A Big Education Ape Nite Cap
Jeb Bush “Doesn’t Really Care” About Criticism | Scathing Purple Musings: Jeb Bush “Doesn’t Really Care” About Criticism by Bob Sikes The media is not as fawning as it one was for Jeb Bush and his years as the nation’s most influential education reformer. He used to draw solo pieces. But not in today’s* State Impact* article by John O’Connor. The former Florida governor had to share the page with three Florida moms who played a big part in defeating him on a key charter school initiative he wanted this spring. Linda Kobert, Christine Bramuchi and Kathleen Oropeza foundedFund Ed... more »
NON UNION TEACHERS LEARN A TOUGH LESSON « Teachers Fight Back: NON UNION TEACHERS LEARN A TOUGH LESSON by alkleen Teachers, administrators and staff at four Chicago charter schools are being laid off because test scores didn’t “measure up”, and the New York based company that manages the schools is being replaced. Supporters of the publicly funded, privately run charter schools say the overhaul shows the flexibility of charters, which can hire and fire staff quickly when scores don’t measure up because teachers aren’t members of a union. I’m sure at least some of the fired teach... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Broward Board Says 'No' to FCAT: Broward Board Says 'No' to FCAT by Mike Klonsky Broward County, the nation's 6th largest school district, has put their T-Party governor on notice. They hate FCAT and Florida's preoccupation with standardized testing. The School Board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday opposing standardized testing as the primary means for evaluating schools, students and teachers. *"This is destroying public education, destroying the teaching profession and destroying children," School Board member Robin Bartleman said. "The ... more »
Modern School: Brookings Study Indicates Public Education Not So Bad After All: Brookings Study Indicates Public Education Not So Bad After All by Michael Dunn We're #11 Mofo! And Proud of It! The 10th Brown Center Report (Brookings Institution), which analyzed PISA and other common standardized test scores, debunked two common myths: that the U.S. once led the world in math and science education scores and that it has been declining ever since. In reality, the U.S. has never led the world on international achievement tests, according to the report. The report also found that some... more »
Jack Hassard: NCTQ Assessment Study Flunks - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Jack Hassard: NCTQ Assessment Study Flunks by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Jack Hassard,* originally posted here. In May, 2012, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report entitled: What Teacher Education Programs Teach About K - 12 Assessment. Anthony Cody mentioned this study in a recent post entitled Payola Policy: NCTQ Prepares its Hit on Schools of Education. The title intrigued me, so I went over to the NCTQ website, and read and studied the report which is about what e... more »
Why Scott Walker doesn’t recall the QEO and how to help recall him | AMPS: Why Scott Walker doesn’t recall the QEO and how to help recall him by Thomas J. Mertz In last week’s debate and elsewhere, Scott Walker has displayed less then total recall on many things. Among these are the role of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) and the 2009 repeal of the QEO in shaping teacher compensation in Wisconsin. He doesn’t want to remember and he doesn’t want you to remember because it undermines key parts of the case he has made for (all but) eliminating collective bargaining for public empl...more »
Modern School: 55% of Oakland’s African American Males At Risk of Not Graduating: 55% of Oakland’s African American Males At Risk of Not Graduating by Michael Dunn New research by the Urban Strategies Council of Oakland found that 55% of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) were at risk of not graduating due to high suspension rates, chronic absences and poor academic performance. This compares with a still high rate of 37.5% for the general student population, according to theBay Citizen.** Of those who were not on track to graduate on ti... more »
NEA and Bank of America playing footsie. « Fred Klonsky: NEA and Bank of America playing footsie. by Fred Klonsky [image: 1% Bonus†] Dear Fred Klonsky:*The NEA-Sponsored Money Market Account® rewards NEA members like you with an exclusive 1% interest rate bonus for the first 60 days (for new customers only). † That’s on top of rates that are among the highest in the country. And you get the safety of FDIC insurance, too.*A little less than a year ago after coming back from a visit to my family in Brooklyn and a visit to Occupy Wall Street, Anne and I decided to move our mortgage an... more »
The List Grows: Broward County School Board Passes Resoluton Against High Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: The List Grows: Broward County School Board Passes Resoluton Against High Stakes Testing by Bob Sikes From Scott Travis in the *Sun-Sentinel*: Broward County school leaders are speaking out against what they see as a nasty four-letter word:FCAT The School Board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday opposing standardized testing as the primary means for evaluating schools, students and teachers. They say there is so much focus on students doing well on the Florida... more »
