Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-30 #soschat #EDReform

Ellen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

Ellen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Anthony CodyAnthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for ... more »

One City Council debate in the books | Davis Enterprise

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

One City Council debate in the books | Davis Enterprise: “I think in terms of the city budget, there needs to be a comprehensive top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, whereveryou want to start, line-by-line look at the city’s budget and prioritization of where we want to spend our dollars, our precious sales tax dollars, that fund city programs,” Frerichs said. One City Council debate in the booksFive candidates for three seats on the Davis City Council were on the hot seat Thursday evening ... more »

CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?” « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?” « Fred Klonsky: CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?”byFred KlonskyIt all goes back to PERA.The Performance Evaluation Reform Act, passed by the Illinois General Assembly two years ago.One of the requirements of PERA was that the CPS and the CTU were given a very narrow window to bargain a new evaluation plan ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In D.C. with an eye on Chicago

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In D.C. with an eye on Chicago: In D.C. with an eye on ChicagobyMike KlonskyI'm in D.C. for theOccupy the DOEevents. I don't speakuntil Mondayso I'm taking in the other presentations and will be reporting on some of them as time allows.Occupiers should find strength and solidarity vibes floating in from Spain where there's a general strike and wherenearly a millionprotesters are demanding an end to austerity and budget cuts from Madrid to the Basque country.Meanwhile ... more »

CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffs - The Willits News

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffs - The Willits News: CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffsByJennifer Poole/TWN Willits NewsPosted: 03/30/2012 07:05:44 AM PDTThe California Teachers Association's legal director has sent a "cease and desist" letter to the Willits school district regarding what CTA calls "unlawfully imposed" five-day layoffs for all teachers. The letter asks the district to rescind all the layoff notices.Willits Teachers Association president Brian ... more »

50 students at Douglass Academy high school suspended after protesting lack of teachers | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

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Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachers | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachers"Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachersSeniors from Frederick Douglass Academy gather on 14th Street in Detroit on Thursday, March 29, 2012, after staging a walkout to protest administrative problems. / Andre J. Jackson/ Detroit Free PressByChastity Pratt DawseyDetroit Free Press Education WriterFILED UNDERLocal NewsCity Of ... more »

WALMART WAGES WAR! - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

“Collective Bargaining Makes Boosting Student Performance Impossible” - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News: “Collective Bargaining Makes Boosting Student Performance Impossible”March 30, 2012 at 9:36 am byJonathan Kantrowitzby Jon Pelto fromWait, WhatConnCAN, the Connecticut charter school lobby group, has anew flyer(see link below) claiming that collective bargaining and unions “will not only make it impossible to enact reforms necessary to boost student performance, but it will likely prevent the most promising local and national leaders from choosing to run a [Commissioner’s]... more »

Shanker Blog » Pay Equity In Higher Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

Shanker Blog » Pay Equity In Higher Education: Pay Equity In Higher EducationbyEsther QuinteroBlatant forms of discrimination against women in academia have diminished since the Equal Pay Act and Title IX became law in 1964 and 1972, respectively. Yet gender differences in salary, tenure status, and leadership roles still persist among men and women in higher education. In particular, wage differences among male and female professors have not been fully explained, even when productivity, teaching experience, institutional size and prestige, ... more »

More lasts. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 45 minutes ago

More lasts. « Fred Klonsky: More lasts.byFred KlonskyI’m having my morning coffee far from my Logan Square home on the last Friday of my last Spring break.Brooklyn.I checked the Internet for how things are going with my brothers and sisters in Rockford who walked out yesterday after trying to bargain for a year with their board of education.It looks like they are still out today. I read that a couple of Tea Baggers tried to crash the picket line yesterday, ... more »

Lawmakers, regulators focus on private student loans | California Watch

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Lawmakers, regulators focus on private student loans | California Watch: "Founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting"Concerns hover over illegal school fee legislationCorey G. Johnsonpixdeluxe/istockphoto.comA new bill that seeks to crack down on illegal school fees is moving through the state Legislature, but it faces a lukewarm reception from lawmakers and some education groups.With a 6-3 vote last week,AB 1575 [PDF]made it out of the Assembly Education Committee and is now being reviewed by the Appropriations Committee.But influential groups, like ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal Constitution

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Missouri Education Watchdog: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal Constitution: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal ConstitutionbystlgretchenThe Atlanta-Journal Constitution has written anin-depth investigationabout the Atlanta public school cheating scandal by the superintendent, principals, and teachers. The scandal stems from cheating of educators as job accountability is now determined from student scores. The AJC also uncovered some questionable testing results from ot... more »

Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of Education | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of Education | Scathing Purple Musings: Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of EducationbyBob SikesIn an astonishing move last month, the Florida Board of Educationignored the recommendationof its own Charter School Board and overruled Duval’s denial of a Florida Virtual Charter. Yesterday, Duval moved to appeal the state ruling. Writes Teresa Stepzinski in theFlorida Times-Union:The Duval County School Board will challenge the state Board of Education’s decision approving an online-only charter school’s ...more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the Top

