Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 30, 2012

BASED ON NEW REPORT 8 OF 4O WASHINGTON STATE'S NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE CANDIDATES FOR CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS SITE

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS:





BASED ON NEW REPORT 8 OF 4O WASHINGTON STATE'S NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE CANDIDATES FOR CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS WEBSITE

National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) Group: 1 in 5 charter schools not doing well enough to stay open
A group that oversees more than half of the nation's 5,600 charter schools said as many as one in five U.S. charter schools should be shut down because of poor academic performance. http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019784379_charterschools29.html

Robert Treat Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 2 minutes ago
*“Department of Education Cheating Investigation Implicates Two More Schools - Report claims that improvements in test scores at Robert Treat Academy, a high-profile charter, defy all odds.”* NJSpotlight, 11/14/2012 The state Department of Education’s year-long investigation into testing irregularities in a handful of public schools in 2010 and 2011 has leveled serious accusations against two more institutions, including a Newark charter founded by one of the state’s preeminent power brokers. Late yesterday the department released critical investigative reports of the Robert Trea... more »

Connections New Century Public Charter School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 6 minutes ago
*“Connections Charter School Employee Subjectof Hearing.”* Big Island Now (HI), 11/26/2012 A charter school employee accused of violating state ethics laws will be the subject of a hearing to be held Tuesday in Hilo by the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. The commission has accused William Eric Boyd, an administrative assistant for Connections New Century Public Charter School in Hilo, with having a conflict of interest for having transactions with the school using his own private company... The complaint issued in October 2010 charges Boyd with 26 counts of the state ethics code... more »

Georgia Cyber Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 9 minutes ago
*“Georgia Threatens To Close K12-run Online Charter School.”* StateImpact, NPR, (GA) 11/26/2012 The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close an online charter school run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, over issues with special education students. The agency issued a report last week that the K12-run Georgia Cyber Academy has repeatedly failed to comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and has violated student civil rights by failing to provide services required by the law. The school has 1,100 special education s... more »

Primavera Technical Learning Center

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 20 minutes ago
*“4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 ... Damien Creamer and Vanessa Baviera Rudilla run one of the largest online schools in Arizona, and the non-profit school contracts with a for-profit company, American Virtual Academy, for its curriculum and software. Creamer and Rudilla are officers of the non-profit and earn salaries. American Virtual Academy also is owned by Creamer and Rudilla. From fiscal 2007 to 2011, the non-profit paid $42.3 million to American Virtual Academy. The non-profit is exempt from state purchasing laws... more »

Basis Schools (eight schools)

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 22 minutes ago
*“Insiders benefiting in charter deals, Board members, school officials did more than $70mil in business.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 ... Basis Inc. charter schools are nationally recognized for their rigorous curriculum. The schools are the brainchild of Michael and Olga Block, who envisioned a college-prep curriculum that would rival the best countries. The first school opened in 1998 in Tucson. A second followed in 2003 in Scottsdale. For years, the Blocks worked for and were paid by the non-profit schools. Michael was the chief operating officer and treasurer, Olga the ... more »

U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation's failure to monitor federal spending

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 30 minutes ago
*“Audit: US oversight of charter school funds lax; Audit assails US education department's monitoring of federal spending on charter schools.”*Corrected version, Associated Press, 11/1/2012 LOS ANGELES (AP) — An audit of the U.S. Department of Education's division overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in charter school funding has criticized the office for failing to properly monitor how states spend the money. The report released in late September by the department's inspector general also singled out state education departments in California, Florida and Arizona for lax mo... more »

Ignite Public Schools, formerly IRRA Charter Schools (six schools)

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 39 minutes ago
*“Valley Charter School System on Probation.”* KRGV 5 News (TX), 10/15/2012 MISSION - IRRA Charter Schools remain on probation with the Texas Education Agency, the schools superintendent said in a letter to parents. The schools current status with TEA means they have not addressed major financial and education concerns. The school recently changed its name to Ignite. The letter was not the first of its kind sent to parents. TEA first put the charter system on probation in 2009. That's when the state started investigating the schools. The investigations concluded that the schools... more »

Quest Academy (NV)

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 46 minutes ago
*“You Paid for It: Quest Academy.”*KTNV Las Vegas (NV), 11/19/2012 Teachers quitting, parents enraged and demanding answers, and students caught in the middle. That's what's going on at a local school under investigation by the state. And it's raising issues of abuse of authority and waste of your tax dollars... Teachers are quitting, citing a hostile work environment. Five have left in just the last month... It all stems from allegations against Quest Academy Principal Connie Jordan and most of the school's governing board. Multiple school employees and one board member have fi... more »

Stars Middle School*

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 52 minutes ago
*“Former Stars Middle School employee accused of molesting a minor.”* WTXL ABC 27 (FL), 11/28/2012 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Tallahassee police say that a former employee of a local middle school, accused of molesting a minor, may have had inappropriate contact with other children. The woman, Rosa Lee Stephens, is listed as an employee of Stars Middle School in a police report. However, the assistant principal of the school, Mr. Ahmet Temel, says that Stephens hasn't worked there since October 1... [please see below] Stephens is charged with Lewd and Lascivious Molestation of a Minor... more »

Online schools (extreme spending on marketing)

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Online schools spend millions to attract students.”* USA Today, 11/28/2012 Virtual, for-profit K-12 schools have spent millions in taxpayer dollars on advertising, an analysis shows... An analysis by USA TODAY finds that online charter schools have spent millions in taxpayer dollars on advertising over the past five years, a trend that shows few signs of abating... The USA TODAY analysis finds that 10 of the largest for-profit operators have spent an estimated $94.4 million on ads since 2007. The largest, Virginia-based K12 Inc., has spent about $21.5 million in just the first... more »

