Thursday Links
Bankers Ignored Signs of Trouble in Foreclosures [NY Times] Where Restaurants Plead Their Case [NY Times] Governors Island Draws Record 443,000 Visitors [NY Post] New Brooklyn School Teaches Internet Smarts [NY Daily News] Five Weeks In, Still No Textbooks in Bed Stuy School [NY Daily News] Brooklyn Winery Lets Visitors Crush Grapes [NY1] Plans for…
Bankers Ignored Signs of Trouble in Foreclosures [NY Times]
Where Restaurants Plead Their Case [NY Times]
Governors Island Draws Record 443,000 Visitors [NY Post]
New Brooklyn School Teaches Internet Smarts [NY Daily News]
Five Weeks In, Still No Textbooks in Bed Stuy School [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Winery Lets Visitors Crush Grapes [NY1]
Plans for Bay Ridge Dog Run Grow Popular [Brooklyn Paper]
Jay Street Station to Drop ‘Borough Hall,’ Add ‘Metro Tech’ [Brooklyn Paper]
Skateboard Park Set to Open Saturday in Greenpoint [Brooklyn Paper]
Bed Stuy Precinct Gets New Leader [Brooklyn Eagle]
CHCA Pawn Shop Protest Saturday [I Love Franklin Avenue]
All schools receive an allotment of money from NYS every year for textbooks and computer software — two different allotments which are distributed on a per student basis. These are NYSTL funds (NYS textbook law) In addition, every school which is Title I eligible also receives additional funds for books and supplies, as well as for teaching and other positions.
When I worked in the district office of the East New York district, schools were really awash in money for books. I can’t believe the situation is any different in BedStuy, Brownsville, Harlem, or almost anyplace in the Bronx. As I saw it, a lack of textbooks is usually due to one of several reasons. Some principals seem not to order books (or other supplies) for months on end. Sometimes, I wonder if they think they are earning interest on unspent funds. Another reason for the lack of books is how many are “lost” each year. Schools do not seem to want to hold pupils accountable for lost or damaged books and rarely maintain good records of books given out or returned. No amount of money will be sufficient if half the books are “lost” every year. (that is NOT an exaggeration) When I was in charge of the books in my school annex (in Flatbush) for a couple of years, we lost virtually no books and had almost none damaged either. For that reason, we had sufficient funds to update one of the subject texts every year. This is one area where leadership at the top makes a BIG difference.
> See, all of you that criticize Wall Street, et al….in the > private sector, ineptitude like this is dealt with swiftly…
Comedy gold, DISB, comedy gold.
“in the private sector, ineptitude like this is dealt with swiftly” Sorry, this is just too funny. Having spent 25 years working with, for, and being forced to hire completely inept individuals who were “connected” or “protected” for various reasons I can tell you this is so NOT true (we’re talking major US and international banks here).
Rob, please tell me about all the public school principals you know in NYC.
“But Rob, there will be no money if the young aren’t educated properly enough to grow up and make some. ”
yeah – no money for the kids whose parents are already poor. the rich kids are going to schools that have books.
the principals in public school are usually just as ghetto as the kids. so nothing will change. ever
*rob*
Oh darn you and your reading comprehension, Pete! ; )
I think if someone spent time reading the article and thinking instead of just spouting out old rhetoric, would have seen that part of the problem of the school is the turnover of principals. So firing another one that just gets started hardly going to help.
“Ineptitude in the private sector gets bailed out by the public sector.”
You typed something coherent, BHO. YAY!!!! You get a gold star.
On a more serious note: I agree with Snaps. Individual schools should not be responsible for purchasing books.