your schools and
your classrooms day in and day out.
But when you are drawn out to try to
defend policies that no one even asked
you about, it defeats the purpose of
what a school leader is,” Mr. Logan
said during the President’s annual mes-
PHOTOS/RACHEL ELKIND
Scenes from the annual conference
at the Hilton, New York.
Continued on page 12
President Logan’s Speech
Appears on Page 2
10 Pages of
Conference
Coverage. 11–21
2
CSA NEWS
December 2008
PRESIDENT’S CONFERENCE SPEECH
A Historic Journey
in New York City
Council of School
Supervisors & Administrators
Representing Principals, Assistant
Principals, Supervisors, Administrators
and Day Care Directors in NYC
American Federation of School
Administrators, AFL-CIO, Local 1
16 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11241-1003
Phone: (718) 852-3000
Fax: (718) 403-0278
Web site: www.csa-nyc.org
President
Ernest A. Logan
Executive Vice President
Peter J. McNally
First Vice President
Randi Herman, Ed.D
Secretary
Mark Cannizzaro
Treasurer
Laverne Burrowes
Vice Presidents
Alexander Castillo,
Robert Kazanowitz,
Richard Oppenheimer,
Nilda J. Rivera, Nancy Russ,
Irwin Shanes, Retiree Chapter
Advisory Committee
Members At Large
William Pinkett, Retiree Chapter,
Myrna Walters, Ronald Williams
Executive Director Operations
Anita Gomez-Palacio
General Counsel
Bruce K. Bryant
Counsels
Barbara Jaccoma
David Grandwetter
Controller
Bernard Feinstein
Executive Director Field Services
Audrey Fuentes
Field Directors
Juanita Bass, Stephen Bennett,
Phyliss Bullion, Bernard Lopez,
Lena Medley, Kathleen Murphy,
Daisy O’Gorman, Steven M. Rosen,
Margaret Williams
Assistant Field Directors
Mary Aloisio, Mildred Boyce,
Mark Brodsky, Charles Dluzniewski,
Joanne Frank, Aura Gangemi,
Ray Gregory, Robert Jeanette,
Kate Leonard, Christine Martin,
Bill Meehan,Thelma Peeples,
Cynthia Sanders, Shelli Sklar
Grievance Director
Robert J. Reich
Assistant Directors
Carol Atkins, Robert Colon,
Evelyn Phair Finn,
Marlene Lazar, Ph.D,
Phyllis Casolaro Williams
Public Affairs
Assistant Directors
Antoinette Isable
John Khani
Alex Voetsch
Director of Development
Marjorie Churgin
Director of IT
Egal Sanchez
Retiree Chapter
Neil Lefkowitz, Chair
Gary Goldstein, Director
CSA Historian
Jack Zuckerman
Conference Chairman
Pierre Lehmuller
CSA NEWS
Editor Anne Silverstein
Editorial Assistant Yuridia Peña
Production Consultant Michele Pacheco
Production Assistant Christine Altman
Design Consultant Louis Silverstein
CSA News (004-532) is published 10 times
a year for $35 per year per member by CSA,
16 Court St., Brooklyn, NY, 11241. Second
Class Postage paid at Brooklyn, NY and
additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to CSA NEWS, 16
Court St., Brooklyn, NY, 11241.
Calls for Budget Transparency, Reining In Mayor’s Power By Ernest A. Logan
(CSA President Ernest Logan gave this speech at
the 44th CSA Leadership Conference on Nov. 15
at the Hilton New York. It has been condensed
for this publication.)
I
’ve always said that for us to move forward, we cannot do it by ourselves.
I’ve tried to explain who we are and
what we do, so we can get away from
what people think we are and think we
do. And I thank you for (your help in this
effort.) Because when I’ve called on you to
see an elected official or to go to a forum or
to even just show up somewhere at CSA,
you have done that for me.
As you have heard me say many times, I
stand on the shoulders of giants. Well, we
honored one today. Irwin Shanes, God bless
you. I love you for your guidance, I love
what you’ve done for us as school leaders, and I stand firm
fighting the fight because I’m not giving up those great benefits you’ve helped us get. I want to thank (CSA honoree
Assemblywoman) Cathy Nolan. I always like to say that people
can say anything they want to say but I like to know what their
actions are. Her child is in public school so that means she has
a vested interest in our schools and how they do.
Our theme today was Great Schools Begin with Great Leaders.
We have been on a historic journey in NYC, one which the
entire country has now joined. We have been in the forefront
of leadership development and school reform. And yes, there
have been many false starts, blocked walls and misguided initiatives, but we have continued on. We acknowledge the
research that says that a quality teacher is of paramount importance to the classroom. But we took it a step further. We said,
“Let’s look at that research that also says that good teaching
depends on good leaders.” It is
the work that we do as leaders
that enables teachers to be effective. It is the leader who recruits,
trains and supports the teacher.
Today, we focus on leadership.
Let us not be sidetracked by
arguments about which gateway
we entered through, or be sidetracked about tenure and due
process. As we have seen around
this country, cities and states that
have refused to allow school leaders to be unionized or to obtain
Cover of the Leadership
tenure have done no better in
Conference Program
student achievement than we
have in NYC with due process and unionization. The school
leaders in NYC have made progressive strides in promoting student achievement because we believe that we are transformational leaders. We know that there are two types of leaders transformational and those who preserve the status quo. The
latter group is always overwhelmed by obstacles they face
while transformational leaders overcome the obstacles.
We now must come together to create some models on how
we retain those transformational leaders. Because when things
get bad, the first thing they do is pour more on us, and then
we leave: We pack up our bags and we go somewhere else. So
that is the message: How do we continue to do what we do but
also get the support we need?
• • •
L
ast week, this nation voted to go in a new direction. Regardless
of your political affiliation, you had to feel the sense of hope, see
the sparkle in people’s eyes, the smile across faces. The sparkle I saw
walking down the street was the same sparkle I remember seeing in
my teacher’s eyes in 1960 when John Kennedy was elected. That
was a time of hope, a time of promise.
We have now elected a dynamic and energetic president
who has outlined an ambitious agenda for our schools and our
children. I believe President Obama will move us away from
these accountability systems that punish
schools to ones that support them. Yes,
President Obama believes that education is a
civil right, yes a civil right. He also believes
that we need to support early education.
That same message has to be taught here in
this city so they understand that early education is important. It is not babysitting.
This city has to understand that early education should be the provenance of educators, not agencies that monitor whether the
bathroom is clean. We should not be worrying about whether ACS has done this for the
family or not done that for the family. It is
time to put our collective voices together and
say to the Mayor: “Let’s put education where
it belongs – in the Department of Education.”
Some months ago, I joined the
Chancellor, Rev. Al Sharpton and others and
signed on to the Education Equality Project. For the very first
time, a diverse group of individuals had come together to proclaim that the pursuit of a quality education was a right for
every child in this country. That project requires that we ensure
that every classroom has an effective teacher, that every school
an effective principal, that we empower parents by giving them
meaningful voice in their children’s education and that we
demand accountability, not only from teachers and supervisors
and principals, but also from superintendents and chancellors
and school boards. We also call on parents to demand more
from their schools and more from themselves.
• • •
A
s transformative leaders, we now need all the skills that we’ve
ever mustered because now we face budget uncertainties. So
I’m going to share with you publicly (some suggestions) that I’ve
shared with the Chancellor.
1) We must have a transparent budget. As citizens and taxpayers, you (should not) have to have a CPA or the
Independent Budget Office to tell you where your money is
going or where it’s being spent.
2) Let’s cease utilizing all those independent contractors and
consultants to do what we know how to do best: evaluating
our schools and performing quality reviews or determining
what school a child attends.
3) Let’s put the superintendents back to work in their own
districts doing what they are required by state law to do.
4) I understood the initiatives, but it’s time for a change. Let
us make better use of supervisors and teachers who are not
assigned to permanent positions by allowing them to do the
work they were trained to do.
This brings us to the core of what is on the horizon – I
know we have budget problems, but the biggest challenge to us
going forward is the idea of renewal of mayoral control in the
schools. Now, I’m a realist and I believe that everything indicates that the mayor will continue to have control of the public schools. But I am proposing some things:
■ The Chancellor must be accountable to the central board
for his/her performance, with a yearly public performance
review based upon performance standards set by the central
board.
Logan Honored
A
ssemblyman Nick N. Perry, who represents the 58th
Assembly District in Brooklyn, honored CSA President
Ernest Logan at a fundraiser dinner/dance on Oct. 31 at the
Ramada Plaza Hotel at JFK International Airport. Mr. Logan
and Leonard Allen, President, Local 2021, DC 37 both were
cited as distinguished labor leaders. Other awards were presented as well including an Outstanding Parent Advocate
Award, which was given to Margaret A. Johnson, the Parent
Advocate at Samuel J.Tilden High School.
December 2008
CSA NEWS
3
COMING
EVENTS
Events are at CSA’s Brooklyn
Headquarters,16 Court Street
unless otherwise noted.
)
(
DEC. 15, 4 PM:
Association of
Assistant Principals
DEC. 16, 9:30 AM:
Retiree Chapter
Outreach Program
DEC. 16, 5 PM: CSA
Executive Board
JAN. 5, 4:30 PM:
Educational
Administrators
Association
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ CHECKING IN: Conference registration is always exciting as hundreds of CSA members arrive for the day’s events.
■ We
get into this thing about letter grades, very public. So
why can’t we have a public conversation about what the chancellor does or does not do? His areas of improvement and how we
support him in getting better?
■ The central board should have fixed terms of two years, and
be eligible for reappointment at the end of each term.
■ The central board must approve, prior to implementation,
citywide educational policy decisions.
■ And here’s one I think we all can agree on: The duties of a
community superintendent to evaluate and support his/her principals should not be delegated to anyone else.
■ Those of you who were here last year heard me talk about
Progress Reports. I said (they had to be) transparent, had to be fair,
had to be something you can explain. Well I’m still on that. We
are recommending that there be an Independent School
Performance Data and Budget Office. Now, I want to thank
Kathryn Wylde, our business partner, because we’re starting to
move in that direction by getting an independent research arm to
look at what the NYC Board of Ed is doing. But this cannot work
unless she can also get the state data. Because, if not, we’re going
to go back to the same old story. The state says one thing. The city
says something else.
■ We believe that Community District Educational Councils
should approve the opening or closing of schools in their districts.
Their vote either for or against the closing of a school can be
reversed by a majority vote of the central panel or the board.
(Editor’s Note: On Nov. 15, CSA released a report Rethinking
Mayoral Control of the NYC Schools. For the complete document,
visit www.csa-nyc.org.)
• • •
L
et me sum up. We have really moved forward at looking at
every single child in the system. But you know what we still
haven’t done? We still haven’t put the parents’ voice back in public education in this city. I’ve been a Principal. Top-down decisions are wonderful to make. You go and say, ‘I’m going to do
this? ’Cause I’m the Principal.’ But those of us (who understand)
true leadership know that when you do it by yourself, you’re
doing it for yourself. You’re not doing it for the children. So what
I’m calling on is that we put the “P” back in public education –
the parents – we stop believing that because we have to listen to
other people, it will take too long to (make decisions).
As a Principal of a school, I had to convince other people to
see my vision. Isn’t that what leadership is all about? I learned as a
Principal that I had to go out to the community to let them see it
wasn’t just this building, but that there were people inside, and
children, that they needed to care about. I learned as a Principal
that it wasn’t just me but it was a leadership team of Assistant
Principals and teachers and parents and that I did not come up
with ideas in a vacuum. Yes, I had the vision but I shared that
vision with those who were going to be affected by that vision.
I’ve been talking with the Chancellor about this every time we
meet. (But) you’re going to have to start helping me. Every time
you see them do something where they have not brought the
greater school community in it, you’ve got to call them on it. You
cannot sit back and allow people to continually put you in the
only spot that the parents see. That’s not your job, to explain
somebody else’s initiatives. You want to be focused on what happens in your schools and your classrooms day in and day out. But
when you are drawn out to try to defend policies that no one
even asked you about, it defeats the purpose of what a school
leader is.
So I ask you, as we close today, don’t expect me to do (all) the
heavy lifting. You’ve been real good to me. You support me. You
come out with your suggestions and ideas and sometimes you say
“But don’t use my name.” It’s like 3-1-1. Some of those anonymous
little things that you’ve said helped change the Progress Reports.
They’re still not great, but they’re better than what they were.
Those anonymous e-mails helped change the compliance reports.
Not great, but it’s better than what it was. I need you to keep doing
that. But I need you to step up. To be called upon. To be counted.
So it doesn’t just appear that it’s the union making this noise.
You know, we believe that our job is tough. But you know
what? We signed up for it. We believe it’s difficult, but we signed
up for it. We believe in accountability and we’ve learned to
embrace it. We know that no one shanghaied us in the bar and
brought us into the school where we became the Principal or the
AP. We applied for it. But you know what? Just like the flight
attendant says, “When the cabin loses pressure, and the mask
comes down, put your mask on first before you can help somebody else.” I end by saying, before you try to help somebody else,
be sure you take care of yourself.
CSA Recommendations
BUDGET
1. We must have a transparent budget. We should not need a
CPA or the Independent Budget Office to explain how the
DOE is spending its education funds.
2. Stop hiring independent contractors and consultants to do
what we know how to do best: evaluate schools, perform
quality reviews and determine which school a child should
attend.
3. Let’s put the superintendents back to work in their own
districts doing what they are required by state law to do.
