BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS
The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” « Fred Klonsky
The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” « Fred Klonsky: The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *I was also at last night’s meeting in Lemont. And, yes, Sig makes some accurate observations. However, I think that the teachers at the meeting, largely dominated the forum and were successful at controlling the tone despite the IPI’s agenda to com... more »
FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 3, 2012
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve * Education Headlines *Friday, August 3, 2012* West Contra Costa school district finalizes terms of parcel tax, bond measuresThe West Contra Costa school district Wednesday settled on the terms of parcel tax and bond measures that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The proposed parcel tax will be a five-year extension of a tax passed in 2008 providing $9.6 million annually for five years beginning July 1, 2014. Clayton Valley Charter High School launches transition program for incoming freshm...more »
Sleeping With the Enemy - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Sleeping With the Enemy - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Sleeping With the Enemy by Nancy Flanagan Like most political-junkie Americans, I sometimes wonder how James Carville and Mary Matalin stay marriedand--presumably--live together harmoniously. Carville says the secret is surrender, capitulation and retreat. His wife replies that this is a typical liberal response--she credits "faith, family and good wine" for their happily functional home. This actually might be the bifurcated model of school reform today: The reformy crowd has faith that their policies ... more »
Gainesville Sun: “Collaboration. Not Confrontation.” | Scathing Purple Musings
Gainesville Sun: “Collaboration. Not Confrontation.” | Scathing Purple Musings: Gainesville Sun: “Collaboration. Not Confrontation.” by Bob Sikes Referring to outgoing education commissioner, Gerard Robinson as a “lightening rod” in their headline, the*Gainesville Sun *makes some observations: Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is headed for the exit. Whatever else he may have accomplished, Robinson’s combative leadership style made him a lightning rod; seemingly forever at odds with the state’s school superintendents and school boards. It has been suggested that R... more »
Oh look, Malloy and Christie still hand in hand on “Education Reform.” - Wait, What?
Oh look, Malloy and Christie still hand in hand on “Education Reform.” - Wait, What?: Oh look, Malloy and Christie still hand in hand on “Education Reform.” by jonpelto Wait, What? readers will recall Governor Malloy’s original “Education Reform” proposal which created the “Commissioner’s Network,” a system in which Stefan Pryor, Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, would be given the authority to take over a series of local schools, remove the existing staff, ban collective bargaining and turn the schools over to some third-party who would then be exempt from the state’s laws re... more »
What Tabloids Know about Education « Diane Ravitch's blog
What Tabloids Know about Education « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Tabloids Know about Education by dianerav This story proves that it is dangerous to get your information about American education from New York City’s tabloids. Campbell Brown, journalist extraordinaire. has now apparently become an education expert, based on her close reading of New York City’s tabloids. To be precise, the story says she read “the headlines.” If you are a regular reader of Rupert Murdoch’s *New York Post*, you would be convinced that all charters are miracle schools and all public schools are disaste... more »
Privatization, Profits, and Politicians « Diane Ravitch's blog
Privatization, Profits, and Politicians « Diane Ravitch's blog: Privatization, Profits, and Politicians by dianerav A reader noted the similarity between Governor Chris Christie’s plan to privatize low-performing public schools, and Governor Rick Snyder’s reform plan in Michigan. Other readers have commented on the irony of conservative Republican governors–allegedly committed to small government–aggressively using the powers of government to undermine local control and privatize schools. The similarity goes beyond Christie and Snyder. The same ideas–privatize low-performng school... more »
Tampa Bay Times: “Time For Leaders Who Want to Improve Schools. Not Privatize Them” | Scathing Purple Musings
