DOE/PSAL Incompetence Diaries - DOE Stops $2Million From Going To Schools & Students

• Posted by Mr. Jones on January 23, 2012 at 12:30am
• View Blog

PSAL INCOMPETENCE DIARIES - PARTS I & II

For those who do not know about the PSAL, which is a part of the DOE, here's a story that will floor you and will show the incompetence at the DOE Administration.  The PSAL is the Public Schools Athletic League, which is the organization within the DOE that controls NYC public school sports.  The PSAL is the largest public school sports league in the U.S. and represents 40,000 NYC Public School students.  Below is a firsthand experience of the DOE/PSAL incompetence at the very top of the PSAL & DOE.

DECEMBER 18, 2011

I've been quiet enough about the incompetence of the PSAL and to watch the NYC public school students continue to suffer with academics, scholarships and the NCAA eligibility process is sickening when there's help and resources available that they don't know about because the PSAL keeps the resources under wraps.  Let's forget about the blame on how we got here but let's go to what's available to help the student-athletes immediately.

The PSAL, the largest athletic league in the U.S., has tons of funding and resources available to them, which would all assist the players, coaches, athletic directors, principals and schools, but there's no one at the PSAL who understands how to accept these resources so they routinely turn them down.  I am talking from firsthand experience.  The PSAL has turned down $800,000 in direct financial scholarships as well as Free resources to specifically assist student-athletes through the NCAA eligibility process.  I would say that is a crime.  No one at the PSAL wants to take responsibility for making a decision as to accepting financial help, scholarship money, free services, etc...   The PSAL executives are scared to lose their jobs or lose their pension if they make a wrong decision, so guess who suffers?  That's right, the same students that they pretend to support.

I have a personal connection to the 40,000 student-athletes of NYC through NYCFootball.com, NYCBasketball.com and I am the product of the NYC public school system and a lifelong New Yorker.  I always knew there were problems with the system since the time my son, who had a 90% average in middle school but was turned down for all of his NYC Public School choices.  Thankfully I had the ability to send him to a boarding school, which by the way is the best thing anyone can do for their child.  The NYC public School system did me a favor by being so incompetent.

The incompetence of the PSAL would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.  This is a VERY serious issue that must be taken care of immediately.  Parents if you want your children to become NCAA eligible then this is your fight...Coaches if you want your players to be eligible, you want buses, uniforms, equipment, etc..., then this is your fight......Players if you want to become eligible for scholarships, want scholarship funding, want new uniforms, etc...then this is your fight.....Fans if you want to see more students receive scholarships, want to see more people at the games, want to see proper fields being built, etc... then this is your fight.  In fact, if you live in NYC then this is YOUR fight.  pop warner said "Occupy the PSAL" in one of his blogs and he's right.

Coaches must stop being afraid of the PSAL and must write to the Chancellor, the Mayor, your Councilman, etc... to get the help that you need for your players and school.  This is a serious time and the games have to stop NOW! The lives of 40,000 student athletes are at stake.  I'm committed to doing my part....are YOU? 

I will write about this issue each week until things change at the PSAL.  We need policy changes, which would need to be instituted by the DOE.  Hopefully things will change quickly.

DECEMBER 19, 2011 PSAL:

So here's how the incompetence of the DOE/PSAL slammed the door on $800,000 in real scholarship dollars for students AND $1.2 million for 200 NYC High Schools, instead opting to go with $400,000 for the PSAL, $100,000 for Octagon Sports Marketing and $0 for students and $0 for schools:

As stated in the blogs below, I was the Director for School Partnerships for MSG Varsity from 2009-2010.  Armed with 5 Managers working under me, we were tasked with offering the following to 200 NYC Public High Schools:

- $2,000 in cash per school strictly for student scholarships (academic or athletic)

          $400,000 per year x 2= $800,000

- $3,000 in cash per school -

         $3,000 x 200 = $600,000 per year x 2= $1.2 million

- Free Real Hands-On Career Media Training (Video & Editing using Final Cut Pro) for as many as

        20 students per school = 4,000 students x 2 years= 8,000 students

That's $2 million in cash to students and schools plus real hands-on Media training for 8,000 students.

15 NYC Public High Schools had already signed on but received an email from the PSAL telling the Principals they should not work with MSG Varsity.  The Principals that signed on were outraged but felt helpless because they received their marching orders.  I will name the schools later.

Ok, so now the PSAL has this grand idea, spurred by Octagon no doubt, of bidding out a possible TV broadcast contract out to the highest bidder for the right to be the Broadcast Network of the PSAL.  That's when I said let me get out of MSG Varsity and try to help the PSAL get a decent deal because it was clear they didn't know what they were doing, and I am a supporter of the students of the Public School System and a product of that same system.  I left MSG Varsity and went over to the PSAL as a Consultant, to bring on sponsors and to help with the Broadcasting deal.  By this time MSG Varsity felt ok this is great, we're the only company broadcasting games so we should be a lock to get the deal AND we won't have to give the schools or students any funding.  On top of that MSG Varsity knew the incompetence that they were dealing with so it would be a slam dunk to run through the PSAL during the negotiation process.

