From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky

From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky:

From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA.

JULY 2, 2012

We all know there are plenty of people who are eager to offer advice — or worse, try to impose their ideas on our profession. Bloggers, columnists, elected officials, and self‑proclaimed reformers, they are constantly weighing in about public education. I mean, they have an opinion on everything — the who, the what, the when, the where, and the how — all of that about public education. Always opinions.
The “who” they love to talk about and blame are teachers. As if this disjointed and underfunded system is somehow the fault of those who teach and the people who work in those schools. But the real problems are the profiteers and mega-rich Wall Street folks who created an economic crisis that has our country and the world reeling.
And the solution isn’t to attack educators, it’s to give respect. That’s what will attract talented young people to become teachers and education support professionals and college professors.
The other part of the “who” in education is the students, and the 

Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered

Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered:

Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered

I think about former Senator Gloria Romero comparing Compton educators to "batterers" and wondered whether the writers of those words ever stop to think about the consequences of their prose. — Martha Infante

Photo by Mark Warner (CC BY-SA 2.0)

As the DFER veneer for right-wing "parent trigger" laws wears off, and more and more people see the privatization agenda for what it is, charlatans like Gloria Romero and Ben Austin have been scrambling to hide or minimize their ties to right wing extremists. The good news is that it isn't working, and that aside from shills like Andi Rotherham and Alex Russo even mainstream media journalists are starting to see through what the distinguished Professor Diane Ravitch refers to as the "Parent Tricker." Josh Eidelson's "Parent trigger": The latest tactic for fighting teachers' unions is a good example.
Professor Ravitch has brought the duplicity of parent 

NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates

NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates:

Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the 2012 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) by challenging members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America’s public schools into world class institutions of learning.

Van Roekel said NEA members realize they can’t set education policy by themselves, but they do have the power to influence it.

“You do it each and every day – it’s who we are – it’s what we do…because we educate America!”

He asked NEA members if they are willing to assert their leadership, and take responsibility for their professions, because “if we are not ready to lead, I know there are many others ready, willing, and waiting to do it for us.”

Those include the many elected officials and self-proclaimed “reformers” who are constantly weighing in about public education.

“They have an opinion on everything – the who, the what, the when, the where and the how – about public education,” Van Roekel said.

But amid all the talk, very few bring up the "why" of public education, which Van Roekel said should be the starting point.

“What is the purpose of public education?” he asked. “It’s access and equity…Public education is the vehicle to teach American values and ideals. And in a nation where equal opportunity is one of our most deeply held values, education is the key that opens the door to economic opportunity.”

Educational equity is when every child, and every classroom, has a great teacher and great support professionals, Van Roekel said. If the solutions others are attempting to impose on schools don’t create educational equity, then NEA must take the responsibility to define solutions that do.

Van Roekel asked NEA members to use their collective power to raise the level of preparation for those coming into our profession and improve the practice of those already there. He also demanded that every educator – including ESPs -- receive the professional development and support they need to help all students succeed.

“We are three million strong, and we have the greatest power in the world – the power to change lives. So let’s use that power. Let’s use our power to make public education stronger…. to make our nation a better place, moving ever closer to our great and noble ideal of equal opportunity – not just for a fortunate few, but for every single child.”

NEA Standing Strong Theme Song

Representative Assembly Has a New Theme Song

July 02, 2011
By Cindy Long

At the official opening of the 2011 Representative Assembly this morning, hearts were thumping and blood was pumping, and not just from RA excitement. The new RA theme song, “NEA Standing Strong,” inspired and energized delegates with a message that, after a very tough year, was literally music to their ears.

“Standing strong, standing proud, standing tall…Standing up for what is right and true, NEA is standing up for me and you!”

Chris Bodden, whose company has been running the RA from behind the scenes for years, was also behind the music and lyrics of NEA Standing Strong.

“NEA has been under attack, and the organization has to restore its honor,” Bodden said. “We wanted a song that reminds everyone that there is no organization greater than NEA that looks after public education and all it stands for.”

The song title and lyrics follow the theme of the RA that was chosen by President Dennis Van Roekel: Standing Strong for Our Schools, Our Students, And America.

“We wanted the song to show the great work NEA is doing, how they’re fighting the good fight, and how the members are impacting the lives of so many students in so many ways,” Bodden said.

The Standing Strong chorus from the music video showcased five children from New York City’s Young People’s Chorus – Chloe Bodden (Chris Bodden’s daughter), Christopher Hall, Anesa Folkds, Brian Sussman, and Alphea John – all of whom go to public schools.