Schools Matter: Who Owns Stock in Pearson?: Who Owns Stock in Pearson? by Judy Rabin Sometimes the comments are more profound than the story: Comment on CommonDreams to Valerie Strauss story on High Stakes Standardized Tests The question, reported by the New York Daily News, referred to a story similar to the famous Aesop fable about the tortoise and the hare, but in this version, a talking pineapple challenges a hare to race. The rabbit wins, not surprisingly, as the fruit can’t actually move, and other animals, who have wagered on the winner, eat the pineapple, according to the p... more »
State and District Education Leaders Collaborate to Transform the Teaching Profession | ED.gov Blog: State and District Education Leaders Collaborate to Transform the Teaching Profession Posted on May 30, 2012 by Guest Blogger [image: Leaders of the eight co-sponsoring organizations discuss their support for collaboratively transforming the teaching profession. Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Education.] Leaders of the eight co-sponsoring organizations discuss their support for collaboratively transforming the teaching profession. Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Education. *Cross... more »
solidaridad: Tonight: Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation: Tonight: Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene Come meet two of the authors from a new book on capitalism and education, Gillian Russom and Sarah Knopp. The book traces Marxist theories of education under capitalism; outlines the educational experiences of emergent bilingual and African American students historically; recaps the theory and history of teachers’ unions; analyzes the neoliberal attack on public schools under Obama; critically... more »
Schools Matter: America can't wait until middle school!: America can't wait until middle school! by skrashen Sent to the Columbus Dispatch, May 30, 2012 High school credit for middle-school courses is of course a step in the right direction, but doesn’t go nearly far enough (“Middle-schoolers get additional shots at taking high-school courses,” May 30). Why wait until middle school? We should strengthen instruction in the earlier years as well. Back in 1998, I called for prenatal phonemic awareness training (published in the professional journal Reading Improvement), which, alo... more »
Jason Stanford: How ALEC Gets Real Tax Dollars for Fake Schools: How ALEC Gets Real Tax Dollars for Fake Schools A recent question on a standardized test in New York State seemed to set the bar for stupidity in education reform. Schoolchildren were asked to imagine a race between a talking pineapple and a rabbit and were asked why the spectators ate the pineapple and which animal was the wisest. The question was so indefensibly dumb that they agreed not to grade the answers, though not before a lot of confused complaints and embarrassed apologies. But if think you the pineapple sc... more »
Hechinger Report | Some California districts experiment with new approaches to teacher layoffs: Some California districts experiment with new approaches to teacher layoffs by Emily Alpert **A controversial measure to protect teachers at struggling California schools from the full force of budget cuts has lost ground after a legal battle in San Francisco. Some educators say the strategy—which often means keeping on less experienced teachers in favor of firing those with more experience at other schools—has rescued nascent reform efforts that are turning around the state’s lowest per... more »
CELDT Results for 2011-12 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Notes Gains Among English Learners Taking California English Language Development Test SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today released the results of the 2011–12 California English Language Development Test (CELDT) that show gains among English learners, with an increasing percentage becoming proficient in their new language. "We want every English learner to become proficient while making progress in all academic subjects," Torlakson said. "These result... more »
In Case You Missed It: “Turnaround” lawsuit will be decided by June « EdVox: In Case You Missed It: “Turnaround” lawsuit will be decided by June by edvoxny *Here on EdVox we’re excited to bring you the latest news about education issues and policies affecting our communities. It can be hard to keep up with all of the events and happenings, so – in case you missed it… **Here is a recap of the latest stories in NYC education news, starting with the oldest (Monday, May 21):* MONDAY - Mayor Bloomberg sarcastically chided the UFT for blasting a lawsuit alleging President Michae... more »
Schools Matter: Crisis in PA Cracks Ed Privatization Scheme Wide Open: Crisis in PA Cracks Ed Privatization Scheme Wide Open by Judy Rabin Some good journalism coming out of privatization scheme for Phildadelphia public schools. The lead is at the top of the article for a change:The fiscal crisis facing our public schools is being exploited by a movement to privatize public education, break unions and subject students to high-stakes test-prep regimes.The story is there, not buried way down, like it is in the NYT and the corporate owned media. Same scenario playing out all across t... more »