Now pay attention please.  MSG Varsity comes into a negotiations meeting and I am there at the table.  Take a guess at what happens next.  MSG Varsity expressed their concerns to the PSAL, about having me in the meetings.  The PSAL held firm for the next meeting and had me in the meeting but subsequent meetings they caved and I was out of the loop.  MSG Varsity knew I was going to get the PSAL a great deal but the PSAL could not understand that thought process.  With me out of the meetings now MSG Varsity outsmarted the PSAL and Octagon and walked away with a steal of a deal.  Octagon walked out of the deal in good shape because they went from $0 to $100,000, with more to come.  The students and schools got stiffed, as usual, and the PSAL still thinks they got a good deal, which is the definition of incompetence.  You got stiffed and don't even know it.

Fast forward to this past month and behold, the PSAL signed a deal with MSG Varsity, the same company the PSAL told the Principals not to work with, to become the Official Broadcast Network for the PSAL.  Keep in mind, MSG Varsity was going to give the scholarship money and the funds to the schools AND they were still going to broadcast the games for a lot more money, before these "great minds" (PSAL & Octagon) put their heads together to "negotiate" with MSG Varsity/Cablevison, the master negotiators. Again, this new deal gives $0 to students and $0 to schools.  Octagon, a company that should not have received any money ended up with $100,000 and probably stand to make more during the life of the deal.

Here's how the MSG Varsity deal looked after the PSAL & Octagon blessed it with their incompetence:

- $400,000 over 2 years to the PSAL

- $100,000 over 2 years to Octagon

- $0 over 2 years for scholarships to students

- $0 over 2 years for the schools

- Real Hands-On Career Media Training for 0 students

So let's do the math. That's $1.5 million less than what MSG Varsity was willing to give, plus nothing for students and nothing for schools.  If the PSAL was competent they could have taken the first deal that I begged them to take when I was at MSG Varsity and they could have asked for an additional $1,000 per school to go to the PSAL.  MSG Varsity more than likely would have said ok, which would have meant the PSAL would have still received their $400,000 over 2 years, plus the $2 million would have gone to the students and schools.  In that scenario only Octagon would have walked away with $0.  We are talking about a very simple deal here people.  But this is the incompetence that runs through the PSAL daily.  I was there for just 8 months and have MANY real stories that are simply unthinkable.  Every sponsor that I spoke to had the same first response when I called."we had been trying to work with the PSAL for years but no one ever called us back. we are curious to see if you can get the PSAL to allow us to sponsor some of their events. We don't think you can do it...."  I did get deals done but when you hear what I had to go through to bring in money you are going to fall out of your seats.  Stay Tuned for Part III

Tags: DOE, Incompetence

ShareTwitterFacebook

Week of June 23, 2008

Have a happy and safe Summer!

If you want to get your grade or to get work returned that you don't have right now, contact me at Professorklk@aol.com before the last day of school (Thursday, June 25) and I will make whatever graded classwork I still have (-- that you haven't picked up -- ) available to you.

Please note, most students did well on the vocabulary portion of the final exam, but not as well on the short answer Part 2/Day 2 of the exam. I was as usual too generous and overlooked many things, and passed a large number of you. Did I make a mistake? Prove I didn't make a mistake by doing well next year!

Those of you who didn't pass, make sure you complete your assignments and always bring a notebook and pen to classes and that you are prepared and well positioned to work when you take the class over again next year, with whomever is your teacher.

Friday, June 13, 2008 Freshman Seminar, P 3 & 4

AIM: How are we going to complete our final exams successfully?

DO NOW: Take your seat and clear your desk o all belongings and take out a pen. Today we are taking Part 2 of our Final Exam in Freshman Seminar. There are 20 short answer and T/F questions and an essay. This is our last official class, although we have class scheduled for Monday.

As agreed yesterday, if students were cooperative and behaved well, part two of the final exam would be easy; but since student would not be cooperative and the test was made difficult.
Ms. Kirshner, MBA, MS

Thursday, June 12, 2008 Freshman Seminar

Freshman Seminar Final Exam part 1, Vocabulary was completed.
Part 2 Essays and Multiple Choice and Fill-in is on Friday, June 13.

The second part was rescheduled due to some students being absent to go on Mr. Melkonian's field trip today, June 12.

Notebooks were checked again today for a notebook grade, and a do now and business article reading and summary, and questions were answered for a test grade.

Everything done to cause harm or damage to school property and to students or teachers counts double this week. You can earn points of lose them quickly. Don't gamble with your education and your future!

On Monday, June 16, whatever work remains to be returned to students, (except for the final exams and the business plans), will be returned to students.

