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Friday, December 9, 2011

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts #ows #edreform


Sitting Among Giants | ED.gov Blog

Sitting Among Giants | ED.gov Blog:Sitting Among GiantsPosted on December 9, 2011 by Guest BloggerThis week I got to rub shoulders with some impressive education leaders.At a White House event celebrating the 6,266 teachers who achieved their National Board Certification (NBCT) in 2011, I heard from National Board leaders, politicians, and policy makers—even the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.But it was later, at a series of teacher-led discussions at the U.S. Department of Education, where I sat among the ... more »

Sadness and Anger Over School Closings – SchoolBook

Sadness and Anger Over School Closings – SchoolBook:Sadness and Anger Over School Closingsby Mary Ann GiordanoThe proverbial other shoe will drop on Friday, when as many as 10 more New York City public schools will be placed on a list to be closed, but already the fallout has begun after the city’s announcement on Thursday recommending a dozen school closings and the “truncation” of grades from three additional schools.Gotham Schools dispatched its troops to some of the schools that will ... more »

Engagement with the Brain in Mind « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Engagement with the Brain in Mind « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Engagement with the Brain in Mindby Klea ScharbergIn a session at ASCD’s Fall Conference in October, former teacher and leader in the brain-based–learning movement Eric Jensen shared three dozen classroom-tested and highly practical strategies you can use immediately to get sustainable engagement for the whole child in every class. Discover how to involve even a discouraged, hostile, or apathetic student. Each research-based strategy is role-modeled, highly ... more »

Education Roundup: Was One of America's Best High Schools Ruined By the Principal? - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Education Roundup: Was One of America's Best High Schools Ruined By the Principal? - High School Notes (usnews.com):Education Roundup: Was One of America's Best High Schools Ruined By the Principal?By JASON KOEBLERDecember 9, 2011 RSS Feed PrintWelcome to the new High School Notes weekly roundup of education news. Every Friday, you'll find out what's making headlines around the Web.School administrationDuring Valerie Reidy's first 10 years as principal of Bronx High School of Science, dozens of teachers quit or were forced ... more »

Why Should We Care About Integrating Schools? - Education - GOOD

Why Should We Care About Integrating Schools? - Education - GOOD:Why Should We Care About Integrating Schools?by Bill KurtzAmerican public schools are largely segregated by race and income: The National Center for Education Statistics cites that 52 percent of black students and 58 percent of Latino students attend schools at which 75 percent or more of students are minorities. This perpetual divide reflects segregated housing patterns across our country, among other factors. Why should we care, and what should we ... more »

Are Teachers Activists? « Cooperative Catalyst

Are Teachers Activists? « Cooperative Catalyst:Are Teachers Activists?by rad fagThe notion that education is inherently social justice is detrimental to oppressed communities.My father was a first generation college student. Raised in rural Massachusetts on public assistance, he comes from a large group of siblings, and one of the only Black families in the area. Excelling in school from an early age, he was identified by several of his teachers as gifted, and my grandmother in particular understood that an academic ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform

To SOS Supporters From Don BartaloBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-3 hours agoTo SOS Supporters From Don Bartalo:To SOS Supporters From Don Bartaloby rbhattDecember 6th, 2011. The recent action taken by New York State principals is a great example of what can happen when the collective action of educators is focused on a single issue. The principals in New York State are setting a great example. Please take a few minutes to see what they have been doing.~Don Bartalo, ... more »

Sac Unified trustees shelve plan to combine schools - Sacramento Bee

Sac Unified trustees shelve plan to combine schools - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:Sac Unified trustees shelve plan to combine schoolsShareBy Melody Gutierrezmgutierrez@sacbee.comPublished: Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1AFollowing community backlash, Sacramento City Unified School District trustees decided to shelve a controversial proposal involving Sacramento Charter and West Campus high schools, as well as halt the closure and consolidation of five elementary schools.The move stunned the 350 people who came ... more »

Sobering NAEP scores for Fresno, LA | Thoughts on Public Education

Sobering NAEP scores for Fresno, LA | Thoughts on Public Education:Sobering NAEP scores for Fresno, LA - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guessby John Fensterwald - Educated GuessFresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson chose to have his district join San Diego, Los Angeles and other urban districts participating in the biannual analysis of scores in the nation’s report card, the National Assessment of Education Progress. The results for 2011, released this week, were unsettling. In both reading and math, Fresno ranked ... more »

To SOS Supporters From Don Bartalo

To SOS Supporters From Don Bartalo:To SOS Supporters From Don Bartaloby rbhattDecember 6th, 2011. The recent action taken by New York State principals is a great example of what can happen when the collective action of educators is focused on a single issue. The principals in New York State are setting a great example. Please take a few minutes to see what they have been doing.~Don Bartalo, SOS Steering Committee Dear Friends:You are receiving this message because you have indicated ... more »