4. I understood the initiatives, but it’s time for a change. Let
us make better use of supervisors and teachers who are not
assigned to permanent positions by allowing them to do
the work they were trained to do.
MAYORAL CONTROL
The Chancellor must be accountable to the central board
for his/her performance, with a yearly public performance
review based upon performance standards set by the central board.
■ Schools have letter grades. So why can’t we have a public
conversation about what the chancellor does or does not
do, as well as discuss his areas of improvement?
■ The central board should have fixed terms of two years, and
be eligible for reappointment at the end of each term.
■ The central board must approve, prior to implementation,
citywide educational policy decisions.
■ The duties of a community superintendent to evaluate and
support his/her principals should not be delegated to anyone else.
■ We are recommending that there be an Independent School
Performance Data and Budget Office.
■ We believe that Community District Educational Councils
should approve the opening or closing of schools in their
districts. Their vote either for or against the closing of a
school can be reversed by a majority vote of the central
panel or the board.
■
JAN. 6, 4:30 PM: CSA
District Chairs
JAN. 7: 4 PM: CSA
Pre-Retirement
Workshop
JAN. 8, 10 AM: Retiree
Chapter Advisory
Committee
JAN. 8, 4 PM:
NYCESPA Executive
Board
JAN. 8, 5:30 PM: CSA
Latino Caucus
JAN. 12, 4 PM:
Association of
Assistant Principals
JAN. 13, 9:30 AM: CSA
Retiree Chapter
Outreach Program
JAN. 13, 5 PM and 6
PM (respectively):
ABENY Executive
Committee and
Executive Board
Please check with the
event organizer to confirm
these times and dates.
Teachers’
Retirement System
November 2008
Unit Values
Diversified Equity: 45.089
Stable-Value: 19.535
International Equity: 6.933
Inflation Protection: 8.318
Socially Responsive
Equity: 8.041
Correction
A letter appearing on Page 4
of the November 2008 issue
incorrectly identified the supervisor who wrote the letter. The
author of the letter was
Catherine Ervin, Assistant
Principal of MS 50, D-14,
Brooklyn. The Principal is
Denise Jamison. The editor
regrets the error.
The Retiree Chapter Dec. 4
meeting was for the Advisory
Committee only. The Executive
Board meets on Dec. 10.
4
CSA NEWS
The Welfare Fund
December 2008
Douglas Hathaway, Ph.D
When You Use a Spouse’s Benefits
Q
Explaining
the ‘birthday
rule’ for
parents.
UESTION: I am an active assistant
principal, and my spouse is a UFT
member. I remember hearing you
say something about how I may get
his drug co-payments reimbursed, but forget what you said. Can you refresh my
memory?
ANSWER: Certainly. You are referring
to the process called “coordination of benefits,” which allows couples who each have
coverage to use the spouse or partner’s
health plan for additional reimbursement
after his or her fund pays its benefit. The
way it works is that you, a CSA Welfare
Fund participant, use your benefits under
your own ID number first. You then submit
any remaining out-of-pocket expenses to
your spouse or partner’s fund or health
plan, using the spouse or partner’s ID number for additional reimbursement. An
example is your question concerning prescription drug co-payments: Your spouse
uses his UFT drug benefit and sends the copayment receipts to the CSA Welfare Fund
for reimbursement. You may do the same,
submitting your co-payment receipts to the
UFT Welfare Fund for reimbursement.
If you have dependent children, their
benefits are subjected to the industry standard “birthday rule” to determine which
parent is primary. The “birthday rule” indicates that the parent born earlier in the calendar year (not the older parent!) is primary
for dependents. As a result, for example, if
your spouse is born in January and you in
November (of any year), he is primary for
your kids, and prescription drug (and all
other benefits ) are submitted to his UFT
Welfare Fund first and then to your CSA
Welfare Fund second. Prescription drugs,
dental, and medical/hospital supplemental
claims are subject to coordination of benefits. We coordinate with all other plans, be
they city union welfare funds or other public or private health plans. The only time
we do not coordinate benefits is if both parents are covered by the same CSA Welfare
Fund since a fund can not coordinate with
itself. (Please call me if I have totally confused you!)
UESTION: I am a CSA Retiree who is
Medicare-eligible and a participant in
the GHI Enhanced Medicare Part-D drug
plan. I have finally emerged from the coverage gap (“doughnut hole”) and am paying
“only” 5 percent of the drug cost. I am
Q
CLIP THIS ARTICLE
This column is designed to be cut out and
inserted in the Member’s Handbook. Cut on
dotted line, punch holes where indicated,
fold to fit, and file under BENEFITS.
now submitting these co-payments to the
CSA Retiree Welfare Fund for reimbursement, which is greatly appreciated. Will
this continue forever?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, no. You will
be in the 5 percent “catastrophic” level
only until Dec. 31. On Jan.1 , all amounts
and levels reset, and you will begin again
paying 25 percent of the cost of the medication In 2009, the out-of-pocket amount
(TrOOP) will be $4,350.
Pre-Retirement
Workshops Scheduled
CSA has scheduled three pre-retirement workshops in January for members considering retirement this winter.
In these workshops, we will provide
you with information about your cityprovided health benefits and Welfare
Fund benefits as a retiree, and review
the process for converting from in-service to retiree status.
These workshops are aimed at Department of Education members only.
Seating is limited so please call the
Welfare Fund at (718) 624-2600 to
reserve your seat.
If you find you cannot attend your
scheduled workshop, we urge you to
call the Welfare Fund as soon as possible so we may make your reservation
available to a fellow member on the
waiting list.
All workshops will start promptly
at 4 p.m. Workshops are scheduled for:
■ Jan. 7, CSA Central,
16 Court St. 4th floor
Brooklyn
■ Jan. 22, MS 127
1560 Purdy St., Room 216
Bronx
■ Jan. 28, Michael J. Petrides
Education Center
Room 109, Building C
715 Ocean Terrace, Staten Island
▲ Cut on dotted line for insertion in Members’ Handbook ▲
Year 2008
DAY CARE/CSA WELFARE FUND ANNUAL REPORT
This is a summary of the annual report
for the Day Care Council/CSA Welfare
Fund, employer identification number 112504726, for the year ended June 30, 2008.
The annual report has been filed with
the Internal Revenue Service, as required
under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1984 (ERISA). The Board of
Trustees of the Day Care Council/CSA
Welfare Fund has committed itself to pay
certain optical, dental and medical expenses
and prescription drug claims incurred under
the terms of the plan.
Insurance Information
The plan has a Life Insurance
Policy with Guardian to provide death
benefits and prepaid dental programs
provided by Dentcare. The total premiums paid for the year ended June 30,
2008 were $20,531.
You have the right to receive a statement of
the assets and liabilities of the plan.
$95,202. During this plan year, the
plan had total income of $702,564
including employer contributions of
$499,906, retiree contributions of
$154,000 and earnings from investments of $ 37,741.
Plan expenses were $607,362.
These expenses included $110,738 in
administrative expenses and $476,093
in benefits paid to participants and
beneficiaries. In addition,
$62,700
was reserved for direct benefits
payable.
Know your rights
Basic Financial Information
The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was
$1,307,097 as of June 30, 2008.
During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of
You have the right to receive a
copy of the full annual report, or any
part thereof, on request. The items
listed below are included in that
report: an independent auditor’s report
and assets held for investment.
To obtain a copy of the annual
report, or any part thereof, contact the
office of Dr. Douglas V. Hathaway,
Administrator, Day Care Council,
Council of School Supervisors and
Administrators Welfare Fund, 16 Court
St, 34th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 112411003. You may also call him at (718)
624-2600. The charge to cover copying costs is the actual cost of reproducing copies, but no more than 25
cents per page or any part thereof.
You also have the right to receive
from the plan administrator, on
request and at no charge, a statement
of the assets and liabilities of the plan
and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the
plan and accompanying notes, or
both.
If you request a copy of the full
annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and
accompanying notes will be included
as a part of that report. The charge to
cover copying costs given above does
not include a charge for the copying of
these portions of the report because
these portions are furnished without
charge.
By Mail or In-Person
You have the right to examine the
annual report at the main office of the
plan, 16 Court St., Brooklyn, NY
11241-1003 and at the US
Department of Labor in Washington
DC., or to obtain a copy from the US
Department of Labor upon payment of
copying costs.
Requests to the Department of
Labor should be addressed to:
Public Disclosure Room, N4677
Pension/Welfare Benefits
Programs
US Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20216
December 2008
CSA NEWS
Legislative
Agenda
5
President’s Reception
Alex Voetsch
Backing 68 of
70 Winners
ore than 70 members of the
CSA President’s Club gathered
on Oct. 22 for an early evening
reception at the Transit
Museum in downtown
Brooklyn. Members learned about the educational programs offered by the museum,
browsed the exhibits, and networked with
their colleagues. (See pictures at right.)
Since a Political Action Committee drive
was implemented last June, the President’s
club has grown from about 300 to more
than 500 active and retired CSA members.
M
CSA’s
President’s
Club has
more than
500 active
and retired
CSA
members
Winning Endorsements
Thanks in part to the strong efforts by
CSA and individual members, 68 of the 70
candidates officially endorsed by CSA were
elected to office, with one race, Queens
Senatorial District 11, still too close to call.
Senator Serphin Maltese, a long supporter of
education and CSA, was the only endorsed
candidate who did not achieve victory. He
will be replaced in the Senate by City
Councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr., who has a
distinguished record as the Chairman of the
City Council Labor Committee and as a
dedicated advocate for the schools in his
district. The CSA officers and legislative
department look forward to working with
both the returning and newly elected officials to improve education
in New York City and New York state, as well as to protect the health
and retirement benefits of our members.
Below is a list of the CSA endorsed candidates who won their
elections:
U.S. President Barack Obama
U.S. Congress Michael McMahon*, Ed Towns, Joseph Crowley,
Charles Rangel, Jose Serrano, Jerrold Nadler, Anthony Weiner, Yvette
Clarke, Nydia Velazquez, Carolyn Maloney, and Gregory Meeks.
NYS Assembly Audrey Pheffer, Mark Weprin, Rory Lancman,
Ann Margaret Carrozza, William Scarborough, Margaret Markey,
Barbara Clark, Michael Den-Dekker*, Michael Gianaris, Catherine
Nolan, Helene Weinstein, James Brennan, Alec Brook-Krasny,
William Colton, Peter Abbate, Joseph Lentol, Felix Ortiz, Joan
Millman, Darryl Towns, William Boyland, Annette Robinson, Alan
Maisel, Sheldon Silver, Deborah Glick, Linda Rosenthal, Herman
Farrell, Richard Gottfried, Michael Benjamin, Michael Benedetto,
Carmen Arroyo, Susan John, Inez Barron*, Carl Heastie, Janelle HyerSpencer, Micha Kellner, Brian Kavanaugh, and Jose Peralta.
NYS Senate Shirley Huntley, Frank Padavan**, Malcolm Smith,
Velmanette Montgomery, Eric Adams, Diane Savino, Andrew Lanza,
Liz Krueger, Carl Kruger, Thomas Duane, Bill Perkins, Eric
Schneiderman, Jeffrey Klein, Hugh Farley, Joseph Robach, Dean
Skelos, Kemp Hannon, Thomas Morahan, Toby Stavitsky, and Suzie
Oppenheimer.
YURIDIA PEÑA
■ Sharyn Hemphill, Principal of PS 256, D-13, Brooklyn, watches a video at the New York Transit Museum,
where a reception for members of the CSA President’s Club was held on Oct.22.
■ Dr.Vincent J.Maligno, Assistant Principal, Manhattan High School, D-75,“drives”a bus on display.
■ Retiree Chapter member Irma Schonhaut chats
with CSA President Ernest Logan.
*Designates candidates who are new to their office.
** Election awaiting re-count as of this writing
Thank You for Our Success
An article about the Staten Island legislative reception in the
November CSA News inadvertently failed to credit three CSA members
who helped make the event a success. They are: Pat DeMeo, Retiree
Chapter Legislative Coordinator for Staten Island, Staten Island High
School Chair Zona Gurian, and District 31 Chair Rose Kerr. We could
not have done it without you.
■ Rose Kerr
■ Pat DeMeo
■ Zona Gurian
■ Richard Douglass, Assistant Principal, MS 117, D-13, Brooklyn, with his guest Leyda Carrion, who is on
staff at MS 117.They’re examining the wheel“truck”of a subway car.
6
CSA NEWS
December 2008
N AT I O N
Labor
NEW YORK:
Unemployment
Extension
AFT President Randi Weingarten is
among those pushing for an
Unemployment Insurance (UI)
extension beyond the 13 weeks
added in June. Ms. Weingarten
said family mobility and homelessness increase with rising
unemployment which, in turn,
affects a child’s ability to perform
in school. 90,000 NY workers will
come to the end of their 13 weeks
of unemployment compensation
by the year’s end. Reportedly,
extending UI benefits is one of the
most cost-effective steps that can
be taken to help jump-start the
economy. (Daily Labor Report)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
PO Layoffs
Long-time employees of the US
Postal Service are facing the first
layoffs ever as the Postal Service
struggles to deal with financial difficulties due to lower volume,
increased costs, and a cap on rate
increases. To date, unionized postal
workers have not faced cuts.
Reportedly 16,000 of about
600,000 workers are not protected
by a no-layoff clause in their contracts. Early retirement is being
offered, which about 7,000 workers
are expected to take. (Labor Notes)
YURIDIA PEÑA
■ Manhattan Theatre Lab High School tap dance students pose with their Principal and their Principal-for-a-Day Jami Floyd.Principal Evelyn Collins is
at far left.Ms.Floyd is in the center.
