Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, April 13, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 4-13 AM Posts #soschat #edreform


Legislators consider reforming student suspension practices | California Watch

Legislators consider reforming student suspension practices | California Watch: Legislators consider reforming student suspension practicesbySusan FerrissAnonymousMedill News21/FlickrPersuaded that school discipline policies are far too harsh, California lawmakers are moving closer to enacting reforms aimed at stemming a rising tide of suspensions and expulsions in the nation’s largest state.“I have seen too many children removed from school under the mandatory suspension and expulsion regime, when an application of common sense and an alternative punishment or appropriate intervent... more »

A necessary rewind on a woman’s right to choose | Davis Enterprise

A necessary rewind on a woman’s right to choose | Davis Enterprise: A necessary rewind on a woman’s right to chooseThis photo of Davis families was published Jan. 22, 1987, in The Davis Enterprise as part of an ad honoring the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision. The ad reads: "Pro choice is pro family. No one loves their children and families more than we do. And no one understands more than we that a ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Is DOE's Turnaround Fair Play? The NYS Assembly doesn't think so

NYC Public School Parents: Is DOE's Turnaround Fair Play? The NYS Assembly doesn't think so: Is DOE's Turnaround Fair Play? The NYS Assembly doesn't think sobyLeonie HaimsonAssemblymembers Cathy Nolan of Queens and Jim Brennan of BrooklynYesterday, the NY State Assembly Education Committee held a rare hearing in NYC on the state and city's implementation of the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, the so-called “turnaround” schools, and how the entire program is in complete disarray.The big news is that the ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 4-12 #soschat #EDReform

The State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning Challenge | U.S. Department of EducationBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-11 minutes agoThe State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning Challenge | U.S. Department of Education: The State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning ChallengeRemarks of Arne Duncan at the National Institute for Early Education ResearchAPRIL 10, 2012Contact:Press Office, (202) 401-1576,press@ed.govThank you, Steve [Barnett], for that kind introduction—and for the important work ... more »

Citizens of Utah Can Speak Out Against the Common Core | Truth in American Education

Citizens of Utah Can Speak Out Against the Common Core | Truth in American Education: Citizens of Utah Can Speak Out Against the Common CorebyShane Vander HartAnew petition websitehas launched in Utah to rally its citizens against the Common Core State Standards being implemented in that state.Here is the language of the petition:Based uponthe factual evidencedocumented atwww.UtahnsAgainstCommonCore.comI ask the Governor, State Board of Education, and State Superintendent to immediately take the steps necessary to rescind Common Core adoption, SBAC membership, ... more »

School Tech Connect: More Mishigas in Michigan

School Tech Connect: More Mishigas in Michigan: More Mishigas in Michiganbynoreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)More Mishigas in MichiganMore from Michigan from Rachel Maddow. Every state has far-right fringe groups but Michigan seems to be run by them. There's probably only about two or three unconnected dots between the guys in this particular story and the basement-dwelling professional stalkers that have tried unsuccessfullyto intimidate an Illinois teacher.Visit msnbc.com forbreaking news,world news, andnews about the economy

Edwin Flores, Mike Miles and the future of the Dallas ISD's teacher evaluation system overhaul | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Edwin Flores, Mike Miles and the future of the Dallas ISD's teacher evaluation system overhaul | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com: Edwin Flores, Mike Miles and the future of the Dallas ISD's teacher evaluation system overhaulbyRobert WilonskyLikeI was saying yesterday,I was talking to outgoing Dallas ISD trustee Edwin Flores earlier this week about the ongoing teacher-evaluation revamp, which he's been working on for, oh, two years now. Reason it came up: The board received yet another update on the redo ... more »

ALEC's 2009 IRS Form 990

ALEC's 2009 IRS Form 990: ALEC's 2009 IRS Form 990xx

Modern School: Failing Schools? Record Number of Americans Have Bachelor's Degrees

Modern School: Failing Schools? Record Number of Americans Have Bachelor's Degrees: Failing Schools? Record Number of Americans Have Bachelor's DegreesbyMichael DunnEver since the Nation at Risk report came out, pundits, politicians and corporate education profiteers have been decrying the abysmal state of public education in this country, including the claim that we aren’t preparing people for college. Yet according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, for the first time in history,more than 30% of Americansaged 25 or ... more »

Hechinger Report | Report highlights lagging Latino college achievement state by state