Tampa Bay Times: “Time For Leaders Who Want to Improve Schools. Not Privatize Them” | Scathing Purple Musings: Tampa Bay Times: “Time For Leaders Who Want to Improve Schools. Not Privatize Them” by Bob Sikes The *Tampa Bay Times *gives Gerard Robinson a big “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Robinson is a slick salesman with no Florida roots or love for public education, and he won’t be missed. On his rocky one-year watch, the credibility of standardized testing collapsed completely, marred by ever-changing standards and ridiculous mistakes in assigning school grades. ... more »
A not so modest proposal: My new fully research based school! « School Finance 101
A not so modest proposal: My new fully research based school! « School Finance 101: A not so modest proposal: My new fully research based school! by schoolfinance101 It’s about time we all suck it up and realize that the best of economic research on factors associated with test score gains not only can, but must absolutely drive the redesign of our obviously dreadful American public education system! [despite substantial evidence to the contrary!] With that in mind, I have selectively mined some of my own favorite studies and summaries of studies in order to develop a framework fo... more »
Orlando Sentinel: “Embrace Robinson’s Exit As A Soul-Searching Moment” | Scathing Purple Musings
Orlando Sentinel: “Embrace Robinson’s Exit As A Soul-Searching Moment” | Scathing Purple Musings: Orlando Sentinel: “Embrace Robinson’s Exit As A Soul-Searching Moment” by Bob Sikes The editorial pages of the big state newspapers are weighing in the morning on what Gerard Robinson’s departure means – on in the case of the *Orlando Sentinel*, what it should mean: With some districts’ new school years less than two weeks off, putting a decision-maker in place quickly makes sense. What also makes sense is to embrace Robinson’s exit as a soul-searching moment — and take a hard look ... more »
Photos of Voucher School Buildings and Playgrounds: Are They Safe for Children? « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!
Photos of Voucher School Buildings and Playgrounds: Are They Safe for Children? « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Photos of Voucher School Buildings and Playgrounds: Are They Safe for Children? by millerlf *Do children deserve playgrounds? “Maybe,” says Milwaukee’s Common Council* *(See Photos Below)* By Barbara Miner Aug. 2, 2012 (Barbara Miner’s blog is part of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Purple Wisconsin project. Miner is an award-winning journalist and photographer.) I thought that asking whether the children of Milwaukee deserve school playgrounds would be a s... more »
NYC Educator: Due Process or Dictatorship?
NYC Educator: Due Process or Dictatorship?: Due Process or Dictatorship? by NYC Educator There's a war on Twitter, stoked by Campbell Brown's recycled mish-mosh of NYC tabloid articles in the Wall Street Journal. The new manufactured crisis is that of so-called perv teachers. The only remedy, according to Campbell and the tabloid editorials, is to give Michael Bloomberg's mouthpiece, Dennis Walcott, absolute power to fire teachers who independent arbitrators have sent back to the classroom. Some state senator has proposed a law to enable this. Walcott now reviews U-ratings, and re... more »
Florida Amendment 8 Could Pay Way For Vouchers | TPMMuckraker
Florida Amendment 8 Could Pay Way For Vouchers | TPMMuckraker: Florida Amendment Could Remove Restrictions On Funding Religious Schools[image: Florida Amendment Could Remove Restrictions On Funding Religious Schools] *CASEY MICHEL* AUGUST 3, 2012, 6:22 AM 1007 Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has not shied from introducing religion into the public sphere, most recently implementing a state law that would allow students to offer “inspirational messages” during all nonmandatory school events. Now, however, his state may go further — by excising any restrictions on financing churche... more »
GoLocalProv | News | Aaron Regunberg: A Rhode Island Teaching Fellow Speaks Out
GoLocalProv | News | Aaron Regunberg: A Rhode Island Teaching Fellow Speaks Out: Aaron Regunberg: A Rhode Island Teaching Fellow Speaks Out [image: Twitter Favicon] [image: Facebook Favicon] [image: Digg Favicon] [image: Reddit Favicon] [image: StumbleUpon Favicon] [image: del.icio.us Favicon] Email to a friend Permalink Friday, August 03, 2012 *Aaron Regunberg, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™* This week Rhode Island got a bit of attention when education historian Diane Ravitch posted an email on her blog that she’d received from Theresa Laperche, a former participant in the Rhode Island ... more »
Comedy Club presents Ethics in Education | William S. Richardson School of Law
A Will Weinstein Conversation Series 2012: Ethics in Education | William S. Richardson School of Law: A WILL WEINSTEIN CONVERSATION SERIES 2012: ETHICS IN EDUCATION August 7, 2012 The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law and Shidler College of Business present A Will Weinstein Conversation Series 2012 Tuesday, August 7, 2012 • 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. School of Architecture, Rm. 205 Free Admission • $6 parking after 4 p.m. on the UH Mānoa campus Friends of Law, contact (808) 956-8478 or register at www.law.hawaii.edu/weinstein Friends of Business, contact (808) ...more »
