Jessica Bader When a stellar employee is charged with actions he/she did not do, and a judge or arbitrator finds the individual guilty as charged without any evidence, should they be punished forever? Or, should an educator who makes a bad mistake be prohibited from ever working again? I think not. Having studied the transcripts and/or worked on more than 300 Ed. Law Section 3020-a arbitration cases, I can say unequivocally that many - even most - people charged with 3020-a charges throughout New York State have been treated unfairly by procedures that deprived them of due proc ..read more

The $650 suits sold by The Modern Day Man program, come in bright colors.Instagram @thenewportschool From Betsy Combier, Editor:  If corruption and fraud is your interest, the New York City Department of Education is a delight.  I am always so amazed that Chancellor Banks and Mayor Adams believe that "mayoral control" means "take all the money, or as much as you want or think you can take without anyone coming after you". For the 2024 school year, that amount is about $37.5 billion. Of course, this includes making sure your friends and family get rich too.  Just sayin ..read more

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