Ricardo Flores Magon Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Marcos Martinez, head of Ricardo Flores Magon Academy, resigns his post.”*Denver Westword (CO), 3/8/2012 Marcos Martinez, the controversial founder of the Ricardo Flores Magon Academy and subject of our cover story "A Hard Line," has resigned. So, too, have two other employees whom the school's board of trustees asked to take a paid leave while they investigated complaints against them. The school is now searching for a new leader. Meanwhile, it seems that Martinez is making moves in Wyoming. Liberty's Torch, a monthly newspaper in Cheyenne, recently ran a story about Martinez'... more »

Madrone Trail Charter School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Madrone Trail parents seek intervention.”* Mail Tribune (OR), 11/20/2012 A parent of two Madrone Trail Charter School students urged the Medford School Board Monday to intervene with the operations of the charter school board. Lorraine McDonald said she represented a number of parents who have come together to share their worries about the charter school board... McDonald said she was one of the founding parents of the 200-student, Waldorf-inspired charter school, and since its opening, she has grown concerned over the board's ability to manage the school's future... Members of... more »

“9 Investigates lawmakers' connections with charter schools.”

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“9 Investigates lawmakers' connections with charter schools.”* WFTV (FL), 11/14/2012 ORLANDO, Fla. — Over the past five years, the number of charter schools in Central Florida has climbed. These "nontraditional" public schools receive taxpayer money -- and 9 Investigates' George Spencer found some of the same lawmakers who are writing the rules for charter schools are also benefiting from them. Dayspring Academy Charter School in Port Richie is thriving, as evidenced by the "Another 'A' Rating" banner on its website. Last March, its business administrator, John Legg, made a spe... more »

Valley Academy Charter School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Hurricane teacher arrested on sex charges.”* St. George Daily Spectrum (UT), 10/30/2012 ST. GEORGE — A former violin teacher at Valley Academy Charter School in Hurricane was arrested Tuesday on four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, following allegations made against him by four students at the school. Lynn R. Lundstrom, 62, of Ivins, was arrested following an investigation by the Hurricane Police Department. Four students reported being touched inappropriately by Lundstrom during class... Lundstrom was listed as a strings instructor at Vall... more »

Estancia Valley Classical Academy

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“PED warns charter school against religious teachings.”* KRQE (NM), 11/2/2012 A letter from the Public Department of Education says some parents have complained a new charter school in Moriarty is using taxpayer dollars to teach religion. The letter was sent less than a month ago by Secretary-designate of Education Hanna Skandera, reminding school officials to follow state law. “What we provide here is a rigorous academic alternative,” says Roger Lenard, president of the Estancia Valley Classical Academy (EVCA) Governing Council... The state sent a letter telling the school it... more »

“Charter school companies, online learning outfits try to wield influence in Tallahassee.”

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Charter school companies, online learning outfits try to wield influence in Tallahassee.”* Miami Herald (FL), 10/22/2012 In the looming battle for public education dollars, Jon Hage has launched a pre-emptive strike. His school management company, Charter Schools USA, has doled out more than $205,000 in contributions to political candidates and organizations this election cycle, state records show. That's more than triple what the Fort Lauderdale-based company spent on political campaigns in 2010, and seven times what it spent in 2008. "If we don't support our friends in Tall... more »

Happy Valley School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“Insiders benefiting in charter deals, Board members, school officials did more than $70mil in business.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 ... The Gaddie family reflects how family ties can run deep at charter schools. Happy Valley School in Peoria has a three-member non-profit board made up entirely of Gaddie family members, according to the most recent federal tax return. Ernest Gaddie is president. His wife, Delite Gaddie, is secretary, and their son, Glen Gaddie, is a board member... For several years, the school has contracted with Gaddie Curriculum & Education Consulting,... more »

Desert Heights Charter School

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 For several years, [Desert Heights Charter School] had an agreement with Waterhouse Management, owned by a board member of the non-profit school, Richard Waterhouse. From fiscal 2007 through 2011, the firm was paid at least $1 million, according to federal tax returns. In 2009 and again in 2010 and 2011, auditors questioned the transaction, saying the value of the agreement for contracted business services is “not supported by documentation that provides the method and/or rationale for h... more »

Career Success Schools

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 Payments: For several years, the non-profit organization [Career Success Schools] has contracted with the company of a board member, Kevin Zirk, for its employee 401(k) plan, and Zirk receives commissions based on the deposits... In fiscal 2011 and 2010, the non-profit contracted with the company of another board member, Ditza BenShalom, for air-conditioning repairs totaling $154,241. In fiscal 2010, the non-profit also paid $1.3 million for land for a new school campus from a company that... more »

Espiritu Schools

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 1 hour ago
*“4 charter-school organizations where insiders benefited.”* The Arizona Republic, 11/17/2012 Payments: No other large charter school has as many transactions involving family members as Espiritu Schools in south Phoenix. Armando Ruiz is the founder and a board member for Espiritu, a non-profit that operates three schools on one property. He also is on the board of a separate non-profit, called the A Group, that gets paid by Espiritu to handle non-academic functions of the school such as technology, sports, parent involvement, bookkeeping and human resources. This allows educator... more »

ScholArts Preparatory and Career Center for Children

The Perimeter Primate at CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS - 2 hours ago
*“Charter school gets 30-day reprieve.”* The Columbus Dispatch (OH), 11/30/2012 A struggling Columbus charter school got a one-month reprieve to stay open, but it still might be forced to close just before students return from winter break. ScholArts Preparatory and Career Center for Children initially was told it wouldn’t be allowed to operate after today. But its sponsor, or overseer, extended the closing date to Dec. 31 after the school offered evidence that it had enough money to stay afloat for another 30 days. Kids Count of Dayton, the school’s sponsor, decided last month ... more »


Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 11-30-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2


Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE





My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Two

I’ve been writing this blog for six or seven years. I thought readers might find it useful for me to dig back in the “archives” and highlight my choices for some of the best posts that appeared during that time.
The first list in this series, My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume One, focused on the year 2007 and included a fair amount of still-useful material (at least in my opinion).
Here in Volume Two I’ll identify the best of 2008:
I began an eighty (no, that’s not a typo) o


Tentative Agreement: LAUSD-UTLA TEACHER EVALUATION PROCEDURES

from UTLA.NET TENTATIVE AGREEMENT: LAUSD-UTLA 2012 Evaluation Procedures Supplement to Art X 11-29-12



STUDENT SCORES MAY BE USED IN LAUSD TEACHER RATINGS: Union leaders and District officials agree to make testing data part of evaluations. But some hurdles remain.

