Tuesday, October 26, 2010

NYC Public School Parents: Tony Avella for State Senate

Tony Avella for State Senate

by Gary Babad

I usually write parody for the NYC Parent Blog, but this is not parody. I usually don’t make political endorsements on the blog, but this is a political endorsement. Why? Because so much hangs in the balance in NY State Senate District 11 (Northeast Queens), and Tony Avella warrants the support of parents, teachers, and anyone else who values public education in NY State.

Tony’s positions on education are long standing and unequivocal. He has been a fierce critic of Chancellor Klein’s and Mayor Bloomberg’s dictatorial control. He has called for the firing of the Chancellor, the hiring of a real educator for the position, and for the re-establishment true parent involvement in the schools.

Tony’s opponent, incumbent Senator Frank Padavan, was instrumental in the renewal of Mayoral control. And lest anyone wonder about Padavan’s relationship with the Mayor and Chancellor, during a hotly contested 2008 race, the DOE renamed the Glen Oaks school campus for Mr. Padavan – jumping the gun by a good number of

Queens Teacher: Professors Speak Out

Professors Speak Out

by Queens Teacher

Heavy reliance on test scores for teacher evaluation is misguided.

Too many policymakers have recently adopted the misguided belief that improvements in students' scores on standardized tests in mathematics and reading can be heavily relied upon to evaluate, reward, and remove the teachers of these tested students.
However, even the most sophisticated use of test scores, value added modeling (VAM), is a flawed and inaccurate way to judge whether teachers are effective or ineffective.

The heavy use of VAM in a teacher evaluation system will misidentify large numbers of both effective and ineffective teachers. Leading authorities (such as the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and researchers

Beaverton School Board passes nondiscrimination resolution | OregonLive.com

Beaverton School Board passes nondiscrimination resolution

Published: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 7:58 PM Updated: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 8:00 PM

Wendy Owen, The Oregonian
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BEAVERTON -- In the month since Beaverton School District asked that a gay student teacher be reassigned, school leaders have been jolted awake by the long-ignored harassment and discrimination of homosexuals across the district.

During an emotional school board meeting Monday night, parents and school board members talked about the need to change, and the board took the first official step by unanimously approving a resolution of nondiscrimination.

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The one-page resolution reaffirms the district's nondiscrimination and diversity policies, resolves that everyone is entitled to the same rights and privileges, and calls upon everyone in the district and community to "call out discrimination if and when it occurs, and to ensure that all persons in our schools are and feel welcome, valued, respected and safe."

"I like what we've written," said Lisa Shultz, board member. "But it's not enough. It will never be enough."

A couple of board members choked up as they talked about their concerns and the need for change. Over the past month, they have received letters and e-mails with stories of bullying,

Nice New Site For ESL/EFL Teachers | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Nice New Site For ESL/EFL Teachers Tibor Prievara, who teachers English in Hungary with whom my classes have sometimes had a “sister class” relationship, has been working with other English teachers in that country to develop a very useful website for ESL/EFL teachers. It’s called ...

“The Internet: Infographic” The Internet: Infographic is an….infographic showing Web statistics from around the world. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet.

Are You Ready To Laugh With Tears Flowing Again? Here’s Another Video… If you didn’t laugh and cry enough when you saw Be Prepared To Laugh With Tears Flowing After Watching “Collaborative Planning” Video, here’s another one (you’ll have to go to my blog to see it if you’re reading this on an RSS Reader):

The Best Sites Where Students Can Upload PowerPoint Presentations To The Web For English Language Learners, I think the best places to create online slideshows (including some that offer the additional language-learning opportunity of easily recording audio to go along with it) are listed at The Best Ways To Create Online ...

Schools Matter: Will Duncan Take His Own Departmental Statement on Bullying Seriously?

Will Duncan Take His Own Departmental Statement on Bullying Seriously?

by Jim Horn

Back in February, Arne Duncan applauded the decision to fire every teacher at the only high school in the poorest city in Rhode Island. Despite the fact that saner heads have since determined that the firing was unethical and unfair, Duncan said that officials were "showing courage and doing the right thing for kids."

