PlanetAlbany

More evidence of Albany school dysfunction

The New York State Education Department's report on Hackett Middle School provides further evidence of systemic problems in the Albany School District (where the median teacher salary is $70,000-plus and the results are abysmal). The report raps the knuckles of  administrators, who "should lead an effort to develop and implement a schoolwide grading policy," and "should increase the frequency and rigor of observations/walkthroughs and provide formative feedback to teachers related to the quality of instruction and student engagement."

Then comes this devastating critique: "Teacher absenteeism contributes to high use of substitute teachers, lowered instructional quality, inconsistency of content delivery, and problems in management of student behaviors."

It does seem that if you teach in the highest paid district in the greater Capital Region, and benefit from the generous vacations that come with the job, you might make more of an effort to show up for work.

As I noted in my last post on the district (second link above), the prevalence of charter schools in Albany does drain money from the regular public school system. But the district's continuing failures will only drive more students into charters, and there's no putting that genie back in the bottle. The only solution I can see is more competition rather than less, i.e. a full-fledged voucher program including religious schools, even if that means the effective dismantling of the city's traditional public school system. Sentimental defenders of that system do a disservice to the students in it, especially those living in poverty and broken homes who desperately need the refuge of high functioning schools.

Gibson time

Freshman Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, who is from a Republican-majority but nonetheless marginal district in the vicinity of Albany, has been taking the standard House Republican line on the debt ceiling. The question seemed to be whether he would go along with a deal brokered by House Speaker John Boehner or lash himself to the mast of the Tea Party Titanic, but now it appears Boehner himself is going the refusenik route.

I support Gibson's anti-Obama positions in opposition to the Libyan war and Planned Parenthood -- and not primarily because they would save money, although they would. But Republican tax policy is pig-headedly regressive, and, as McCain presidential campaign chief economic adviser and former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin points out, they gotta raise the debt ceiling. If Gibson helps block that, he will damage the national interest and permanently tar himself as unelectable.

Free Shakespeare in the park

Not in Albany, where the upcoming mostly free show in Washington Park is Mel Brooks' The Producers, but up the road in Saratoga Springs, where The Merchant of Venice is playing in Congress Park. Some us prefer Saratoga's cultural offerings to its horse racing, notably the New York City Ballet and Saratoga Opera (which performs in the Little Theater at the state park, where the cheapest seats are fine). But those opera and ballet seats aren't free, and, more to the point, their seasons have concluded, whereas The Merchant of Venice continues through July 24, and they just ask for donations at the end.

It's an efficient production, with miked and thus audible actors, and a quick pace. Nor does it make concessions to political correctness -- or if so, they do not soften the effect. In fact, I felt the darkness overemphasized in the climactic scene, with Shylock treated more harshly than Shakespeare intended. It's worth seeing, though.

The persistence of free Shakespeare, along with the few hundred people attending tonight's performance, provides further evidence that civilization is not doomed, after all.

UAlbany dice: Futbol si

Well, that's one way to look at today's Times Union story about how they're going to build a new football stadium which "will initially seat 6,000 and could expand to 24,000 in the future. There are plans to add suites and club amenities. ... The project will be funded through state-appropriated critical maintenance funds, capital funds, and private fundraising ... In September 2008, UAlbany said it would seek public funding for a projected $60 million, multipurpose stadium that would seat 10,000 to 15,000 fans. ... In April 2008, the state Senate and Gov. David Paterson rejected the Assembly's request for $36.5 million in the 2008-09 budget to build a 10,000- to 15,000 seat stadium on the UAlbany campus."

Meanwhile, the university's plan to gut humanities programs including languages may have been modified but not abandoned, although it's hard to tell from the nonexistent recent news coverage. Also coinciding with program cuts have been big raises for top SUNY administrators.

Nor does the local public educational system of rewards and results at the primary and secondary level inspire any more confidence.