Saturday, October 22, 2011

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank #OCCUPYTOGETHER #ows #OCCUPYWALLSTREET #sosmarch #p2 #1u





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State refuses to release PSSA probe reports | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

2011-Oct-21
State refuses to release PSSA probe reports | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:State refuses to release PSSA probe reportsby Benjamin Herold on Oct 21 2011 Posted in Latest newsCOMMENTS (0)PRINTEMAILTags:cheating INN feedstandardized testingWHYY/NewsWorksby Benjamin Heroldfor the Notebook and WHYY/NewsWorksThe Pennsylvania Office of Open Records(OOR) has denied multiple Notebook requests for records related to suspicious results on Pennsylvania State System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams.In recent weeks, the Notebook has filed requests under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know law for the following records:The ...
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Who Authorized a Dozen New Charter Schools and When their Term will End: Vote 4 Community

2011-Oct-21
SCOE | Members of the Sacramento County Board of Education and Areas Served:Sacramento County Board of Education Members and Areas RepresentedSacramento County Trustee AreasBrian Cooley (President)Trustee, Area 5Representing the communities of Alder Creek, Bridge House, Folsom, Gold River, Mather, Mills, Natoma, Nimbus, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Rosemont, Sloughhouse, Walsh Station, and a portion of Vineyard.School districts: small portions of Elk Grove Unified, Sacramento City Unified, and San Juan Unified, and all of Folsom Cordova Unified.Term expires: June 2012E-mail: brianacooley@comcast.netGreg Geeting ...
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Warren Buffett’s free financial literacy lessons - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Oct-21
Warren Buffett’s free financial literacy lessons - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Warren Buffett’s free financial literacy lessonsby Valerie StraussWith the country wallowing in deep economic troubles that serve as testament to how little Americans understand about money, super investor Warren Buffett just launched a financial literacy program that offers free lessons for children (and adults).The program, called the Secret Millionaire’s Club, offers animated episodes that teach financial literacy, entrepreneurship and core math skills. One of them, for example, ...
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An Urban Teacher's Education: Paradigm Shift

2011-Oct-21
An Urban Teacher's Education: Paradigm Shift:Paradigm Shiftby James BoutinIn the past year, I've had a pretty significant paradigm shift in terms of my understanding of creating positive school culture.In the first three years of my teaching career I believed a positive school culture was built primarily through a well-organized system of incentives and consequences for behaviors school staff understood to be appropriate. I remember being particularly impressed with a presentation my staff received when I worked at Renton High School ...
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ESEA moving in HELP committee « Parents Across America

2011-Oct-20
ESEA moving in HELP committee « Parents Across America:ESEA moving in HELP committeeby pureparentsUpdate stories from Ed Week here and here on the status of ESEA in the Senate HELP committee, which has set a hearing on the proposal for November 8:…the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the committee, and Sen. Michael B. Enzi, R-Wyo., reached an agreement with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., so that action on the bill could move forward.…the biggest loser is the ...
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L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy tickets - latimes.com

2011-Oct-20
L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy tickets - latimes.com:L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy ticketsOctober 20, 2011 | 1:47 pm 10The Los Angeles School Police Department has issued new rules aimed at reducing the number of truancy tickets written to students and focusing efforts instead on helping these students get to and remain in school.The new policy, announced Thursday, is the latest change from a campaign to reform traditional school discipline that advocates say results in ethnic and ...
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L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy tickets - latimes.com

2011-Oct-20
L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy tickets - latimes.com:L.A. School police to issue fewer truancy ticketsOctober 20, 2011 | 1:47 pm 10The Los Angeles School Police Department has issued new rules aimed at reducing the number of truancy tickets written to students and focusing efforts instead on helping these students get to and remain in school.The new policy, announced Thursday, is the latest change from a campaign to reform traditional school discipline that advocates say results in ethnic and ...
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One mom’s battle to ensure her son’s right to opt out of testing « Parents Across America