  "This is a complex agreement and possibly the most sophisticated evaluation agreement that I have seen. It assures that test scores will not be overused, will not be assigned an arbitrary and inappropriate weight, will not be the sole or primary determinant of a teacher's evaluation." -Diane Ravitch By Teresa Watanabe and



From Robert Rendo: a short essay on profit and priorities

Public Education has long become a billion dollar industry, according to a report put out way back in 2007 by Thomas Meldon, professor in the Benerd School of Education at the University of the Pacific in California, and editor of Teacher Education Quarterly, and Bruce A. Jones, professor and director of the David C. Anchin Center at the University of South Florida.

In their fact finding, they state that companies that produce educational materials and supplies were (then) over the billion dollar threshold, with product lines rapidly expanding.


Vacation-Time Distortion Equation

Hey, Everybody– Congratulations on making it through another week and another month. Don’t start your countdown calendar yet. But it’s mighty tempting, isn’t it? It’s a little bit of a problem that Thanksgiving was early this year. That obviously makes the spread between then and the Big One longer. Oh, so much longer…Here we are, more than a week after Thanksgiving and there’s still more than three weeks until Christmas? Really? So we cope. Here’s something that won’t really help with Read more […]

Sen. Alex Padilla will reintroduce bill making it easier to fire teachers for misconduct

State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, plans to reintroduce legislation Monday that would make it easier for school districts to fire teachers for misconduct.

Nearly 2,000 school employees retire tomorrow to avoid benefit loss

Interesting story about 1,700 school employees retiring tomorrow to take advantage of a base pay boost that is about to disappear.
According to the AJC:
In a typical year, fewer than 300 of the state’s educators retire Dec. 1, while the school year is in full swing.
But this year, 1,707 educators across the state have opted to retire now. This includes 123 employees — including 63 teachers, four counselors, seven paraprofessionals, two assistant 

Deasy: “This Has Never Been Done”

Superintendent John Deasy explained to LA School Report why the tentative agreement was so historic:
“You don’t do this stuff in California – this has never been done. People were very very conscious and concerned,


Stupid Tweets from Seattle Times Opinion

I subscribe to the Seattle Times Opinion Twitter feed so I get to see every stupid thing they write on it.



Here are some recent tweets from them:
  • The top one is innocuous.
  • The second one says that charter schools must hold themselves accountable and that not doing this has been a problem with traditional public schools. Of course, with the new report from NACSA we now know 


Will Americans View Spanish as an International Language in the Future?

Will Americans View Spanish as an International Language in the Future?With more than 420 million people speaking it, the future of Spanish “as an international language” is on the line in the United States, the director of Spain’s Cervantes Institute told Efe here Friday.
“Large sectors of the United States preceive Spanish as a language of immigrants, not as a treasure. And that needs changing,” Victor Garcia de la Concha said.
On a visit to the Guadalajara International Book Fair, De la Concha said that Spain’s current economic crisis, which has entailed budget cuts for the Cervantes Institute, should not hold back 



Not a Waterbed Without Water


Chiming in this week is Bill Conway--a world traveler, an acclaimed social studies teacher, and my colleague.

Recently, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has been touting his balanced budget and the surplus money he put into a rainy day fund. I have a hard time celebrating this news as our school district continues to face dire economic issues.  

Have we gone too far with these hatchet-style budget cuts?  Have we passed a tipping point?  Wisconsin’s Superintendent asks for more for schools that are in need, while our Governor is promising to deliver less. Can we work with less? Can we deliver what our communities and children deserve with what we are being given?

I had an economics class in college, way back when. My professor used a waterbed 




NOTHING LIKE A SEX SCANDAL TO COVER A TEACHER WITCH HUNT

Mark Twain.jpg
(Mensaje se repite en Español) 

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

The reason Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) "officials failed to promptly report nearly 150 cases of suspected teacher misconduct- including allegations of sexual contact with students- to state authorities as required by law" is not as Howard Blume uncritically goes along with in his Los Angeles Times article yesterday. Rather, the reason that LAUSD was busy trying to intimidate mostly innocent teachers into resigning or retiring was to balance its in the red budget from 


Jersey Jazzman: Marie Corfield is My Hero

Jersey Jazzman: Marie Corfield is My Hero:


Marie Corfield is My Hero

God bless Marie Corfield.
**LD16 ELECTION UPDATE**
Now that the votes in the LD-16 Assembly race have been tallied, I have called Assemblywoman Simon to congratulate her on her victory.

I want to thank my family for their unending support, and all of our supporters, volunteers and dedicated staff. We could not have come so close to winning without your efforts. No matter the challenges we faced, we stood strong together, and I am so grateful for all your help.

Although the election has ended, I can assure you that the fight for middle class families, working families, education funding, and the right for women to make their own healthcare decisions will continue. And I will be here with you to stand up, ensure the issues we fought for are not forgotten, and that we hold our leaders accountable.