Exclusive: McGraw takes bids for education unit: sources | Reuters
Exclusive: McGraw takes bids for education unit: sources | Reuters: Exclusive: McGraw takes bids for education unit: sources By Greg Roumeliotis and Nadia Damouni NEW YORK | Thu Aug 2, 2012 7:39pm EDT (Reuters) - Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP are among several parties that have put in initial bids for McGraw-Hill Companies Inc's (MHP.N) education business, which could value the world's second-largest education company by sales at around $3 billion, several sources familiar with the matter said. Other bidders for the business include Apollo Global Management LLC (AP... more »
Education system needs to rethink school testing - latimes.com
Education system needs to rethink school testing - latimes.com: Better schools through smarter testingWe need to redesign testing so that it becomes integral to the subjects students are studying, rather than an add-on afterward. By Arthur Levine August 3, 2012 [image: Students are seen at John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles.]Despite the barrage of criticism that schools are spending increasing amounts of time testing our children and teachers are being forced to teach to the test, the reality is that testing is no fad. Initiatives like California's STAR test, the high schoo... more »
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-3-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Debate about U.K. Education by dianerav A reader in the U.K. Offers a dissent to a previous post: I think that the current British Government are seeking to emulate the worst travesties present in the US system. This is largely because emulating the best practice in more successful education systems will cost money and as such is the last thing they are likely to do. I disagree the free schools and academies freedom from following the National Curriculum is not a move towards standardised testing. What it ... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS pre-convention chatter
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS pre-convention chatter: SOS pre-convention chatter by Mike Klonsky The SOS National Steering Committee begins meetings this morning to work on the organization's internal structure, decision-making process and other matters of internal life. Interestingly, this will be the first face-to-face meeting of the NSC since it was elected after last year's march. Hopefully that will change in the coming year. Last year's march and rally drew very little media coverage and the little it did draw focused entirely on superstar*Matt Damon* who gave a great ... more »
Is Six-Figure Student Loan Debt the Norm? - Education - GOOD
Is Six-Figure Student Loan Debt the Norm? - Education - GOOD: Is Six-Figure Student Loan Debt the Norm? by Liz Dwyer [image: benjamins] With total student loan debt topping $1 trillion, extreme stories of students being crushed under the weight of six-figure debt can start to seem like the norm. But how common is it to come out of college owing over $100,000? According to some data crunching (PDF) from Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, only 0.2 percent of undergraduate students leave school owing that much or more. Who are these 0.2 percenters? Last fall th... more »
Off to DC for SOS. « Fred Klonsky
Off to DC for SOS. « Fred Klonsky: Off to DC for SOS. by Fred Klonsky I’m flying off to DC this morning to attend the Save Our Schools conference. Washington DC twice in one summer? Crazy. I hearing that it’s hot and humid. But that’s no different than Chicago has been all summer long. Anyway, if you’re around, come join the discussion on teacher unions. I’m on the panel. *TEACHERS’ UNIONS, TEACHERS’ RIGHTS, TEACHERS’ VOICE**Session Presenters:* Mike Klonsky and Lee Barrios *Panelists:* Fred Klonsky, Dr. Michael A. Walker Jones, and a [soon-to-be-announced] Representative from the ... more »
LAUSD AND THE INSTITUTIONAL BULLYING OF TEACHERS - Perdaily.com
LAUSD AND THE INSTITUTIONAL BULLYING OF TEACHERS - Perdaily.com: LAUSD AND THE INSTITUTIONAL BULLYING OF TEACHERS by Leonard Isenberg [image: Bullying.jpg] (Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) *Over the last 3 years I have received hundreds of calls from teachers targeted for removal from their tenured teaching jobs on bogus charges by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), a reality that the majority of people both in and outside of public education remain completely ignorant of because of the syste... more »
The Educated Reporter: Is State Of U.S. Public Schools A Threat To National Security?