Partnership Program Kicks Off With
Popular ‘Principal For a Day’
BY YURIDIA PEÑA
This fall, PENCIL’s partnership program
kicked off at hundreds of NYC schools
with its popular Principal for a Day event.
At one such school, for example, the
Manhattan Theatre Lab High School, a
group of students discussed their academic
goals and plans after high school. In return
they received feedback from trained actor,
lawyer, TV personality, and their Principalfor-a-Day, Jami Floyd.
“We provide them with role models …
We are really starting to see a meaningful
impact,” said Michael Haberman, PENCIL
COLORADO:
Ballot Item Fight
Colorado workers and their allies
are fighting against three ballot
measures that would harm unions.
According to the Colorado AFL-CIO,
Amendments 47, 49 and 54 would
weaken unions by silencing voices
and undermining their ability to
negotiate. Denver Mayor John
Hickenlooper spoke against the
measures, saying that they would
damage Colorado in a“million”
ways. (Workers Independent News)
INDIANA:
■ At the Oct.16 PENCIL luncheon, CSA
President Ernest Logan chats with Jeanette
Cesar,Principal of the Talented and Gifted
Young Scholars JHS, D-4, Manhattan.
President. The PENCIL partnership program has drawn both private and public
sectors to advocate for NYC students
throughout the five boroughs. Schools create long-term partnerships by collaborating with successful professionals to
improve the school’s resources, programs,
and offer their expertise.
As Ms. Floyd walked the hallways of
the school with Principal Evelyn Collins,
Ms. Floyd hugged and greeted students,
many of whom she called by first name.
Although only in the second year of their
partnership, Ms. Floyd and Ms. Collins
chatted like old colleagues and brainstormed new ideas for the school year.
Last fall students answered a questionnaire of what they expected to take from
the partnership with Ms. Floyd. Students
said they were interested in becoming trial
lawyers and interested in learning about
professions in and out of the performing
arts. Ms. Floyd offered many options and
events for students to pursue based on
what they said in the surveys.
One such event had make-up artists
show students how to apply make-up for
theatre, job interviews, headshots, and television. “I think it was so successful
because we responded to their interest
level,” said Ms. Floyd.
Another event included a panel of
lawyers, who spoke about legal professions.
“She introduced me to lawyer Edgar De
Leon who appears on Court TV. I go to his
office and ask questions,” said Samuel
Pascal, a senior who has remained in contact with Mr. DeLeon; he is currently
applying to colleges with pre-law programs.
Steven A. Smith, a sportscaster for
ESPN, donated a grant to the school for
tap shoes. "The Manhattan Theater Lab is
an extraordinary place full of beautiful
children and led by Principal Evelyn
Collins who has, almost singlehandedly,
turned the place around, from a failing
New York City public high school to a safe
environment blossoming with creativity,
learning and possibility,” said Ms. Floyd.
“With a curriculum rooted in the arts,
the kids remain focused and motivated. I
always leave the building feeling the same
way – inspired by the amazing young people who attend the Manhattan Theater
Lab,” said Ms. Floyd.
The Manhattan Theatre Lab High School
is located in the Martin Luther King campus, in the theatre district of Manhattan.
In related news, a luncheon was held
in October at Gustavino’s in Manhattan
for PFAD participants and Principals to celebrate new and continuing collaborations.
The reception was hosted by CNN Anchor
Soledad O’Brien and sponsored by Merrill
Lynch.
Teacher Layoff
Four hundred teachers are facing
layoffs in Indianapolis. If implemented, resulting school closings
could send thousands of students
to different schools. Indianapolis
has lost about 1,000 students a year
for the past five years as families
have moved or chosen free public
charter schools. (Chicago Tribune)
NEBRASKA:
Affirmative Action
On election day, voters voted
against affirmative action and
passed Civil Rights Initiative 424,
that will prohibit the state from
discriminating based on race.
Opponents feared the Initiative
would eliminate scholarships for
minorities, provide less funding
for victims of domestic violence
and women’s health programs and
have a negative impact on the
state’s ability to attract and keep a
diverse workforce. (Workers
Independent News)
— COMPILED BY
CHRISTINE ALTMAN
TEACHING & LEARNING
CSA Sponsors 4th
Education Gala
New CSA Executive Board
Reps and District Chairs
BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
On March 6 and 7, CSA will
once again sponsor the
Celebration of Teaching &
Learning, which is hosted annually by Thirteen/WNET and
WLIW21.
This year’s central themes will
be science, global awareness,
math, instructional technology,
English Language Learners,
■Alan Alda
Literacy, Whole School Policy
and Engagement, and Autism Understand and
Integration.
Alan Alda will be the keynote speaker on science,
Sir Kenneth Robinson will speak on creativity and
Temple Trandin will speak on autism. More information on the event will be posted on the CSA website.
Beverly Logan
Luis Liz
Three CSA members have
stepped up to represent their colleagues on the Executive Board and
as District Chairs to replace retiring
CSA members.
Luis Liz represents District 10
on the Executive Board. Mr. Liz is
the Principal at PS 159, D-10,
Bronx.
Assistant Principal Joseph
Joseph Mennella
Mennella will represent District 31
on the Executive Board. Mr.
Mennella is assigned to JHS 7 on
Staten Island.
Beverly Logan is the new
District Chair for District 23. She is
the Principal of PS 156, Brooklyn.
The CSA District Chairs and
Executive Board meet with the
union leadership every month.
December 2008
7
CSA NEWS
Grievance
Corner
Bob Reich
Review Your Benefits
ducation Administrators,
Assistant Principals and
Principals often forget the rules
for requesting vacation time,
using sick leave, and, yes, accruing sick leave from per session activities. Although this article may be
tedious to read, read it, study it and
remember it: An informed member better understands his benefits.
An Education Administrator requests
vacation time from his supervisor. An
Assistant Principal requests vacation
time from the Principal. A Principal
requests vacation time from the
Superintendent. When requesting
vacation time, I urge you to submit
your request in writing as far in
advance as possible. The request
must include the dates you are
requesting and should indicate that
you would like to receive a response
by a specific date. For example: I am
requesting to be granted vacation
on Jan. 9, 10 and 11. In order for
me to finalize my plans, I would
appreciate your approval by Dec.
23, 2008. If your request for vacation is not responded to or is
denied, you should speak with your CSA Field Director or
team member. You should also notify me. Remember: vacation requests are mutually agreed upon.
Assistant Principals and Principals accrue 2 ¼ days per
month. Assistant Principals and Principals must use their
accrued vacation within the calendar year in which they are
earned. In other words, use it or lose it. Education
Administrators accrue annual leave at different rates. Prior to
the beginning of the eighth year, 1 2/3 days are accrued per
month. At the beginning of the eighth year, two days are
accrued per month plus one additional at the end of the calendar year. At the beginning of the 15th year, 2 ¼ days per
month are accrued. Education Administrators are permitted
to accrue two years of unused annual leave which are paid
one for one upon retirement. With the permission of the EA’s
supervisor, permission, which must be signed for annually,
one additional year may be accrued.
If you are a school-based employee (Assistant Principal,
teacher, etc.,) moving to an Education Administrator’s line,
you do not get paid for the summer as a 10-month employee
and for the summer as a 12-month employee. You are paid
the difference between what you previously earned and what
your salary is as an Education Administrator. You are entitled
to annual leave effective Sept. 1 of the school year. Days not
worked during school vacations prior to the employee’s
assignment or appointment as an Education Administrator
shall not be charged against his/her annual leave as an
Education Administrator.
E
Submit
vacation
requests
in
advance.
he 10-month Assistant Principal who becomes a Principal
between Sept. 2 and Jan. 31 accrues the full 27 days of
annual leave. Winter vacation is deducted from this
accrual. The 10-month Assistant Principal who is assigned as
a Principal on or after Feb. 1, but before Aug. 31, shall vest
one month of summer vacation that he earned in his previous title.
Administrators often forget that they are entitled to
accrue additional sick time for per session work. For every 20
per session sessions worked, an administrator accrues one session of sick leave, (i.e., Twenty-two one-hour sessions of per
session worked results in one hour sick time accrual that can
be used the next time you are absent from the per session
activity). At the end of the per session activity, if you have
not used your accrued sick time, compete a Per Session Sick
Time Transfer Form (DHR/OP 175-5/91), give it to your payroll secretary and the accrued time will be added to your
Cumulative Absence Reserve.
Should you have any questions, please e-mail me and I, or
a staff member, will contact you. Remember, don’t lose, misuse or forget your benefits and rights. I can be reached by
email at bob@csa-nyc.org.
T
■ Nelson Louis of the Ong Family Foundation, CPC Queens School-Aged Day Care Center Director Lois Chin Lee,
CSA Director Margaret Williams, Karen Liu and CSA Assistant Director Cynthia Sanders at Ms. Liu’s retirement party.
New Fund Honors Day Care’s Karen Liu;
Provides Staff Professional Development
BY CSA STAFF
The Ong Family Foundation
has awarded Karen Liu $100,000
to establish a foundation in her
name that provides scholarships
for staff development at the
Chinese-American Planning
Council (CPC.)
The award was given at Ms.
Liu’s retirement dinner on Oct.
15. Ms. Liu retired from her position as Director of the Chung
Pak Child Care Center and CPC
Assistant Executive Director of
Child Care; she worked at CPC
for 37 years.
The CPC Karen Chang Liu
Child Care Staff Development
Fund will provide scholarships
to CPC staff for professional
development in relation to child
care, attainment of child carerelated certifications and the
completion of credits toward a
degree in education.
In accepting the award,
Karen thanked her father for
being a mentor and model for
bringing meaning to the Jaycee
Creed:
“That faith in God gives
meaning and purpose to human
life; That the brotherhood of
man transcends the sovereignty
of nations; That economic justice can best be won by free men
through free enterprise; That
government should be of laws
rather than of men; That earth's
great treasure lies in human personality.”
Register for ’08-09 Day Care Workshops
Brain Research Related to Early
Learning Success
Presenter: Stuart Sears
Jan. 14, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
ELI’s Educational Leadership Center
16 Court St., 4th floor, Brooklyn
Talking to Parents and Teachers about
Autism, Part II: Next Steps for In-School
and At-Home Support
Presenters: Lisa Angelettie and Elly Napolitano
Feb. 12, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
ELI’s Educational Leadership Center
16 Court St., 4th floor, Brooklyn
■ A Day Care workshop on autism on Nov.19.
BY CSA STAFF
The Executive Leadership Institute has begun
its 2008-09 program for CSA’s Day Care members.
The first session took place on Nov. 19 at ELI’s
Educational Leadership Center and focused on
autism. The second part of this seminar will be
held Feb. 12. (See details below.) Pre-registration is
mandatory. For a registration form, visit the CSA
website, www.csa-nyc.org, and tab to the professional development page. For more information,
contact Dr. Noemi Wallace at nwallace@csa-nyc.org
or call her at (718) 852-3000.
1) Identifying Children with Special
Needs
2) Hands-On Art Workshop
Presenters: Elizabeth Matthews and Vicki Garavuso
Dec. 12, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Center for Workers Education
25 Broadway, 7th floor, Manhattan
Registration Forms online at
www.csa-nyc.org
1) NAEYC Accreditation: Using the
Process for Program Improvement
2) Language Comes Before Reading
Presenters: Sara Seiden and Vicki Garavuso
March 13, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Center for Workers Education
25 Broadway, 7th floor, Manhattan
1) Motivating Teachers to Do Their Best
2) Helping Teachers Set Up LiteracyRich Environments
Presenters: Amita Gupta and Vicki Garavuso
April 24, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Center for Workers Education
25 Broadway, 7th floor, Manhattan
Day Care Walkthroughs: Sharing Success
Presenter: Dr. Noemi Wallace
May 21, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ELI’s Educational Leadership Center
16 Court St., 4th floor, Brooklyn
These professional development workshops for CSA’s
Day Care members are possible thanks to a grant from
the New York City Council. For information about ELI’s
programs, contact Belinda Bryant at (718) 852-3000.
8
CSA NEWS
Graduation Ceremony Caps
Home Instruction Program
NYCESPA
Convention
Set For Jan. 31
in Brooklyn
Dr. Pedro Antonio Noguera of
New York University will keynote
the 76th NYCESPA Convention on
Jan. 31 at the Brooklyn Marriott.
Pedro Noguera, PhD, is a professor in the Steinhardt School of
Culture, Education, and Human
Development at NYU. He is also
the Executive Director of the
Metropolitan Center for Urban
Education and the co-Director of
the Institute for the study of
Globalization and Education in
Metropolitan Settings.
In addition to Dr. Noguera’s
keynote presentation, 16 workshops will address supervisory,
curriculum and technology issues.
More information about the
Convention, registration and the
use of FAMIS online ordering can
be found at NYCESPA’s website,
www.nycespa.org. Attendance is
capped at 800 persons.
NYCESPA Convention Vice
President Liza Caraballo can be
reached at lcaraba@schools.nyc.gov.
Driver Safety
Program
CSA will be offering safety
classes in January and May. Retiree
C h a p t e r
Outreach Coordinator Felice
Hannah will be
leading
the
classes on Jan.
15 and May 14.
Both classes begin at 4 p.m.
The cost for
Felice Hannah
the course is $14
per
person.
Checks should be made payable
to the AARP Driver Safety
Program. Participants must preregister. Mail checks to Felice
Hannah, CSA Retiree Chapter,
Room 711, 16 Court St., Brooklyn,
NY 11241. Please include the date
of the class you wish to take.
