Panel discussion following The Lottery Screening

Director Madeline Sackler, Chancellor of the NYC DOE Joel Klein, former NYC Council Education Committee chair and Harlem Success Academy leader Eva Moskowitz, and Harlem parent Karl Willingham lead and discussed issues raised by the film. Moderated by talk radio host and political columnist and correspondent Errol Louis.
The panel discussed a variety of topics ranging from the race issue and parent involvement to the merits of having a public lottery. Joel Klein was very vocal in his insistence that the debate needs to be less politicized.

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A MUST SEE

The Lottery is a must see film!!!  Out the blocks this film is a tremendously informative documentary that tries to depoliticize the issue of public charter vs. traditional public schools.  A real tear jerker at times this documentary touches the heart of every parent who has struggled to find and access a phenomenal education for their child.  It tells the story of four families with the help of amazing cinematography and compelling personal accounts.

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NYS Senator

NY State Senator Craig Johnson, just entered the building! He's a major supporter of the Charter School movement. He spoke in favor of Charter Schools at the 13 hour Bill Perkins hearing on April 22nd.
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The Lottery Screening

I'm here! The red carpet has been rolled out and a healthy crowd has formed here at the SVA Theatre on 23rd street. Show time is approximately 7:00pm.

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Tribeca

Great news! I was just notified that I’ve been invited to attend the Tribeca Film Festival screening of The Lottery tomorrow!! This is a film that follows four families as they apply for a spot at the Harlem Success Academy.

There will be a panel after the film with Eva Moskowitz, the founder of Harlem Success Charters, NYC School Chancellor, Joel Klein and HSA2 parent Karl Willingham. Daily News/WWRL radio host, Errol Louis, will moderate this panel.

I'll be blogging live from the event!

Jordan Rocks the Boat

Jordan is a self-declared rock expert and aspiring geologist.  During the course of his day, he goes about searching for interesting specimens to add to his bourgeoning rock collection.  Seems like an innocuous enough hobby, right?  Not so when you have a difficult mother who doesn’t share your enthusiasm for collecting.  Thanks to my Type-A personality and proclivity for meticulous cleaning Jordan has come up with some very interesting places to secure his rock specimens.  I have unfortunately found rocks stuffed into every pair of his shoes and sneakers, rocks in pants and jacket pockets, rocks in his dresser draws, rocks in his book bag and have even found rocks under his pillow.  This kid really loves rocks!

I’m not the only one who has observed this peculiar behavior characterized by the appearance of misshapen and bulging pockets.  Last summer, an armed TSA agent, who looked like he may have been a professional athlete in another life, detained our family in an airport.  My six year old son, Jordan's pockets were bulging as usual as we funneled into a crowded Manley airport in Kingston and waited our turn to check or luggage and move through the body scanners before entering our gate.  Nothing strange there, Jordan’s pockets were always bulging.  Finally our turn came and we placed our carryon luggage, shoes and contents of our pockets on the scanner.  Our luggage emerged from the other side of the scanner and as we collected our assortment of things, the TSA agent asked for Jordan’s backpack. Jordan ignored him and hoisted his homework-laden backpack onto his shoulders.  (HSA scholars have homework during the summer too!) The TSA agent must have figured that my son hadn’t heard his request… I knew better.  The agent put on a large smile, bent down to Jordan’s eye level and made his request again.  Jordan avoided his eyes and proceeded to move around to stand behind me as though no one had addressed him, all while clutching the straps of his backpack.  Up until this point I had suspected that Jordan was transporting a rock or two across international borders, but really, how serious could that be?  The TSA agent asked us all to step off of the line and follow him.  Jordan’s eyes began to fill with water as the agent led us to the isolated bag scanner at the far corner of the room.  The agent explained that his intent was to investigate the contents of Jordan’s backpack or we were not going to be permitted to board our flight.  This situation was suddenly serious.  I began to notice how overstuffed Jordan’s bag really was.  What in the heck could he really have in there?  I knelt down in from of my son and looked him square in the eyes and asked him what he had in his bag.  He hugged me fiercely and began to wail!   He was begging me not to let anyone take his Sedimentary river rock.  Honestly, I did remember he and his father relaying the story of how they came across this ostrich egg sized, smooth, slate gray rock, but frankly had reached my saturation point with Jordan’s rocks and dismissed the entire thing.  Anyway, Jordan revealed the contents of his bag and the unthinkable occurred.  The situation took an abrupt turn for the worse as the TSA agent said, of all things, the rock could be used as a weapon and was going to be confiscated.  By now a crowd was collecting and, the agent and Jordan were engaged in what would have been a comical tugging match over the overstuffed backpack had Jordan not been hysterical.