The Educated Reporter: Is State Of U.S. Public Schools A Threat To National Security?: Is State Of U.S. Public Schools A Threat To National Security? by Emily Richmond *The Educated Reporter is taking a brief summer hiatus, and will return Wednesday, Aug. 8. For the next few days you'll have a chance to catch up on some past posts. * A Council on Foreign Relations task force, led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, claims that the poor quality of America’s public education system represents a threat to national security. But the group's recommendations for fixing scho... more »
Kenzo Shibata: Teach for America: What's the Purpose?
Kenzo Shibata: Teach for America: What's the Purpose?: Teach for America: What's the Purpose? Posted: 08/02/2012 3:29 pm React AmazingInspiringFunnyScaryHotCrazyImportantWeird Follow Twitter , Chicago Public Schools , Teach For America , Chicago , Educucation , Tfa ,Chicago News SHARE THIS STORY 6 24 1 Submit this story Before you read on, I have to warn you. This piece is not a critique of Teach for America. It's merely a question. The two-year program that places recent college graduates into teaching positions at urban schools was initially started to fix a teaching shortage. Tea... more »
It’s Just Different [The Three Vilsons] | The Jose Vilson
It’s Just Different [The Three Vilsons] | The Jose Vilson: It’s Just Different [The Three Vilsons] by Jose I have another confession: I’m still working with a few different Vilsons here. People assume that by now I’ve closed the gap between the Vilson that works for school and the one that writes in this blog. I wouldn’t say I’m suffering from multiple personality disorder, but let me expound a bit. Recently, someone asked me, in essence, to merge these entities I have into one image I can use at school. I stared blankly at first, but then I gave it about a split-second of a though... more »
The Best Wanted Poster Ever | Re:education in Baltimore
The Best Wanted Poster Ever | Re:education in Baltimore: The Best Wanted Poster Ever
Jersey Jazzman: Gabby Douglas: No Virtual Charter Needed
Jersey Jazzman: Gabby Douglas: No Virtual Charter Needed: Gabby Douglas: No Virtual Charter Needed by Duke Big, big props to Gabby Douglas for bringing back the gold to the US of A! I'd like to point out that Gabby is home schooled by a different family than her own. Such is the way of the olympian, a life few families will ever understand. Chris Cerf says we need virtual charter schools to serve kids like Gabby. Well, she seems to have done just fine without K12 Inc's help, thank you. The fact is that kids like Gabby are very, very rare - that's why they get gold medals. We a... more »
Sunnyvale university CEO indicted on visa fraud charges - Inside Bay Area
Sunnyvale university CEO indicted on visa fraud charges - Inside Bay Area: Sunnyvale university CEO indicted on visa fraud charges By Lisa M. Krieger and Molly Vorwerck Staff writers Posted: 08/02/2012 05:12:15 PM PDT Updated: 08/02/2012 07:03:20 PM PDT Striking a blow at a Silicon Valley school that attracted foreigners with student visas, federal agents on Thursday raided Sunnyvale's Herguan University and charged its CEO with visa fraud. The indictment marks the second time federal officials have ensnared a Bay Area university in a growing effort to catch up with schools that ... more »
The death of Delfino Mora. « Fred Klonsky
The death of Delfino Mora. « Fred Klonsky: The death of Delfino Mora. by Fred Klonsky Many of us know Matt Farmer at the guy who gave that great speech at the CTU rally on May 23 at the Auditorium. Or from his pieces in the Huffington Post. Matt and his pal Steve Doyle provided the music for my retirement bash at the Red Line Tap last Memorial Day. Matt heard the story of Delfino Mora and decided to do something. Drop by McKellin’s Pub on August 12 if you can. Or send a check. The Chicago Sun-Times: He was a renowned musician in his Mexican homeland. Now musicians from Facebook murd...more »
Schools Matter: Will the Harry Potter online book club encourage reading?