2011-Oct-20
One mom’s battle to ensure her son’s right to opt out of testing « Parents Across America:Oct 20, 2011 No Comments ›› leoniehaimsonThis is the story of Gretchen Herrera, and her battle with her son’s charter school, to allow him to opt out standardized testing. Her son Anthony attended the South Carolina Virtual Charter School, a branch of K12 Inc., one of the nation’s largest chains of for-profit charter schools.Here is a petition you can sign One mom’s battle to ...
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Corporate Privatizers work to "Seal the Deal" in NOLA #edreform

2011-Oct-20
BESE races draw lots of campaign money - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8:BESE races draw lots of campaign moneyFile photo (Kia Callia)Contributor: WIRE and STAFF reportsPrint StoryPublished: 10/17 4:20 pmShareUpdated: 10/17 4:23 pmThe G Bitch SpotNEW ORLEANS (AP) - Big money is being spent on some campaigns for this Saturday's races for the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education - unsalaried posts that usually draw far less attention at election ...
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QUESTIONABLE RESEARCH « Teachers Fight Back

2011-Oct-20
QUESTIONABLE RESEARCH « Teachers Fight Back:QUESTIONABLE RESEARCHby alkleenI was reading an AARP magazine and saw a small article about the lack of civics knowledge among American eighth graders. The magazine gave one example of the lack of knowledge. It claimed that a federal study showed that only 7% of eighth graders could describe the three branches of our government.That statistic sounds like complete nonsense to me. When I was teaching eighth grade social studies, every one of my students could ...
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Occupy the Classroom - NYTimes.com #edreform

2011-Oct-19
Occupy the Classroom - NYTimes.com:Occupy the ClassroomBy NICHOLAS D. KRISTOFPublished: October 19, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINCOMMENTSE-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHAREOccupy Wall Street is shining a useful spotlight on one of America’s central challenges, the inequality that leaves the richest 1 percent of Americans with a greater net worth than the entire bottom 90 percent.Damon Winter/The New York TimesNicholas D. KristofOn the GroundNicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels.Go to Blog »Go to Columnist Page »Readers’ CommentsShare your thoughts.Post a Comment »Most of ...
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Florida Tea Party Network Wants Rick Scott to Quit Race to the Top | Scathing Purple Musings

2011-Oct-19
Florida Tea Party Network Wants Rick Scott to Quit Race to the Top | Scathing Purple Musings:Florida Tea Party Network Wants Rick Scott to Quit Race to the Topby Bob SikesFrom Kenric Ward of Sunshine State News:Citing the Florida Constitution, a statewide tea party group is calling on Gov. Rick Scott to bow out of the “Race to the Top” competition for federal education funding.“This grant not only costs Florida taxpayers more in the long-term, it will remove quality control ...
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Rahm wants more tax breaks for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky's blog

2011-Oct-19
Rahm wants more tax breaks for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky's blog:Rahm wants more tax breaks for the 1%.by Fred KlonskyUpdated: Ernst Young adding 500 Chicago jobs; Emanuel pushes lawmakers for CME aid | Greg Hinz | Blogs | Crain’s Chicago Business.Teachers all over the state are looking anxiously at the coming veto session, concerned about what the General Assembly might do to their average $48,000 a year pension.But Mayor Emanuel has other fish to fry.His number one priority is ...
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Beating the bushes for a speaker in Denver

2011-Oct-19
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Beating the bushes for a speaker in Denver:Beating the bushes for a speaker in DenverLook who they've dredged up in Denver to speak on school reform. This even though Jr. had backed out of his previous commitment. His handlers wouldn't let him get within 10 miles of WikiLeaks' founder Assange.******Even though the president's jobs bill was DOA, Dems are pushing ahead with it piece-by-piece in order to force the hand of Limbaugh Party opposition-ists.
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Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important] | The Jose Vilson