I was pleading with this federal agent on behalf of my sweating and crying child, when suddenly my somewhat shy child stood erect and declared in a loud and clear voice that he would not be returning to the United States.  He wiped his face on his jacket sleeve and bravely began to hug and kiss us goodbye! He picked up his rock, placed it back in his backpack and explained his position.  He had decided and it was final!   This rock was special and unless he was allowed to bring his river rock that he dived into the bottom of a waterfall in Jamaica with his father to collect home with him he would not be returning with us.  The agent, evidently moved by this young child’s convictions, relented and my son marched through the gate to the applause of many of our fellow passengers.  Kudos to you my beloved geologist to be!

Trapped By a Zip Code

NYC Public Charter Schools are under fire, and as a result may be legislated right out of business. As the insults fly, angry mobs of picketing, flyer-shoving parents form and politicians strategize how best to woo their constituents, the youngest, and among the most vulnerable of our citizenry, are being ignored and overlooked. The real victims or beneficiaries of this less than civil discussion are the one million or more school aged children who’s present and future are tremendously affected by the decision whether or not to allow them access to a free, quality education. Charter Public Schools are free, independently run public schools open to all New York City students. They are innovative in terms of policy and curriculum and the students are diverse. Public Charter Schools are an environment where teachers are empowered and schools are accountable. They serve regular as well as special education students and unfortunately do more with less operating funds.

My story is not so unique. My family and I live in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Well before the age at which my children would begin their formal education, my husband and I began to search for performance statistics of my neighborhood public schools. Much to my dismay, I found dismal statistics in reading and math and also realized that most traditional public elementary schools have not the resources, or so I believed, to teach science in primary school. I contacted schools outside of my district in reference to admission practices only to find out that my children would require a much coveted waiver in order to place my children outside of their neighborhood and in a better performing public school. It seemed that they were being held captive by their parents’ choice to live in Mott Haven. Being a product of private and parochial schools, I considered this a viable option, only to find out that these spaces are also coveted and scholarship funding is reserved only for the exceptionally academically gifted or most impoverished. My children fit neither of these descriptions. We were faced with making the decision that all parents dread. Accept sub-standard education that my children would receive because of their unfortunate zip code or sacrifice basic necessities to educate them properly.

Let’s think “beyond Z” people! Children and their parents who happen to have zip codes that tether them to failing schools are expected to accept this as their only option or make the decision to live from hand to mouth in order to pay for a private education. Unfortunately, time stands still for no one and the children of New York City don’t have time for an ailing school system to be revived when there are excellent public charter schools now. I wish for all NYC children to be the beneficiary of a free, quality education not the victims of political opportunists who are only concerned with securing their seats in the upcoming election. I now pose this question to all New Yorkers, “What do you expect for the children of our city, access to excellence or mediocrity?” Frankly, even one school year is too much time to waste, much less an entire elementary education. You decide…

Have a Beyond Z Day!

Going Beyond Z

Yuzz, glikk and snee are the some letters of the alphabet that come after the letter "z" if you are Dr. Seuss, read Dr. Seuss or are a scholar affiliated with the Harlem Success Academy (HSA). Well, it's safe to assume that Glo Anderson-Flete is not another pseudonym, for Theodor Geisel. But as you know, I have scholars affiliated with HSA and collectively, we have probably read every Dr. Seuss book ever published, but I'll spare you the grueling details.

This post is less about Dr. Seuss than it is about going beyond Z. Going "Beyond Z" goes to the heart of HSA's school culture. HSA has a philosophy based on the book, On Beyond Zebra!, by you guessed it, Dr. Seuss! As a child, this book introduced the concept of paradigm shifting into my intellectual vocabulary before I even knew what such a thing was! Anyway, I read this book and was forever changed. The concept that our 26 letter alphabet was an arbitrary collection and not a universal constant had never occurred to me. This book sparked an awareness that if I would only try to see beyond the boundaries that were on display... then what?

Dr. Seuss and the Harlem Success Academy has sparked yet another generation of leaders to go On Beyond Zebra!  HSA insists that all of its scholars and their families, experience a paradigm shift that speaks to the infinite possibilities that a quality education can provide. Everyday scholars are encouraged to think outside the box and achieve no less than the mind can conceive and in short, to have a Beyond Z Day!

What's a Charter School?

Hey world! I am the mother of two Harlem Success Academy 3 (HSA) scholars!  The Harlem Success Academy 3, is a part of a network of innovative public charter schools in New York City.  For those who may be wondering, a charter school is a public school that is run like a private school.  There is more flexibility to try new things.  Charter schools empower teachers and their students learn more as a result.

At the Harlem Success Academy, each child is identified by his/her anticipated date of college graduation. This may sound absurd, but it's one of the ways that HSA sets subtle expectations for it's students.  Another way is instead of using room numbers to identify classrooms, classes are named after the undergraduate alma mater of the teacher, again reinforcing the idea of future college attendance.  Having said that, Jordan attends the University of Scranton and is in the graduating class of 2024 and Julia goes to Whitman College and is in the graduating class of 2026.  This blog is the way that I've chosen to share some of our day to day scholarly experiences!  Hope you enjoy getting to know us!