Thank you for giving me the honor and the privilege to be your candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly
It's really easy to sit on the sidelines and complain. It's really easy to look at the bad decisions that are being 

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 11-30-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP



LAUSD, teachers union make a deal on performance evaluations - LA Daily News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 minutes ago
LAUSD, teachers union make a deal on performance evaluations - LA Daily News: LAUSD, teachers union make a deal on performance evaluations By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer Posted: 11/30/2012 03:01:35 PM PST Updated: 11/30/2012 03:22:21 PM PST Proposed LAUSD teacher evaluation contract Facing a Tuesday deadline to come up with a deal, Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union announced today that they'd hammered out a tentative agreement that incorporates student test scores in performance evaluations. Under the tentative deal, teachers' evaluations will factor in how well their... more »

Towards the 21 Hour Work Week | Lefty Parent

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago
Towards the 21 Hour Work Week | Lefty Parent: Towards the 21 Hour Work Week by Cooper Zale Sustainability… it will by all accounts be a key theme of 21st century human society. Sustainable agriculture, energy use, carbon footprint, and average family size are already on the table towards informing governmental policy and economic practice. But in order to dial down in these areas we are realizing the need for a sustainable level of economic activity, which includes a finite amount of commoditized work to be divided between an increasing number of people seeking that work. Put more ... more »

Why a Louisiana judge ruled school vouchers unconstitutional

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago
Why a Louisiana judge ruled school vouchers unconstitutional: Why a Louisiana judge ruled school vouchers unconstitutional Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 30, 2012 at 5:37 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » A Louisiana state judge sided today with opponents of Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sweeping private school voucher program, ruling that it is unconstitutional because it improperly diverts public state and local money intended for public schools to private institutions. Exactly what... more »

Breaking the Budget Deficit Down - Department of Social Services (DSS) - $190.9 million - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago
Breaking the Budget Deficit Down - Department of Social Services (DSS) - $190.9 million - Wait, What?: Breaking the Budget Deficit Down – Department of Social Services (DSS) – $190.9 million by jonpelto When Governor Malloy proposed this year’s budget, the General Assembly passed it, and the Governor signed it into law, it was widely understood that the Malloy Administration had purposely underestimated the true costs of funding various programs, especially within the Department of Social Services. Almost immediately, State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, started warning the Malloy Adm... more »

Top Content this Week - 11-30-12 The Educator's PLN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: 1[image: Are You Interested In Joining A World Class Schools Project]Are You Interested In Joining A World Class Schools Project November 26, 2012 to November 30, 2012 at Virtually Everywhere In The World Organized By: Michael Cunningham 2[image: Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children]Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children Added by Thomas Whitby on October 10, 2012 3[image: Building Community]Building Community Posted by Lisa Chamberlin on January 31, 2010 4[image: Angry Birds Do Math]Angry Birds Do Math Added b... more »

Breaking News: La. school voucher plan ruled unconstitutional - SFGate

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
La. school voucher plan ruled unconstitutional - SFGate: La. school voucher plan ruled unconstitutionalBy MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal's voucher program that uses tax dollars to send students to private schools was ruled unconstitutional Friday by a state judge who said it's improperly funded through the public school financing formula. Judge Tim Kelley sided with arguments presented by teacher unions and school boards seeking to shut down the voucher program and other changes that would funnel more money away from traditional pub... more »

‘My kindergartener had 14 tests this year’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
‘My kindergartener had 14 tests this year’: ‘My kindergartener had 14 tests this year’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 30, 2012 at 4:09 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » Here are highlights (videos below) of a Chicago forum on standardized testing in public schools: Parent Julie Fain said: *“My kindergartener had 14 tests this year.” * *“My fourth grader, now … they’re testing in PE and art and music and library and Spanish and in every special in three grades. And that adds up to total ... more »

4LAKids - LETTER TO DR. JAIME AQUINO FROM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS + A CONCERN ABOUT FAIRNESS IN RESTORING CUTS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LETTER TO DR. JAIME AQUINO FROM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS + A CONCERN ABOUT FAIRNESS IN RESTORING CUTS: LETTER TO DR. JAIME AQUINO FROM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS + A CONCERN ABOUT FAIRNESS IN RESTORING CUTS FROM THE ASSOCIATED ADMINISTRATORS OF LOS ANGELES (AALA – “THE PRINCIPALS UNION”) UPDATE | WEEK OF DECEMBER 3, 2012*29 November 2012 :: AALA thanks Gary Garcia, President of the Senior High School Principals’ Organization, for sharing this letter.* Dear Dr. Aquino: Thank you for taking time out of your previously set schedul... more »

Schools Matter: Lessons from Katrina

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Schools Matter: Lessons from Katrina: Lessons from Katrina by Judy Rabin The Shock Doctrine Comes to New Jersey Schools Just waiting for Arne Duncan to say Hurricane Sandy was the "best thing that happened to the education system" in New Jersey. While the power is out, entire school districts have literally crumbled the poorest are again being left behind, many homeless now and in already underfunded public schools. Christie and Cerf have a plan to use theirr "power sparingly." They will come to save the day because too many schools are failing. No mention of the actual architec... more »

Jersey Jazzman: An Outrage in Camden

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: An Outrage in Camden: An Admission of Failure by Duke This is nothing more than an admission of failure by our education overlords : Charter schools are about to get a reality check. As someone who has observed the breakneck pace of the growing charter school movement up close, Greg Richmond, who leads the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), is taking a step back. "We didn't start this movement in order to create more failing schools, but that's what we have," Richmond told The Huffington Post. "Hundreds of them." On Wednesday morning, Richmond... more »

At Brooklyn Free School, A Movement Reborn With Liberty And No Testing For All

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
At Brooklyn Free School, A Movement Reborn With Liberty And No Testing For All: At Brooklyn Free School, A Movement Reborn With Liberty And No Testing For AllPosted: 11/30/2012 8:38 am EST Updated: 11/30/2012 1:30 pm EST [image: All_school_meeting_fall2012] NEW YORK -- On a recent Wednesday morning at the Brooklyn Free School, a class was in session. Ten students, ranging in age from about 12 to 16, sat around a table having a heated debate about chemistry. And superpowers. "Those elements don't really go together," said one boy in a hoodie and glasses. "Or I don't think they go... more »

