Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 4-30 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

Delayed charter sector self-assessment balances praise, critique | GothamSchools

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Delayed charter sector self-assessment balances praise, critique | GothamSchools: Delayed charter sector self-assessment balances praise, critiquebyGeoff DeckerA chart comparing district and charter schools' principal turnover rates, from today's "State of the Sector" report.A sweeping look at who attends charter schools in New York City, and how they fare, shows that the sector excels at advancing academic achievement but struggles to enroll high-needs students and to retain staff.For the past nine months the New York City Charter School Center and a ... more »

Common Core standards drive wedge in education circles – USATODAY.com

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Common Core standards drive wedge in education circles – USATODAY.com: Common Core standards drive wedge in education circlesBy Greg Toppo, USA TODAYUpdated1h 46m agoCommentsReprints PermissionsWASHINGTON – When did fractions and non-fiction become so controversial?By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAYTeacher David Riesenfeld has been piloting Common Core standards in his 10th-grade world history class in New York City.EnlargeBy Robert Deutsch, USA TODAYTeacher David Riesenfeld has been piloting Common Core standards in his 10th-grade world history class in New York City.Sponsored LinksA hig... more »

The Story of H.E.A.R.T. — Whole Child Education

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The Story of H.E.A.R.T. — Whole Child Education: The Story of H.E.A.R.T.byASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted by Mike Greenway and Lynn ArcherByrne Creek Secondary is a school with H.E.A.R.T. that has always been caring and focused on the well-being of its students and their families.Before the schoolopened its doors seven years ago, the administrative team knew that it was important to have a simple and easily remembered set of guiding principles for the students and staff. As a new secondary ... more »

This just in from the National School Boards Association: Local school boards “under siege” | Seattle Education

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This just in from the National School Boards Association: Local school boards “under siege” | Seattle Education: This just in from the National School Boards Association: Local school boards “under siege”byseattleducation2011From NSBA,Local control under siegeThe ability of local boards to control the destiny of their own schools, rooted in the establishment of one-room school houses in America’s rural farming communities, is under siege on several fronts, a panel of experts warned in a presentation Saturday titled School Boards’ Last Stand.Threats ... more »

Metro Nashville schools Rheezoning lawsuit could echo far | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

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Metro Nashville schools rezoning lawsuit could echo far | The Tennessean | tennessean.com: Metro Nashville schools rezoning lawsuit could echo farEquality case, now a class action, draws national attentionPurchase ImageJeffrey and Frances Spurlock, the retired Southwestern Bell employee and her custodian husband are the plaintiffs in the three year old lawsuit against Metro Nashville Public Schools rezoning lawsuit. The trial, to judge whether Metro's clusters need to be rezoned to prevent re-segregated schools, kicks off in federal court next Tuesday. ... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines

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FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team: Baldwin Park Unified to pay $1.4 million back to nutrition fund, five-year plan approvedAfter months of back and forth between Baldwin Park Unified and the California Department of Education (CDE), district officials are finally submitting to the state agency's requests to spend down money in its cafeteria account and pay back more than $1.4 million in allegedly misspent money intended to feed needy children.4 Capo coaches disciplined for taking $15,850 in giftsFour high ... more »

RESOLUTION ON HIGH-STAKES TESTING | Dailycensored.com

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RESOLUTION ON HIGH-STAKES TESTING | Dailycensored.com: RESOLUTION ON HIGH-STAKES TESTINGbyDanny WeilRESOLUTION ON HIGH-STAKES TESTINGWritten byDanny WeilEducationApr 30, 20120diggSharePlease read and circulate!http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/This resolution is modeled on the resolution passed by more than 360 Texas school boards as of April 23, 2012. It was written by Advancement Project; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; FairTest; Forum for Education and Democracy; MecklenburgACTS; Deborah Meier; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; Nation... more »

Selective Use of Data Avoids Real Issues in Improving Public Education for All Children | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

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Selective Use of Data Avoids Real Issues in Improving Public Education for All Children | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Selective Use of Data Avoids Real Issues in Improving Public Education for All ChildrenbyCheryl S. WilliamsIt seems the one thing we can all agree on when discussing how to improve public schooling for all our children is that we need data to guide our approach to personalizing teaching and learning in the classroom, so that we can ... more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents speaking out in May!

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents speaking out in May!: Parents speaking out in May!byadminDon’t forget to come out for the DePaul College of Education Forum this Wednesday, May 2. I’ll be speaking there along with several other parent leaders. You can catch PURE’s Wanda Hopkins on May 20th at another education forum.Here’s the schedule, courtesy of Raise Your Hand:May 2nd –DePaul College of Education,“Parents and Schools”, 5:30-7:30pmWendy Katten from RYH speaking with representatives from Blocks ... more »

Mad men « Fred Klonsky

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Mad men « Fred Klonsky: Mad menbyFred KlonskyThere was a scene inMad Menlast night where Don Draper’s daughter, Sally is on the phone to her friend, the more-than-slightly-weird Glenn. Sally had just returned from a dinner where her father had received an award.Sally had inadvertently walked in on a sordid scene involving the character Roger and her step-mother’s mother.Asks Glenn, “How’s the city?”“Dirty,” answers Sally.Which brings me to the topic of Springfield.I will be with sixty teachers from the area, ... more »