RheeFirst! » Is StudentsFirst trying to dupe people into attending a rally for PA’s disgraced voucher program?: Is StudentsFirst trying to dupe people into attending a rally for PA’s disgraced voucher program? by admin On Monday, StudentsFirst announced an effort to get attendees for a Philadelphia voucher rally today (3/30). Looking at the announcement page, you would never that the rally is supporting the disgraced Pennsylvania ‘Education Improvement Tax Credit’ voucher program: The vaguely worded announcement, calling for “more quality school options” doesn’t really give you an... more »
June 5th Is Almost Here « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: June 5th Is Almost Here by millerlf This coming Tuesday we will decide Wisconsin’s future. We have a chance to save our state. The obstacles are formidable but victory is within our reach. Republicans, nationally and locally, have become arrogant in assuming victory. But something encouraging is happening. Yesterday I exercised my democratic right to undo this injustice. I voted for Tom Barrett for Governor and Mahlon Mitchell for Lieutenant Governor. While I went through the 10 minute process, I witnessed car-lo... more »
* BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS* FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, May 30, 2012 coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Wednesday, May 30, 2012* Calaveras High arts center construction will go onCalaveras Unified School District trustees on Tuesday night voted to begin work on a long-awaited 500-seat performing arts center to be built at Calaveras High School in San Andreas. Attorney: Fresno trustee lives inside district boundariesDespite newly released records that show Tony V... more »
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Wednesday, May 30, 2012* Calaveras High arts center construction will go onCalaveras Unified School District trustees on Tuesday night voted to begin work on a long-awaited 500-seat performing arts center to be built at Calaveras High School in San Andreas. Attorney: Fresno trustee lives inside district boundariesDespite newly released records that show Tony Vang voted outside the school district, the Fresno Unified school board president maintained through his lawyer Tuesday that he always has lived inside the... more »
Vermont Stands Up for Its Children « Diane Ravitch's blog: Vermont Stands Up for Its Children by dianerav Vermont decided not to apply for a waiver from NCLB. Not because it loves NCLB. No one does. But because Vermont education officials had their own ideas about how to help their schools. And they discovered that Arne Duncan’s offer to give them “flexibility” was phony. He did not want to hear Vermont’s ideas. Contrary to his claims, the waivers do not offer flexibility. What Arne Duncan wants states to do is to agree to his own demands, not to shape their own destiny. He wants t... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: The Magic Ingredient Missing in Education - Motivation: The Magic Ingredient Missing in Education - Motivation by Anngie I have a dog that has a neat little repertoire of tricks. Teaching him these tricks required two things; 1) a lot of time for repetition and 2) something to motivate him. The second part was easy. My dog will do anything for a Pupperoni. In fact, he is so motivated by this doggie treat that just the sound of the bag rustling can cause him to run through every trick he knows, unprompted, while I am fishing one out. Kind of makes me ... more »
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Common Core architect tied up with Rhee's group: Common Core architect tied up with Rhee's group by Mike Klonsky Common Core has made for some strange bedfellows. Most Democrats support it. Lots of good educators, unions and civil rights organizations currently back the idea of Common Core State Standards as an equity measure and alternative to current state standards. Others like Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier oppose their imposition by the DOE while others see it as another boondoggle for private curriculum contractors. Things get really dic... more »
Schools Matter: Wide and Deep: High Stakes Testing Protests Escalate: Wide and Deep: High Stakes Testing Protests Escalate by Jim Horn From Valerie Strauss at WaPo: Opposition to high-stakes standardized testing is growing around the country, with more parents choosing to opt their children out of taking exams, more school boards expressing disapproval of testing accountability systems and even a group of superintendents joining the fight. Just last month I wrote about the growing resistance, noting that it wasn’t yet full-fledged but that it seemed to be picking up steam. It has... more »
Should charter schools be called “public schools”? | Seattle Education: Should charter schools be called “public schools”? by seattleducation2011 *Diane Ravitch described in a post yesterday why charter schools are public schools in name only.* *To follow is an excerpt from her letter to Deborah Meier on Bridging Differences:* *Are Charter Schools Public Schools?* I noted in my blog last week that the visionaries of the charter school idea—Raymond Budde of the University of Massachusetts and Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers—never intended that charter schools ... more »