2011-Oct-18
Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important] | The Jose Vilson:Always Power To The People [Exponentially Important]by JosePower To The People (c/o artbackwash.blogspot)John T. Spencer is quickly becoming one of my favorite people to quote. Observe:Whether it’s exponents or square roots, you can’t deny that it’s powers to the people. #andthathastocountforsomethingClassic stuff. He said this when I revealed my current unit, exponents, to Twitter. I’ve been more focused on pedagogy lately because that stuff matters. Further, I’m finding that, as ...
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OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOM #ows

2011-Oct-18
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOM:OCCUPY LAUSD MARCHES, BUT ‘DON’T HOLD US BACK’ TAKES THE BOARDROOMsmf: At today’s abbreviated school board meeting - while the 99% were marching, the co-opted representatives of the 1% – in matching “Don’t Hold Us Back” T shirts - took all but two or three of the speakers cards. If you need a score card, see smf’s 2¢ here.Occupy LAUSD Aligns ...
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Mitchell 20: Teacher Quality is the Answer #edreform

2011-Oct-18
Mitchell 20The Mitchell 20 Trailer from Mitchell 20 on Vimeo.Movie Trailer: mitchell20.com Objective: The original objective was to follow a group of teachers in Arizona endeavoring to reach National Board Certification and spotlight the inspirational events of a journey toward quality teaching. However, through the course of production, the documentary turned into a testimonial about the state of education in America. The film captures the story of teachers as heroes in an urban school that serves primarily underprivileged minority students. ...
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The Maddow Blog - Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says so #edreform

2011-Oct-18
The Maddow Blog - Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says so:Katrina 'good' for New Orleans schools? U.S. Dept. of Education says soBy Jamil Smith- Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:46 PM EDTNew Orleans Times-PicayuneMuch to the dismay of many (including both congressionalPauls) who openly wish for its demise, the Department of Education has managed to survive another year.Yesterday marked 32 yearssince President Jimmy Carter signed it into law.Last year, when it was only 30 going on ...
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Occupy Wall Street - California Teachers Association #ows

2011-Oct-18
Occupy Wall Street - California Teachers Association:OCCUPY WALL STREETGet more postersGet Involved! Find a protest in your area. Share your photos videos on Facebook. Join #occupywallstreet on Twitter. Watch live streaming video of the protest. Download CTA poster placard. Learn more at www.occupytogether.org. We Are the 99% Tumblr"We have seen class sizes grow, college tuitions increase, and job opportunities vanish at the same time that banks have received bailouts and large corporations and millionaires have received tax cuts. We are ...
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Assembly Concurrent Resolution 162 - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

2011-Oct-18
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 162 - Letters (CA Dept of Education):October 18, 2011Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and Special Education Local Plan Area Directors:IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 162Each year, October is designated as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In California, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 162 was passed to designate the second week in October as Disability History Week. To commemorate the importance of these designations, the California Department of Education (CDE) will institute a series of activities at ...
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Occupy L.A. to rally at school board meeting - latimes.com #ows

2011-Oct-18
Occupy L.A. to rally at school board meeting - latimes.com:Occupy L.A. to rally at school board meetingOccupy Los Angeles protesters who have set up camp in front of City Hall for the last two weeks say they plan to join forces with the Los Angeles teachers union Tuesday to protest teacher layoffs and other education cuts.They plan to meet with members of United Teachers Los Angeles at 3:45 p.m. at City Hall and march to the Los Angeles Unified School ...
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NCTQ Teacher Education Study 'An Outrage,' AACTE Says - Teacher Beat - Education Week

2011-Oct-18
NCTQ Teacher Education Study 'An Outrage,' AACTE Says - Teacher Beat - Education Week:NCTQ Teacher Education Study 'An Outrage,' AACTE Saysby Stephen SawchukIn a recent letter to its members, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education left no doubt of its opposition to an effort by the National Council on Teacher Quality and U.S. News and World Report to review and rank all 1,400 schools of education.AACTE has never been particularly enamored of this project, but as of this ...
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Schools Matter: AYP is to "Continuous Improvement" As Fiat Is to Yugo

