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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 5-17-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

DFER Fake Democrats for Education Privatization (click on Picture)


Teachers Teach the Test When the Test Tests Teachers

This morning, the Star-Ledger gave me a gift: the perfect reformy op-ed. I say "perfect" because this piece brings together pretty much every ill-informed and poorly conceived argument for using standardized tests as part of a teacher's evaluation into one place. It's like a Rosetta Stone of reforminess.

The author, Marcus Winters, is a think-tanky type, but he has some serious credentials. That says to me that this is the best their side can do.

If so, they've got problems.

I'll pick apart the entire thing over the next few days. For now, let's leave it at this:
A rich evaluation system would assess a teacher’s performance using both student 


In Case You Missed Paul Krugman

I promised myself I would write one tech post today.  So, in breaking that promise, I think I'll just embed the Paul Krugman interview from Democracy Now.  This is a good, extended interview. I'm pretty sure I don't have to buy his book now that I've seen this interview.

I was going to try to tie this somehow into George Schmidt's piece on the new "financial literacy" thing in CPS that's being funded by the banks, but I'm too tired. If you're a kid out there, just know that you can join a credit 

Remembering Wisconsin

I wish Tom Barrett well in Wisconsin but I've got to say the Rahm endorsement completely took the wind out of my sails in terms of enthusiasm for a candidate. I wonder how many votes the Rahm endorsement picked up for Barrett. I can't imagine it's many, if any.

Which is weird because it seems to me that when you're being outspent 25-1, it pretty much comes down to turning out the vote, and Rahm's a base-suppressor across the land  as far as I can tell. I'm no expert, though. Maybe there's some heretofore unidentified swath of Republicans who will cross over if they see Rahm standing next to some guy.

Anyhoo it was a thrill to meet Kathleen Falk. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Barrett, whatever his message is

HOW CALIFORNIA IS UNITING TO STOP THE SWINGING DOOR OF SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS

By Laura Faer Public Counsel |California Progress Report http://bit.ly/JOPKTw 17 May 2012  ::  Civil rights advocates, judges and law enforcement sometimes wind up on different sides of the public debate about juvenile justice. But on the issue of school discipline, we’re speaking the same language. That’s because harsh school discipline rules are paving the way for too many students to wind up

Gwinnett schools: Furlough days, larger classes and 585 unfilled jobs

Gwinnett schools approved a budget today that calls for two unpaid furlough days for most employees, two extra students per classroom and nearly 600 fewer people on the payroll. Most of the job cuts will come from leaving open jobs unfilled.
According to the AJC:
Spending for day-to-day operations of the state’s largest school district will be $1.2 billion for the fiscal year that starts July 1, down $60.6 million from this year.

“Round-Up” Of Recent Good Articles & Posts On School Reform

Here’s a collection of recent education policy articles and posts:
Deepening the Debate over Teach For America is from Anthony Cody at Education Week. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America.
Charter schools aren’t the right answer is by Paul Thomas. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools.
Neither Teacher-Less nor Teacher-proof: Constructivism Meets Guided Instruction is by John Thompson and appeared in Education Week.
Cartoon: Burden – Or Excuse? is a great cartoon you can find on This Week In Education. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Ohio charter school treasurer is accused of embezzling $472,000 in federal taxpayer dollars.
Federal and state officials announced a breakthrough in the ongoing case during a 10 a.m. press conference Thursday.
The federal embezzlement charge against 57-year-old Carl W. Shye Jr., of New Albany, involves activity over the past six years.
The Ohio Auditor of State's office said it can trace a pattern of problems with Shye going back even further.
Upon taking office in January 2011, Auditor David Yost quickly noticed a pattern in problem audits around the state involving Shye.
In February 2011, his office contacted the FBI to launch a joint investigation into Shye's involvement in community schools across Ohio. 
Auditor of State investigative and audit staff worked through 17 audits and issued 62 findings for recovery