YURIDIA PEÑA
■ Sandra Ledesma, Principal.
■ Home Instruction students attended a graduation ceremony last spring.
BY YURIDIA PEÑA
he Home Instruction program
serves more than 2,000 K-12 public, private, and parochial students
with emotional and/or physical
disabilities. Principal Sandra
Ledesma, now in her second year, has
already implemented new initiatives such
as a lending library for teachers, an all-day
professional development event for 267
teachers, and a graduation ceremony.
“It’s a lot of work,” admitted Ms.
Ledesma, who was a teacher in a private
school before she began to work for the
DOE in District 75. She was an Assistant
Principal for the Home Instruction
Program for 19 years and succeeded
Richard Cooperman as Principal in 2006.
Ms. Ledesma says the biggest misconception about the program is that people
think it is a home schooling option. But
this program is aimed at students who are
at home because of unforseen circumstances and not as a choice of education.
According to the Chancellor’s
Regulations, the NYC Home Instruction
program provides schooling for students
who are unable to attend their regular
T
schools due to medical or physical condition or a severe emotional, psychological
or behavioral disability. However, this
service is unavailable to students who are
already home-schooled by their parents.
Eligible students must have a letter
from their physicians and include an estimate of how long the student will be
homebound. Once the DOE accepts the
child for home instruction, teachers must
connect with the child’s school to learn
about the student’s level of work. Students
then receive one-on-one instruction from
teachers throughout a day. Many students
do very well, Ms. Ledesma said, and move
on to specialized high schools and top
colleges and universities.
In fact, the program has been so successful that some parents try to keep students in the program as long as then can,
she said. Some parents prefer home
instruction services because of the special
attention students receive from teachers.
However, the purpose of home instruction
is to prevent a child from falling behind
academically so he will be on par with the
rest of his classmates when he or she
returns to school.
During her first year as Principal, Ms.
Ledesma began a lending library for
teachers. Since teachers bring the classroom to students, Ms. Ledesma began a
lending library at every site throughout
the city from which they can borrow. “I
purchased toys, puzzles and games for the
low-functioning children at home,” she
said. Other students are multi-handicapped, on oxygen machines, or are battling cancer.
he citywide program allows teachers
to enter the child’s home under adult
supervision and offers classes in all
subjects. The program also provides prep
and proctors for city and statewide exams,
Regents and SATs.
Being a home instruction student can
be lonely, so the program offers a magazine for home instruction students – HIT
magazine (Home Instruction Teens) – that
they can contribute to thereby creating a
community for themselves. Students can
submit articles, poetry, jokes, and art.
Under Ms. Ledesma’s leadership, the
program has also implemented a commencement ceremony for students in the
program who have lost touch with their
original schools.
T
Informational Meeting for
Queens Day Care Directors
Retirement
■ YVONNE GREEN, an Assistant
Principal at PS214K for seven years,
retired Sept 1st. Her retirement was
celebrated at Roma View in Howard
Beach. She provided 28 1/2 years of
service to NYC. During this time she
worked at Central Board as an ESL
Resource Specialist, PS 13K as a
TESL/Staff Developer, and CSD 19
Office of Bilingual Education as an
ESL Staff Developer. She started at
PS72K under the supervision of
Principal, Leonard Landsman. He
provided her with opportunities to
teach under Common Branch,
Special Education and ESL licenses.
This developed her pedagogy and
passion for education. Prior to working for NYCBOE she taught as a U.S.
Peace Corps Volunteer, stationed in
The South Pacific. Her career also
includes her having been a District
19 CSA Treasurer, and a PS72K UFT
Chapter Leader.
December 2008
BY YURIDIA PEÑA
YURIDIA PEÑA
■ Robert Christophel of CIRS attended the Queens Day Care meeting.
Day Care Directors gathered
at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Day
Care Center in Queens on Oct.
23 for a meeting with CSA officers and others.
In attendance were CSA First
Vice President, Randi Herman;
Vice President Richard Oppenheimer (Family Day Care Coordinator, Nuestros Niños Day
Care Center); and CSA Welfare
Fund Administrator Doug
Hathaway. Also present to
answer questions about benefits
and health care was Robert
Christophel, Communi-cations
Director of the Cultural
Institutions Retirement System.
The meeting addressed union
issues including the long-expired
Day Care contract and ensuring
that a new contract offers Day
Care Directors adequate health
care coverage. The discussion
also focused on developing an
explicit job description of a Day
Care Director’s role and responsibilities, a fuller understanding
of Project Full Enrollment, and
creating more professional development opportunities.
“Professional Development is
something that tends to be overlooked. Everybody gets trained
except for you,” said Dr.
Herman. Dr. Herman added that
professional development is crucial, and she is advocating for
more opportunities for Early
Childhood Administrators.
December 2008
CSA NEWS
9
NSBA Says
Azoulay-Lewin Is
One to Watch
MS 247: Dual Language School
A School That Means Business
BY YURIDIA PEÑA
S 247, a dual language middle
school on
Manhattan’s
Upper West Side,
embraces bilingual students
offering them a rigorous curriculum that fully blends the
study of Spanish language and
culture into most classes.
Housed on the third floor of
PS 84 in Manhattan’s District 3,
MS 247 has a population of 196
students. Most of the students
commute from Washington
Heights and the Bronx.
“Part of what works is keep-
M
‘Students come in
with superficial
pride.’
ing the school small,” said
Principal Claudia Aguirre. “We
know their names; we know
everything about them,” she
said. Ms. Aguirre values the
small school setting and is glad
to see the initiative spreading
citywide.
Although there are no academic requirements for gaining admission to the school,
Ms. Aguirre does seek students
who have a basic knowledge of
Spanish. The student body is
100 percent Latino, comprised
of newly arrived immigrants
and Americans of Latin
American and Caribbean
descent. For students who are
new to the United States, MS
247 often serves as a safe
haven where they learn
English while maintaining ties
to their culture. Other stu-
PHOTOS BY YURIDIA PEÑA
■ A seventh grader tries his hand at impressionism during an art class.
■ Claudia Aguirre,Principal of MS 247, D-3, Manhattan with three students.
From left, Karen Mendoza, Karina Rodriguez and Steven Cruz.
dents are intrigued by their
parents’ stories or relatives’ cultures and want to learn more
in a school setting.
“(Students) come in with
superficial pride,” said Ms.
Aguirre. Adolescents come to
the school with a Latino pride
generated by the mainstream
television or their peers. At MS
247, they soon learn that the
school means business:
Students study Latin
American/Caribbean languages, history, music and art.
Ms. Aguirre began her
teaching career at MS 247 in
1994 and taught math, literature, science, and gym. She
then witnessed the school
undergo a period where it lost
its direction after founding
Principal Irma Marzan left.
After three interim acting
Principals, Ms. Aguirre admits
that she grew weary with the
upheaval at the school, and
planned a career move. Then,
in 2002, she was preparing to
open another school, when
she was offered the Principalship at MS 247. Ms. Aguirre
said she couldn’t say no to the
offer because she knew she
could turn the school around
and make it as successful, (or
even better!) as it had been
under Principal Marzan.
“(Our) teachers, they are
learners. They know every day
(that) they come here, they are
going to be asked to do more.
We work collaboratively to
achieve our goals,” she said.
Ms. Aguirre also said she’s
aware of a sense of urgency to
bring new immigrant students
to the same academic levels as
American-born children so
they’re all ready for high
school by the time they graduate.
Women in Labor Honored
■ NY State Sen.
Velmanette Montgomery
honored women in labor
at her Fashion
Extravaganza fundraiser
at the 1199 SEIU penthouse on Oct.30. CSA
First Vice President Randi
Herman was among the
honorees who modeled
African clothing designed
by Brooklyn designers.
From left, CSA Executive
Vice President Peter
McNally, CSA Executive
Director Field Services
Audrey Fuentes, City
Councilwoman Letitia
James, Ms. Montgomery,
CSA President Ernest
Logan and Dr. Herman
The National School Boards
Association has named Celine
Azoulay-Lewin,
Borough Director of Instructional Technology for Staten
Island/South
Brooklyn, to its
list of “20 to
Watch” educators for 2008.
Azoulay-Lewin
The recognition
was launched in 2006 to identify
emerging leaders who will help
shape the world of education
technology during the next 20
years. Ms. Azoulay-Lewin was recognized during the NSBA’s T+L
Conference in Seattle in October.
Sias is ‘Principal
of the Year’
The National
Sorority of Phi
Delta
Kappa
selected Amote
Sias as “Principal
of the Year”. A
luncheon honoring her was held
on Nov. 8 at the
Fleur D’Lis in
Amote Sias
Queens.
Phi Delta Kappa selected Ms.
Sias in recognition of her accomplishments as Principal of
Brooklyn Collegiate High School.
“We commend you for your commitment and dedication to excellence in education,” the sorority
told her.
25 Years Ago
(1983)
A tentative contract for
CSA’s Day Care members
was reached by CSA and the
city for the
period of July 1,
1983 through
June 30, 1984.
The agreement called for
a 7 percent
increase in salary, additional
welfare benefits, and payment of deferral monies for
those who qualified. The
contract was later approved
by CSA’s Day Care members
by a vote of 265 to 4.
Contract Online
A full version of the 20032010 collective bargaining
agreement between the CSA
and DOE is now available on
the CSA website, www.csanyc.org.This comprehensive
contract includes all Memorandum of Agreements
since the 1999 contract
agreement.
10
CSA NEWS
December 2008
Travel Desk
GARY GOLDSTEIN
To Australia, New Zealand and Beyond!
T
he major cruise lines offer their best
rates as early as 15 months prior to
sail date. Those who book early reap substantial savings. Once our allotment of
“seats” are gone at a certain rate, we must
re-contract which means higher rates. So
come aboard early! (I’m always interested
in hearing where you’d like to go. Please email me at gsolamar@aol.com.)
Winter Sailaway – 2009
Feb. 15–22, 2009
Book a Celebrity cruise on the yet-tobe launched Solstice, a whole new concept in cruising. On Feb. 15, fly from
NYC to Florida, then sail from Ft. Lauderdale to Labadee, St. Martin, Tortola and
San Juan and return on Feb. 22nd. Rates
are: inside, $1,498; window, $1,749; balcony, $1,879; concierge balcony, $2,079;
balcony with aqua class, $2,279. Add
taxes and government fees and optional
insurance of $229 per person.
Spring Break - 2009,
Egyptian-Style
April 8 - April 19, 2009
Depart JFK on April 8, 2009 and return April 19. Join Collette Tours* and
co-host Smithsonian Journeys as we
step back in time to explore thousands
of years of history, legend and lore in
Egypt. We’ll visit the Giza Pyramid, the
sites of Memphis and Sakkara, Luxor
and Karnak Temples and the tombs of
the West Bank of ancient Thebes. Combine the above with a five-day cruise on
the Nile to the Temple of Karnak, Esna,
Edfu (Temple of Horus), Kitchener Island, Aswan Dam and the temple of
Isis. Price includes roundtrip airfare, an
Egyptologist guide, 10 breakfasts, four
lunches and eight dinners. Cost: $3,497
per person for a double; $4,119 single
rate, $3,439 triple room. *Limited to 44
passengers.
rope. Molde is our next port. Continue
to Olden and inspect the 6,500 foot
Jostedal Glacier. We head south to
Bergen, once the medieval kingdom of
Norway. We’ll dock in Amsterdam on
July 20 where you may take an optional
excursion or return home.
The rates are: Inside, $3,549 per person, double occupancy; window, $4,099
per person; balcony, $4,798; sky suite,
$6,198. Pre- and post-Amsterdam packages available on request. Add taxes, fuel
surcharge and government fees of $209.
Optional insurance is available.
July 7 - July 20, 2009
Depart July 7 from NYC to Amsterdam as Celebrity’s Century sails on July
8 to the Arctic Circle and North Cape
through the majestic Norwegian Fjords.
Visit Alesund, Norway, the site of the
Geirangerfjord and then onto the Arctic
Circle to see the Northern Lights. See
Tormso, known as the “Paris of the
North”, and head for the port of Honningsvag, the northernmost town in Eu-
Australia, New Zealand
Fly from NYC to Cairns, Australia.
View the Great Barrier Reef, the
Aboriginal Cultural Center, and the
famous Hartley Croc Farm. Fly to
Sydney and Paddington. Fly to New
Zealand and Queenstown, the gateway
to the South Island including Milford
Sound, the Lord of the Rings Turf, Mt.
Cook, and the Canterbury atmosphere
of Queenstown. Spend one night
enjoying dinner and a sheep shearing
demonstration with a typical New
Zealand family on their ranch. Return
AFSA Scholarship
Program 2008-09
Article Profiles
CSA’s Historian
The American Federation of
School Administrators is accepting applications for its 20082009 scholarship program. The
program is for children of AFSA
members who will be entering
college, for
the first time,
in the fall
2009. Five winners will be chosen and awarded $2,500 each.
(All CSA members are members
of AFSA as well, and their children are eligible to apply.)
The deadline for submitting
an application is Feb. 28. For
more information and to download an application, visit the
AFSA website at www.admin.org.
Jack Zuckerman, CSA’s historian and a past President of the
union, was recently featured in
the Queens Tribune Community
Characters special issue. The publication profiled Queens residents
“who, for love, ego or a sense of
justice, advocate for a cause and
the good of the community.”
In the article by Joe Orovic,
Mr. Zuckerman is portrayed as a
“treasure trove” of NY educational history, as well as a strong
labor man who, among his
achievements, helped coordinate
the first-ever strike by educational supervisors in 1967.