Chicagoans to Erect Tent City Against "Fiscal Cliff" Austerity Negotiations #durbinville | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Chicagoans to Erect Tent City Against "Fiscal Cliff" Austerity Negotiations #durbinville | OccupyWallSt.org: Chicagoans to Erect Tent City Against "Fiscal Cliff" Austerity Negotiations #durbinville by OccupyWallSt [image: Imgur] In what might well become a model for popular resistance to the 1%'s "Fiscal Cliff" austerity negotiations happening now in Washington D.C., activists in Chicago are planning a shantytown encampment of Federal Plaza -- a tangible portent of exactly where austerity is taking us. More information on the Occupy Chicago GA-approved action from the event's face... more »

Larry Miller for School Board Fundraising Party: Please Join Me « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Larry Miller for School Board Fundraising Party: Please Join Me « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Larry Miller for School Board Fundraising Party: Please Join Me by millerlf *Join us for a fundraiser for my re-election campaign for the MPS school board.* *The fundraising party will be:* *Sunday December 9* *5-7 at the Art Bar* *722 East Burleigh St* * * [image: photo]

Grading teachers proves difficult: Staffs at some of state's worst schools get gushing reviews | Michigan news | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Grading teachers proves difficult: Staffs at some of state's worst schools get gushing reviews | Michigan news | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: Grading teachers proves difficult: Staffs at some of state's worst schools get gushing reviews A first look at how effective teachers are across the state provides a clear picture of just how far school districts must go to have strong evaluation systems in place that give teachers the kind of feedback they need to improve. The new state data find that about 97% of the state's 96,000 teachers were rated effective or highly effective duri... more »

Ed Roundup for 11-30-12 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Ed Roundup for 11-30-12 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): Education Roundup for the Week Ending November 30, 2013 State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Education (CDE) today issued this week's Education Roundup of education-related announcements of public interest.** State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Congratulates California School for the Deaf in Fremont** California School for the Deaf, Fremont has been selected as Deaf Prep Football National Football Champions by the National Deaf Interscholastic Athletic Association. The CSDF Eagles also w... more »

Diane in the Evening 11-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Louisiana Judge Rules Voucher Program Unconstitutional by dianerav A Louisiana judge ruled against the state’s new voucher program, agreeing with the plaintiffs that it violated the state constitution by diverting public funds to private schools. The state will appeal. The attorney for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers explains here why the teachers are suing to block Governor Jindal’s Act 2. It’s not because the law is “illegal,” but because it expressly violates the state constitution. It’s not because it spends public money for vouchers but because it t... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters'

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters': Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters' by Mike Klonsky Robert Pawlaszek, of SEIU Local 1, gathers with O'Hare janitors and other employees during a prayer vigil outside Rahm's house. Perfect timing. As we head into the Christmas season in the land of high heating bills, comes the news that Rahm is laying off many of the city's library custodians. He's also put 300 union custodians's jobs on the chopping block at O’Hare Airport because of a controversial $99 million, non-union janitorial contract he's handed out to one of his... more »

How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff' – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff' – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs: How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff' by *Donna Krache*, CNN *(CNN)* Sequestration: The word strikes fear in the hearts of school boards and administrators nationwide, and with good reason. What does it mean? The term refers to the across-the-board budget cuts that will automatically occur in federal programs in January 2013, unless Congress reaches an agreement by the end of this year on reducing the deficit. What kind of cuts will this mean for education? The American Association of... more »

Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add — Whole Child Education: ' THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: David Snyder]Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add November 30, 2012 by David Snyder With many U.S. states overhauling their teacher evaluation systems and introducing student test scores as a factor, how can schools ensure fair evaluation of teachers of non-tested subjects like art and physical education? One of the first states to begin implementing evaluation reform was Tennessee and, back in February, *Education Week*'s *Teaching... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – Cornerstones of federal compliance called barriers to innovation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *Cornerstones of federal compliance called barriers to innovation* *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, November 30, 2012 For years, careful school administrators have been fearful of violating the federal government’s three major compliance mandates – supplement-not-supplant, comparability and maintenance of effort. Now a prominent academic think tank is questioning whether the three requirements pose more of a barrier to school innovation than a deterrent to scofflaw administrators. Researchers at the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the Uni... more »

Stand united: An appeal to commenters « City School Stories

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Stand united: An appeal to commenters « City School Stories: Stand united: An appeal to commenters by fmurphy Originally posted on thenotebook blog by Frank Murphy on Nov 27 2012 Posted in Commentary I have been troubled by the negative tone of several comments posted in response to *Notebook* articles over the last few months. Anonymous posters have increasingly engaged in highly critical and often sharply worded personal attacks on individual Philadelphia School District employees and union personnel. Though I can understand the depth of emotion that motivates people to make su... more »

Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more. | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more. | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more. by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed* [image: galvanic bracelet] Helen Barkin writes a thorough review of what happened state by state on November 6, 2012 in this article.... more »

***UPDATE: School Tech Connect: Culture of Testing II, III and The Highlight Reel

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Culture of Testing II: Culture of Testing II by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Diane Munoz and Anne Carlson, both highly accomplished CPS educator-parents, gave some pointed testimony during the Raise Your Hand event last night. I'll let their words do the talking. Popout Diane Munoz As a parent, unfortunately I got to experience this with my own child, and it's heart-wrenching when a first-grader says, "I'm stupid, and I hate school!" due to the results of (his) DIBELS test. Anne Carlson Why are we continuing to take the temperature all the time….Our stud... more »