Hechinger Report | Report highlights lagging Latino college achievement state by state: Report highlights lagging Latino college achievement state by statebyNick PandolfoA student receives help at Bronx Community College in New York City (photo by Ryan Brenizer)It’s no secret that the growing Latino population in America will have large implications for the U.S. educational landscape over the next generation. By 2020, Latinos are projected to account for 25 percent of the nation’s population aged 18-29. Government officials, policymakers and teachers ... more »

Chicago parents win a round over better v longer school day « Parents Across America

Chicago parents win a round over better v longer school day « Parents Across America: Chicago parents win a round over better v longer school daybypureparentsChicago Mayor Rahm Emanuelannounced yesterdaythat the district’s new longer school day will be 7 hours, not 7.5, as he had previously demanded. Though not the 6.5 hours that many parents have been asking for, this is clearly a major victory for the newly-formed coalition, Chicago Parents for Quality Education (of which PAA’s Chicago affiliate, Parents ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 4-12 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

Reynoso pepper-spray report Long-awaited reports are no whitewash | Davis Enterprise #owsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-30 minutes agoLong-awaited reports are no whitewash | Davis Enterprise: Long-awaited reports are no whitewashbyBob DunningAN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY… while there’s plenty of blame to go around in the long-awaited Reynoso pepper-spray report that was released Wednesday, the very first paragraph of the report, under the simple heading “Introduction,” said it all … noted the report: “Our overriding conclusion can be stated briefly and ... more »

RheeFirst! » Right-wing corporate reformers cheat our students

RheeFirst! » Right-wing corporate reformers cheat our students: Right-wing corporate reformers cheat our studentsbyadminWritten by Gary Rubinstein for CNN. Read theentire article here.“Another big cheat is the amount of money and power certain self-dubbed “education reformers” have obtained by claiming, quite confidently, though with no actual proof, they “know” what will improve education in this country. …Washington is another place where reformers claim success, yet it continues to have the largest achievement gap between black and white students in the ... more »

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): Research Brief #2 - Increasing Safety Through Restorative Justice: Making Schools Safer for Girls and LGBTQ Students of Color in Chicago’s Public Schools

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): Research Brief #2 - Increasing Safety Through Restorative Justice: Making Schools Safer for Girls and LGBTQ Students of Color in Chicago’s Public Schools: Research Brief #2 - Increasing Safety Through Restorative Justice: Making Schools Safer for Girls and LGBTQ Students of Color in Chicago’s Public SchoolsbyCreate ChicagoCReATE |Research Brief #2April 2012From the relentless bullying of Phoebe Prince at her school in North Hadley, Massachusetts, which resulted in her suicide, to the murder ... more »

Support PURE! » It’s spring, and the astroturf is spreading like crabgrass!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » It’s spring, and the astroturf is spreading like crabgrass!: It’s spring, and the astroturf is spreading like crabgrass!byadminWhat's underneath???It seems that every time you turn around, there’s another astroturf education group sprouting up. The fertilizer, of course, is the money of wealthy privatizers and union busters, not to mention the rich manure of corporate reform rhetoric.It’s gotten to the point where you have to worry that, if a group has the ... more »

Divisive Michelle Rhee Rally Gets Parent Advocate Fired By New Haven Schools

CT News Junkie | Parent Advocate Fired By New Haven Schools Following Rhee Rally: Parent Advocate Fired By New Haven Schools Following Rhee RallybyNatalie Missakian| Apr 12, 2012 1:59pm(0) Comments|Log in to Post a CommentPosted to:Education,Town News,New Haven,Labor,LegalNATALIE MISSAKIAN FILE PHOTOGwen SamuelThe founder of the Connecticut Parents Union says she was fired from her job with the New Haven Public Schools’ Head Start program just one day after staging a rally at the Capitol with lightning rod school reformer Michelle ... more »

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the importance of civics education - The Washington Post

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the importance of civics education - The Washington Post: Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the importance of civics educationJonathan Newton/The Washington Post -Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the 2009 presidential inauguration. That year, she launched iCivics, a Web-based education project, to provide free interactive lesson plans and games for learning civics.Text SizePrintE-mailReprintsByAlexander Heffner,Thursday, April12,7:42AMOver many decades, civic lethargy has plagued the United Stat... more »