“I helped coordinate the
strike,” Mr. Zuckerman told Mr.
Orovic. “At the time, it was never
heard of for supervisors to go on
strike. They told us, ‘Don’t do it’
and threatened us.’”
The Education Alumni of The
City College of New York plans
to honor an outstanding public
school administrator to represent outstanding administrators
who received their educations at
CCNY. The winner’s name will
be inscribed on the School of
Education’s Wall of Honor,
receive an individual plaque and
a check.
The award ceremony will be
held on May 2, 2009 at a luncheon at the National Arts Club.
For information, nomination
forms, and other events of the
CCNY Education Alumni, e-mail
SOEAlum@ccny.cuny.edu.
Sail the Caribbean Princess from
the Port of Brooklyn to San Juan, PR
with stops including Bermuda, St.
Kitts, Antigua and St. Thomas. Prices
include cruise, one-way return air and
transfers in San Juan. Inside-$899pp;
Balcony - $1099pp; Mini-Suite (best
value) - $1398pp. Save $100 for the
cabin if deposited on or before Feb. 6,
2009. Add $198pp for taxes/gov’t fees.
Fuel surcharge included. Optional
insurance available.
For more information, call Gary
Goldstein at (732) 786-0314 or e-mail
him at gsolamar@aol.com.
In Memoriam
Briefs
CCNY Honor for
School Leader
Outstanding Cruise Value
Oct. 24 - Nov. 2, 2009
Aug. 14 -28, 2009
To the Top of the World
to NYC on Aug. 28 or take an extension to Fiji from Aug. 28-30. The program includes air, 12 breakfasts, two
lunches and six dinners, touring as
specified, all accommodations in fourstar hotels, taxes/service. Airport departure taxes not included. Rates: Double,
$4,999 per person; Single, $6199; Triple
$4,949 (existing bedding). For the Fiji
Extension, add $549 per person based
on double occupancy.
Irish American Art
Contest Announced
The Irish American Heritage
and Cultural Committee of the
Board Of Education, in coordination with Doris Meyer and
Tom Murphy, Co-Chairs of the
UFT Irish American Studies
Committee, is pleased to
announce its annual art contest
for 2009: "People of Ireland in
Ireland and America: Champions
of Peace and Reconciliation." For
information and timeline, contact Maureen Ingram at: mingram@schools.nyc.gov.
■ JACK BERGER, 68, died on April 4
of acute leukemia. Mr. Berger retired
from the NYC schools in 1995 as
Assistant Principal at IS 25. He
served the city schools for over 30
years. Condolences may be sent to
his wife, Susan, at 539 Bardini Dr.,
Melville, NY 11747. Donations can
be made to the American Cancer
Society.
■ NATHAN BERMAN, 85, died on
March 19.Mr.Berman retired in 1984
as Assistant Principal of JHS 220,
Brooklyn, after serving in the NYC
schools for 36 years. Mr. Berman is
survived by his wife, Katherine; condolences may be sent to her at 575
Main St. #604, NY, NY 10044.
■ DOROTHY DESANTO, 79, a former school supervisor and CSA
District Chair, passed away on March
28.Ms. DeSanto was in the NYC public school system for about 40 years.
She graduated from the College of
Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale. After
several jobs, she began teaching
and rose through the ranks to
become the Principal of PS 49, D-24,
Queens. She retired in 1997. After
retirement, she worked for the
Board of Education as an exam proctor as well as in other capacities. An
active union member, she served as
the District 24 Chair from the mid1980s to mid-1990s. Condolences
may be sent to her husband of 57
years, Victor DeSanto, at 140-09 Oak
Ave., Flushing, NY 11358.
■ RALPH FABRIZIO SR., 77, died
suddenly on Aug.29.He retired from
the NYC Schools in 1994 as
Superintendent of District 20, in
Brooklyn, a position he held from
1986. Prior to that, Mr. Fabrizio was
Principal of PS 170 in District 20 for
16 years, from 1972 until 1986. He
was an Assistant Principal, assigned
to oversee the personnel office under Superintendent Dr. Juliet
Saunders prior to being named principal. He began his career as a
school teacher at PS 220, Pershing
Junior High School, in 1956. He was
very active with both the UFT and
the CSA. After retirement, Mr.
Fabrizio taught at St. John's
University, training students to
become school teachers. Condolences may be sent to his son,
Ralph Fabrizio, Jr., and daughter,
Karen Spadaro at the Fabrizio
Family, 30 Waterside Plaza, Apt. 31D,
NY, NY 10010. Donations may be
made to the St. Jude Research
Hospital, in Memphis,TN.
■ DR.TOBY KURZBAND,99,the former Superintendent of District 2,
died on Sept. 10. Dr. Kurzband graduated from the University of
Chicago and received his Ed.D. at
Teacher’s College, Columbia Uni-versity. Dr. Kurzband taught art at the
Bronx HS of Science, later becoming
the Principal of PS 1,Manhattan,and
then Superinten-dent of District 2.In
his later years, he taught at the
University of Rhode Island, Pace
University,
Pratt
Institute,
Marymount College and the Penn
South Senior Center. Contributions
in his name may be sent to the Penn
South Program for Seniors, Mutual
Redevelopment Houses, Inc. 321 8th
Ave., NY, NY 10001. Condolences
may be sent to his wife, Diana, at 300
West 23rd St., Apt. 15K, NY, NY
10011.
■ DR. NORMAN SCHAUMBERGER,
79, died on July 10. His wife, Helene
Schaumberger, retired in 2002 as
Director of Pupil Personnel Services
in District 30, Queens. Dr.
Schaumberger was a professor of
mathematics and taught at Cooper
Union, City College, Columbia
University and Bronx Community
College. He was an editor of several
mathematics journals, and published more than 300 professional
articles, essays and other written
materials. Condolences may be sent
to Mrs. Schaumberger at 62-59
Douglaston Parkway, Douglaston,
NY 11362. Contributions maybe
sent to the Dr. Norman Schramberger Scholarship Fund at Bronx
Community College.
■ HOWARD SCHLESINGER, 66, died
on Oct. 20 after a battle with cancer.
Mr.Schlesinger retired in 2003 as the
Assistant Principal-Su-pervision of
Mathematics and Science from the
HS of Fashion Industries. He began
his long career with the city’s
schools in 1965 as a high school
teacher. He began teaching at HS of
Fashion Industries in 1984 and
became its Assistant Principal in
1987. After his retirement, he
worked at CCNY training new supervisors and coaches in mathematics.
He is survived by his mother, Lillian
Schlesinger. Con-dolences may be
sent to his lifelong friend, Susan
Geller, 570 Fort Washington Ave., NY,
NY 10040.
■ ALAN ZWERLING passed away on
July 22 at his home, at the age of 53.
Mr. Zwerling, a teacher at PS 201,
Queens, had completed more than
29 years of service in District 25,
Queens.The new school library, built
with funds donated by the Robin
Hood Foundation, was dedicated to
his memory. Mr. Zwerling was the
son of former Principal Don
Zwerling, who retired in 1990 from
JHS 185, Flushing, and Adele
Zwerling, a former teacher at PS 22,
Flushing, who also retired in 1990.
Condolences may be sent to Mr. and
Mrs. Zwerling at 212-05 16th Ave.,
Bayside, NY 11360.
December 2008
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
11
44th Annual
Leadership Conference
Words and Pictures. A 10-Page Section.
RACHEL ELKIND
Audience members listen with rapt attention to CSA President Ernest Logan as he gives his annual
report to the membership at CSA’s 44th Educational Leadership Conference on Nov.15 at the Hilton NY.
12
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
December 2008
1,500 Attend CSA Annual Leadership Meeting
Continued from page 1
sage to the CSA membership.
(For a complete report of Mr. Logan’s remarks,
see Page 2.)
More than 1,500 people – more than half of them members – attended the
daylong event at the Hilton New York, which featured 22 professional development workshops and more than 100 exhibitors.
T
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ The registration area was divided into several areas to prevent long lines from forming.
he day began with registration, breakfast and a chance for members to
greet colleagues and tour the Exhibitor’s Hall before the first professional
development workshops. (For coverage of workshops, see pages 16-17.)
Concurrently, the Retiree Chapter held a breakfast and a general membership meeting for about 150 members. The Retiree Chapter honored one of its own
this year: Irwin Shanes, who retired last spring as Retiree Chapter Chair. (Coverage
of the Retiree Chapter’s event, see pages 22-23.)
Mid-morning, hundreds of visitors arrived at the Grand Ballroom to hear
keynote speaker Randy Cohen give a talk entitled How to Be Good. Mr. Cohen,
better known as The Ethicist from The New York Times Magazine, turned what
appeared to be a simplistic topic into a discussion of community versus individual
behavior, i.e. character, and how the group dynamic has an impact on individual
decisions. (Coverage of Mr. Cohen’s talk, see page 14.)
After the Plenary Session and a ½-hour coffee break, the second strand of professional development workshops began. In all, 24 individual workshops were
given including three workshops designed for Retiree Chapter members.
Concurrent with the second strand, CSA President Ernest Logan held a reception
for members of the President’s Club and guests of honor.
At 1:15 p.m., everyone again gathered in the Grand Ballroom for the luncheon.
During the program, CSA presented Irwin Shanes with its first-ever Peter S. O’Brien
Award for his loyal service and fierce dedication to the union. Mr. Shanes was the
Administrator of the CSA Welfare Fund for nearly 30 years and, as previously
noted, the Chair of the CSA Retiree Chapter until his retirement last spring.
CSA Executive Vice President Peter McNally provided the audience with a brief
overview of Mr. Shanes’ career with CSA as well as the late Mr. O’Brien’s contributions to the union; as President of the union in the 1970s, Mr. O’Brien was able to
attain shop agency status for the union through his influence in Albany.
After praising Mr. Shanes, Mr. McNally said, “It has been CSA’s privilege to have
a man of such integrity and honor work on the union’s behalf. It has been a privilege for all of us at CSA to work with him,” and welcomed Mr. Shanes to the
podium. Mr. Shanes, clearly moved by the experience, seemed almost at loss for
words. He said briefly, “What can you say after all that except to say that Peter
O’Brien will live forever in this union because his wisdom, courage helped
make it possible for all of us to be here today and I am proud to have been
part of that effort. Thank you very much,” and then sat down while the
audience gave him a standing ovation.
‘Dealing with Chancellor Klein is nothing
compared to dealing with a group
of fifth-graders.’
—ASSEMBLYWOMAN CATHY NOLAN
D
RACHEL ELKIN
urn appearance at
Science made a ret
of
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Sc
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Hi
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■ The Jazz Band fro
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CSA presented Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan with its annual
Leadership in Education Award. Ms. Nolan thanked the audience of educators for all that they do in the schools. “Dealing with Chancellor Klein
is nothing compared to dealing with a group of fifth-graders,” she joked
after relating how tired she was after a school trip with her son, a student at PS 78, D-30, Queens. On a more serious note, she reinforced the
time-honored credo that all parties with an interest in the schools need
to continue developing that conversation. “My definition of leadership is a dialogue …” she said. She also spoke about the tough choices the state will have to
make in light of the growing financial crisis “The big question going forward is
going to be ‘how do we do things in bad times?’ They cut everything in the ‘70s.
We can’t let that happen again,” Ms. Nolan said.
December 2008
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
13
RACHEL ELKIND
■ More than 1,500 people attended the gala luncheon in the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom.
Ms. Nolan also asked for input from CSA’s membership on school governance and mayoral control. “I want to walk hand-in-hand with you,” she
said, asking for suggestions from the leaders of the city’s schools.
Mr. Logan, in his message to the membership, also called for more input
from supervisors as well as from parents. Although the school system has
made progress in focusing attention on individual students, he said, “You
know what we still haven’t done? We still haven’t put the parents’ voice back
in public education in this city … Top-down decisions are wonderful to
make. You go and say, ‘I’m going to do this? ’Cause I’m the Principal.’ But
those of us (who understand) true leadership know that when you do it by
yourself, you’re doing it for yourself. You’re not doing it for the children. So
what I’m calling on is that we put the “P” back in public education – the parents – we stop believing that because we have to listen to other people, it
will take too long to (make decisions).
A
mong the other speakers was Harry Nespoli, Chairman of the
Municipal Labor Committee and President of the Uniformed
Sanitationmen's Association. “As the newly elected chair,” he said,
“I will pledge to you to do whatever we need to do to save your
jobs and your benefits.”
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein also brought greetings from the Department of
Education and spoke about the historical importance of the election of Barack
Obama as President of the United States. He pointed out that Mr. Obama’s education gave him the skills and knowledge to realize his potential.
Among the elected guests of honor were Congresswoman Yvette Clarke,
City Comptroller William Thompson, NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum,
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and City Council members Gale
Brewer, Bill DeBlasio, Eric Gioia, Helen Sears and Al Vann.
In addition to AFSA President Jill Levy, other guests of honor included
SED Associate Commissioner Shelia Evans Tranumn, NYS Regents Dr.
Geraldine Chapey, Dr. Betty Rosa and Dr. Lester Young; Chancellor Klein,
Deputy Chancellor Marcia Lyles, Martine Guerrier, DOE Chief Family
Engagement Officer; Ed Ott, Executive Director of the NYC Central Labor
Council and Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for NYC.