2011-Oct-18
Schools Matter: AYP is to "Continuous Improvement" As Fiat Is to Yugo:AYP is to "Continuous Improvement" As Fiat Is to Yugoby Jim HornThe ed industry, the Oligarchs' lawyers, and the purchased politicians of DC are at it again, staying up late at night to sew together another Frankenstein monster to unleash on America's schoolchildren, parents, and teachers. One thing all self-serving parties seem to agree on is that increasing test scores should be the central component, thus giving new life ...
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Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Kids These Days.....Occupy!

2011-Oct-17
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Kids These Days.....Occupy!:Kids These Days.....Occupy!by L. JablonskiThe Occupy movement continues to grow...globally! Here in Sacramento, Cesar Chavez Park remains the center of Occupy activity, with protesters saying they will stay at the park indefinitely. A perspective I really like on the Occupy Movement is one written by Armando Llorens, also known as Big Tent Democrat, a prominent litigation attorney and blogger, who writes at Talk Left. Big Tent Dem had been pretty ambivalent about Occupy, that ...
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Jersey Jazzman: NJ Ed Commish LOVES Small Class Sizes!

2011-Oct-17
Jersey Jazzman: NJ Ed Commish LOVES Small Class Sizes!:NJ Ed Commish LOVES Small Class Sizes!by DukeWe all know that the current political crew in NJ loves them some reformy-type reforms: charters, merit pay, vouchers, bubble testing, and whatnot.We also know they ignore all the evidence that this nonsense will not work. But what happens when they are confronted with evidence of what actually could bring real reform? What do they say when confronted with reality?In Freehold the talk was a ...
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Reforming NCLB Requires Flexibility and Accountability | ED.gov Blog #edreform

2011-Oct-17
Reforming NCLB Requires Flexibility and Accountability | ED.gov Blog:Reforming NCLB Requires Flexibility and AccountabilityPosted on October 17, 2011 by Arne DuncanFixing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is four years overdue. In March of 2010, the Administration unveiled its Blueprint for Reform. Since then we’ve worked on a bipartisan basis to craft a comprehensive reform bill that would help give our children the world-class education they need and deserve. Today marks an important step forward.Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Mike Enzi ...
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Best Questions: Professional Learning Communities « Whole Child Education

2011-Oct-17
The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Best Questions: Professional Learning CommunitiesOctober 17th, 2011 by Molly McCloskeyDespite the rumors, school improvement is hard. It’s not about a single passionate leader. It’s not about “fixing” teachers and teaching or parents and parenting. It’s not about poverty. It’s not about money. And it’s not about standards. It’s about all of them. And more.In this column, I’ll take on the real deal of school improvement—for all schools, not just certain kinds. And for ...
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Awesome Video of the Apple Store Protest in Seattle of Teach for America Display | Seattle Education

2011-Oct-17
Awesome Video of the Apple Store Protest in Seattle of Teach for America Display | Seattle Education:Awesome Video of the Apple Store Protest in Seattle of Teach for America Displayby seattleducation2011Last month Parents Across America-Seattle along with several teachers did a peaceful demonstration outside of the Apple store in Seattle. The protest was regarding Apple giving out free I Pads to Teach for America recruits. Unfortunately certified teachers with experience in their field and a long-term commitment to our communities ...
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Education Research Report: Can charter principles work in traditional schools?