“The voices of the children really make the message hit home,” Bodden said. “I’ve worked with the NEA for many years, and have worked on a lot of projects, but this was by far the most meaningful. When I heard those voices singing those inspiring words, the hair on my arms literally stood up.”

The delegates also stood up when they heard the voices. In fact, they jumped to their feet, clapped their hands, and sang along to their new song that captures the pride of every educator who is standing up for what is right and what is true.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency

Missouri Education Watchdog: Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency:

Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency

by stlgretchen

How many politicians will send their children to  public school to learn under Common Core/RTTT mandates?

Education reform has much in common with Obamacare:  Absurdities.

• Education reform: Governors and state boards of education signed onto Race to the Top and Common Core standards even before they knew what was contained in the mandate and before the standards had been written. 
• Obamacare: Nancy Pelosi's statement of having to "sign the bill before we know what's in it" should come to mind as malfeasance with taxpayer money.

• Education reform: The states were promised some funding to implement RTTT/Common Core standards, but none of the awards would fully fund the several millions it would cost to implement 

solidaridad: Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker'

solidaridad: Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker':

Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker'

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

Barr's parent organization gave... a grass-roots visual... And his paid staffers hit the right rhetorical notes... while identifying themselves to reporters and officials only as parents. — Howard Blume (Los Angeles Times)

Matthew Di Carlo recently penned a thoughtful and somewhat nuanced piece on the vile so-called "parent trigger" legislation being pushed by the school privatization industry. In When Push Comes To Pull In The Parent Trigger Debate he suggests that support for or against anti-democratic triggers is often dependent on an individual's stance on charter schools to begin with.
Interestingly, he posits that if triggers were associated with authentic reforms like class size reduction as opposed to seizing property for the lucrative charter industry, that there might be less opposition to parent triggers and other shock doctrine style swindles. I for one think that's the point. Triggers were not devised as a 

The debating starts. « Fred Klonsky

The debating starts. « Fred Klonsky:

The debating starts.

by Fred Klonsky

Speaking in support of my New Business Item to the Illinois caucus.
Yesterday morning  I made some calls to people who I normally don’t have on my speed dial.
IEA President Cinda Klickna. VP Kathy Griffin. Secrertary Treasurer Al Llorens. And other members of the Board of Directors and Steering Committee.
“Can we talk. I’m in the lobby,” I voice mailed Klickna.
And at about 11AM she came walking over to me in the lobby of the DC Renaissance.
I wanted to run past her a New Business Item that would call on the NEA to support the CTU in their 

Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president - LA Daily News

Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president - LA Daily News:

Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer

Posted:   07/02/2012 01:49:33 PM PDT

Updated:   07/02/2012 01:51:20 PM PDT

East LA's Monica Garcia was re-elected Monday to an unprecedented sixth consecutive term as president of the Los Angeles Unified school board, fending off a challenge from a three-member voting bloc which said it was somebody else's turn to lead.

Garcia voted for herself, and also had the support of San Fernando Valley board members Tamar Galatzan, Nury Martinez and Steve Zimmer. Galatzan, who nominated Garcia, was appointed as the board's vice president.
Voting against Garcia were Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Bennett Kayser and Richard Vladovic. The trio tried unsuccessfully last week to pass a resolution calling for the presidency to be rotated among board members.
LaMotte had nominated Vladovic, who represents the South Bay, saying that Garcia had led for five years and she wanted to take advantage of other members' talents.
But during a speech she said came from the heart, she also said the board had become "dysfunctional," with votes lined up before issues came before the public.
"At times, I've felt left out as a board member," she said. "This has to be a seven board-member process ... This needs to be a board that works for the kids, without knowing the vote before it comes out."

Diane Ravitch Gets A Corporate Spin From the Charter Queen | redefinED

Diane Ravitch, please stop distorting the origins of the parent trigger | redefinED:

Diane Ravitch, please stop distorting the origins of the parent trigger (THE PARENT TRIGGER IS DISTORTED ENOUGH)

By GLORIA ROMERO
On JULY 2, 2012 In EDUCATION REPORTING, GENERAL, CHARTER EMPOWERMENT,PARENTAL DECepTION, FAKE PROGRESSIVES AND ED DEFORM, SCHOOL JACK, UNIONISM

Diane Ravitch, are you listening?

This is former state Sen. Gloria Romero calling.

I am the author of California’s first Parent Trigger law, the first parent trigger law in the nation. Since I first wrote that law, some 15 other states have seen some version of the law introduced in their states.
I wanted to reach out to you since we have never met, and I look forward to meeting you so we can one day talk directly with each other. Woman to woman.

