WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR’S ADAM-IN-ALBANY. By New York State Assemblyman Adam Bradley of the 89th Assembly District. January 31, 2003:
Assemblyman Adam Bradley of White Plains today criticised the governer’s proposed cuts to education saying it would reduce academic standards, increase class sizes and boost property taxes. Here is Assemblyman Bradley’s commentary in which he details exactly how much towns from the 89th from Katonah to White Plains would be cut:
The state must make some tough choices to solve our budget problems this year, but cutting education is absolutely the wrong choice. The governor’s budget ax strikes a serious blow to education this year that could adversely affect our children for years to come.

The governor’s 2003-04 budget plan calls for a $4.4 million reduction in state aid to local elementary and secondary schools in the 89th District. Without adequate state aid, our schools will be forced to cut essential educational programs, lay off teachers and increase local school taxes.

School districts in my Assembly district would be hit particularly hard by the governor’s cuts, including:

·White Plains City School District would lose nearly $1.7 million;

· Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District would lose nearly $816,000;

· Bryam Hills Central School District would lose nearly $406,000;

· Chappaqua Central School District would lose over $372,000;

· Harrison Central School District would lose nearly $357,000;

· Valhalla Union Free School District would lose over $190,000.

Hidden Tax Increase

The governor’s budget is really a hidden tax increase. He promised his budget wouldn’t create any new ‘job-killing’ taxes, but that’s exactly what it does. Not only will the governor’s education-killing cuts cheat our children of a quality education, they’ll slap local homeowners with much higher property taxes because school districts will have to raise money to make up their revenue losses.

I also take issue with the governor’s proposed $1,200 SUNY tuition increase that will force the typical SUNY Purchase undergrad to pay $6,113 a year in tuition and mandatory fees, and his plan to cut the Tuition Assistance Program by 33 percent. In addition, he’s cutting our community colleges’ base aid by 15 percent, or $345 for each student – which will also drive up tuition costs and local taxes on homeowners and businesses.

Anti-Education

The governor’s proposals are simply anti-education. Raising SUNY tuition by $1,200 and cutting tuition assistance is cynical and mean-spirited. It only hurts middle- and lower-income families, and students who are least able to afford the price.

These difficult fiscal times require some tough choices, the governor made the wrong choices — preventing students from obtaining a quality, affordable education is shortsighted. My commitment to education is to prepare students for the future and provide them with the tools necessary to promote economic growth, not to take these tools away from them.

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WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. January 31, 2003: The Glen Hockley fund-raising letter, referred to by Jeffrey Binder in his letter to The CitizeNetReporter is hereby reprinted for the record:
COUNCILMAN GLEN HOCKLEY
January 21, 2003

Dear
For about one year I have had the honor and privilege of serving as your Councilman. During that time, my actions have helped to bring our local government closer to the people while my accomplishments have benefited our citizens. Among these action/accomplishments were:

• The sponsoring of a bill (passed unanimously) to hire a grant writer whose function is to raise money to help pay for city services thereby helping to keep our taxes lower. As a consequence, our commissioners will have more time to devote to their primary responsibilities;

• The initiation of weekly neighborhood “waikabouts” during which I visit all houses and apartments in an area, learn about your concerns and then try to solve them;

• The sponsoring with Councilman Greer of the “Citizens to be Heard” bill (passed unanimously), giving you, the citizens of White Plains prior to council meetings, the opportunity to be heard by the Mayor and the Common Council about any issue of your choosing;

• Support of local labor union interests and provision of access to City Hall;

• As a result of my Common Council activities, the TV news program “White Plains Week” recently selected me as their 2002 Man of the Year.

As I am sure you may have heard by now, my former opponent is taking me to court again. The purpose for which is to remove me from office as your Councilman.

During my time in office, the opponent I beat in the last election has continually challenged me in the legal system. This has been a very expensive process and will continue to be through its conclusion. I now ask for your help in this matter and hope that you wilt be the for me as I have been, and will continue to be, for you.

We have established a legal defense fund for this purpose and certainly would appreciate any contribution you can make to it. Checks should be made payable to the Hockley Defense Fund and mailed to Jonathan H. Appel, (address).

I would like to thank you for all the help and support you have shown me in the past and promise you that as I continue as your Councilman. I will never forget the assistance that you have shown me and will, of course, strive to be the best Councilman that White Plains has ever had.