2011-Oct-17
Education Research Report: Can charter principles work in traditional schools?:Can charter principles work in traditional schools?by Jonathan KantrowitzΩComplete article...Harvard economist Roland Fryer published research last week showing that the education policies that have succeeded in charter schools can also increase test scores in traditional, public schools.Fryer looked at “No Excuses” charter schools, places like the Harlem Promise Academy and KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools, to get a sense of how they had made such big education gains in low-income ...
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Does choice make board districts obsolete? | EdNewsColorado

2011-Oct-17
Does choice make board districts obsolete? | EdNewsColorado:Does choice make board districts obsolete?by Mark SassMark Sass, a teacher since 1994, teaches at Legacy High School in the Adams Five Star School District.The recent report from A+ Denver highlighting how various Denver Public Schools board members’ districts are achieving posed an interesting question for me that I would like to get your feedback on.A few decades ago school board members represented not only the schools in their respective districts but almost ...
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Choosing Democracy: ED Voice; How corporate CEO's shape education policy

2011-Oct-16
Choosing Democracy: ED Voice; How corporate CEO's shape education policy:ED Voice; How corporate CEO's shape education policyEdVoice a power player in Capitol's political war over school fundsBy John Howard(published April 13th, 2006)It's advisory board reads like a who's who of California's hyper-wealthypolitical players. There's developer Eli Broad, Netflix founder and formerpresident of the state board of education Reed Hastings, Silicon Valleyventure capitalist John Doerr, and Gap founder Don Fisher. While differentin political philosophy and temperament, they are linked by their ...
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The KIPP Schools that KIPP Doesn’t Claim « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

2011-Oct-16
The KIPP Schools that KIPP Doesn’t Claim « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues:The KIPP Schools that KIPP Doesn’t Claimby Dr. Ed FullerAs reader of this blog know, I am working on a report that focuses on Texas charter schools. Many of the myths surrounding charter schools–especially the so-called high-performing charter schools–will be examined and some debunked.In doing this research, I found something very, very curious. The Texas Education Agency lists a number of schools with the KIPP name. Yet, ...
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Separate is still not equal in Florida « Continuing Change

2011-Oct-16
Separate is still not equal in Florida « Continuing Change:Separate is still not equal in Floridaby gatorbonbcI just watched Senator Dan Gaetz, Fl Senate President designated, on the Florida Channel say that although he and his son got political science degrees and then went on to law degrees, such degrees do not guarantee jobs
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Cindy Sheehan, 19 'Occupy Sacramento' Protesters Arrested - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

2011-Oct-16
19 'Occupy Sacramento' Protesters Arrested - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento:19 'Occupy Sacramento' Protesters Arrested1 Protester Hospitalized Due To Hunger StrikePOSTED: 8:13 am PDT October 16, 2011UPDATED: 8:43 am PDT October 16, 2011 Email Print Comments(1)MoreSACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Nineteen protesters, including anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan, were arrested Sunday morning during the Occupy Sacramento protests at Cesar Chavez Park.According to a statement released by the "Occupy Sacramento" group, one protestor participating in a hunger strike, was hospitalized.Those arrested were charged ...
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L.A. Unified principals to see teachers' effectiveness ratings - latimes.com

2011-Oct-16
L.A. Unified principals to see teachers' effectiveness ratings - latimes.com:L.A. Unified principals to see teachers' effectiveness ratingsThe previously confidential ratings estimate teachers' effectiveness in raising students' standardized test scores. The district is in negotiations to use the ratings as part of a new teacher evaluation system.Share0Comments17L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy has said teachers will not be formally judged on their effectiveness scores, but observers say he is trying to pressure the teachers union by letting principals see the ratings.(Al Seib, ...
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A year later, Rhee’s legacy is in sharper focus - The Washington Post

2011-Oct-16
A year later, Rhee’s legacy is in sharper focus - The Washington Post:Michelle Rhee’s D.C. schools legacy is in sharper focus one year laterRicky Carioti/WASHINGTON POST - Outgoing D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, right, and her successor, Kaya Henderson, in October 2010. Text SizePrintE-mailReprintsBy Bill Turque, Published: October 15A year ago this month, Michelle A. Rhee resigned as D.C. schools chancellor, ending a tenure as contentious and turbulent as that of any urban school leader in memory. “The best way ...
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