When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG! « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG! « School Finance 101: When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG! by schoolfinance101 Very recently, I posted a critique of the recent technical report on New York State median growth percentiles to be used in that state’s teacher and principal evaluation system. Today, I read this piece in the NY Post – an editorial by NY State Board of Regents Chancellor Meryl Tisch, and well, MY HEAD ALMOST EXPLODED! The point of the editorial is to encourage NY City’s teacher...more »

Nobody likes Pat Quinn. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Nobody likes Pat Quinn. « Fred Klonsky: Nobody likes Pat Quinn. by Fred Klonsky What happens when you are the most anti-union governor in the history of Illinois? Nobody likes you. You become the most unpopular governor in the entire United States. With only one in four Illinois voters approving his job performance, Gov. Pat Quinn is the least popular in the country and would lose in head-to-head pairings against two of three Republicans eying his job in 2014, a newly commissioned survey found Thursday.Just 25 percent of voters in Illinois approved of the work Quinn is doing, w... more »

Democurmudgeon: Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Democurmudgeon: Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids.: Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids. [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] While Gov. Scott Walker has already removed accountability measures for voucher schools, parents should be alerted to a rising problem where bad schools continue to remain open. With no way of knowing whether a school is failing, until it’s too late, parents are being sold on the idea that success can be gauged by higher enrol... more »

Mother Crusader: We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Mother Crusader: We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me?: We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me? by darciecima George Norcross gets what George Norcross wants. George's brother Donald was the chief architect of the The Urban Hope Act. The legislation was enacted with lightening speed, but before it was passed or signed George was already openly talking about his plans. Norcross said ideally his proposal would be built on the Lanning Square site next to Cooper, long eyed for a new school through the state's court-ordere... more »

NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment: *NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment* * * Alexandria, Va. (November 30, 2012) - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to rule that school districts should not be held financially liable for harassment related to a student’s disability if school officials took appropriate steps to stop it. NSBA, along with the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), the Alabama ... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, November 30, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *California prepares for more rain this weekend* Education Headlines *Friday, November 30, 2012* EdSource: Abuse records don’t follow some school workersCalifornia teachers who lose their jobs for misconduct against students lose their licenses to teach, but the state has no similar process for the other 289,000 school employees who are fired or forced to resign due to child abuse. There’s no mechanism for sharing the information on “classified” employees; as a result, other districts and childcare centers may hire a new bus driv... more »

The Common Core Kool-Aid :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
The Common Core Kool-Aid :: Frederick M. Hess: The Common Core Kool-Aid *by Frederick M. Hess • Nov 30, 2012 at 10:05 am Cross-posted from Education Week* * * * * In a number of conversations this week over at Jeb Bush's annual edu-fest, at AEI, and around DC, I was struck by the degree to which the Common Core seems to have become Dr. Pendergast's miracle cure for everything that ails you (seemingly including heat blisters). The exchanges were eerily reminiscent of the run-up to *Waiting for Superman*, when smart, enthusiastic people kept telling me how everything was about to ch... more »

Shanker Blog » Bahraini Repression Against Teachers And Health Care Workers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Shanker Blog » Bahraini Repression Against Teachers And Health Care Workers: Bahraini Repression Against Teachers And Health Care Workers by Randall Garton *Bahrain Financial Harbor* The Kingdom of Bahrain, a small island nation in the Persian Gulf, is a perfect political stew, situated as it is at the confluence of political, religious, economic and international tensions simmering in the Persian Gulf. A majority Shi’a Muslim country ruled for hundreds of years by Sunni tribal chieftains with family ties to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is a dictatorship whose people have regularly dema... more »

Daily Kos: The Etymology of "Miracle": On the Politics of Lies

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Daily Kos: The Etymology of "Miracle": On the Politics of Lies: The Etymology of "Miracle": On the Politics of Lies byplthomasEdDFollow My doctoral work was a trifecta of marginalized scholarship since I attained an EdD (lowly second cousin to the PhD) by preparing a qualitative dissertation (closeted step-cousin of the sainted quantitative paradigm)—an educational biography (a mish-mash of a non-academic field, education, with a popular but lowly literary genre, biography) of Lou LaBrant (Thomas, 2001 ). My scholarship on biography helped me understand the roots of why academia sh... more »

The Quick and the Ed » Local Control and Common Core State Standards: The Coming Confrontation

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
The Quick and the Ed » Local Control and Common Core State Standards: The Coming Confrontation: Local Control and Common Core State Standards: The Coming Confrontation by Peter Cookson Jr. Election night is over and most pundits agree that federal educational policy is unlikely to change dramatically in the next four years. In Washington DC this week at the Excellence in Action National Summit Secretary of Education Arne Duncan promised to “stay the course,” emphasizing early childhood education, holding teachers to higher standards, recruiting more qualified teachers, improving ... more »

Water into wine; Deficits into surpluses: The Ben Barnes Story - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Water into wine; Deficits into surpluses: The Ben Barnes Story - Wait, What?: Water into wine; Deficits into surpluses: The Ben Barnes Story by jonpelto The hands down leader for the most absurdly incredible budget comment of the year, at least to date, doesn’t go to Malloy or Occhiogrosso, albeit they have had some pretty good ones, but to Ben Barnes, Malloy’s budget chief. When Barnes spoke to Connecticut legislators earlier this week about this year’s $365 million budget deficit and next year’s projected $1.1 billion shortfall, legislators also asked him about the impending an... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee on Erasergate: No Biggie - Loose Lips