Major sponsors of CSA’s 44th Leadership Conference were
Verizon/Thinkfinity, CITE and the NYC Arts Education Roundtable. Other
sponsors include Kaplan K12, Tequipment Inc., Apple, Inc., Handwriting
Without Tears, College Summit, Math for America, Voyager Expanded
Learning and Scholastic.
RACHEL ELKIND
■ CSA President
Ernest Logan
received a standing
ovation at the end of
his speech.
■ Left, CSA
Executive Vice
President Peter
McNally welcomes
retirees to the
Conference during
the Retiree Chapter’s
annual breakfast
and meeting.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
Retirees at the Conference.
Pages 20—21
14
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
December 2008
Times Ethicist Explores Student Behavior
BY CHRISTINE ALTMAN
W
ith charm and wit, Keynote Speaker
Randy Cohen spoke light-heartedly to
CSA Conference participants during the
Plenary Session on the serious topic of
How to Be Good. Mr. Cohen, otherwise known as the
author of The Ethicist, a column that appears weekly
in The New York Times Magazine, discussed the correlation between character and community. He said that,
all too often, ethics is the study of individuals, with
too little emphasis on the communities in which
those individuals are making decisions.
“If we want
to change
people’s
behavior,” Mr.
Cohen said,
“and that’s
the whole
point of
ethics, and, I
believe, the
central point
of education –
we should
realize there
are conditions
under which
people tend to
act well and
conditions under which people tend to behave very
badly.”
Mr. Cohen went on to say that obviously people
still have individual choice and have individual
responsibilities but, as he put it, it’s really tough to
Keynoter Randy Cohen:
Entertaining and Provocative
drive at 65 mph if everybody is zipping by at 90.
“If you put people in the right conditions, it’s
impressive how well they’ll behave,” he said, citing
the NYC “pooper-scooper” law as evidence. Before
the Canine Waste Law was enacted 30 years ago, the
condition of the city’s sidewalks was “medieval.”
Changing the social assumption – everyone will pick
up after his dog – had a profound effect on human
conduct, he said.
Ethics can be divided into two broad groups, Mr.
Cohen said: The right thing to do, and then how to
get people to do it. Society can form a broad consensus on what the right thing is, he said, but there’s less
agreement on the how. Mr. Cohen recounted the
story of a young Ben Franklin, who set out on “a
bold, arduous project of reaching moral perfection.”
He devised a list of 13 virtues: temperance, silence,
order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice,
moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and
humility, and then attempted to work on one virtue
each week for 13 weeks hoping that, by the end of
the experiment, he would have reached moral perfection. “After six weeks, he reached virtue number
six – industry,” said Mr. Cohen, “and that’s when he
abandoned the entire project.”
Randy Cohen believes Mr. Franklin fundamentally took the wrong approach by attempting to produce good conduct by changing his character.
Schools work in various ways to foster moral
behavior, some of them better than others, Mr.
Cohen said. He discussed the pros and cons of a few
of them. Mr. Cohen said he does not favor a zero tolerance policy. While there’s something to be said for
a policy that emphasizes how seriously a school takes
an issue, such as cheating, Mr. Cohen believes that
punishment should not be the first or only step.
Indeed, a zero tolerance policy may discourage people from reporting since they know the wrongdoer
will face the ultimate penalty. Similarly, Mr. Cohen
said he does not believe in strict honor codes that
rely on students to blow the whistle on each other.
“We say we like whistleblowers but that’s the only
neutral word we have for people who do that,” Mr.
Cohen said, adding that the rest of the vocabulary,
such as squealer, rat and snitch, are ugly words that
are not descriptive of conduct we admire.
M
r. Cohen favors a system of “duty to act” that
says a) observers may not ignore a situation
and b) provides methods for handling such situations. A duty-to-act policy discourages students from
passivity and gives them suggestions as to how they
can handle various situations without feeling that
they are betraying their friends.
“We have to see ourselves with reciprocal obligations to one another,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would argue
that if ethics will flourish only in a just society, then it
becomes a moral obligation to build a just society.”
Mr. Cohen is the author of numerous magazine pieces
and two books: Modest Proposals, a collection of letters,
and The Good, the Bad and the Difference. An EmmyAward winner, he was a writer for Late Night with David
Letterman, for TV Nation, and was the original head
writer on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, (for which he cowrote the theme music.) His daughter, a senior at Wesleyan
University, attended the NYC public schools.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What would you change about mayoral control?
YURIDIA PEÑA
Sheila Durant
AP, PS 69, D-8, Bronx
It’s been very beneficial to
us in terms of autonomy, leadership and accountability, but
we always want more parent
involvement … to be partners
in educating their children,”
said Sheila Durant, Assistant
Principal, PS 69X.
CHRIS ALTMAN
Lillian Pizarro
AP, IS 229, D-9, Bronx
I’d like him to realize the
data has a face. He doesn’t see
the children behind it.
CHRIS ALTMAN
Marcia Sobers
AP, IS 229, D-9, Bronx
The schools need to be run
and managed with the thought
that people are not products
and schools are not a business.
Special Education needs to be
revamped. Accountability has
remained but there is not
enough control on the school
level.
CHRIS ALTMAN
Michael Turner
AP, Queens Alternate
Learning Center
The mayor needs to relinquish the running of the
schools to the Chancellor, in
conjunction with the CSA and
UFT. He should not be the
Chancellor in proxy.
CHRIS ALTMAN
Huberta Schroedel
Supervisor for Hearing
Education Services, D75
I’m against mayoral control.
There have been too many
reforms. I think control should
be within the schools with the
teachers and administrators
who have the experience.
December 2008
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
15
CSA Honors for Two
IRWIN SHANES
CATHY NOLAN
Mr. Shanes was the first recipient of the Peter. S. O’Brien Award at
the Nov. 15 CSA Conference. The
award was struck in honor of the
late Mr. O’Brien, the charismatic
President of CSA during the mid1970s, and a
mentor of Mr.
Shanes. CSA
gave the award
to Mr. Shanes,
the former
Welfare Fund
Administrator
and first Retiree
Chapter Chair
Bernadette O’Brien for his extraordinary contributions to the union. Bernadette
O’Brien, Mr. O’Brien’s wife and a
retired NYC Principal, participated
in the award ceremony.
Each year, CSA honors those
who are leaders in either the world
of labor, the world of education or
both. This year, CSA tipped its hat
to Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan,
a leader who has had an impact
on both the state’s school children
and the state’s labor force: Ms.
Nolan is the Chair of the Assembly
Committee on Education, and the
former Chair of the Committee on
Labor. In these roles, Ms. Nolan
has spearheaded efforts to reduce
class size, implement Universal
Pre-K, improve middle school performance and improve high
school graduation rates.
Upon accepting her award, Ms.
Nolan paid deference to the educators in the audience. “Thank you
for all you do … I don’t know how
all of you do it,” she said.
■ Irwin Shanes accepts congratulations from City
Comptroller Bill Thompson.
RACHEL ELKIND
■ Cathy Nolan thanks CSA for her award.
Reunions Made Easy
RACHEL ELKIND
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ CSA Assistant Director Evelyn Phair Finn
and her daughter, Assistant Principal
Heather Leykan from P 771,D-75,Brooklyn.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ Donna Ridley, Assistant Principal from IS 181, D- ■ Ludella Nelson, Altagracia Moguel and Annie Anderson, Day Care
Directors from Manhattan, greet each other as they arrive at registra11, Bronx,enjoys a moment with friends at the
tion on the second floor of the Hilton New York.
table during the luncheon
Winners All! Door Prizes of Real Value
Each year, CSA ends its luncheon with a raffle. This year, the
prizes included a cruise, plane tickets and iPods. The winners are
shown on this page or listed below:
■ Leslyn Ward,Assistant Principal at
PS 276,D-18,Brooklyn, was
delighted to hear her name called
for a pair of jetBlue tickets.
■ Recently retired Assistant
Principal Lucie Elio now has the
time to take the cruise she won
from Celebrity Cruises.
■ Mamie L.Johnson of the CSA
Retiree Chapter was one of two
people to win an iPod at the
Conference’s end.
RACHEL ELKIND
■ Deborah Sanabria, an Assistant
Principal at MS 203, D7, Bronx,
shows off her brand-new iPod.
■ Carmen Vasquez, PTA
President at PS 274, Brooklyn,
won a Bose radio.
■ Jennifer Lovejoy, a math
coach at MS 298, won museum
passes.
■ Ronald Jones, RC Brooklyn
Regional Unit leader, unit won a
gift certificate to Tiffany’s.
■ Helene Llull, Assistant
Principal, PS 375, Manhattan,
won passes to Sesame Street Place.
■ Sydell Kane, Retiree Chapter,
won books for a school from
Schwabe Books.
■ Joseph Petrella, Retiree
Chapter, won books for a school.
■ Jessica Miller, Assistant
Principal, PS 73, Queens, won an
overnight stay at the Hilton NY.
16
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
December 2008
Workshops Drew Lively Crowds
A total of 24 workshops were offered including workshops for Retirees and Day Care Directors.
T
he professional development workshops at CSA’s annual conference are the anchor of the day. They provide union members with the opportunity to explore topics, learn about new technology, and hone their skills in a collaborative environment with
other administrators and supervisors. Workshop proposals are
reviewed by a committee at CSA before they are accepted to
ensure that the topics are of interest to CSA members at large.
Included in the day, but not pictured here, were workshops
offered by the Executive Leadership Institute and the Supervisory
Support Program. (For more information on these programs, visit
the CSA website, www.csa-nyc.org.)
■ THINKFINITY
IN CONTENT
AREAS: The
Verizon Foundation
sponsored this
workshop on
Thinkfinity’s free
resources for educators. Among
Thinkfinity’s offerings: lesson plans
aligned to state
education standards.
■ TECHNOLOGY
■ SUPERINTEN-
DENT’S SUSPENSIONS:
Melanie Johnson of
the Queens
Alternate Learning
Center led a panel
that reviewed the
structure and governing policies of
the Alternate
Learning Centers.
■ RESPONSE TO
INTERVENTION:
Keith Kline from
Handwriting
Without Tears
spoke about how to
reduce costly remdiation in the elementary grades
with tools that can
identify the struggling learner before
IEPs are needed.
■ ARTS
& CURRICULUM:
PARTNERSHIPS:
William Moore,
Principal of the
Robert H. Goddard
High School led this
panel discussion of
the successful integration of digital
resources into project-based lesson
planning and creation. Sponsored by
Apple Inc.
Sponsored by the
NYC Arts in
Education
Roundtable. A look
at the tools NYC
Arts in Education
offers for selecting
arts programs that
meet a school’s
goals. An overview
of a model arts residency was presented.
■ SUCCEEDING
■ NYCDCP – AN
WITH DATADRIVEN TOOLS:
INVESTMENT
BENEFIT:
Dr. Ramon Namnun,
Principal of HS of
World Cultures provided help for
supervisors who
serve ELL students
to develop functional structures to
allow school leaders to understand
results even before
schools receive
data.
Ralph Messinger
and Devindra Paul
(not shown) ran a
workshop on the
benefits of participating in the NYC
Deferred
Compensation Plan
and NYCE IRA to
save money in addition to the TDA program.
■ LEADING
■ CTT SUCCESS
MEETINGS: Joe
IN THE MIDDLE
GRADES:
Rigney of
Exec/Comm LLC
provided school
leaders with information on how they
could enhance their
professional presence by discovering
their best communication styles. Skillbuilding exercises
were included.
Donalda Chumney,
Principal of the
Jonas Bronck
Academy, led this
workshop on
Collaborative Team
Teaching. Strategies
and tools to
increase teacher
collaboration were
discussed.
December 2008
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
17
■ A DAY CARE
■ 10 GREAT
DISCUSSION:
DATA
STRATEGIES
Day Care Directors
Leonard Fennell and
Lois Lee ran this
workshop for CSA’s
Day Care members
to identify issues of
concern in the current school year, and
to establish steps to
take to bring these
issues to the public’s
awareness.
■ LEGAL
ISSUES:
Kaplan K12 provided this interactive session on
teaching educators
to use data to guide
teachers in making
better instructional
choices in their
schools.
■ COLLEGE
CULTURE:
This popular workshop, presented by
Gene Blaufarb,
CITE/College of St.
Rose, stressed being
proactive, not reactive, in preventing
many legal problems for school
leaders. The premise: It’s better to
know your staff’s
rights… and your
own!
College Summit
presented a panel
comprised of
Principals, staffs
and students from
three high schools
to discuss building
a successful college-bound program for students.
Inset: Principal
Mercedes Qualls
was among the presenters.
■ CRITICAL
■ A SMART
FOUNDATIONS
FOR ALGEBRA:
CENTRIC CLASSROOM
Marilyn Trow of
Scholastic took a
look at using adaptive technology
with low-achieving
students as well as
developing an intervention plan for
rebuilding the foundations of algebra
and closing the
achievement gap in
math for challenged
students.
Lindsay Angelo
from Tequipment
provided this workshop on SMART
Board interactive
whiteboards and
other SMART technologies that can be
integrated into a
classroom’s curriculum.
■ PROGRESS
■ THE “L”
REPORTS:
IN AYP:
Nancy Brogran and
Laura Winter (not
shown) from the
Executive
Leadership Institute,
presented a practical look at Progress
Reports and recent
changes to them. A
review of what the
data means and
how to use it in a
meaningful way.
Dr. Robert
Pasternack of
Voyager Expanded
Learning reviewed
research-based
effective interventions to provide
school leaders with
the tools needed to
ensure that all students become proficient and that all
subgroups make
adequate yearly
progress.