Why the Gates Compact? « Diane Ravitch's blog: Why the Gates Compact? by dianerav As I was researching the story about the closing of Allan elementary school in Austin, which will be replaced in the fall by an IDEA charter school, I came across this story about the Gates compact. What is the Gates compact? Austin was the 16th district to apply for $100,000 from the Gates Foundation to sign a compact with the charter schools, agreeing that charter schools and public schools would receive equal treatment. By signing the compact, a district then becomes eligible to win millions of f... more »
First, call your senator. “Vote no on SB1673.” « Fred Klonsky: First, call your senator. “Vote no on SB1673.” by Fred Klonsky Yesterday afternoon the Illinois House Pension Committee voted out Madigan’s pension bill. The bill is terrible. It’s signature components are a shift of state pension payments to local districts and a requirement that teachers choose between receiving a cost of living adjustment to their pension payout or a state subsidy to their retirement health care. Late in the day yesterday things got interesting. Republican members of the General Assembly went bonkers... more »
District-Level Race to The Top, Another Bad Idea on Top of a Pile of Bad Ideas | Truth in American Education: District-Level Race to The Top, Another Bad Idea on Top of a Pile of Bad Ideas by Shane Vander Hart The U.S. Department of Education announced it’s $400 Million District-Level Race to the Top program last week. Now they are totally bypassing the states and going straight to the school districts. There are over 14,000 school districts in the country, but only those districts with a minimum of 2500 students and 40% of students who meet the poverty guidelines (those who q... more »
Daily Kos: May 30, 1962: May 30, 1962 by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) in those years, Memorial Day was still celebrated on the anniversary of the first Decoration of graves, both Union and Confederate, in Columbus MS in 1868. Yet perhaps the most appropriate statement on war took place in another country, one untouched by our great fraternal conflict. Here is the beginning: Popout And yet that setting of the traditional Latin text does not fully explain why this is a great masterpiece. Consider Graduation by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Today was Graduation Day for about 630 ... more »
Did these teachers cheat? You read the transcript and decide. | Get Schooled: Did these teachers cheat? You read the transcript and decide. by Maureen Downey [image: crcted.0920 (Medium)]Atlanta Public Schools is still in the process of trying to fire teachers implicated in the test-cheating investigation, a task that becomes more difficult as the cases and circumstances become murkier. APS went after the most egregious offenders first, those who confessed to copying test booklets and erasing student answers. Now, it is pursuing those educators who made admissions to the GBI of far... more »
The Disturbing Connection between David Coleman and Michelle Rhee « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] When a School Dies by dianerav This is what it looks like when a school dies.Read here. The Austin school board–at the urging of the district superintendent Meria Carstarphen–decided to hand over Allan elementary school to a charter chain called IDEA. She said that IDEA had the formula to raise the academic achievement of the children in that school. The new charter is supposed to enroll 600 students. Only 77 of the children who previously a... more »
School Tech Connect: Daniel Biss and Poverty Plus®: Daniel Biss and Poverty Plus® by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Here's the delightful and charming Daniel Biss, Democrat of Evanston, during today's committee meeting. I forgot to point the yellow arrow of identification at him; he's sitting on the far left, I think. Anyway, Biss also voted for the amendment, creating a tax increase not only for the people he represents now, but also the people he hopes to represent in the future, as the future senator from the 9th District. Someone from that vast tract needs to pin him down and... more »
High-stakes testing protests spreading - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: High-stakes testing protests spreading by Valerie Strauss Opposition to high-stakes standardized testing is growing around the country, with more parents choosing to opt their children out of taking exams, more school boards expressing disapproval of testing accountability systems and even a group of superintendents joining the fight. Read full article >> Is teaching a science or an art? by Valerie Strauss Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham delves into the true nature of teaching and, in the video b... more »
Two Polls Show Floridians Want an End to Reliance on High Stakes Test | Scathing Purple Musings: Two Polls Show Floridians Want an End to Reliance on High Stakes Test by Bob Sikes The *Florida Current *and the *Northwest Florida Daily News *have polls which shows that by 61% to 39% and 83% to 17% , respectively, Floridians want something else for their children. Rebukes continue for Jeb Bush’s test-based system. Such polling data when combined with the outrage that Bush’s hand-picked education commissioner in Gerard Robinson is facing on his* FCAT Listening/Apology/It’s Here to S... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: McDonald School - Extra Funding for IAs?: McDonald School - Extra Funding for IAs? by Melissa Westbrook (I know this is going to make many angry. I'm sure the McDonald parents will be quite angry and I even know some of them. My intent it to explain and to report on budgeting in the district. If the Board is making decisions to benefit one program at the expense of others, then that deserves discussion.) *Background: * When our district created John Stanford International School, there was big excitement. This was to honor a fallen superinte... more »