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee on Erasergate: No Biggie - Loose Lips: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee on Erasergate: No Biggie Posted by Alan Suderman on Nov. 29, 2012 at 4:44 pm LL didn't have room in his column this week for some highlights of former Schools Chancellor *Michelle Rhee'*s new memoir. One particularly interesting passage is Rhee's take on *USA Today's* investigation that found an almost impossibly large number of erasure marks on standardized tests. Rhee acknowledges that her initial response to the story—attacking it as "insulting" to teachers after refusin... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yeah? What If They Don't?: Yeah? What If They Don't? by Charlie Mas There's a lot of talk about accountability and why we can't seem to be able to hold anyone accountable in culture of public K-12 education. I think the lack of accountability is built into the system - at every level. *Not MY Job, Man! I just buy them...* Take, for example, the new charter school law, I-1240. It's full of requirements. For example, the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house have until March 6, 2013 to appoint members of the charter school commission.... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Rick Hess’s Startling Analysis of Common Core by dianerav Many of us had been under the impression that the goal of the Common Core standards was to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the nation’s schools. As someone who spent years advocating for national standards–but has been agnostic about the new Common Core standards–it was always my hope that improving education would be, should be the goal. At least that was my hope when I worked in the US Department of Education in 1991-93 and expended... more »

Chicago Teachers Union charges Chicago Public Schools with 'educational apartheid' - Blogs On Politics - Crain's Chicago Business

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Chicago Teachers Union charges Chicago Public Schools with 'educational apartheid' - Blogs On Politics - Crain's Chicago Business: * **Teachers union charges CPS with 'educational apartheid'* November 30, 2012 Print | Email | 1 comment 7 0 0 [image: - Karen Lewis.] Karen Lewis. Chicago Public Schools has engaged in widespread “educational apartheid” by forcing predominantly African-American students into privately run charter schools that often perform worse than their old schools and employ relatively few black and Hispanic instructors, theChicago Teachers Union is charging. In a... more »

SAT, ACT No Longer Required For Admission To 800 U.S. Schools | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
SAT, ACT No Longer Required For Admission To 800 U.S. Schools | toteachornototeach: SAT, ACT No Longer Required For Admission To 800 U.S. Schools by aristotlethewise SAT, ACT No Longer Required For Admission To 800 U.S. Colleges And Universities [image: images] A growing number of colleges are stepping away from the standardized exams traditionally required of admissions applicants. More than 800 colleges and universities across the country no longer mandate score submissions from SAT or ACT college admissions exams, according to the latest survey by the National Center for Fair & O...more »

Ed Notes Online: Support Teachers Unite "Growing Fairness" Film on School to Prison Pipeline

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: Support Teachers Unite "Growing Fairness" Film on School to Prison Pipeline: Support Teachers Unite "Growing Fairness" Film on School to Prison Pipeline by ed notes online Talk about school to prison pipeline? I once got a Thanksgiving Day collect call from an upstate prison from one of my favorite former students serving 15 to life (he got out after 28 years) who after a brief conversation handed the phone over to another fave who then told me there were 9 guys from the same buildings in the cell block. I guess I didn't know it at the time but with some of my toug... more »

It Was Kind of Like Teaching | The G Bitch Spot

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
It Was Kind of Like Teaching | The G Bitch Spot: It Was Kind of Like Teaching by G Bitch Thanks, Ali Arnold, Trisha, the students and faculty who came and sorry there was no time for questions. No one had read the Stanley Fish post I based all this on but, just like in the classroom, I forged ahead anyway. First, check out what “digital humanities” really means—Michael Mizell-Nelson’s online database projects. Fucking *awesome*. Fortunately, he did a fantastic job and if only there’d been another hour. Actually, he should’ve had the whole thing. Since I spent the time, here’s my t... more »

Oakland’s American Indian charter schools respond to violation notice - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Oakland’s American Indian charter schools respond to violation notice - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Oakland’s American Indian charter schools respond to violation notice Thursday, November 29th, 2012 at 4:56 pm in No Comments *photo of Ben Chavis, founder of American Indian Model Schools, by D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group* Thirteen binders of material from the American Indian Model Schools were delivered to the Oakland school district offices this week in response to the “notice of violation” the charter school organization received this fall... more »

UPDATE: Michigan coalition opposes Race to Top finalist in letter to Obama, Duncan

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Michigan coalition opposes Race to Top finalist in letter to Obama, Duncan: The $10,000 bachelor's degree: gimmick or real? by Valerie Strauss With the cost of college at record highs, the governors of Texas and Florida (Rick Perry and Rick Scott, respectively) have challenged their state's public higher education systems to come up with a bachelor's degree program that costs no more than $10,000. Perry put out the call in 2011, and 10 colleges that enroll about 10 percent of undergraduates at public universities in the state have responded ( though not the flagship University of ... more »

The Educated Reporter: In Case You Missed It: EWA's STEM Express, Webinar Replays Now Available

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: In Case You Missed It: EWA's STEM Express, Webinar Replays Now Available: In Case You Missed It: EWA's STEM Express, Webinar Replays Now Available by Emily Richmond The push toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs is one of the hottest topics on the table right now, and EWA wants to help you keep up to date. Our new Thursday STEM Express(TSE) is an ongoing digest of the latest news and opinion on this critical issue. You can find it -- along with a wealth of other terrific content -- at EdMedia Commons. I've written recent... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cruising the blogs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cruising the blogs: Cruising the blogs by Mike Klonsky When it csomes to ed bloggers, some of my favorites can be found on NEPC's aptly-named Best of the Ed Blogs, including the likes of Ravitch, Ferlazzo, Thomas, Cuban, etal... In this post, Stanford prof, *Larry Cuban*wrestles with the progressive/traditional teaching duality when one of his students innocently describes him as a "traditional" teacher. He is and isn't. ****** After reading Anthony Cody's favorable review of *Lois Weiner'*s new book,"The Future of Our Schools, Teachers Unions and Soci... more »

Its Time to Dismiss Florida Charter Schools’ Complaint About Fairness | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Its Time to Dismiss Florida Charter Schools’ Complaint About Fairness | Scathing Purple Musings: Its Time to Dismiss Florida Charter Schools’ Complaint About Fairness by Bob Sikes The administrator for the Cape Coral Charter School Authority says all the right things and speaks with the right jargon to be believable in this morning’s guest column in the *Fort Myers News Press*. In an attempt to make the case for more taxpayer money going to charter schools like his, Lew Ford writes: Here is the issue: A tax of 1.5 mills is levied on all Florida residents for the purposes of cap... more »

