Thursday, September 30, 2010

“Where I Stand” (Sabrina) � Failing Schools

“Where I Stand” (Sabrina)

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

by Sabrina

“Where I Stand” (A School Reform Survey)

Name & role: Sabrina, 4th/5th grade teacher & community activist

What “reform” means to me, and why I think it’s important: I think reform should be an ongoing process of making sure what’s happening in schools matches our ideals (fairness, justice) and helps students be productive members of society. I think it’s important to understand how our school system works, and build on what works well, instead of assuming that it is wholly “broken”. Almost all of us attend public schools, so what goes on in schools is very important.

Where I Stand on…

NCTE It Gets Better

Just 5% of city's elementary/middle schools got Ds and Fs this year in new progress reports

BY MEREDITH KOLODNER AND RACHEL MONAHAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Thursday, September 30th 2010, 6:34 PM

Lombard for News

Despite plummeting state test scores, just 5% of elementary and middle schools got D's and F's after the Ed. Dept. cut schools a break that prevented their grades from plunging further.

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Despite plummeting state test scores, just 5% of elementary and middle schools got tarred with D's and F's on the city's progress reports this year.

That's because the city Education

Schools Matter: The Corporate Oligarchy's Mis-Education Nation 2010: Review #2 of Microsoft-NBC's Coverage

The Corporate Oligarchy's Mis-Education Nation 2010: Review #2 of Microsoft-NBC's Coverage

by Jim Horn

Conservative pundit, John Merrow weighs in on the all-out corporate blitzkrieg against public education on Microsoft-NBC. From a post at HuffPo:

. . . Which brings me to Education Nation, the extravaganza hosted by NBC and broadcast on NBC and MSNBC. It had it all: good, bad and ugly.

You probably know the basics: a huge commitment by NBC to cover 'the crisis in public education.' Everyone got into the act: Matt Lauer and the President on the Today Show, David Gregory on Meet the Press on Sunday, and Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan seemingly dropped everything to be on hand. On Monday he

N.J. Senate committee to issue subpoenas to get ex-commissioner Bret Shundler to testify about Race to the Top error | NJ.com

N.J. Senate committee to issue subpoenas to get ex-commissioner Bret Shundler to testify about Race to the Top error

Published: Thursday, September 30, 2010, 7:01 PM Updated: Thursday, September 30, 2010, 7:01 PM

Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau
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Chris Pedota /The RecordThe Assembly Appropriations Commitee meeting takes testimony from individuals involved in the state's application for Race to the Top funding. Acting Dept. of Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks during her testimony.

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TRENTON — A state Senate committee today voted to issue subpoenas to compel former education commissioner Bret Schundler and a consultant to testify at a hearing about New Jersey's failed application for federal "Race to the Top" education funding.

The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee voted to call Schundler, fired by the governor in August, and the CEO of consultant Wireless Generation to fill in gaps about how the state fumbled its chance at up to $400

At NBC’s education week, select teachers taught “live” lessons | GothamSchools

At NBC’s education week, select teachers taught “live” lessons

by Elizabeth Green

Joseph Almeida, a sixth grade math teacher at KIPP Infinity, taught a lesson to adults at Rockefeller Center.

Among the mix of pages, chancellors, and mayors at NBC’s “Education Nation” outdoor museum at Rockefeller Center this week were a cadre of teachers from around the country who taught live “lessons” to the general

Most schools’ grades drop as city releases report cards

by Anna Phillips

The percentage of elementary and middle schools to get A’s on their city-issued report cards fell this year from 84 to 25 percent — a drop precipitated by more students failing the exams and the city grading schools on a curve.

Of the city’s 1,140 elementary and middle schools, 35 percent (396 schools) received B’s, 35 (398 schools) got C’s, 4 percent (49 schools) got D’s and 1 percent (8 schools) got F’s. More schools scored low enough to get failing grades, but their final marks were buoyed by city officials’ decision to limit the amount by which a school’s

FOXNews.com - Coburn Report Shows Billions in Education Budget Spent on 'School House Pork'

Coburn Report Shows Billions in Education Budget Spent on 'School House Pork'

Published September 30, 2010

| FoxNews.com

What do mariachi classes, wine studies and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have in common?

They were all funded by federal Department of Education earmarks, according to an extensive new report released Thursday by Sen. Tom Coburn.

The Oklahoma Republican, in a study called "School House Pork," is urging the federal government to suspend these education "slush funds" after finding

What, specifically, do you stand for? � Failing Schools

What, specifically, do you stand for?

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

by Sabrina

(Note: This post isn’t just a reflection; it also includes a survey at the end, about what you mean when you talk about school reform.)

At the suggestion of a friend, I went to a Stand for Children meeting last night. The school reform crowd I run with is naturally a little skeptical of this group, because of their connections to the “Billionaire Boys Club” (For example, the SfC Leadership Center has received over $5.2 million dollars from the Gates Foundation since 2005) and their support of certain tenets of the corporate school reform movement.

None of that was obvious at last night’s meeting, though, or from the promotional materials they provided. For instance, the brochure they use to solicit donations says things like “We’ve

'Churn, Ambivalence, Confusion' in Teacher Ed.? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

'Churn, Ambivalence, Confusion' in Teacher Ed.?

by Stephen Sawchuk

Education professors continue to hold beliefs consistent with Dewey-inspired progressive-education principles. But they also seem to be warming up to some changes, most notably the Teach For America program and a tougher teacher-tenure bar, according to a national survey of teacher educators, released yesterday.

Overall, said the authors of the survey analysis, such findings are evidence that teacher educators hold a variety of disparate, even conflicting opinions about the state of the profession today and the changes occurring in the field in the post-accountability era.

"Much of what we find reveals a great deal of churn, ambivalence, and even confusion," said Steve Farkas an

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Thursday, September 30, 2010