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThe Gilder LehrmanHome for HistoryWebsiteProvides Innovative Approach to American History EducationNew York, NY (April 12, 2012)—The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is proud to announce the launch of the Gilder LehrmanHome For Historyatwww.gilderlehrman.org, a comprehensive and interactive destination for American history online. An online curriculum and resource center butnota textbook, Gilder Lehrman’s new site presents a chronological and thematic look at American history through a range of differ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Co-Housing / Co-Locating

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Co-Housing / Co-Locating: Co-Housing / Co-LocatingbyCharlie MasSeattle Public Schools is following an ass-backwards process in which they are starting with construction plans and will then follow with decisions about where to put programs. There are programs that need a home, such as north-end elementary APP, The NOVA Project, new language immersion programs and more. A rational process would start with the question "What students and programs do we need to house?" and then determine what they ... more »

The State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning Challenge | U.S. Department of Education

The State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning Challenge | U.S. Department of Education: The State of States Preschool—and Round Two of the RTT-Early Learning ChallengeRemarks of Arne Duncan at the National Institute for Early Education ResearchAPRIL 10, 2012Contact:Press Office, (202) 401-1576,press@ed.govThank you, Steve [Barnett], for that kind introduction—and for the important work of the National Institute for Early Education Research over the last decade. Your energy and dedication to documenting and detailing the state of preschool ... more »

Arts Instruction Remains Prevalent—For Some — Whole Child Education

Arts Instruction Remains Prevalent#151;For Some — Whole Child Education: Arts Instruction Remains Prevalent—For SomeApril 12, 2012 byMelissa MellorA newnationwide surveyon the state of arts education in U.S. public schools finds that arts offerings haven't declined as much as expected, but that students in high-poverty schools, particularly at the secondary level, do not receive the same rich exposure to arts opportunities as their wealthier peers.Educators have long suggested that the No Child Left Behind Act's singular focus on reading and math ... more »

PENSIONEERS, STOP LIVING SO LONG! « Teachers Fight Back

PENSIONEERS, STOP LIVING SO LONG! « Teachers Fight Back: PENSIONEERS, STOP LIVING SO LONG!byalkleenThe International Monetary Fund recently said that people are living three years longer than expected on average, pushing up the costs of aging by 50 percent, and governments and pension funds are ill-prepared. For private pension plans in the United states, an extra three years of life would add 9 percent to liabilities, the IMF said in urging governments and the private sector to prepare for the ... more »

What the AAUP Faculty Salary Survey Reveals | Inside Higher Ed

Motherhood After Tenure: What the AAUP Faculty Salary Survey Reveals | Inside Higher Ed: Motherhood After Tenure: What the AAUP Faculty Salary Survey RevealsApril 12, 2012 - 11:20amAeron HaynieTwo weeks after the publication of an attack on professors fornot working enough to justify our salaries, theAAUP Faculty Salary Surveyproves that there is no such thing as “a faculty salary.” Predictably, full professors at elite universities earn close to $200,000. (As they should. Compared to the salaries of the most successful ... more »

This Week In Education: Philanthropy: Gates Reverses On Risky "ALEC" Bet

This Week In Education: Philanthropy: Gates Reverses On Risky "ALEC" Bet: Philanthropy: Gates Reverses On Risky "ALEC" BetInteresting to see that not that many education types seem to think it's very noteworthy (or publicly discussable) that the Gates Foundation announced on Monday that its November $377,000 grant to ALEC would be its last one. Roll Call broke the news on Monday,and since then left-leaning political sites are all over it. Schools Matter picked it upand the Center on Media and ... more »

Shanker Blog » Value-Added Versus Observations, Part One: Reliability

Shanker Blog » Value-Added Versus Observations, Part One: Reliability: Value-Added Versus Observations, Part One: ReliabilitybyMatthew Di CarloAlthough most new teacher evaluations are still in various phases of pre-implementation, it’s safe to say that classroom observations and/or value-added (VA) scores will be the most heavily-weighted components toward teachers’ final scores, depending on whether teachers are in tested grades and subjects. One gets the general sense that many – perhaps most – teachers strongly prefer the former (observations, especially peer observations) over ...more »

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. For most teachers, it’s a ten hour day. « Fred Klonsky

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. For most teachers, it’s a ten hour day. « Fred Klonsky: Life in Rahm’s Chicago. For most teachers, it’s a ten hour day.byFred KlonskyUniversity of Illinois labor researcher Robert Bruno.Rahm says he is willing to pull back on his plan for a seven and a half hour school day.He still has offered no clue as to compensation or a plan for instructional use.The truth is that for most teachers it is already a ten hour day, ... more »