Monday-Tuesday MOS Periods 6 and 7

AIM: How are we going to complete our retaurant brochures and menus in time for the competition?

DO NOW: Go through your individual projects for this class and make sure you are happy with the work you did. Is there anything you would now change or improve? Take a look at the business brochure, the celebrity sports or dance advertisement, the History of Money lecturer business card and the poster for it, as well as postcard. Take a look at the project in PowerPoint for the History of Money, and the Coco the Love Dog PowerPoint Project, and the travel ad and related project in Powerpoint. Look at your Powerpoint and Publisher files and at your MS Word and Excel work. Is there anything you would "tweak" now? Go ahead let me know about it, and you can make any corrections or improvements (like adding a background or an illustration, border, photo, textbox, or checking the spelling with spellchec, which you should do regularly. Then you will now put all of your work in the one folder of your PORTFOLIO file and make sure your name is on the file and the period your class is, and this is what will be sent to me as a zipped folder/file and then you will also have it ready to be save onto a flash drive I brought with me, and onto a CD this week, as your portfolio. I bought CDs so I could give you your portfolio when you complete the class. I will bring them in this week.

The contest should be tomorrow and Thursday, in lieu of a test. But I would like to have you create a resume if you don't have one, and so if you are finished we can discuss it today.

Monday, June 9, 2008 Freshman Seminar

Monday, June 9, 2008
Freshman Seminar, periods 3 & 4 -- Lesson plan review

AIM: HOW WILL WE MOST EFFECTIVELY REVIEW FOR THE VOCABULAR PART OF THE FINAL EXAM?

DO NOW: COPY DOWN THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

MS. KIRSHNER WILL DIVIDE YOU INTO GROUPS. EACH GROUP WILL ANSWER THE VOCABULARY QUESTIONS ON THE HANDOUT.

(ONE HANDOUT PER GROUP).

STUDENTS WITHIN THEIR GROUPS MUST ASSIGN THE FOLLOWING ROLES TO MEMBERS (4):
SPEAKER
RECORDER
CHECKER
AND QUIET CAPTAIN (TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE WHO IS SPEAKING WITHINJ THE GROUP, SPEAKS QUIETLY, NOT LOUDLY, AS THEY DETERMINE THEIR ANSWERS, AND THAT NO ONE SHOUTS OUT ANSWERS WHEN IT IS NOT THEIR TURN).

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE FOUR ROLES, THERE CAN BE A MAXIMUM OF 6 STUDENTS IN A GROUP, BUT NO LESS THAN 4 STUDENTS PER GROUP.

THE PROCEDURES OF THE REVIEW GAME WILL BE EXPLAINED AND THE GAME BEGINS.

EACH TEAM MEMBER RECEIVE A BONUS POINT ADDED TO HIS/HER GRADE WHEN THE CORRECT ANSWER IS GIVEN.

GOOD CONDUCT/BEHAVIOR IS EXPECTED AND REWARDED, WITH THREE BONUS POINTS ADDED TO THE FINAL EXAM FOR PARTICIPATING.

THE SCRIBE GETS 5 BONUS POINTS FOR KEEPING SCORE ON THE BOARD FOR ALL OF THE COLOR TEAMS.

Goal: Students will be prepared to complete the final exam vocabulary section.

Summary: Students are directed to answer two reflective questions on paper and hand it in to me at the end of class:

1. What do you believe you will do well on, when you take the final exam?
2. What do you think you need more of a review of, before the final exam?

HOMEWORK: Review vocabulary and notes for the final exam.
Late business plans must be submitted immediately.

The Word Wall was has been increased with new words and placed at the front of the room, and the rules of conduct have been additionally posted, as well as the rules of the game and the procedures.

Friday, June 6, 2008 Freshman Seminar

AIM: How are we going to review and study our vocabulary (from chapters 17 - 30) for the final exam?

DO NOW: What do you believe will be your "Competitive Advantage" in this class, for a good grade, for the last week of class?

Ask students the do now question and have them respond and put their reponses on the board.
Note: we will review the rules and expectations for student behavior and cite Monday being new day and we will be on our best behavior for reward bonus points and to prevent calls home)

(HAVE STUDENTS COPY DOWN THE RULES AGAIN and POST THEM ON TABLET SIZE PAPER AGAIN. REMIND THEM OF THEIR CONTRACTS.)

HOMEWORK: Cut out the cube and tape it together at home and use it as a study cube to learn the vocabulary from our word wall and textbook.


REMINDER: THE BUSINESS PLAN WAS DUE. IT IS PAST DUE. IF IT WAS RETURNED TO YOU, MAKE A COPY AND RETURN IT TO ME IMMEDIATELY. YOU CANNOT PASS THE CLASS IF I DO NOT HAVE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN COMPLETED. YOU SHOULD TYPE IT FOR A BETTER GRADE.