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An Urban Teacher's Education: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the Top: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the TopbyJames BoutinListening to thethird day of oral argumentsbefore the Supreme Court over the Obama healthcare law today, I was struck by the discussion around whether the law constituted coercion.The law suggests the federal government would be within its right to deny medicaid funds long received to states who refuse to accept new funds to cover more of ... more »

Education Radio: Teacher Performance Assessment: A Money Grab for Pearson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Education Radio: Teacher Performance Assessment: A Money Grab for Pearson: Teacher Performance Assessment: A Money Grab for PearsonThis week on Education Radio we speak with Education Radio producer Barbara Madeloni and two students from the teacher education program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is on the faculty, Amy Lanham and Rachel Hoogstraten, about their experiences coming to understand and resist the incursion of privatizing forces on teacher education. Barbara, Amy and Rachel tell the story of the ... more »

Lehman High School: An Endangered Lion « EdVox

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Lehman High School: An Endangered Lion « EdVox: Lehman High School: An Endangered LionfromEdVoxbyedvoxnyA once proud school that was set up for failureBy Ubayed MuhithI am currently an 11thgrader at Herbert H. Lehman High School. From the moment I stepped foot into this school, the threat of closure has loomed over this institution, consuming everyone with apprehension as to what will happen to them the year after, and leading many to give up on their work. The school offers plenty ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-29 #soschat #EDReform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Commenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic Ban – SchoolBookBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-10 minutes agoCommenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic Ban – SchoolBook: Commenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic BanByMARY ANN GIORDANOWith all that there is to be outraged about when it comes to public education and the fate of American children, the Internet is having a silly fit about a clause in a request for proposals sent out by the New ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times, Do Keep Up

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times, Do Keep Up: Times, Do Keep UpbyMelissa WestbrookOver at the sleepy T editorial board, they wokeupand decided (probably via Councilman Burgess), that they don't like the Creative Approach MOU. The title of this missive? "Seattle Public Schools' Innovation Plan Requires Tweaking, Scrutiny"Here's what I wrote in the comments:"The Seattle Public Schools' pursuit of innovation is a work in progress that would benefit from wider, sharper scrutiny."Hello Times! Where have you been? Over at the Seattle ... more »

Continuing Education: I shot a gun yesterday.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Continuing Education: I shot a gun yesterday.:I shot a gun yesterday.byLinda PerlsteinLast night I went with my husband and another couple to a gun range in the suburbs. The only gun I had touched before was the one my dad kept in his underwear drawer when we were growing up. (Yes, Dad, it was a horrible hiding place. I knew where the bullets were too.)Anyway, it seemed like a fun night out.At first us ladies were pretty scared. (The guys ... more »

OUSD board adjourns meeting after sit-in - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

OUSD board adjourns meeting after sit-in - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:OUSD board adjourns meeting after sit-inThursday, March 29th, 2012 at 12:40 am inSchool board news7 Comments »OUSD Spokesman Troy Flint said 10 protesters were arrested, beginning at 12:35 a.m., after refusing to leave the building.Tonight, a group of about a dozen or more activists fromBAMNheld a sit-in and protest in the midst of the board meeting, saying they wouldn’t leave until the board took ... more »

Modern School: The Sky is Falling: LAUSD Has Only $700 Million in Surplus

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Modern School: The Sky is Falling: LAUSD Has Only $700 Million in Surplus: The Sky is Falling: LAUSD Has Only $700 Million in SurplusbyMichael DunnLast week, LAUSD presented anInterim Financial Reportstating that it will end the 2011-2012 school year with reserves of over $700 Million, roughly 12% of its $6 Billion budget.Despite this sizeable nest egg, the district still voted 6-1 to approve a worst-case scenario budget closing all the adult schools and it issued pink slips to all teachers, ... more »

Democrats for Education Reform Enter Parent Trigger Fray With Spin, Smear and Intimidation | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Democrats for Education Reform Enter Parent Trigger Fray With Spin, Smear and Intimidation | Scathing Purple Musings: Democrats for Education Reform Enter Parent Trigger Fray With Spin, Smear and IntimidationbyBob SikesMoving to the forefront of the parent trigger battle is former California Sen. Gloria Romero. Now the president of her state’s chapter of Democrats for Education Reform, Romero felt the need tooffer heranalysis of parent trigger’s defeat in Florida.I fear what we witnessed Friday in Florida is the status quo ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education - The Key Issue in the Governor's Race

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education - The Key Issue in the Governor's Race: Education - The Key Issue in the Governor's RacebyMelissa WestbrookWent to the Alliance for Education breakfast today. It was a packed house despite the fact that there was another breakfast fund-raiser going on for King County Dems and the Mayor was off making a policing announcement.Yay to the Ingraham band who showed up (and, poor things, had to stay until the end to play us out). Yay ... more »

Commenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic Ban – SchoolBook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 23 hours ago

Commenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic Ban – SchoolBook: Commenters in a Silly Tizzy Over Testing Topic BanByMARY ANN GIORDANOWith all that there is to be outraged about when it comes to public education and the fate of American children, the Internet is having a silly fit about a clause in a request for proposals sent out by the New York City Department of Education, listing 50 topics it wants the companies that make student tests to avoid.The ... more »