When the corporate reformers hatched a plan to release flawed evaluation data in Los Angeles on thousands of teachers, Arne Duncan applauded, despite warnings from the National Academy of Sciences on the use of such data to make any kind of high stakes decisions. Instead of condemning the immoral and irresponsible action

Hidden video by conservative activist James O'Keefe renews NJEA, Gov. Christie dispute | NJ.com

Hidden video by conservative activist James O'Keefe renews NJEA, Gov. Christie dispute

Published: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 10:01 PM Updated: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 10:01 PM

Star-Ledger Staff
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Gov. Chris Christie comments on 'teachers unions gone wild'

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TRENTON — Some see it as a videotaped intrusion, a trumped-up attack produced by a self-styled muckraker who manipulates interviewees and takes comments out of context to prove a biased point.

Others see it as hard proof that the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, could care less about putting students first and see their jobs as lifetime sinecures, as its critics claim.

Either way, a series of undercover videos produced by "Gonzo journalist" and conservative James O’Keefe have reignited a statewide debate that again throws the embattled union into an unflattering spotlight.

The tapes, which purport to show union members cursing, discussing voter fraud and laughing about how hard it is to fire tenured teachers, were dismissed by the NJEA as a "complete fabrication." Much of the footage for "Teachers Unions Gone Wild" was shot at a bar at the East

Gray works to firm up donor support for education reforms

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Video: Vince Gray holds first town hall meeting

On Tuesday night, Democratic mayoral nominee Vincent Gray fielded questions in the first of a series of town hall meetings before the Nov. 2 general election in the auditorium of the Community Academy Public Charter School in Ward 5.

» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER

By Bill Turque

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 26, 2010; 7:09 PM

They are men of the same generation - both 67 - and they share the last name - Gray. But until they met for the first time on a Sunday evening earlier this month, that was about all C. Boyden and Vincent C. had in common. That was when the patrician Republican and former White House counsel introduced the Democrat and presumptive mayor-elect from Ward 7 as "my cousin Vinny" to a gathering of education philanthropists and reform advocates over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at his Georgetown home.

It was a light moment in the midst of a serious outreach effort, engineered by the Gray campaign. The objective was to reassure the influential network of private foundations - which have poured an estimated $20 million into D.C public schools over the past four years - that Vincent C. Gray is serious about sustainin

Court Sides With Charter Schools in Wage Dispute Courthouse News Service

Courthouse News Service

Court Sides With Charter Schools in Wage Dispute

By JEFF D. GORMAN
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(CN) - New York's prevailing wage laws do not apply to all charter school construction projects, the New York Court of Appeals ruled.
In 2007 the New York Department of Labor informed the Charter Schools Institute and the state Department of Education that it would start enforcing prevailing wage laws on charter school projects.
This was a change from the labor department's position, which it articulated in 2000, that charter schools were exempt from such laws because they were not public entities.
The New York Charter School Association took the matter to court, joined

Leaders criticize ‘one-size-fits-all’ testing - Pekin, IL - Pekin Daily Times

Leaders criticize ‘one-size-fits-all’ testing

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By Ken Harris

Pekin Daily Times

Posted Oct 26, 2010 @ 08:00 AM

PEKIN, Ill. —

Pekin School District 303 leaders made their frustration over the standards set by No Child Left Behind evident Monday as the superintendent presented the school’s ’09-’10 report card and announced the district again failed to meet the standard for academic progress, which she said is not consistent with the community’s identity.

Pekin Community High School — along with 83 of the 95 statewide high schools of similar size — failed to meet the standard of Academic Yearly Progress, which is based on how many students do well on a statewide efficiency test called the Prairie State Achievement Examination. The test is given to all second-semester juniors.

The problem, according to Superintendent Paula Davis, is that the test assumes all students intend to go to college, which many in Pekin do not intend to do, opting instead to pursue careers in more blue-collar trades and taking classes to prepare them for that path.

“My point is the system — which is one-size-fits-all — doesn’t fit,” Davis said. “We know you’re not going to outsource