Churches criticize transformation plan | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

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Churches criticize transformation plan | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Churches criticize transformation planbyDale Mezzacappaon Apr 30 2012 Posted inLatest newsGerald Wright of Parents United for Public Education addresses the meeting at Mother Bethel during an audience speakout. City Councilman Mark Squilla (lower right) listens.COMMENTS (2)PRINTEMAILSeveral hundred people gathered at historic Mother Bethel AME Church on Lombard Street Sunday night to decryplans put forward by the School Reform Commissionto close dozens of schools, expand charters, and reorganize the School... more »

4LAKids - This has little to do with public education, it has everything to do with what’s going on in LAUSD: AN OBITUARY FOR THE FACTS

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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: This has little to do with public education, it has everything to do with what’s going on in LAUSD: AN OBITUARY FOR THE FACTS: This has little to do with public education, it has everything to do with what’s going on in LAUSD: AN OBITUARY FOR THE FACTSFacts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012In memoriam: After years of health problems, Facts has finally died.BY REX W. HUPPKE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE REPORTER|HTTP://TRIB.IN/JVK26AApril 19, 2012 :: A ... more »

Sanjay Gupta’s great speech at U Michigan commencement - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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Sanjay Gupta’s great speech at U Michigan commencement - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Sanjay Gupta’s great speech at U Michigan commencementByValerie StraussUniversity of Michigan alumnus Sanjay Gupta returned to Ann Arbor this past weekend at the start of the 2012 commencement season and delivered an uncommonly entertaining speech to more than 45,000 people in the Big House.Too manycommencement speechesare, well, boring — too long, too conventional, utterly humorless. Not Gupta’s.A neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent, Gupta told ... more »

The Innovative Educator: Newest Ed Reform Leader is a 12-Year-Old Opt Out Hero

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The Innovative Educator: Newest Ed Reform Leader is a 12-Year-Old Opt Out Hero: Newest Ed Reform Leader is a 12-Year-Old Opt Out Herobynoreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”Helen Keller We’ve heard from a lot of heroes lately in the ed reform movement; from teachers and parents like Chris ...more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: International Education in SPS

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: International Education in SPS: International Education in SPSbyMelissa WestbrookI had been meaning to write this thread for some time now. It's a worthy example of how Seattle Schools starts off with a good idea but cannot follow-thru with execution.I will be upfront and say I probably should have done more research so fill in the gaps if you know more. But the issues are in very sharp focus right now and it is a program that ... more »

NYC Educator: Go Knit a Scarf

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NYC Educator: Go Knit a Scarf: Go Knit a ScarfbyNYC EducatorThat's what I want to tell Governor 1% Cuomo's brother in law, Kenneth Cole, after reading about histeacher-bashing bulletin boardthe other day. A friend of mine set up a petition toprotest this nonsense, while another says we ought not to give him the attention the billboard seems to demand.It could indeed be that Cuomo's brother in law simply wants attention for his product, and that he hopes this blows up ... more »

No Matter Who Wins the Student Loan Fight, Students Will Lose - News - GOOD

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No Matter Who Wins the Student Loan Fight, Students Will Lose - News - GOOD: No Matter Who Wins the Student Loan Fight, Students Will LosebyNona Willis AronowitzIn the past few days, both parties have turned the fate of college kids into a political football. With the3.4 percentinterest rate on student loans set to double July 1 if Congress doesn't temporarily extend relief, President Obama and his adversaries have taken to arguing about how we might pay for the difference. ... more »

PTA Encourages State and Local Chapters to Adopt National Resolution on High Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

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PTA Encourages State and Local Chapters to Adopt National Resolution on High Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: PTA Encourages State and Local Chapters to Adopt National Resolution on High Stakes TestingbyBob SikesPTA’s National Senior Policy analyst, Jacque Chevalier responded to email inquiries this week regarding theNational Resolution of High Stakes Testing, and said the following:We are sending it out to encourage State and Local PTAs to endorse the Resolution.NPTAisn’t able to officially endorse the resolution – we are in ... more »

The Teaching World Used to Be Sacred, Like Coaching | One Teacher's Perspective

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

The Teaching World Used to Be Sacred, Like Coaching | One Teacher's Perspective: The Teaching World Used to Be Sacred, Like CoachingbyImagine WisconsinMy writing rate dropped off this past week with the kickoff of my kids’ soccer seasons and my seasonal return to the coaching world .Coaching now trumps writing as the single most therapeutic experience of my week. The anti-public educatorism brought to Wisconsin byoutside moneyand outside forces(like theKoch Brothers,ALEC,andMacIver Institute) and subsequentlyadopted and implemented by Governor Scott Walker ... more »