Schools Matter: Will the Harry Potter online book club encourage reading?: Will the Harry Potter online book club encourage reading? by skrashen Sent to the Harford Courant, August 2 I loved the Harry Potter series and I’m sure many people, young and old, will appreciate the planned webcast with J.K. Rowling and the online book club (“J.K. Rowling launches Harry Potter book club online,” July 31). But the book club will not make a significant difference in “introducing children to the joys of reading.” A great deal of research confirms that the single greatest barrier keeping you... more »
Student Slams Ex-CNN Anchor, Union President, and Students First « Cooperative Catalyst
Student Slams Ex-CNN Anchor, Union President, and Students First « Cooperative Catalyst: Student Slams Ex-CNN Anchor, Union President, and Students First by zakmal *This piece was originally published on StuVoice.org.* *Are you a supporter of sexual predators?* We can all agree that that is a ridiculous question to ask, yet, former journalist Campbell Brown did just that in her Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled, “Teachers Unions Go to Bat for Sexual Predators.” It gets worse. A Twitter argument began. Brown and UFT President Randi Weingarten fought over Brown’s failure to dis... more »
School Tech Connect: The King of Rogers Park
School Tech Connect: The King of Rogers Park: The King of Rogers Park by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I'm sure others have already noted the awkward irony of Joe Moore's photo in the *Trib *today. Moore appears here with Friend-of-Rahm charter magnate Juan Rangel, who is expanding into Rogers Park. And yes, I could have phrased the previous sentence more elegantly, but c'mon, it's true either way. Moore recently found himself in the position of having to kibosh a resolution calling for an elected, representative school boardwhen he awoke to a horse's head, or something. Rang... more »
Sacramento Press / Mayor Kevin Johnson's use of private/public partnerships raises questions about transparency
Sacramento Press / Mayor Kevin Johnson's use of private/public partnerships raises questions about transparency: Mayor Kevin Johnson's use of private/public partnerships raises questions about transparency by Jared Goyette I'm just taking out the trash Sacramento Democratic party chairwoman Kerri Asbury's call for city probe into use of office space in City Hall by nonprofits run by Mayor Kevin Johnson started a predictable row between the two, but it also raised important questions about the role these nonprofits play in public policy and the degree to which they are subject to t... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Again, It's about the Money
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Again, It's about the Money: Again, It's about the Money by Melissa Westbrook Over at The Stranger Slog, Goldy reports yet another interesting story about 1240; the Bezos family is funding four PACS. They are *Children for WA PAC*, *Democrats for Ed Reform WA PAC *and *Education Voters Political Action Fund.* The newest one is *Revising the Status Quo*. Most of the money from all of them comes from the Bezos family, including Jeff Bezos' mom and dad. And, in turn, Stand for Children throws some of its money in there. (It's a long line of circ... more »
Voice and Vision « InterACT
Voice and Vision « InterACT: Voice and Vision by David B. Cohen [image: vision]Teacher voice will only take us so far without a vision to accompany it. Teacher voice is a concept that is central to my work, one that I’ve tried to immerse myself in for years, but in a webinar today I began to think we need an expanded concept: voice and vision. Bill Ferriter, The Tempered Radical, is one of my favorite people to read, listen to, and talk to about these issues. We first met in a virtual space, the Teacher Leaders Network, and then cemented a virtual camraderie by meeting in person a... more »
Remembering Justin Morrill | Taking Note
Remembering Justin Morrill | Taking Note: Remembering Justin Morrill by JOHN MERROW on 02. AUG, 2012 in 2012 BLOGS Does the name Justin Smith Morrill ring a bell? Perhaps not, although I am sure you know about theMorrill Act, which President Lincoln signed into law 150 years ago. That legislation created the nation’s land grant universities and remains one of the most significant pieces of federal education legislation in our history. (That short list also includes the G.I. Bill, the National Defense Education Act, theElementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Pell Grant leg... more »
Campbell Brown’s abusive-teachers war preceded Twitter spat | GothamSchools
Campbell Brown’s abusive-teachers war preceded Twitter spat | GothamSchools: Campbell Brown’s abusive-teachers war preceded Twitter spat by Geoff Decker Campbell Brown testified before the state's Education Reform Commission on the issue of teachers found to have abused children last week. Campbell Brown says she’s done using Twitter to provoke union leaders into a debate. After a furious 48-hour exchange with AFT president Randi Weingarten, in which the 140-character messages quickly elevated into charges of sexism and conflicted interests, Brown said she wants the next showdown to... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Students First: Astroturfers