Sincerely,
Glen Hockley
Councilman
White Plains

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. By Lynn Stein of Rockland Arts Center. The Rockland Center for the Arts in cooperation with the The Lark Circle, a professional playwright’s group, presents the third play reading in it’s Winter-Spring 2003 series of new plays read by professional actors, beginning in March.

Naked Mole Rats in a World of Darkness, written by Mike Folie, will be read on Sunday, March 16, 2003, at 2:00pm at the art center. Tickets are $5.00 with a discount for Art Center members.

Playwright Mike Folie presents a kaleidoscope of short one-acts, skits, and monologues, all having to do with the eternal communications problems between the sexes. Thematically it celebrates the fact that men and women are able to get together and get along at all, given their widely different sensibilities and points of view. Performed by two couples playing multiple roles, it moves from the comic to the bittersweet, the romantic to the farcical, from the naturalistic to the absurd.

Scenes for A Sunday Afternoon, a series of informal play readings, involves the audience first hand in the important process of bringing a new play from the page to the stage. Afterwards, the audience is invited to join in a lively discussion and offer insights and ideas in a friendly social setting with other theater enthusiasts.

Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 South Greenbush Road in West Nyack, NY off Exit 12 of the NY State Thruway and near the intersection of Routes 59 and 303. The art center is handicapped accessible. For reservations or further information, call (845) 358-0877.

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WPCNR GREENBURGH GAZETTE. From Supervisor Paul Feiner. (EDITED” January 20, 2003:Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner announced that a meeting to develop strategy to persuade the NY State Legislature to repeal what Feiner describes as ” the cumbersome, wasteful & unnecessary” Wicks law has been changed to March 27th. The meeting had originally been scheduled for March l3th. The Westchester Municipal Officials Association is holding their meeting that evening.

There is also a fundraiser scheduled for the same evening –to raise funds for the effort to close down Indian Point. “We hope to involve as many elected officials and community leaders in our efforts to repeal Wicks (which results in governments overpaying for the cost of construction of municipal buildings by as much as 30%).

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. January 28, 2003: Dr. Linda Ochser, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources reported on the teacher selection in the City School District Monday evening at the biweekly Board of Education meeting. She delivered another in a Timothy Connors-inspired Board of Education-requested report on this vital process in District operations. What emerged was a detailed look at the rigorous hiring process White Plains puts teacher applicants through.

AN INSIDER LOOK AT HOW WHITE PLAINS HIRES TEACHERS: Dr. Linda Ochser begins her presentation Monday evening. The presentation made it clear the White Plains process picks many of “the best and the brightest:” In the 2002 “graduating class” of 50 hires into the District in 1999, 41 of 50 were granted tenure. In 2002-03, 28% ( 24) of the 82 new probationary hires are from minorities, compared to the national rate of 15.6%. Ochser said finding minority teachers is a growing problem for schools statewide because the most promising minority graduates are selecting fields other than teaching.
Photo by WPCNR News

Ochser reports that the District is beginning to advertise for new positions for 2003-2004, with an eye to interviewing candidates before the school year is over because of the thoroughness White Plains applies in selecting teachers.

In 2002-03, she reported the district received over 9,000 resumes, screening 6,000. From those initial screenings of paperwork, 150 applicants were chosen and reviewed by District Committees consisting of administrators, school supervisors, and teachers. The final 150, making the cut were then interviewed by the District committees which conducted 300 interviews with those 150 applicants, to decide on the 82 certified teachers hired for the 02-03 school year. An additional total of 14 part-time hires were selected from this group of 150.

She is Proud of the Affirmative Action Record.

Ochser said of the 24 minority applicants, 12 were Latino, 8 were African-American, and 4 of Indian descent. She said the district ability to find qualified minorities who want to teach in the White Plains schools, because the trend is for qualified minorities to select other fields than teaching as a profession. She said that of the 82 certified probationary teachers starting in September, 28% (24) were minorities, compared to the national record of 15.6%.

At the close of the meeting in response to a question by Michelle Tratoros of the Board, expressing concern that minority applicants recommended by minority leaders in the community were reportedly not considered, Ochser said that all applicants are acknowledged with a postcard. She said their application is reviewed, and they simply may not be qualified. Ochser said the district sends out recruiting information to high achieving black colleges, to metropolitan colleges in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, academic workshops, and other venues to attract qualified African-American minorities.

Earlier, Ochser commented that in a meeting with Richard Mills, New York State Department of Education Chancellor last week, the problem of finding qualified minority teaching candidates was a major statewide phenomena.