■ GET STARTED
■ 21st CENTURY
WITH
ENRICHMENT
CLUSTERS:
LEARNING
SKILLS:
Principal Annette
Kunin provided a
workshop on
enrichment clusters
and established the
difference between
such clusters and
clubs. How to create
a cluster was a
hands-on activity.
Jim McDermott and
Nancy J. Woods
from the DOE’s
Office of
Instructional
Technology presented a taste of the
DOE’s innovative
iLead Institute, a
multi-day program
for school leaders
on building a curriculum with technology.
18
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
N AT I O N
Education
December 2008
Cornucopia of Educational Aids
120 Exhibitors On Colorful Display
CALIFORNIA:
Call For Finance Ed
In a recent survey by HotChalk,an
online education resource,96% of
more than 500 teachers surveyed
said there is a need for financial literacy curricula and 76% say national
standards are needed so students
have the necessary tools to deal with
financial issues later in life. More
work needs to be done as only 49%
indicated they receive administrative support for financial curricula
and only 55% use finance education
in their teaching.(eSchool News)
MASSACHUSETTS:
3 State Makeover
Massachusetts, along with New
Hampshire and Utah, have committed to a dramatic change in their
education systems by supporting
the state implementation of“Tough
Choices or Tough Times”. The plan
was the focus of a 2006 Time magazine story that embraces the many
features of the world’s successful
education programs. Each state is
selecting parts of the plan that best
fit its needs. (Market Watch)
IDAHO:
Double Language,
Double Good
Test results recently showed that
both Hispanic and non-Hispanic
students enrolled in a dual language program in Blaine County are
performing better than students in
English-only classes. The dual
immersion students are instructed
half in English, half in Spanish,starting in Kindergarten. Though they
typically perform at lower levels for
the first few years,results are showing that they catch up by 3rd grade
and often surpass their English-only
counterparts in later grades. (Idaho
Mountain Express)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Discovery Partner
Discovery Education has partnered
with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools to improve student achievement in math, reading and science.
Discovery will provide educators
with professional development and
digital resources. In conjunction
with the North Carolina Standard
Course of Study,Discovery’s digital
content has been proven, scientifically, to improve student achievement. (eSchool News)
MARYLAND:
Internet Homework
Seventy-seven percent of K-12
teachers are assigning homework
that requires the internet,according
to a study for Cable in the
Classroom by Grunwald Associates
LLC. The study also found that 42%
of students are creating videos for
school assignments and 60% are
using YouTube to test science projects, skits,and more. In addition to
being media consumers,students
are learning technology skills in the
classroom. (Multichannel News)
— COMPILED BY
CHRISTINE ALTMAN
BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
T
he Exhibitors Hall overflowed
with CSA members and guests
who visited more than 120 vendors including many first-time
exhibitors such as Verizon, (a major
sponsor of the Conference,) Applebee’s,
Barnes & Noble and JP Morgan Chase’s
Union Plus Mortgage Program.
Ice cream, chocolates and copies of
The New York Times were among the
freebies distributed throughout the day.
Many exhibitors focused on resources
for administrators and supervisors to
enhance basic curriculum offerings, such
as in the arts, in mathematics and economics. Other exhibitors focused on the
technology and the changing face of
21st century classrooms.
In the back of the Exhibitors’ Hall,
conference attendees had the opportunity to help themselves to a continental
breakfast, coffee and tea. Conference
planners carefully established exclusive
viewing time for the vendors to ensure
that no one missed any of the
Conference workshops or events.
19
CSA NEWS / CONFERENCE
December 2008
Names, Faces, Honored Guests
The City’s Movers and Shakers Mix It Up at Conference
■ CSA First Vice President Randi Herman,
Central Labor Council Executive Director Ed
Ott, and City Councilman Eric Gioia.
■ Teacher Deborah Nesmith (PS 47,
Bronx) greets City Comptroller
William Thompson after the lunch.
■ City Councilman Al Vann and NYS Regent
Dr. Lester Young. Mr. Vann represents the
36th Council District in Brooklyn.
■ Harry Nespoli, the recently elected
head of the city’s Municipal Labor
Committee.
on,
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■
A
S
■ NYS Regent Dr. Betty Rosa was among the
guests on the dais. Right, Assemblywoman
Cathy Nolan.
■ Dr. Shelia Evans-Tranumn,
SED Associate Commissioner is
a regular at CSA’s Conference.
■ City Councilman Bill DeBlasio and
Supervisory Support Coordinator
Herman Merritt.
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20
December 2008
CSA NEWS / RETIREES
RETIREE
Chapter
CHAIR’S MESSAGE
Neil Lefkowitz
CSA Recognizes Role
Retiree Chapter Plays
in Advancing Agenda
C
SA’s Conference this
year was attended by a
large number of Retiree
Chapter members who were
able to attend a series of workshops geared to their needs or
attend the regular professional
development program for
active members.
During the morning general membership meeting, we
were addressed by CSA
President Ernest Logan who
emphasized the importance of
the Retiree Chapter in gaining
the union’s political goals, not
only to protect and improve
our health and welfare benefits, but to improve the quality
of education in our city. Mr.
Logan also stated that he
would never allow the city or
state to balance the budget by
eroding retiree health and welfare benefits. In addition, he
said that the merger of the CSA
Retiree Chapter and the RSSA
enhanced the political power of all of us, bringing additional strength to our union.
The officers and I reported on the programs that the
Retiree Chapter provides to members. (See story on this
page.) I also reported on the growth of local Regional
Units throughout the nation. As members retire and
leave the metropolitan area, they express interest in
their local Regions and in becoming active politically.
We have emphasized to the Regional leaders the importance of local lobbying especially with the new administration coming aboard in January. One of our major
goals is to allow Medicare the right to negotiate drug
costs to reduce the number of our members who fall
into the notorious Medicare Plan D “doughnut hole”.
At the end of the morning session, we honored former Retiree Chair Irwin Shanes for his dedication in
bringing about the merger of the CSA and the RSSA and
being the first chair of our merged organization. Mr.
Shanes will still play a role in the union’s affairs as Mr.
Logan has appointed him Special Vice President for
Retirees.
The city’s
pension
systems are
diversified
and capable
of meeting
their obligations.
L
•••
ast month, Mr. Logan invited Bill Pinkett and me
to attend a Crain’s business breakfast. NYC
Comptroller William Thompson was the guest
speaker. During the question-and-answer period, he was
asked about the viability of the NYC pension systems
and he responded that the city’s pension systems were
diversified and capable of meeting their obligations.
The Retiree Chapter Advisory Committee meets
monthly to develop the agenda for the Executive
Board. They bring member concerns and suggestions to
our attention, which is why I continually ask you to
attend your local Region meetings. Out-of-town members send their concerns to us and they become part of
the informational process as well.
I want to wish you and your family a healthy and
happy holiday and New Year.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ Retiree members enjoyed a wide range of breakfast items from the generous buffet.
Gala Spirit
RETIREES AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BY DEE-DEE GOIDEL
A party spirit prevailed when
the Retiree Chapter’s program at
the 44th CSA Leadership Conference kicked off at 9 a.m.
About 150 retirees thronged into
the Hilton’s Sutton Parlor for a buffet breakfast, an open membership
meeting and plenty of time in
between for hugging and conversation. In addition, the Retiree
Chapter honored former Chapter
Chair Irwin Shanes for his vision
and work in overseeing the 2005
merger of the CSA Retiree Chapter
and the Retired School Supervisors
Association organization.
As people finished their scambled eggs, croissants and bagels, RC
Director Gary Goldstein opened the
program for the standing-room
only audience. He introduced CSA
President Ernest Logan, who spoke
about how retirees laid the groundwork for the union and educated
the children of earlier generations.
He also spoke of the serious financial conditions of the state and city,
and the threats made against union
members across the country with
attacks on health benefits. (For more
on Mr. Logan’s remarks, see Neil
Lefkowitz’s column about the
Conference on this page.)
CSA Executive Vice President
Peter McNally spoke about how the
Retiree Chapter has accomplished
so much in such a short time. He
refered to the establishment of
many new Regional Units in the
city and around the country where
large numbers of CSA members
have resettled in retirement. CSA
First Vice President Randi Herman
told members how much she
enjoys meeting them when she
speaks at individual Regional meetings during the year.
RC Chair Neil Lefkowitz spoke
Retirees crowned
Irwin Shanes
with admiration,
not laurels.
RACHEL ELKIND
■ Brooklyn Regional Unit Leader
Ron Jones won a gift certificate to
Tiffany’s during the luncheon raffle.
about the recent downturn in the
economy and the effect it is having on city and state pension funds.
He thanked the legislative coordinators of each Regional Unit for
their work (as well as myself.) He
reviewed important aspects of various RC services and mentioned
Don Juliano’s fine work answering
questions about TRS and pensionrelated issues.
First Vice President Gayle
Lockett reported on how successful
the outreach workshops have been,
and thanked Outreach Coordinator
Felice Hannah for her efforts; Ms.
Lockett also gave kudos to Michael
Ebenstein, Marty Smith and
Emerson Spry for the vast array of
offerings of trips, lectures and
courses from the Educational and
Cultural Committee.
Treasurer William Pinkett reported that the membership is at
9,280 including 200 Day Care
retirees. Secretary Aaron Stern reported that he has been meeting
with a Membership Benefits Committee to study ways to increase RC
supplemental benefits. Mr. Lefkowitz also introduced Second Vice
President Joseph Rosenberg who
became an officer in September.
The highlight of the RC program, however, was when Irwin
Shanes was feted. First, Assemblyman Alan Maisel, (a retired school
supervisor and a former teacher in
Mr. Shanes’ school many years
Continued on page 21
December 2008
21
CSA NEWS / RETIREES
Having a Fabulous Time
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ Above, registration for the Retiree
Chapter program.
■ Left, Rosina Montana, a former
CSA District Chair and former
Executive Leader Institute
Coordinator helps herself to breakfast.
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
■ Above, center: There was a lot of hugging and shouts of recognition as
retirees poured into the Sutton Parlor for the meeting.
■ Above, right: Assemblyman Alan Maisel and Irwin Shanes display the
Assembly Proclamation presented to Mr. Shanes during the morning’s events.
RETIREES AT
ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Continued from page 20
ago,) presented Mr. Shanes with an
Assembly Proclamation. Then, Mr.
Goldstein presented Mr. Shanes
with a commemorative plaque
honoring his years of dedicated
service to CSA retirees. Mr.
Lefkowitz, in turn, presented Mr.
Shanes with an engraved pocket
watch, a daily reminder of the
union’s true regard for his work.
As always, Mr. Shanes displayed
his trademark humor, remarking
that since his retirement in July, he
has gotten to know his doctors by
their first names as he takes this
test or that, or tries this medication
or that. His wife, Phyllis Shanes
also received a small momento – a
pin – for all the late dinners and
ruined evenings and weekends she
experienced as her husband fielded
calls from needy members.
Mr. Shanes accepted the honors
and said that he always felt that
retirees should be a part of the
union, having a voice and a vote.
He emphasized that retirees must
maintain legislative pressure on the
city and Albany to ensure that their
health and pension benefits are not
eroded. Retirees rose to their feet
and gave him a standing ovation
when he finished his remarks.
After the program, three workshops were offered specifically
geared toward retiree members.
They were: Communicating with
Elected Officials; Union Plus Benefits;
and Medicare and Social Security – an
Overview of the Programs. Retirees
could also attend any of the other
professional development offerings
as well.
The retirees who stayed for
lunch later said they were awed by
President Logan’s dynamic speech,
complimenting him on his delivery.
Retirees from all around the
country attended the meeting.
RACHEL ELKIND
■ Bernadette O’Brien greets Principal Eloise Messineo. Mrs. O’Brien was a Principal and the wife of former CSA President Peter S. O’Brien.
■ Far left: The former
Superintendent of D-28,
Joseph Petrella, was
among the raffle winners at the luncheon.
■ A reunion of
Manhattan administrators. Back row, from left:
Robert Cole, Jackie
Boucher and Deborah
Simmons. Front row,
from left, Danny House,
from Yonkers (NYSFSA),
Sharon McLeod, Edith
Bly-Jenkins and Ron
Rivera.
RACHEL ELKIND
ANNE SILVERSTEIN
CSA NEWS / RETIREES
22
December 2008
Fall Getaway Provides ‘Wonderful’ Vacation
BY ANNE SILVERSTEIN
Surrounded by the fall foliage, more
than 100 retirees attended four days and
three nights of parties, receptions, meetings, workshops, competitions, nightclub
performances and meals during the Retiree
Chapter’s annual October Getaway at the
Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center.
“It was wonderful,” said Stanley Wilson,
the Manhattan Regional Unit Leader. “It
cost me less than it costs to stay home,”
he said with a laugh. “The magnificent fall
foliage we had was at no extra charge. The
hotel was completely redone, sparkling
clean and beautiful. The food was excellent and the service was exceptional.”
‘The hotel was
sparkling clean and
beautiful.’
In between the cocktail parties and
nightclub shows was plenty of time for
shooting billiards, playing ping pong and
heading to the links. Others attended feature films, line dancing, bingo and organized games.
Tournaments, coordinated by Marty
Smith, were held on Tuesday and
Wednesday. The winners of the tournaments were: golf, John Gentile; shuffleboard, Arthur Isman and Gene Tierney; billiards, Arthur Isman; bowling, Jules Weisler;
scrabble, Selma Moses; ping pong, Arthur
Isman; bocce, Anthony Cardamone and
Gene Tierney; and bridge, Mitchell and
Estelle Checrallah. They received framed
certificates at Thursday evening’s Banquet.