Jersey Jazzman: Students First: Astroturfers: Students First: Astroturfers by Duke How dare anyone impugn a refomyist's motives by daring to point out what they are actually up to! Betrayed. That’s how regional StudentsFirst organizer Catherine Robinson felt when an email she sent to a small group of supporters wound up published on education blogs. The email announced a contest awarding gift cards for the best comments left on online education stories. (Two StateImpact Florida stories were among included links). Robinson says the $5 gift cards were a small tribute of thanks to ha... more »
Learning Supports: The Missing Component in School Improvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Learning Supports: The Missing Component in School Improvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Learning Supports: The Missing Component in School Improvement by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor* School reform over the past decade has focused on two arenas: improving curriculum and instruction, and the way our schools are governed and managed. We have new curriculum, new tests, new evaluation schemes, new schools, new technology, and new teachers. But schools still are not doing anything significant to address factors interfering with youngs... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Haliburton High Is Coming
Jersey Jazzman: Haliburton High Is Coming: Haliburton High Is Coming by Duke The reformyists are so excited that it's "their time," they aren't even pretending that their plans are about anything other than profit: Traditionally, public education has been a tough market for private firms to break into -- fraught with politics, tangled in bureaucracy and fragmented into tens of thousands of individual schools and school districts from coast to coast. Now investors are signaling optimism that a golden moment has arrived. They're pouring private equity and venture capital into scores... more »
A New Program Scours Twitter for School Bullying - Education - GOOD
A New Program Scours Twitter for School Bullying - Education - GOOD: A New Program Scours Twitter for School Bullying by Liz Dwyer One of the challenges with nipping school bullying in the bud is that students are often reluctant to let teachers and parents know what's going on. Kids think being labeled as a snitch will make their situations worse—if adults don't take bullying seriously, sometimes those fears are well founded. But there's one place students lose their inhibitions and dish all the details of what's going on: Twitter. Indeed, computer science researchers at the Unive... more »
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Hedge-fund vultures circling public ed
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Hedge-fund vultures circling public ed: Hedg- fund vultures circling public ed by Mike Klonsky *"This is a new frontier. The private equity guys and the hedge fund guys are circling public education."* -- Diane Ravitch Stephanie Simon at Reuters reveals profiteers waiting in the wings to cash in on Common Core Standards. About 100 of gathered in a meeting last week at the University Club in Manhattan, billed as a how-to on "private equity investing in for-profit education companies." *If they're as rigorous as advertised, a huge number of scho... more »
Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Coup d'Etat Continues
Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Coup d'Etat Continues: NJDOE Coup d'Etat Continues by Duke If you had any doubts about the autocratic tendencies of Commissioner Chris Cerf and the NJ Education Department, this news should put them to rest: ELC OBTAINS CONFIDENTIAL NJDOE SCHOOL “TURNAROUND” PLANPROPOSAL TO BROAD FOUNDATION SEEKS MILLIONS FOR CLOSURES, “RECOVERY DISTRICT” July 31, 2012 In response to a request under the NJ Open Public Records Act (OPRA), Education Law Center has obtained a confidential proposal prepared for the Broad Foundation by the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) to “tur... more »
D.C. Fires 98 Teachers, Bringing Total to 400 Since 2009: DCist
D.C. Fires 98 Teachers, Bringing Total to 400 Since 2009: DCist: D.C. Fires 98 Teachers, Bringing Total to 400 Since 2009 [image: 2010_1209_henderson.jpg]Part of the school reform ushered in by former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and continued by her successor Kaya Henderson revolves around rewarding good teachers and getting rid of the bad. Yesterday D.C. did the latter,letting 98 teachers go for faring poorly on annual performance evaluations. With yesterday's dismissals, some 400 teachers have been fired from DCPS since 2009 for poor ratings on the annual IMPACT assessme... more »