In one of your recent blog posts on Education Week, you wrote that the parent trigger came from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). On the blogosphere, I now read many claims that ALEC wrote the law. This is completely false, and I ask you to 

 
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER! 

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirstNY board members and funders attend Mitt Romney fundraiser at a StudentsFirstNY director’s mansion

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirstNY board members and funders attend Mitt Romney fundraiser at a StudentsFirstNY director’s mansion:

StudentsFirstNY board members and funders attend Mitt Romney fundraiser at a StudentsFirstNY director’s mansion

by admin

StudentsFirstNY board member Joel Klein accompanied StudentsFirst funder Rupert Murdoch to a Mitt Romney fundraiser at the home of Ken Langone, a confirmed funder of StudentsFirst and member of the StudentsFirstNY board.   StudentsFirst funder Julian Robertson was also in attendance.
Written by Maggie Haberman for Politico.com.  Read the entire article here.

“[The meeting] took place at a private fundraiser/meet-and-greet put together and hosted by Ken Langone at the Union League Club in Manhattan late Thursday afternoon, several hours after the Supreme Court decision on health care came down, multiple sources told POLITICO.

The event was attended by between 40 and 50 people, sources said, including some major names in fundraising, finance and media. They included Murdoch and his top adviser Joel Klein, Randy Falco, the CEO of Univision, Goldman Sachs head Lloyd Blankfein, real estate scion Bill Rudin, hedge fund executives Stanley Druckenmiller and Julian Robertson, Jets owner Woody Johnson, former Rudy Giuliani adviser Anthony Carbonetti, and pollster and strategist Kellyanne Conway, according to sources familiar with the list of attendees. …”…”

A hollow experience: Computer based learning | Seattle Education

A hollow experience: Computer based learning | Seattle Education:

A hollow experience: Computer based learning

by seattleducation2011

This article was recently sent to me and provides an excellent description of how much richer the experience is when we interact with other human beings rather than computers. Online learning will be the next big push in our state and there are privatizers waiting in the wings to make their next big fortune off of our children.
Dora

Social Networking and Electronic Games – Hollow Victoriesby Ted Twietmeyer

Most everywhere you go today, you see young and old alike incessantly playing electronic games or flipping through screens on a phone. Electronic games have become an addiction for tens of millions of people. In the past the older generation wanted nothing to do with computers, especially video games. Now even senior citizens can’t seem to get enough. In this essay we’ll refer to cell phone games and computer games simply as video games.Consider someone who spends just two hours a day (a conservative estimate) playing video games or flipping through cell phone screens. This totals up to 730 hours/year in a non-leap year, or 30.4 DAYS/YEAR. That’s equivalent to one month out of the year spent doing absolutely nothing useful, productive or educational to improve your life. Over 12 years an ENTIRE YEAR of someone’s life is completely wasted. Yet if you were to as

Transferring Poor Performing Public Schools to Poorly Performing Charters | Truth in American Education

Transferring Poor Performing Public Schools to Poorly Performing Charters | Truth in American Education:

Transferring Poor Performing Public Schools to Poorly Performing Charters

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart

I had a post from Diane Ravitch emailed to me this morning.  In a post entitled “Theft of Public Education in Memphis” she described what seems to be a colossal shift of taxpayer money from public schools to charter schools in Memphis, TN.

The Memphis schools will be merged with the schools of Shelby County, allegedly for efficiency. But in fact, the plan is to implement a massive transfer of students to charter schools.

By 2016, a mere four years from now, enrollment in charter schools will 

The sharks are circling Seattle Superintendent Banda | Seattle Education

The sharks are circling Seattle Superintendent Banda | Seattle Education:

The sharks are circling Seattle Superintendent Banda

by seattleducation2011

I attended the public reception for new Superintendent Banda last week which was sponsored by the Alliance for Education and El Centro de la Raza. Everyone was invited and about 400-500 people were in attendance when I arrived around 6:00 PM.
As I entered the door, someone came up to a guest behind me and said that there were others in attendance from TFA. Apparently both of these guests were TFA recruits or alums. Wow, I thought, I had not even gotten into the room  and was already hearing about that organization.
Later, when I was in line to meet our new superintendent, the woman in front of me introduced herself as a TFA, 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm says he's the "new sheriff in town"

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm says he's the "new sheriff in town":

Rahm says he's the "new sheriff in town"

by Mike Klonsky

“It is a contract. What do we have, 72 years left on it? That’s a long time for me to talk about. I’m not gonna be here that long." -- Rahm Emanuel

Rahm claims that when it comes to Chicago's great multi-billion-dollar parking meeting swindle, he's "the new sheriff in town." That's laughable.  Mayor Daley's 75-year give-away to Wall Street and Abu Dhabi bankers landed him with a job in the law office that swung the deal. Taxpayers now have to shell out millions extra, not just for daily parking in their own neighborhoods, but even for NOT PARKING. Hell, I would let folks not park in my driveway for half that amount.