Workshops and seminars included
Current Events, presented by Neil Lefkowitz,
RC Chair; opera appreciation and a wine
tasting, led by Ron Attivissimo; and a
Welfare Fund overview and update of benefits presented by Dr. Douglas Hathaway,
Administrator of the CSA Welfare Funds.
For those who came by bus, free pickup
service to and from the Monticello bus
station was available.
CSA president Ernest Logan attended
the meeting and spoke at the Executive
Board/membership meeting. Reports were
also
given
by
Marty
Smith
(Educational/Cultural), Pat De Meo
(Legislative Committee), Gayle Lockett
(Outreach Committee), William Pinkett,
(Treasury), Aaron Stern, (Secretary.)
JULIUS WEISLER
■ The Catskills displayed all their glorious autumnal colors.
ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN
■ Skill, strategy and just a little luck make Bocce
a competitive game.
ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN
■ Retirees participated in many activities including golf, swimming, dancing and
cards.
ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN
■ The annual health fair is always a popular
event for retirees interested in valuable information and free samples.
■ The Bronx was well represented at the Getaway. From
left, Bronx Regional Unit Leader Lenny Zavlick, Eathelle
Clay, Janice Keller and Gayle Lockett.
ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN
■ CSA President Ernest Logan, right, spent a day at the Retiree Chapter Getaway.
ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN
■ Wine expert Ron Attivissimo held a wine tasting.
CSA NEWS / RETIREES
December 2008
RC Regional Units
NEW JERSEY
BRONX
More than 80 Unit members attended
a general membership “bagel breakfast”
meeting on Oct. 29. We heard updates
from Unit Leader Les Golden and retiring
Treasurer Barbara Panzer.
CSA Welfare Fund Administrator Dr.
Douglas Hathaway and
Assistant
Administrator Sherri Tabachnick presented
information about our medical and dental
benefits and responded to questions from
the audience. The dynamic duo was followed by the equally dynamic RC Chair
Neil Lefkowitz who addressed the issue of
the economy and its effect on our pensions and benefits. To date, there has been
no negative effect on either our pensions
or benefits. For our migrating snowbirds,
we wish for warm, sunny breezes and for
our hardy residents, a mild and healthy
winter.
—LES GOLDEN
Our opening fall meeting on Sept. 22,
held at the Atria in Riverdale, was well
attended. Guest speakers included RC
Chair Neil Lefkowitz, CSA First Vice
President Randi Herman and RC Director
Gary Goldstein. Mr. Lefkowitz outlined
Chapter goals, Dr. Herman brought greeting from CSA President Ernest Logan and
Mr. Goldstein discussed Chapter activities. Featured speaker Dr. Douglas
Hathaway conducted a workshop on CSA
Retiree Welfare Fund and RC supplementary benefits. Dr. Hathaway handled many
questions from the floor and remained
after the meeting to address members' private individual questions. We’re planning
a spring meeting at which RC Outreach
Coordinator Felice Hannah will speak.
—LENNY ZAVLICK
LONG ISLAND
At our fall Oct. 27 membership meeting, we “schmoozed,” ate bagels, cookies,
and drank coffee. RC Chair Neil Lefkowitz
offered greetings in his capacity as the new
Chair of the Retiree Chapter and as a longstanding member of our Unit. Alan
Lichtenstein, our pension expert, discussed
the status of our pensions. Lora Lucks, our
legislative committee chair, gave us an
overview of our plans for visiting legislators.
Ron Berkenblit, our program chair, presented the professional program, which
featured Marty Smith, CSA Educational
and Cultural Program coordinator and
Renee Shulman, our Regional Outreach
Coordinator, and Felice Hannah, CSA
Outreach Coordinator. Executive board
meetings and membership meetings are
held at the Plainview-Old Bethpage
Library. For more information about our
activities, call me at (561) 747-6291, or email me at NormanWatnick@aol.com.
—NORMAN WATNICK
PACIFIC COAST
Our winter luncheon meeting will be
held on Dec. 17 at Carrows Restaurant in
Laguna Hills, at 11:30 a.m. CSA President
Ernest Logan and RC Director Gary
Goldstein will speak.
For further information contact Gil
Gotfried at (310) 521 - 0329 or Manny
Bierman at (310) 858 - 0558.
—MANNY BIERMAN, GIL GOTFRIED
23
Retiree Chapter Offers
Members Helping Hand
BY FELICE HANNAH
Regional Outreach Coordinators perform a vital service for CSA Retiree
Chapter members. They are liaisons
between the central office and the
Regional Units. These Coordinators
receive extensive training through ongoing workshops, and are required to
maintain and update Outreach Manuals
with material provided at Outreach
Workshops or that I mail to them.
Regional Outreach Coordinators,
who volunteer their time, provide information to RC members on union ben-
efits, Medicare, Social Security, senior
transportation services, care givers’ services and other related services available
through the Council on the Aging in
their communities. Upon request from
a Regional Unit Leader, Outreach
Coordinators present workshops at their
Unit meetings. Many also contribute
articles to their Unit newsletters.
If you need information and/or services, your first contact should be with
the Regional Outreach Coordinator in
your area. Contact them through your
Regional Unit Leader or their e-mail
addresses posted on the CSA website.
SUNCOAST FLORIDA
Our first meeting in 2009 will take place
on Jan. 14 at 12:30 p.m. Once again, it will
be held at Marie's Italian Kitchen.
Scheduled guests include CSA President
Ernest Logan, RC Chair Neil Lefkowitz, CSA
Welfare Fund Administrator Dr. Douglas
Hathaway and Florida Liaison Norman
Sherman. Additional information will be
mailed to members in early December.
Questions? Call me at (941) 383-0408.
—MICHEAL NEMOYTIN
Edward Melnick,
Arizona
Elizabeth Lockett,
New Jersey
Jewel Moolenaar,
Westchester
Norman Sherman,
Florida
QUEENS
The Queens Regional unit is holding a
meeting on Tuesday December 9, 2008 @
12:30. the location is Queens Borough
Hall 120-55 Queens Blvd., Kew Gardens,
NY. The topics are: Elder Law; Community
Spouse and Medicaid; Preparing Legal
Documents, Care givers’ Rights and
Responsibilities. The Presenters will be:
Martin Petroff, Elder Law Attorney and
Felice Hannah, Outreach Coordinator, CSA
Retiree Chapter. All are welcome to attend.
Happy Holidays to one and all.
—JOSEPH ROSENBERG
PALM BEACH
We’ll hold an informational health and
welfare meeting at the South County Civic
Center in Delray Beach, CA on Jan. 12 at 1
p.m. CSA President Ernest Logan, RC
Chair Neil Lefkowitz, RC Director Gary
Goldstein and Welfare Fund Administrator
Dr. Douglas Hathaway will attend.
—ROSE BENNETT
Outreach Workshops
The CSA Retiree Chapter is hosting a series of workshops for CSA Retiree Chapter
members this year. The workshops run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Space is limited
and registration is required. Call Felice Hannah, RC Outreach Coordinator, at
(718) 625-3434 and leave your name and telephone number.
Dec. 16: Retiree Chapter and Welfare Fund benefit claims.
Workshop for Members
Presenter: Dr. Douglas Hathaway, Welfare Fund Administrator
Limited to 40 people
Jan. 13, 2009: Workshop for Care givers
Topics: Elder law, long-term care, respite care; and Medicaid.
Limited to 40 people
March 10, 2009: Defensive Driving
If interested, call Felice Hannah, Outreach Coordinator
at (718) 625-3434 for registration information.
Limited to 34 people.
YURIDIA PEÑA
■ Left to right, back row: Martin Singer, Rockland and Bergen Counties;Thelma Prince,
Queens; Hugh N.Griffith, Queens; Eathelle Clay, Bronx; Larry Banco, Manhattan; Front row:
Barbara Sabatini, Rockland and Bergen Counties; Felice Hannah; Renee Shulman, Long
Island; Retiree Chapter Outreach coordinators.Not pictured: Ivy Sterling, Brooklyn; Joel
Friedberg, California; Helen Greenstein, Manhattan; Lois Hyman, Nevada.
Exciting Opportunity at
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BY MICHAEL EBENSTEIN
The Retiree Chapter is collaborating
with the Brooklyn Academy of Music
to set up a volunteer program for
retirees to work with students. Marjorie
Churgin, CSA’s Director of Development,
has brokered a relationship between the
Retiree Chapter and BAM that will, one
day, enable Retiree Chapter members to
work with NYC school children through
BAM’s arts program.
After an October meeting with
Karen Brooks Hopkins, BAM’s
President, the Retiree Chapter is organizing an advisory group to determine
how retirees can best assist BAM in
developing and expanding their educational program. The advisory group,
in conjunction with BAM, will develop
a mission and establish goals. The
majority of BAM’s programs are geared
to middle and high school students so
the advisory group will reflect these
grades as much as possible.
Those of us involved in education
fully understand the importance the
arts play in forming a well-rounded
individuals. We have become dismayed
as we watch the arts move to the back
row in today’s curriculum. This proposed program can help to put arts
back into the front row, and allow our
members to reconnect with the educational system, NYC children and the
arts. In doing so, we’ll provide BAM
with the benefit of our unique experiences and a history of the importance
of arts in the curriculum.
If this program sounds interesting
to you, and you’d like more information or to volunteer, or similar programs in other boroughs, call me at
(718) 625-3434, or e-mail me at mebenstein@csa-nyc.org. You may also write
to me at the CSA Retiree Chapter, 7th
Floor, 16 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY
11241. Please make note of your previous job title and level and mention
if you have a music background.
24
December 2008
CSA NEWS
Borough Briefs / In The Schools
Manhattan (DIST. 1-6)
Jumpstart Helps
Literacy Festival
JULIA LEON
■ Jumpstart Corps members from the
Barnard College/ Columbia University site.
More than 250 community members
attended PS 165, D-3, Second Annual
Family Literacy Festival on Nov. 8. The
event was sponsored by the Morningside
Area Alliance and Jumpstart, a non-profit
organization that connects college students with school children. Participants
were offered creative arts activities, reading
workshops, and storytelling activities. Free
books were distributed to participants.
Queens
(DIST. 24-30)
Cancer Awareness
To support the American Cancer
Society’s Making Strides Against Breast
Cancer program, the Queens Eastern
Healthy Living Partnership held a Think
Pink workshop on Oct 17 at PS 97, D27,
for parents. The workshop promoted
breast cancer awareness and served to
remember those who died because of
breast cancer, including Bonnie Bua, a former teacher of PS 97. Maureen Ingram is
the Principal.
PS 54, D-28, raised $600 for the Make
a–Wish–Foundation at the annual
Halloween Carnival. Fifth-grade students
organized the games, and staff and parents donated the refreshments. Diane
Jones is the Principal (and District 28
Chair for CSA.)
Ribbon
Cutting
F
redrick Douglass
Academy IV celebrated
the opening of their longawaited science complex on
October 28 with a ribbon-cutting. The project cost nearly
$2 million to complete. Dr
Marcia Lyles, DOE Deputy
Chancellor of Teaching and
Learning played an important
role in getting the job done,
said Marian Bowden, the
school’s Principal.
Fredrick Douglass
Academy IV is a 6-12 school
located in the BedfordStuyvesant neighborhood in
Brooklyn.
■ Musicians play during the ribbon-cutting for the science complex at Frederick Douglass Academy IV.
Brooklyn (DIST. 13-23,32)
Read-Alouds and
Collaborative Art
Workshops
PS 249, D-17, held its annual community read-aloud event on Oct. 17.
Professor Margurite Thompson from
Brooklyn College, Congresswoman Yvette
D. Clarke, and Joanne Fusaro, author of
Amy's Forest were among the special guests.
Wilky the Whitehouse Cockroach, Grace Runs
for President, Rainbow Fish and Mufaro's
Beautiful Daughter were some of the books
read to students. The Principal is Elisa
Brown.
PS 255, D-22, and Studio-in-a-School
led art workshops with 10 teaching artists.
Two hundred people participated in the
workshops, which included printmaking,
and collage. Parents and teachers then
donated some of their work to the school.
■ Studio in a School collaborated with PS
255 to run art workshops.
Citywide
Blackboard Awards
Staten Island (DIST. 31)
ARCILIA DERENZO
PS 8’s Time Warp!
PS 8, D-31, held its annual Halloween
parade on Oct. 31. The after-school children dressed in costume and performed
the “Time Warp” dance for spectators.
Each class was then invited for treats and
a Haunted House tour in the gym. The
administrative staff dressed up as construction workers to commemorate the
near completion of the school's construction project.
DECEMBER 2008
■ PS 249’s read-aloud was a success. From left, Joanne Fusaro, author, PS 249 Principal Elisa
Brown,and the school librarian Lenora Loney.
■ Miriam Flynn, parent; Michael Ammirata,
teacher, Greg Cantelmo, teacher; Lisa
Esposito, Principal; and Virginia Guido,
Assistant Principal.
Compiled
by Yuridia Peña
Council of School Supervisors
& Administrators, NYC
New York State Federation of School
Administrators
Local 1 AFSA, AFL-CIO
16 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY
11241-1003
NYC schools – public and private –
were honored at the Blackboard Awards
earlier this fall. Of 31 schools honored,
many were public schools. To name a few
NYC public school winners were: PS 321
D-15, Brooklyn; MS 447, D-15, the NYC
Museum School, D-2, Manhattan, PS 8
D-13, Brooklyn; PS 187, D-6, Manhattan;
and PS 183, D-2, Manhattan.
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