Wake me up, America: zip codes, destiny, & the rebirth of self-determination « Cooperative Catalyst

Wake me up, America: zip codes, destiny, the rebirth of self-determination « Cooperative Catalyst:Wake me up, America: zip codes, destiny, the rebirth of self-determinationby Chad SansingIn education we talk a lot about zip codes:“Zip codes and demographics must no longer be educational destiny for our students.”- Robert Carreon, Executive Director of Teach for America – Rio Grande Valley“[It was the ] biggest social injustice that skin color and zip code determined a child’s education

Estelle Matthews out of 440 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Estelle Matthews out of 440 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:Estelle Matthews out of 440by Erika Owens on Dec 08 2011 Posted in Latest newsCOMMENTS (2)PRINTEMAILTags:leadershipChief Talent Development Officer Estelle Matthews was escorted from District headquarters yesterday after a District investigation, sources told the Daily News.The District's Inspector General John Downs said they launched an investigation after angry laid-off workers shared concerns. Downs said he submitted a draft of findings from the

Leave a Mark, Not a Grade | Connected Principals

Leave a Mark, Not a Grade | Connected Principals:Leave a Mark, Not a Gradeby bharrisonPhoto by Peter Harrison” My dilemma is that I don’t know how should I grade/evaluate them? Actually, no, that’s not the issue. The real problem I’m having is that I just don’t know why I should.” ~@royanlee~My son Ben and his two classmates discovered the reality of film work this week, realizing that a HUGE number of stills need to be taken to make the 30 ... more »

Is it time for OUSD’s unusual budgeting system to become policy? - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Is it time for OUSD’s unusual budgeting system to become policy? - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:Is it time for OUSD’s unusual budgeting system to become policy?By Katy MurphyThursday, December 8th, 2011 at 9:49 am in budget.To those who don’t work at schools or compulsively follow education policy, the finer points of school budgeting and resource allocation might sound like painfully dry reading material. But the issue evokes passionate debate in Oakland Unified, which does ... more »

Schools Matter: Final Act of Small-Minded Bitterness by Wake's Gang of Five

Schools Matter: Final Act of Small-Minded Bitterness by Wake's Gang of Five:Final Act of Small-Minded Bitterness by Wake's Gang of Fiveby Jim HornAfter Wake County voters re-established sanity last month by voting out the resegregationist school board majority, the Gang of 5 met one last time behind closed doors to rescind a previous offer to mediate trespassing cases against citizens who publicly resisted the end to the socioeconomic diversity program earlier this year.If there could conceived be a more appropriate ... more »

TENTATIVE LAUSD/UTLA AGREEMENT IS A DISASTER Part 2TENTATIVA LAUSD / UTLA acuerdo es una DESASTRE Parte 2 - Perdaily.com

TENTATIVE LAUSD/UTLA AGREEMENT IS A DISASTER Part 2TENTATIVA LAUSD / UTLA acuerdo es una DESASTRE Parte 2 - Perdaily.com:TENTATIVE LAUSD/UTLA AGREEMENT IS A DISASTER Part 2TENTATIVA LAUSD / UTLA acuerdo es una DESASTRE Parte 2by Leonard IsenbergD(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)Probably the greatest irony of purposefully failed public education at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) - with the active longstanding complicity of United ... more »

Principals union chief lambastes city’s school closure strategy | GothamSchools

Principals union chief lambastes city’s school closure strategy | GothamSchools:Principals union chief lambastes city’s school closure strategyby Philissa Cramer, at 5:08 pmAmong the press releases that went flying after the city announced its first set of school closures earlier today, the one from principals union president Ernest Logan stood out for its stridency.In a statement the length of a short essay, Logan decried school closures as “a losing strategy” that traumatizes needy students, shuts out educators, and prevents scrutiny of ... more »

Parents Gather from Across NYC to Protest Rapid, Unregulated Expansion of Politically Connected Success Charter Network « EdVox

Parents Gather from Across NYC to Protest Rapid, Unregulated Expansion of Politically Connected Success Charter Network « EdVox:Parents Gather from Across NYC to Protest Rapid, Unregulated Expansion of Politically Connected Success Charter Networkby edvoxnyKaren Sprowal, speaks about how her child with special-needs child was pushed out of HSACommunities, education advocates, including AQE, charge DOE looking out for well-connected CEO, not students; cite excessive public resources going to Network schools, charter group’s record of excluding special needs and English Language Learn... more »