A Few Secrets About My Appearance at TEDxNYED | The Jose Vilson

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A Few Secrets About My Appearance at TEDxNYED | The Jose Vilson: A Few Secrets About My Appearance at TEDxNYEDbyJoseYou didn’t think I’d let the weekend go by without talking aboutTEDxNYEDright?I was honored to be invited to speak (second!) at the TEDx conference at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens yesterday. You often hear notes from the audience’s perspective, but the speakers who don’t post as often as they should. Part of it might be that speakers ... more »

http://www.southbronxschool.com

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http://www.southbronxschool.com: Once Upon a Time The UFT Manipulated a School Based Organization Votebynoreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)Yesterday, I touchedon a flyer that will be distributed on May 1in teacher's mailboxes throughout the city touting the "accomplishments" of UFT El Presidente and Unity Politburo Chief Michael Mulgrew. Tonight, I shall relate a story of voting shenanigans that only Unity and The UFT could have pulled off.Back in September of 2003 I had just arrived at PS 156 in The Bronx after working out ...more »

Ten Things You Should’ve Read About Education This Week (in case you haven’t already) | Re:education in Baltimore

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Ten Things You Should’ve Read About Education This Week (in case you haven’t already) | Re:education in Baltimore: Ten Things You Should’ve Read About Education This Week (in case you haven’t already)byEdit BarryIllustration from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Original caption: Fig. 1.--Fruit of the pine-apple (''Ananas sativa''), consisting of numerous flowers and bracts united together so as to form a collective or anthocarpous fruit.This is one of those weeks where there was too much going on to reflect. So, I collect:1.Housing ... more »

BLOCK THAT EUPHEMISM! « Diane Ravitch's blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

BLOCK THAT EUPHEMISM! « Diane Ravitch's blog: BLOCK THAT EUPHEMISM!bydianeravI wonder why our policymakers in Washington, D.C., love euphemisms. Ten years ago, Congress passed No Child Left Behind, and by now, is there anyone in the United States who takes seriously the idea that “No Child” has been “Left Behind”? Since Congress can’t agree on how to change the law, maybe they could just rename it and call it “Many Children Left Behind” (MCLB) or “No Child Left Untested” (NCLU). ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: The bungled "turnaround" strategy of Long Island City HS: Who really is responsible for this mess?

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NYC Public School Parents: The bungled "turnaround" strategy of Long Island City HS: Who really is responsible for this mess?: The bungled "turnaround" strategy of Long Island City HS: Who really is responsible for this mess?byLeonie HaimsonPanel for Educational Policy meeting, April 26, 2012Last Thursday, April 26, inanother long, highly emotional meetingthat stretched late into the evening, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to close 24 schools and put them in “turnaround” mode, one of the federal models for school ... more »

Daily Kos: "A man's got to know his limitations"

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Daily Kos: "A man's got to know his limitations": "A man's got to know his limitations"byrss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Words spoken by Clint Eastwood in his role as Dirty Harry, Inspector Harry Callahan, in Magnum Force.I suppose they can serve as a cautionary, even if the phrasing may not be absolutely on target.The fact that a person can do something, even do it well, does not mean that he should do it.If I have become clear on anything as the result of ... more »

Guest Blog by Emma Rosloff: My Experience with Unschooling (Abbreviated) | Lefty Parent

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Guest Blog by Emma Rosloff: My Experience with Unschooling (Abbreviated) | Lefty Parent: Guest Blog by Emma Rosloff: My Experience with Unschooling (Abbreviated)byCooper ZaleThis is the first time I’ve published a piece by a “guest” blogger, which in this case happens to be my daughter Emma! She published her piece initially on the Daily KOS progressive political blog site (clickhereto link to it), and got a large number of views, recommends and comments, plus a “Community Spotlight” acknowledgement. I’ve posted ...more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: No Surprise - the Times Endorses Husk for Superintendent

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: No Surprise - the Times Endorses Husk for Superintendent: No Surprise - the Times Endorses Husk for SuperintendentbyMelissa WestbrookAfter being very late with thiseditorial, it finally showed up at the Times' website. Frankly, it's doesn't lay out the greatest case and spends time writing around some flaws.One key item to note from the editorial (and remember for later on down the road if she is chosen):When it comes to talking and listening, she's more likely to ... more »

BOYCOTT PEARSON NOW | United Opt Out National

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BOYCOTT PEARSON NOW | United Opt Out National: BOYCOTT PEARSON NOWbyadmin Pearson, ALEC, and the Brave New (Corporate) World: Stand Up to Pearson Now!(Note: We have revised our Boycott Pearson information for clarity and in order to add additional research – please use this version, posted April 29, 2012, when sharing.)Supporters of Public Education,The curtain has been pulled aside recently from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exposing the seedy underbelly of our democracy. Organizations like ALEC circumvent the democratic ... more »

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Educating Business Ethics, Douglas Storm

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Schools Matter: Guest Post: Educating Business Ethics, Douglas Storm: Guest Post: Educating Business Ethics, Douglas StormbyP. L. ThomasEducating Business EthicsDouglas StormThe population of the US seems to be experiencing a kind of national awakening regarding the harsh and endemic inequalities of our “Us vs Them” economic reality. Though it seems possible that our bail-out and bubble-induced slogans of solidarity will fade into our historical moment to be studied by the future (should there be one for humans)–put our “we are ... more »