School Tech Connect: The Culture Of Testing in Chicago

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
School Tech Connect: The Culture Of Testing in Chicago: The Culture Of Testing in Chicago by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) [image: Home] In a word, wow. Raise Your Hand held the most remarkable forum tonight, called The Culture of Testing- Assessing the Assessments at CPS. I've been to a lot of forums in the past couple of years; this one was far and away the most... astonishing? poignant? I don't even know the word for what it was. People from all over the city gathered to talk about an epidemic of testing that has gripped the students of CPS over the past couple of years. As... more »

Some Nights (What We Stand For) | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Some Nights (What We Stand For) | The Jose Vilson: Some Nights (What We Stand For) by Jose fun., “Some Nights” *Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck* * Some nights, I call it a draw ** Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle ** Some nights, I wish they’d just fall off * *But I still wake up, I still see your ghost* * Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for oh ** What do I stand for? What do I stand for? ** Most nights, I don’t know anymore… * Dear You, Confession: Some nights, I know why I do any of this, either. Six years ago, I wondered if teaching actually... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 11-29-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
*Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume One by Larry Ferlazzo I’ve been writing this blog for six or seven years. I thought readers might find it useful for me to dig back in the “archives” and highlight my choices for some of the best posts that appeared during that time. This first collection — Volume One — comes from 2007 (and, in the case of some articles, even earlier): The Best Of The Best — 2007: Here I brought together links to my first annual lists, along with highlighting the sites I ranked first in each category. Intriguing Way... more »

THE LOVE OF LEARNING « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
THE LOVE OF LEARNING « Teachers Fight Back: THE LOVE OF LEARNING by alkleen I saw a large picture in an obscure local newspaper about an event that occurred 50 years ago on Nov. 14th, 1962. The picture showed the famous poet Robert Frost presenting his poetry to more than 10,000 people in the University of Detroit sports auditorium. This was the last large public reading by Frost before his death, on January 29, 1963. The picture was just amazing. The audience wasn’t just made up of university students, but people from all walks of life. The first thing that struck me was the odd ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: "Reform Churn"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: "Reform Churn": "Reform Churn" by Duke These days, urban schools system change their "reforms" as often as I change my underwear: Global Village had arrived in Newark with great fanfare just three years earlier. During its short life, it extended the school day for many children at the seven schools it served, provided eyeglasses to students who needed them, distributed books to build home libraries, and connected parents with a variety of social services, from mental health care to housing assistance. Much like the highly publicized Harlem Children’s Zone, Globa... more »

Recursos en español (Education Resources for Spanish Speakers)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Recursos en español (Education Resources for Spanish Speakers): BIENVENIDOS Recursos en español Education Resources for Spanish Speakers Elija opcion abajo --------------- Portada El Departamento de EducaciĂłn de los EE.UU. EducaciĂłn Especial (IDEA) Ayuda Federal para Estudiantes EducaciĂłn Para Adultos EducaciĂłn Universitaria Que NingĂşn Niño Se Quede Atrás (NCLB) Preguntas y Respuestas Frecuentes ENLACES La AdministraciĂłn Anuncia Metas para Flexibilidad de La Ley NCLB La AdministraciĂłn Anuncia Nuevas Medidas para Proteger a lo... more »

Pass / Fail : LA Unified building 15 large campus clinics for students, public | 89.3 KPCC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Pass / Fail : LA Unified building 15 large campus clinics for students, public | 89.3 KPCC: LA Unified building 15 large campus clinics for students, public by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez [image: School health centers 2] *Students at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles will have access to health information and treatment at a new clinic on the campus. Credit: Kelley Weiss/CHCF Center for Health Reporting* L.A. Unified cut the ribbon Thursday on the latest of 15 on-campus clinics that’ll offer dental, mental, and sexual health services to the school’s students and neighbors. The $1.6 mi... more »

Some call knowingly not telling the truth - lying… - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Some call knowingly not telling the truth - lying… - Wait, What?: Some call knowingly not telling the truth – lying… by jonpelto Otherwise known as – When is $170 million really $123 million? Or in this case – When Governor Malloy and his administration seek to mislead Connecticut’s media and citizens about his cuts to the Connecticut state budget. The Facts: Connecticut State Government is facing a $365 million budget deficit this year and a projected $1.1 billion dollar shortfall next year. Yesterday, the Malloy administration released a list of $170 million in cuts that Governor... more »

NYC Educator: The Evaluation Trap--What's the UFT Planning?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC Educator: The Evaluation Trap--What's the UFT Planning?: The Evaluation Trap--What's the UFT Planning? by NYC Educator It's been a while since UFT President Michael Mulgrew went to Albany and negotiated a statewide evaluation system. Part of that agreement was that value-added testing would comprise 20%, 25%, 40%, or even 100% of a teacher rating. It depends who you ask, and perhaps also when you ask. The debate over percentages does not much interest me. I'm firmly persuaded that the optimal percentage of VAM in a teacher rating is zero. UFT people I speak to say, well, what i... more »

Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Parents Across America: *PARENTS CAN!* *Go to Parents Across America.* School closing controversy in Chicago pureparents at Parents Across America - 39 minutes ago PAA co-founder Julie Woestehoff was quoted in several newspaper stories (Chicago Tribune here, Sun-Times here) about Mayor Emanuel’s proposal to push a school closing announcement deadline back several months. Emanuel wants to close as many as 100 Chicago schools in 2013. The Tribune editorial board, which usually takes the corporate reform side, quoted a PURE blog post in agreeing with PURE’s opposition to the mayor’s pla... more »






Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 11-24-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 11-17-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 11-10-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 11-3-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 10-27-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 





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