Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Teacher Tips for the Impending Apocolypse
Me, I'm giving a test on Friday. This makes perfect sense to me. I mean, why waste our last day on earth teaching things that, let's be realistic now, will only be of use for less than 24 hours? Better to take a good measure of what we've done so far. Now here's the beauty part. Everyone knows how traumatic it is to fail a test. But no one will fail this test, because guess what? I'm not spending my last hours on earth grading tests.
Plus, Friday is my department's test day. I'm a team player, and I want to make sure my kids are not burdened
Northwest Philly reacts to Philadelphia school closings proposal
by staff at NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Northwest Philadelphia is home to six of 37 schools which the School District has proposed to close by the end of the school year.
The schools slated to close are Germantown High School, Theodore Roosevelt Middle School and Robert Fulton Elementary, which are located in Germantown. Also on the list are John F. McCloskey and John L. Kinsey elementaries in West Oak Lane and Jay Cooke Elementary in Logan.
The closings would affect more than 2,600 students in Northwest Philadelphia.
The School Reform Commission, which has the final say in the matter, is expected to make its decisions in March.
As word of the proposal filtered out into the community, many shared their reactions with NewsWorks.
read more
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Northwest Philadelphia is home to six of 37 schools which the School District has proposed to close by the end of the school year.
The schools slated to close are Germantown High School, Theodore Roosevelt Middle School and Robert Fulton Elementary, which are located in Germantown. Also on the list are John F. McCloskey and John L. Kinsey elementaries in West Oak Lane and Jay Cooke Elementary in Logan.The closings would affect more than 2,600 students in Northwest Philadelphia.
The School Reform Commission, which has the final say in the matter, is expected to make its decisions in March.
As word of the proposal filtered out into the community, many shared their reactions with NewsWorks.
Word was just getting out about the projected school closure when children were arriving for classes on Thursday.
Photo Credits:
Brad Larrison for NewsWorks
Response: Rhee Org. Claims Support For Collective Bargaining
It's worth noting that SF's first comment on the this topic this week got at the substance of some of the Rhee comments below -- that focusing on collective bargaining and union issues is a distraction, not a central part of the Rhee agenda for making schools better. Actions speak louder than words, I can imagine the labor side of this argument saying. Most of the items collected below are rhetorical, rather than campaign donations or introduction of legislation. Most of those listed in the previous post focus on actions.
Read on, make of it what you will. Compare this list to the previous one. I'm just passing notes between AFT and
Speak out about the school-to-prison pipeline
Yesterday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin convened a hearing on the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a way of describing the way some school policies and practices may simply push students – particularly low-income students and students of color – out of school and into jail. Zero tolerance policies, school closings, high-stakes testing, and other factors contribute to this devastating situation. This was an unprecedented hearing, and, unlike the panels of corporate reformers we more often see gathered to share their positions, this time … →
To The Superintendent and the Seattle School Board:
The parents and communities of SPS are worried. You know that, right?
You are already enrolling kindergarteners and students new to SPS and soon will be have open enrollment. What can you seriously tell people about what schools will be where and what will be offered?
There are many, many things that are in flux, in question and downright hazy. And they have been for a long time.
There are many details but it boils down to a few key things:
- Program placement. This drives almost everything done in our district. Enrollment, facilities, what types of
You are already enrolling kindergarteners and students new to SPS and soon will be have open enrollment. What can you seriously tell people about what schools will be where and what will be offered?
There are many, many things that are in flux, in question and downright hazy. And they have been for a long time.
There are many details but it boils down to a few key things:
- Program placement. This drives almost everything done in our district. Enrollment, facilities, what types of
Ten Ten Wilshire event this Sunday — Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD 2013
Please join #LAUSD board candidate Robert D. Skeels this Sunday for a 1010 Wilshire Blvd Rooftop Fundraising Reception. j.mp/VAthxVJoin us for an evening of conversation on educational policy on the spectacular 1010 Wilshire rooftop. Meet the board candidate who has been endorsed by many nationally renowned education experts including: Dr. Diane Ravitch, Susan Ohanian, and Dr. Stephen Krashen.
— Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) December 13, 2012
Sign up on facebook or www.robertdskeelsforschoolboard.org
Rooftop Fundraiser for Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD 2013
Connecticut’s leading education reform PR flack (spokesman) heads for the border…
Tags: Achievement FirstConnADConnCANEducation ReformMalloyPatrick RiccardsStefan Pryor First came Achievement First, the large charter school management company that was co-founded by Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor. The people who were the financial backers of Achievement First then created ConnCAN and ConnAD, the two lobbying and advocacy groups designed to support the effort to shift more state funds to Achievement First [...]
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All Aboard the Rephorm Train to Memphis
That scent in the air isn’t Memphis-style barbecue but the rich bouquet of education rephorm.Less than a year into the New Orlean’s style rephorm-over, the Achievement School District’s numbers are off the charts. By numbers, I’m referring NOT to student test scores at the 6 ASD schools —they ranked in the 16th
Swooshes and Balances: Oregon's 21st Century Governance
Co-chairs Barnhart, Burdick and Berger and members of the Joint Interim Committee on Economic Development,
I am here on behalf of the Emergency Coalition Against Austerity and the affinity groups to which I belong: Tax Fairness Oregon and Oregon Save Our Schools.
The foremost reason this committee should oppose the Economic Impact Investment Act is because secret deals are decidedly undemocratic. The democratic process demands a thoughtful debate. Having a public hearing to both introduce this bill and its amendments will not allow this.
But I will elaborate further on why this bill is bad. According to classical economic theory, Say’s Law states, “Supply creates its own demand.”[1] Accordingly, profit-seeking businesses will hire job seekers willing to work