Talk:NEST M

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lol stop vandalizing the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.155.160.137 (talk • contribs) 14:53, 12 October 2006

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Go NEST+m!!!!!! Woo Hoo! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.44.135.213 (talk • contribs) 13:39, 21 October 2006

[edit] What I saw at the PTA Meeting

What I Saw At Nest on Thursday October 26th at 6:30pm Sheila Karr-Parent

Rather than work with the DOE, a new Acting Interim Principal, administration, and parents, nine unhappy members of the PTA Board (Exec Comm.) resigned effective Nov 1st, 2006. A three-page list of accusations-NONE DOCUMENTED- about the evils and ills they see at NEST since Ms. Chevere the former principle left suddenly last spring.

What this group of faint-hearted folks discovered: Not one single person (of the supposed 300 in attendance) asked them to stay! I want to say these individuals have been great contributors to the NEST community-but they are simply not educators. They are parent volunteers to help with PTA issues. They do not teach nor administrate the school!

I want a SCHOOL ROOM not a WAR ROOM mentality. Parents at NEST look forward to new/different people taking leadership roles at NEST. We want parents who support NEST, the administration and wonderful children of New York for our new school leadership team. We want our children to be allowed to get back to school and get back to continuity. Let us unsound the alarms.

These particular members want a public debate (perhaps slug fest) with Joel Klein, Dr. Olga Livanis-Principal, or any parent who has the nerve to support the current state of the school. This subset of the NEST PTA -none of whom are licensed or professionally trained educators-are willing to take the school down SIMLPY BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GET THEIR WAY!!

Dr. Livanis follows the rules of the DOE. She has to make decisions that might not always be popular but are founded on rules/laws of the DOE and UFT. This angry group of PTA members couldn’t care less about supporting a new Principle who has NEVER make a single negative remark toward the previous administration.

Most parents would agree that having licensed certified teachers and administrators is a boon to the children in ANY school. These nay sayers appear not to mind unqualified or licensed personnel in the classroom as long as the high schoolers wear uniforms or that an early morning advisory be maintained.

The start of the year was a little rocky, yes it was. Was there a single school that began the year without schedule conflicts or resources stretched? There were schedule conflicts and there were more children in certain grades Under Celenia, these problems were silenced. Celenia controlled (unlike Dr. Livanis every piece of paper that left the school electronic or otherwise!)!! Who can remember Celenia forbidding parents to buy a PTA sponsored film about NEST?

And the press – NYC the most sophisticated press IN THE WORLD fell for this malarkey hook, line and sinker! Who before publishing the slick resignation information prepared in advance and distributed by a professional public relation firm checked it out? Who counted 300 people at that PTA meeting? Who reviewed the sign in sheet? Who asked to see the election results? Who read the police report? Not one single person was touched by a police officer. The PTA announced the mass resignation BEFORE the SLT election. The police were called because tempers were apparently rising. I think the meeting could have continued without NYPD. But the decision was made. They cleared the building and there wasn’t a caucus in the schoolyard. The elections finished in the parking lot and the evening came to a peaceful end. The local police should be congratulated for their low-key approach. They officers were wonderful.

These 9 angry parents have broken promises toward decency and respect of the children's workday-ever since they were allowed (by Celenia) to turn the school upside down after the news of the Ross Charter School was made public last spring. Parent Teacher conferences were cancelled; art room supplies decimated and ruined. Classes spent on filling children with ideas that created fear and anxiety.

I ask as a parent for Mr. Klein, Mr. Heaney, and Ms. Makris etc., to come to the aid of the regular old parents and help get NEST re-settled. Show us how to replace those who resigned, legally and efficiently. Show the administration how to control all school memos before they go out to ensure truthfulness and professional standards. Explain the differences in the school budget for the current year and the past year.

Show us how to regain the continuity of NEST+ as a sheltering, school with high standards and collegiality toward all. Thank you. Sheila Karr -mother and proud supporter of Dr. Olga Livanis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skatediy (talk • contribs) 12:35, 29 October 2006

________________________________________________________________________

Amazing how anxiety can bring about blindness.

