re-posted from ADVOCATZ.com Betsy Combier Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter, and ADVOCATZ.com  Senator Andrew J. Lanza, Republican representing District 24 Staten Island, has introduced a Bill to reinstate any officer and employee who worked for the City of New York and was dismissed because of the COVID-19 Mandate. We all need to support him in this effort! STATE OF NEW YORK 7466–A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 30, 2023                                           ..read more

P.S. 398Q principal Erica Ureña poses for a portait in her office. Credit: ps398queens.org Thanks to the parents of students at PS398Q, Principal Erica Urena-Thus leaves the school on December 6, 2023. The issue is safety of all students. From the news, it appears that a second-grader brought a knife to school and threatened to harm a classmate. The news reports have cited several student witnesses to this little boy saying what he was going to do, but at this point no one knows what actually happened. Nevertheless, Principal Urena-Thus did not explain anything to parent ..read more

 The post below is not new, but I love it for the sheer audacity of former NYC DOE General Counsel Michael Best for allowing two pages of my personal notes to be ripped out of my notebook and taken away because they had "information I was not supposed to see". I was determined to get those two pages back. Read and find out what happened! Enjoy the best show in town - the New York City Department of Education. Lol just sayin'... Betsy Combier betsy@advocatz.com Editor, ADVOCATZ.com Editor, ADVOCATZ Blog Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter Editor, Parentadvocates.org Edito ..read more

DOE Deputy Chancellor Caroline Quintana From Betsy Combier: I am very sure that we, members of the public who read about the lack of transparency in the salary payments made to NYC Department of Education "VIPs", wish that the City of New York would rein in this outrageous scam that uses our taxpayer money. NYC Comptroller Brad Lander NYC Comptroller Brad Lander - where are you? Let's fire the Chancellor, and all Deputy Chancellors, and pay a reasonable salary with accountability steps imbedded in the payment, to the school Districts and the students and families. This will ..read more

David Bloomfield [Photo Credit: Paula Vlodkowsky] David Bloomfield has been a widely-known speaker on the NYC Department of Education for many years, and his opinions are, in my opinion, well worth reading. Betsy Combier Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter    Opinion: A Leadership Perspective on the ‘Toxic’ State of Our Schools By David Bloomfield, City Limits, September 5, 2023. I have been teaching educational leadership in the CUNY system for almost 25 years. My former students are now peppered throughout the New York City Public Schools and often honor me by ..read more

Re-posted from ADVOCATZ.com and Parentadvocates.org The Student Rat Pack of PS 46 by Betsy Combier, August 19, 2023 The story I am posting here is the ugly side of the New York City Department of Education, the dark side where administrators target, attack, and discriminate against employees for no reason other than to save a few dollars in the budget or retaliate against a person they do not like. Indeed, the perpetrator's motives are often hidden beneath layers of denials ("I did not say that" or "I did not do that") hurled at deaf ears.  New York City employees are reassigned to rubb ..read more

  Amanda Lurie allegedly sold goods on Poshmark during DOE time. The story about Amanda Lurie and her high-salary-no-work job at the NYC Department of Education is outrageous on so many levels, but unique it's not. Nepotism and political appointments are made all the time by those in power with the authority to do so, like Chancellor Banks, Mayor Eric Adams, and many previous Chancellors and Mayors before him. See: NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, Eric Adams put each other’s girlfriends in top posts New York City mayor’s longtime friend now holds high-paid NYPD job Ex-ch ..read more

Teachers for many years have criticized the reading program forced upon them by the Department of Education. The reading program was created by Lucy Calkins and released through the prestigious Teacher's College at Columbia University, and all schools had to follow it's prescribed rules. The politics of education is very powerful. Many were unhappy about this. Chancellor Banks is ending this long reign. Finally. My opinion - it's about time! just sayin'.....  Betsy Combier betsy@advocatz.com Editor, ADVOCATZ.com Editor, ADVOCATZ Blog Editor, NYC Rubber Room Report ..read more

Mike Mulgrew Mike Mulgrew, President of the UFT, did not like the fact that in a vote on a tentative new contract between the City of New York and the bargaining unit which includes Occupational and physical therapists as well as other professional groupings, this unit voted no. Nurses and audiologists, also in the unit, voted yes. What did Mulgrew do?  Rather than go back to the negotiating table, he demanded that the unit voting no had a revote. No other members had to vote again.  Guess what? Mike got the votes he needed the second time around to ratify the new contract ..read more

Danika and Shawn Rux Have you ever heard anyone at the New York City Department of Education tell someone "Do as I say not as I do"? Perhaps your parent told you that after they did something that they told you not to do. The NYC DOE has structured its rules of compliance with the laws of New York State so that there is one set of rules for Superintendents, Deputy Chancellors, executive directors, legal, and relatives and/or friends of any of these "officials", and another set for everyone else. Anyone who is recommended by a person at the Superintendent level or above, or favored ..read more