Another far-right-funded film, another false story about schools « Parents Across America: Another far-right-funded film, another false story about schools by CarolineSF The far-right funders who brought us the anti-public-education, anti-teacher, anti-union movie “Waiting for ‘Superman’ ” are back with another fake story claiming to be “inspired by actual events.” This time they hired big-name actors: Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Holly Hunter. The movie is purportedly based on the Parent Trigger, a hot fad among education [...] Charter school battle erupts in rustic Califor... more »
NYC Educator: Yesterday's Class: Yesterday's Class by NYC Educator You know, if you read the papers, you probably think teachers hold up hoops for kids to jump through, and throw them fish if they make it through 90% of the time or higher. But alas, high test scores are not the fondest memories in anyone's class. In my class, we were reviewing past tense and present perfect via stories about the Olympics. The article I was using placed great emphasis on American and Canadian champions, as it came from an ESL book designed to sell in those markets. Naturally, I bragged about how wo... more »
Cartoons on Digital Teachers* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons on Digital Teachers* by larrycuban In the 1980s when personal computers initially entered classrooms, critics often portrayed teachers as resistant users of the new technology. Resisters or not, readers over 50 years of age may recall that getting one or two computers in a classroom put them in the technological vanguard. Perhaps a few readers may recall an almost forgotten experiment in the mid-1980s called Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT). In seven schools around the country, Apple ... more »
Jersey Jazzman: The OTHER Facebook IPO: The OTHER Facebook IPO by Duke I know you're all bummed out that you missed out on the Facebook IPO... well, I mean, only if you could get the special deals they apparently had for "preferred customers" of the brokerage houses. But don't worry - there's another Facebook investment opportunity, happening right here in Jersey! You can vie to get some of Zuckerberg's $100 million "gift" to Newark's schools... if you're in the right place at the right time and know the right people: The Foundation for Newark’s Future, the fund created from Mar... more »
How I’m Helping My Students Try To Avoid The “Summer Slide” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: How I’m Helping My Students Try To Avoid The “Summer Slide” by Larry Ferlazzo I’ve previously posted The Best Resources On The “Summer Slide” and how I’m going to make that information into a lesson for my students. I’m also doing more than that — at least with students in my Beginning/Intermediate ESL class. Our inner city school of nearly 2,000 students used to regularly have 1,300 students attending summer school each year. The vast majority of those students were not there to m... more »
WILL UTLA EVER UNDERSTAND THAT LAUSD IGNORES THEM? - Perdaily.com: WILL UTLA EVER UNDERSTAND THAT LAUSD IGNORES THEM? by Leonard Isenberg [image: Einstein insanity.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By this definition, the leadership of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) must be insane. Today UTLA staged yet another demonstration. This time in front of Manual Arts High School supposedly to expr... more »
An Open Letter To NYS Education Commissioner John B. King [Testing Isn't Natural] | The Jose Vilson: An Open Letter To NYS Education Commissioner John B. King [Testing Isn't Natural] by Jose Dear John B. King, Let me just get this out of the way: testing is not natural. Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that parents have gotten fed up with the abundance of testing placed upon their kids, and the continual dependence on standardized testing as a measure of actual student learning. The facts are out, the voices have started to quake, and the general tenor of the educational... more »
Settlement over alleged Cortines harassment could unravel - latimes.com: Settlement over alleged Cortines harassment could unravel The settlement with the employee who alleged sexual harassment against former L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines could unravel over disputed terms of the agreement and its premature disclosure by the Los Angeles Unified School District. “No final agreement has been reached,” said attorneys for the employee, Scot Graham, in a statement released Tuesday. The case arose out of an encounter between Graham and Cortines at the former superintendent's ranch ... more »
From State Impact:
Edweek reported today on the conflicting studies completed aimed at determining how much the Common Core State Standards will cost. The Pioneer Institute and the American Principles Project in their report last February estimated a $16 Billion price tag. The Fordham Institute, a pro-common core think tank, estimates up to $8.3 Billion could be spent in their report which was just released.
