Cuomo uses 'failing' schools label to push receivership takeover model

On Board Online • March 16, 2015

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

Don't tell Jamika Holmes she is "trapped" in a "failing school."

"This is not a failing school," she declared when Principal Ed DeChent told her recently that their Yonkers school had landed on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's list of failing schools, released in a report on Feb. 27.

"I feel insulted," Holmes, a junior at Roosevelt High School, later told On Board. "I don't see anything about my school that's failing. My school is beyond a success."

In recent weeks, Gov. Cuomo, charter school advocates and others have used the "F" word like a mantra in speeches and statements. They have sought to redefine as "failing" more than 170 schools identified by the State Education Department as "priority" schools because of low test scores.

Cuomo regularly charges that more than 100,000 New York students are "trapped" in such schools, and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said children are "held hostage" in failing schools. They urge expansion of charter schools, an overhaul of the state's teacher evaluation system and empowering the state to remove control from superintendents and school boards.

Cuomo's director of state operations, Jim Malatras, used some form of the word six times within the first paragraph of a Feb. 12 letter in which he encouraged the State Education Department to research a method of school takeover, called receivership, used in Massachusetts.

Media have picked up on the "failing" label, too. While it has been widely repeated, a March 8 editorial in The Journal News in Westchester called for a counter-narrative. "Such a narrative needs accuracy and nuance; the needs of urban, suburban and rural districts vary widely," the editorial said. "And many of New York's schools are not failing. In fact, many are thriving and would do better if left alone by Albany."

The significance of the governor's use of the "failing" label should not be underestimated, said political communications expert Kevin Convey, who chairs the journalism program at Quinnipiac University.

"It's very crafty because it frames the debate. The person who controls the terms controls the debate," said Convey, a former editor-in-chief at the New York Daily News. The implications of being known as a failing school, Convey noted, are far different from those that flow from being identified as a "priority" school, which is the designation the State Education Department has given to most or all of the 178 schools on Cuomo's list.

"If you're talking about 'priority schools' or 'schools in need of improvement,' then the emotions that are keyed say 'we have to help' and 'what do they need,'" Convey said. "What do you do with a failing school? You shut it down. You fire all the teachers. There's an element of blame attached."

The State Education Department has used a variety of terms to describe low-performing schools. The "priority" school designation and another tag, "focus," were seen as terms that could help struggling schools shed the stigma of previous labels, such as "persistently low achieving" or "in need of improvement."

Priority schools are those with test scores in the bottom 5 percent of the state. They are targeted for special attention, innovation and support, such as grants for extended school days, turnaround plans, "whole-school" reform programs, professional development for struggling teachers and more.

In Yonkers, the "priority" designation triggered a cascade of innovations and investments at Roosevelt High School, Principal DeChent said.

"Teachers are working in teams, now. We've moved away from teachers working in isolation, and we concentrate on the three R's: rigor, relationships and relevance," he said. New pedagogical strategies have helped teachers deliver more engaging lessons, and students are responding by asking more questions and participating in more class discussions, he added.

The school now is known as Roosevelt High School - Early College Studies, thanks in large part to a State Education Department grant that DeChent said was instrumental in making college-level courses available to students.

Holmes, 17, said she already has accumulated four college credits and expects to have 12 by the end of this school year. She wants to major in psychology in college in preparation for a career as a clinical psychologist.

A three-sport athlete and honors student active in student government, Holmes typifies many Roosevelt students who are thriving socially and academically in defiance of the governor's claim, DeChant said.

Aside from the individual success stories, Yonkers school district officials also point to several broader measures of progress at Roosevelt: improved student attendance, higher graduation rates, far fewer suspensions and a lower dropout rate. Proficiency rates on state Regents exams are up.

DeChent said one of the most promising signs at Roosevelt is the engagement of parents and neighbors.

"We are moving in the right direction," DeChent said, "but the 'failure' terminology is definitely disheartening. Being characterized as a failure acts as a barrier to creating a more collaborative environment and working with the community and with the parents. They'll turn their backs, and they won't want to send their children here."

NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer said a more constructive tone and an emphasis on solutions are what all of New York's struggling schools need right now, rather than blame-filled diatribes. He pointed to a recent Siena College Poll that found three areas that New Yorkers most believe need improvement in public schools: overcoming poverty, providing adequate education funding and increasing parental involvement.

"Let's tackle the root causes of poor academic achievement, rather than criticize those who work to overcome these obstacles," Kremer said.