Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Alert From the Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition
An update is in order for anyone hopeful that the Sac High campus might be reclaimed for use as a pedestrian-friendly comprehensive high school. A sizable group of families from the West Campus community oppose any move that re-locates, or significantly expands their campus and culture. When combined with St. HOPE's vigorous defense of the Sac High campus, it would appear that the "swap" option faces two very well-organized, and determined opponents.
Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform
Education Research Report: Children At Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention
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Education Research Report: Children At Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention:Children At Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Interventionby Jonathan KantrowitzΩEaster Seals new report -- Our Nation’s Children at Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention -- gives a sense for how well each state takes care of its youngest children with disabilities and delays. The fact is: infants and toddlers in nearly every state continue to fall behind, many will never catch up. Yet, with the right investment ... more »
The Failure of Desegregation in Baltimore City Schools: An Interview with Morgan State's Ray Winbush · Stories · Baltimore Fishbowl
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The Failure of Desegregation in Baltimore City Schools: An Interview with Morgan State's Ray Winbush · Stories · Baltimore Fishbowl:THE FAILURE OF DESEGREGATION IN BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS: AN INTERVIEW WITH MORGAN STATE'S RAY WINBUSH1 Tags: city schools, race relations, segregationDr. Raymond WinbushPublished November 29, 2011 by Edit BarryWhat happens when Baltimore talks about race? City mom Edit Barry finds out when she calls Dr. Raymond Winbush -- director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University and author ... more »
Support PURE! PSAT for 11-29-11: Support PURE!
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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 11-29-11: Support PURE!:PSAT for 11-29-11: Support PURE!by adminThey wanted PURE to go away – but instead we went national!It’s been a difficult few years for a scrappy, outspoken group like PURE in a city like Chicago, where it’s considered near-treason to question the emperor’s fashion sense.Unfortunately, the Chicago “model” of high-stakes testing, teacher-bashing, failing to fund schools adequately, and attacking democratically-run local public education has gone national. Thanks to ... more »
Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution #ows
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Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution:War Profiteers Meet Tomorrow In NYC. They Wont Be Alone.OccupyWallSt at OccupyWallSt News - 1 hour ago[image: Walmart] Tomorrow, the Aviation Week and Credit Suisse will be holding their 17th annual Aerospace Defense Finance Conference in NYC. These war profiteers export death in the name of defense. They have obscene influence over our democracy with politicians in their pockets and hundreds of lobbyists working congress. They sell arms to to the 1% ... more »
IEA: Michigan teachers under attack. See something. Say something. « Fred Klonsky
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IEA: Michigan teachers under attack. See something. Say something. « Fred Klonsky:IEA: Michigan teachers under attack. See something. Say something.by Fred KlonskyLast April I caught hell for criticizing IEA Communication Director Charlie McBarron.In your blog, you make much of the inclusion of a particular link to an item in the daily news summary.McBarron thought I was out of line to suggest that the IEA website feature called In the News was wrong for linking without comment to an attack on ... more »
School Tech Connect: Fun With Standards
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School Tech Connect: Fun With Standards:Fun With Standardsby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)This is from one of the groups that's trying to figure out the brave new world of 24/7 assessment, based on the CCS.There's an entire layer of people for whom these distinctions are the be-all. I've never met anyone who actually teaches children in schools who thinks that the constant rewriting of standards has any practical effect on anything or anyone. Seriously, read the distinction between old standard C and new ... more »
A Letter to the PTA from a Parents Across America Member | Seattle Education
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A Letter to the PTA from a Parents Across America Member | Seattle Education:A Letter to the PTA from a Parents Across America Memberby seattleducation2011Hello, PTA leaders!I am a parent with two children in Portland Public Schools. I have been a PTA member for five years and recently came onto our PTA board as a legislative co-chair. I am writing to see if there is any possibility of the PTA dropping its affiliation and funding from the Gates Foundation. I ... more »
Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Afternoon Posts #ows #edreform
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The Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in EvaluationsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-33 minutes agoThe Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in Evaluations:'Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in Evaluationsby Emily RichmondThe teachers union in the nation's third-largest school district have concerns about using student test scores as a measure of an educator's effectiveness, according to this story from the Chicago Tribune. It's worth noting ... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Questions for Jean-Claude Brizard
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Questions for Jean-Claude Brizard:Questions for Jean-Claude Brizardby Mike Klonsky“We have to take immediate action this year. . . . Too many of our students are in what I call an educational emergency room.’’ -- J.C. BrizardWith today's announcement by Brizard, that 10 more Chicago schools were being "turned around," complete with mass firings of faculty and staff and the contracting of new management groups to take them over, a few questions come to mind.