Shallow Talent Pool in Special Fields.

More disturbing to the School District in its search for the teachers of tomorrow, Ochser indicated, was that, “The quantity and quality (of applicants) is not as good. We are very lucky that we attract and retain quality applicants. But there is a diminishing pool of candidates specializing in mathematics, science, foreign languages and special education. This is why we advertise early and process efficiently.

You have to show your stuff.

Only the strong survive a White Plains screening, according to Ochser, because of the rigorous hiring screening, which, as a prerequisite, requires “Demonstration Lessons” observed by the District.

“This Demonstration Lesson is exceedingly vital in our process,” Ochser told the Board of Education. “We’ll not hire anybody without one. We also require a writing sample for finalists on the spot, to see how they (the applicants) write without the aid of a spell-checker.”

Ochser added that the district seeks references on their own, in addition to those supplied by the applicants. Fingerprinting, of course, and a thorough background check is conducted. Reference checks are thorough, and are done before the close of the present school year. All references need to be “outstanding,” according to Ochser, otherwise the applicant does not make the cut.

“Rigorous hiring yields outstanding staff,” Ochser stated.

The Tenure Gauntlet

“If they get past this process,” Ochser continued, “We need to observe and evaluate them,” and proceeded to explain how both tenured teachers and probationary teachers are evaluated.

Tenured teachers, she said, were evaluated once each year, and observed once. Probationary teachers are given 4 observations a year, consisting of 2 Annual Professional Reviews and 2 in-class evaluations. These reviews are prepared in narrative form with observers recording written commentary on 9 disciplines. It is not a checklist format, Dr. Ochser observed.

THE PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FORM for probationary teachers and tenured teachers consists of 9 categories, 7 such disciplines and definitions of competency are mandated by the New York State Department of Education. White Plains added two, one on Technology Abilities. Teachers are graded either, “Superior,” “Satisfactory,” or “Unsatisfactory,” with written “back-up”.
Photo by WPCNR News

Teresa Niss, soon-to-be Interim Assistant Principal of Post Road School, concurred that “paper is flying everywhere.” Ocsher said that probationary teachers who do not get virtually all “Outstandings” by the end of the three yearts, are, usually not selected for tenure.

Board Member, William Pollak asked how often teachers were surprised that they did not receive tenure. Dr. Ocsher responded, noting the evaluation process and efforts to help teachers reach district standards through workshops and coaching, “They should not be surprised!”

She noted that of the 50 teachers hired in 1999, (“The 2002 Tenure Graduating Class”) 9 were not granted tenure. Of those 9, she recalled, 6 left before they were eligible for tenure, of their own initiative, and 3 were denied tenure.

Mr. McKiernan observed, “You have to be at least satisfactory in everything at 2-1/2 years. Some leave after counseling and voluntarily leave the system. They are not surprised.”

Ocsher said, “We never feel we are locked into a decision (on granting tenure).”

Parent Input Not Allowed in Contract.

Donna McLaughlin asked if parent input was considered, and Dorothy Schere added that “parents would like input with (the teacher’s) relationship with parents.”

At this point, Superintendent Connors explained that the teachers’ union, and the collective bargaining agreement with them “has a lot to do with what we can and cannot consider. I do not know of any contract in the state that gives parents that input, unless it was negotiated.”

Connors wryly noted that parents are free to tell administrators their feelings about teachers, and that they do.

Improving Tenured Teachers a Future Subject.

The discussion turned to District efforts at evaluating tenured teachers, when Ms. McLaughlin asked how the district handles teachers who are tenured who have lost their edge, asking “Is it possible they can be observed more than once?”

McKiernan said tenured teachers are observed and professionally evaluated, beginning in January. He said we must see “a preponderance of outstandings” on the Professional Review sheet, and if not, they are offered district-sponsored training and coaching to turn “satisfactories” into “outstandings.”

Ochser said all teachers attend mandatory workshops, and “are held accountable for being at them and informally modeling them.”

Asked by Ms. McLaughlin if the tenured staff takes advantage of the numerous professional improvement programs sponsored by the district, McKiernan said, 2/3 of the district’s teachers are currently taking advantage of the District’s Professional Growth Plan.

CONNORS CALLS FOR CONTINUING THE DIALOGUE: Mr. Connors said that the issue of tenured staff programs was of interest to the board, he wanted to bring Dr. Ochser back another day to present a similar report on how staff improvement programs operate.

Photo by WPCNR News