Chris Christie’s Plan to Privatize NJ’s Low-Performing Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog
Chris Christie’s Plan to Privatize NJ’s Low-Performing Schools « Diane Ravitch's blog: Chris Christie’s Plan to Privatize NJ’s Low-Performing Schools by dianerav The Education Law Center at Rutgers obtained a copy of a proposal that the Chris Christie administration made to the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in Los Angeles. The plan calls for aggressive state intervention in the state’s lowest performing schools. Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf wants to set up an “achievement district” for the low-performing schools. These schools would likely be closed and handed over to private... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: D.C. mass teacher firings and Randi's "new unionism"
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: D.C. mass teacher firings and Randi's "new unionism": D.C. mass teacher firings and Randi's "new unionism" by Mike Klonsky Back in 2009 in D.C., the acceptance of the IMPACT Evaluation System marked the start of what *Randi Weingarten* now refers to as "results-based" unionism. IMPACT drew national attention as one of the first attempts to link teacher pay and job security with classroom performance measured largely by student scores on high-stakes standardized tests. Weingarten's current *new unionism* approach calls for similar collaborations on m... more »
Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market
Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market: - Login with Facebook to see what your friends are reading - Enable Social Reading - i Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits From U.S. K-12 Market *Reuters* | Posted: 08/02/2012 10:16 am Updated: 08/02/2012 12:18 pm [image: Share on Google+] [image: Privatizing Public Schools] By Stephanie Simon NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The investors gathered in a tony private club in Manhattan were eager to hear about the next big thing, and education consultant Rob Lytle was happy to oblige. ... more »
Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson Maintains He Was Not Forced Out | TheLedger.com
Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson Maintains He Was Not Forced Out | TheLedger.com: *Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson Maintains He Was Not Forced Out* By Merissa Green THE LEDGER Published: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 12:47 a.m.Last Modified: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 12:47 a.m. LAKELAND | Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson told The Ledger on Wednesday he really is resigning for family reasons. Enlarge Gerard Robinson It has nothing to do with the miscalculation on this year's school grades or the feud brewing between Polk and the state Department of Education, he ... more »
Teachers Don't Suck !: State Run Education is Great (If you Don't Mind Mind Control)
Teachers Don't Suck !: State Run Education is Great (If you Don't Mind Mind Control): State Run Education is Great (If you Don't Mind Mind Control) by Walt S. I happened to read this article on the Internet and I think it makes some interesting points about the State's takeover of education. The New Totalitarianism: How American Corporations Have Made America Like the Soviet Union By Sara Robinson, AlterNet Posted on July 15, 2012, Printed on July 16, 2012 http://www.alternet.org/story/156311/the_n...he_soviet_union Education: Testing, Not Teaching My eighth-grade civics teache... more »
Eduwonky » Campbell Brown In Her Own Words
Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Campbell Brown In Her Own Words: Campbell Brown In Her Own Words by arotherham Over the weekend journo and former NBC and CNN anchor Campbell Brown penned an op-ed in *The Wall Street Journal* taking teachers’ unions to task for not being more aggressive about dealing with sexual predators and sexually abusive adults in schools. Whether and how to reform policies dealing with such teachers is being hotly debated in California and New York right now. Brown’s op-ed set off a firestorm (Eduwonk links here and here for background and my take) and a fairly nasty ... more »
Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-28-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-21-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-14-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-7-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post
Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-30-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-23-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-16-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-9-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-2-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-2-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-1-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 7-31-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