Duncan Calls for Urgency in Lowering College Costs - NYTimes.com
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Duncan Calls for Urgency in Lowering College Costs - NYTimes.com:Duncan Calls for Urgency in Lowering College CostsBy TAMAR LEWINPublished: November 29, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINSIGN IN TO E-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHAREEducation Secretary Arne Duncan in a speech Tuesday pushed higher education officials to “think more creatively — and with much greater urgency — about how to contain the spiraling costs of college and reduce the burden of student debt on our nation’s students.”RelatedCollege Graduates’ Debt Burden Grew, Yet Again, in 2010(November 3, 2011)A new Web venture ... more »
The Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in Evaluations
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The Educated Reporter: Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in Evaluations:'Chicago Teachers Speak Up On Using Student Test Scores in Evaluationsby Emily RichmondThe teachers union in the nation's third-largest school district have concerns about using student test scores as a measure of an educator's effectiveness, according to this story from the Chicago Tribune. It's worth noting (again, and even again) that there is no consensus among researchers as to the best way to factor in standardized test ... more »
The Innovative Educator: 20 Reasons Why Standardized Testing Is Crap
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The Innovative Educator: 20 Reasons Why Standardized Testing Is Crap:20 Reasons Why Standardized Testing Is Crapby noreply@blogger.com (The Innovative Educator)If policymakers, institutions and educators want to keep using standardized tests in the alleged service of elementary, middle school, secondary and tertiary students, considerable reform needs implementing, immediately. The standardized testing system's current incarnation raises far more eyebrows and ire than bright-eyed, bushy-tailed pillars of future progress. Research reveals some of the damages done thus far, so citizen... more »
Common Core standards pose dilemmas for early childhood - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
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Common Core standards pose dilemmas for early childhood - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Common Core standards pose dilemmas for early childhoodby Valerie StraussThis was written by Samuel J. Meisels, president of Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development located in Chicago.By Samuel J. Meisels After a decade of concerns and criticisms about the lack of rigorous national standards in the No Child Left Behind Act, we now have a set of ambitious standards for use nationwide — ... more »
Koch brothers in Michigan. Dirty little secrets. « Fred Klonsky
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Koch brothers in Michigan. Dirty little secrets. « Fred Klonsky:Koch brothers in Michigan. Dirty little secrets.by Fred KlonskyWhen it comes to the anti-union right-wingers in Michigan, there is no such thing as transparency.There are lots of dirty little secrets. There are hidden funders. And there are outright lies.Neither the Mackinac Center nor their little brother, the Education Action Group will release the names of their funders.The Mackinac Center filed as a 501(c)3 non-profit with the IRS swearing that it does ... more »
NYC Public School Parents: Film Screening and panel discussion on charter schools on Thursday!
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NYC Public School Parents: Film Screening and panel discussion on charter schools on Thursday!:Film Screening and panel discussion on charter schools on Thursday!by Leonie HaimsonCome see the movie everyone's talking about; learn the truth about charter schools and what our children really need to succeed!What: Screening of the film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for SupermanWhen: Thursday Dec. 1 at 6 PMWhere: PS 250, 108 Montrose Ave.Panel discussion following the film with Leonie Haimson
Schools Matter: Deception 101 - Charter Schools: from co-location to astro-turf parent groups
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Schools Matter: Deception 101 - Charter Schools: from co-location to astro-turf parent groups:Deception 101 - Charter Schools: from co-location to astro-turf parent groupsby Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene[click here if you can't hear this audio]Public School advocates Cheryl Ortega and Robert D. Skeels on KPFK's Politics or Pedagogy with John Cromshow November 17, 2011. Posted on November 20, 2011 by #occupyLAUSDSupport the Paper, Support the Revoltby Jim HornYou don't have to be from New York to support the effort:Support the ... more »
Jeb Bush Dodges Accountability for Florida’s Poor Remediation Rate but Wants More FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings
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Jeb Bush Dodges Accountability for Florida’s Poor Remediation Rate but Wants More FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings:Jeb Bush Dodges Accountability for Florida’s Poor Remediation Rate but Wants More FCATby Bob SikesMake no mistake. FCAT is Jeb Bush’s baby. He, in fact, has staked his entire reputation on them. It is FCAT which is the basis for the school grade model he touts when he speaks to legislatures all over the country and is one which he believes should replace NCLB’s ... more »
Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform
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Striking for the future of the profession! - The Educator's PLN #owsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-9 hours agoStriking for the future of the profession! - The Educator's PLN:Striking for the future of the profession!Posted by andy mellor on November 28, 2011 at 6:30pmView BlogOn Wednesday there will be many an educational professional wrestling with their conscience. Do I strike to make the only protest I have against the cuts to my pension and the financial well being of ... more »
Remainders: Bronx school tells parents to stop airing its issues | GothamSchools
Remainders: Bronx school tells parents to stop airing its issues | GothamSchools:
Remainders: Bronx school tells parents to stop airing its issues
- P.S. 24 in the Bronx told families to stop telling the school’s troubles to the press. (Bronx Press Politics)
- A teacher discovers an error in an automatically graded Regents grade from last year. (NYCDOENuts)
- A teacher reports with glee that social studies exams might be resurrected. (Mr. D’s Neighborhood)
- Mike Petrilli: Though sometimes wrong, Diane Ravitch’s arguments are not personal. (Flypaper)
- First-year students at Broome Street Academy Charter High School talk about their school. (YouTube)
- A look at the three schools in Harlem that are on the DOE’s chopping block this year. (Insideschools)
- A teacher explains how he differentiates by grouping without groups. (Mr. Foteah)
- Analysis of the evidence — there isn’t much — that teachers have worsened over time. (Shanker Blog)
- Parents at a citywide gifted school are worried about the co-located school’s expansion. (SchoolBook)
Response: Several Ways Teachers Can Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher
Response: Several Ways Teachers Can Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher:
« How Can Teachers Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other? | Main
Response: Several Ways Teachers Can Create A Supportive Environment For Each Other
S.H. asked:
Our school culture has a growing sense of [unhealthy] competitiveness. I believe a lot of this stems from the fact that our administration does not recognize (or maybe they do and simply don't voice) teacher expertise using specific, positive praise. We do receive thanks yous - but they tend to be blanket statements and pretty general. (For example, "Thank you Ms. _____ for helping your team out.")
This appears to have led to some teachers to measure themselves against others. Rather than feeling grateful that the students in our school are being taught by many talented teachers, it has become a zero-sum game and fed rivalries and pettiness.
It's sad for me to admit this, but I don't think there's a ton of hope in my administration changing their ways. I guess my question is, how can teachers create a sincere, supportive environment for each other?
I've asked Bill Ferriter and Parry Graham, co-authors of Building a Professional Learning Community at Work: A Guide to the First Year, to provide guest responses to this tricky question, and also include some excellent reader responses later in this post.
I think they offer excellent specific suggestions. The one thought I'd like to contribute is that a challenge to many of us -- whether it is how we operate as teachers with our colleagues or
Schools Matter: Got 4K? Start Teaching Today--in Texas
Schools Matter: Got 4K? Start Teaching Today--in Texas:
Got 4K? Start Teaching Today--in Texas
Online and for-profit teacher "preparation," another innovative job creating strategy from the job creators who created Rick Perry. A clip from the Hechinger Report:
iteachTEXAS, begun in 2003, is the first for-profit, non-university based alternative certification program to expand across state lines, with the newly created iteachU.S. operating programs in Louisiana and Tennessee. Additional offshoots will soon come to Michigan and at least two other states.
Diann Huber, president of iteachU.S., said the program’s goal is to provide a new career opportunity for people who have been laid off in other industries, like auto workers in Michigan, who may be able to use their knowledge to teach high-need subjects like math and science.
Texas began experimenting with alternative certification programs in the mid-1980s. Then, the
Is Relentless Test Prepping a Constructive Response? « City School Stories
Is Relentless Test Prepping a Constructive Response? « City School Stories:
Is Relentless Test Prepping a Constructive Response?
Teacher Stories
Submitted by Teacher Man on November 29, 2011
My principal recently made it very clear to me that the only written works produced by my 7th and 8th grade students worthy of display, are their constructed responses. In the Philadelphia School District and in my school especially, children are regularly expected to write these limiting and repetitive responses per the direction of our central leadership. According to my principal, it is vitally important that students score the maximum amount of points allowed for the opened-ended responses on the PSSA test. He