The NEST+m described in the article no longer exists. Olga Livanis is directly responsible for that. These members of the PTA Executive committee resigned because the parent body was divided. Olga's strategic campaign to ignore grievances and surround herself with sympathizers has led to this. As leaders they could not support the large constituency of students/families in pain due to the highly inappropriate actions of the DOE, without being dragged through the MUD by others sympathetic to the Interim Administration. (See: note below for an example of this.)

And so, the question remains...who will help the people that have had grievances? Will it be the resigning members of the PTA Executive committee now that they are freed from the yoke of office?

Or will it be you?

The grievances have been listed. Answer them. Solve the pain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.163.246.1 (talk • contribs) 12:47, 31 October 2006

[edit] 207.200.116.70 opinions

The following was added to the article today by 207.200.116.70. Since it's personal opinion at best and original research at worst, it can't go in the article. But if someone wants to isolate and chase down the facts and add them to the article with supporting citations, go for it! RossPatterson 23:39, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

The leadership transition at NEST+m has affected the three levels of the K-12 school in different ways. The Lower School is largely unaffected with the exception of some teacher grumbling about details such as excessive paperwork, the extended school day, and very reduced staff development.

The Middle School, which is largely comprised of District Two students the old administration poached to District One, is an exceptionally unified group of students, parents, and teachers who last year set the gold standard for school sprit. Their unified, vocal teachers filed the initial group of UFT grievances against the new administration. (Now nearly three-quarters of the NEST+m faculty have filed UFT grievances.) The Middle School students are working very hard to have their voices heard and are appealing for a return of curriculum pieces they have lost such as the Middle School Model, the Advisory System, many rich electives, and a challenging science curriculum. But many of the Middle School students also have the luxury and comfort of knowing that they can return to their District 2 schools, should “things not work out at NEST.”

The Upper School, where you find most of NEST+m’s students of color, has been subject to the most changes of the three levels. On the Upper School level major curriculum pieces are gone: split gender math and science classes, the dress code, the Advisory System, two foreign languages instead of four, the Masterworks program, the Senior Trip, most electives, the Senior Class Advisor, and promised AP classes. Upper School students are confused and uncertain about their futures. On top of these curriculum losses, students have five plus free periods a week where they are assigned to nothing, severely reduced College or Guidance Counselor services, and no restrictions on leaving the building. Upper School students on free periods roam the building or the streets, smoke on school grounds and are demoralized and acting out.

The division among the three levels of parents at NEST+m created an environment where Lower School parents (and who would blame them?) feel no obligation to support the Middle, or especially, the Upper School. For the moment, the K-12 commitment has crumbled and time will tell what other big changes lay ahead for the new NEST+m.

K-5? K-8? K-5 with the Ross Charter School upstairs? Gifted K-8 with a General Ed, unscreened admissions, High School upstairs? Or maybe even the Bard High School annex upstairs? Stay tuned!

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.200.116.70 (talk • contribs) 13:12, 6 November 2006

User 70.19.59.227 reinserted the text above into the article today, and I have again removed it. It's just way too non-NPOV for the article, and should not be put back without a serious rewrite and some citations. RossPatterson 23:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Yet again, this time by Kittykat21. Deleted as usual. RossPatterson 04:02, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

As above, by Kittykat21. Mytildebang 01:19, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Still another insertion, again by Kittykat21. This really has to stop. RossPatterson 15:07, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] If you're worried about Anxiety, then why encourage anxiety?

Making completely unsubstantiated allegations about things like the Ross School, or Bard occupying NEST is silly at best, and smacks of McCarthy-like scare tactics at worse. We understand that you miss Celenia and have gripes with Dr. Livanis. Fine, you're entitled to your opinion. But why muddy the water with ridiculous claims that sound paranoid?

It may help you to understand the issue if you think in these terms: While Celenia was a very strong leader, she was also very autocratic and could never compromise. One must also question her abilities to sustain a school in a public system which she had disdain for (and this disdain was not hidden -- remember "Joel Klein isn't fit to clean my toilet"). Her track record of creating schools then hitting the highway also speaks to this sustainability issue. Our school is maturing and needs a leader with the ability to compromise - an educator who doesn't make all the issues all about her, but instead about education. Dr. Livanis' leadership style is less "Der Fuhrer" and more "Prime Minister." Perhaps this part of the culture shift at NEST is difficult to deal with, but most of the NEST community see it as a positive. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.174.8.115 (talk • contribs) 12:40, 10 November 2006