While the mayor continues his non-negotiations with the CTU -- teachers are now working without a contract -- his fight with city corporate plunderers is a phony 

Children's Budget 2012 | First Focus

Children's Budget 2012 | First Focus:

	David Brooks Keynotes Children's Budget Summit 2012 Best-selling author and New York Times columnist David Brooks delivered the keynote address at the release event for Children’s Budget 2012. Brooks has written extensively on the importance of investments in children, and his remarks to a crowd of more than 250 underscored those themes. First Focus President Bruce Lesley summarized the findings of Children’s Budget 2012: ► Less than 8% of the federal budget is invested in kids. ► That’s down more than 6% from 2011. ► For the first time since First Focus began tracking the federal budget, discretionary spending on children has declined 2 years in row. ► Total inflation-adjusted spending on children is up more than 17% since 2008, because of increased need for mandatory initiatives in kids, like Medicaid and SNAP. Lesley also recognized the event’s congressional host, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. As ranking member of the House committee with jurisdiction over dozens of initiatives designed to improve children’s health and well-being, DeLauro has worked consistently throughout her career to make children a priority on Capitol Hill. She was one of 50 Democratic and Republican congressional representatives selected by the First Focus Campaign for Children as 2011 Champions for Children. Children’s Budget 2012 is a comprehensive guide to all federal spending on children and an invaluable resource for all those seeking to improve the lives of America’s youth. Download a free copy of the analysis for detailed information about more than 180 distinct federal investments in America’s children. Affordable Care Act Ruling a Major Victory for Children The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling upholding in its entirety the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health reform law maintains the ACA’s critical protections for children. First Focus worked with policymakers to develop and advance several ACA provisions beneficial to children. The organization applaudedthe Court’s decision, which clears the way for state legislatures and governors to accelerate their implementation. July 19th Urban Institute Forum Releasing Kids' Share 2012 The Urban Institute's sixth annual Kids’ Share report, which will be release on July 19th, is a great companion to Children’s Budget 2012. Its broader analysis includes tax expenditures and state and local government investments in kids. It also looks back at a half-century of investments in kids and projects that the decade ahead will see a continued squeeze on federal spending for children. A panel will discuss these spending patterns, what must change, distinguishing between short- and long-term tradeoffs, and the future of investments in kids in a high-pressure budget environment. Growing Up Under a Foreboding Budget Cloud: The Forecast for Government Spending on Children Thursday, July 19, noon–1:30 p.m. ET At the Urban Institute, 2100 M Street N.W., Washington, D.C. Panelists: Dan Crippen, executive director, National Governors Association Olivia Golden, Institute fellow, Urban Institute (moderator) Marc Goldwein, senior policy director, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Julia Isaacs, lead researcher, Kids’ Share project, Urban Institute Eugene Steuerle, Institute fellow, Urban Institute To attend: http://kidsshare2012.eventbrite.com. (Registration required.) To watch the video webcast: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/urban-institute-events. (No registration necessary.)
www.firstfocus.net •  •  • (202) 657-0670

This Week In Education: Thompson: Lessons that Videos of School Violence Can Teach

This Week In Education: Thompson: Lessons that Videos of School Violence Can Teach:

Thompson: Lessons that Videos of School Violence Can Teach

by john thompson

A first rule of teaching is that the best way to help students is to avoid unforced errors, especially those that provoke negative reactions by students or adults.  So, this risk-adverse teacher has been reluctant to address the controversial video in the Daily News of a teacher using excessive force.  Those of us who see videotapes as a powerful tool for improving instruction, however, should be willing to discuss the lessons that can be learned from videos of the unnecessary use of force.
It is unfair to make a judgment about the video's first fifteen seconds before the altercation, and it was early in the morning and late in the year but, for what its worth, I saw no smiles, laughter, or greetings of students.  Then, the aggressive teacher ignored another first principle of dealing with problems - educators should use their feet, not their hands, when addressing disciplinary issues.  Being in the proper position is crucial. When the teacher rushed up to the student who 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, July 2, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Santa Barbara Mission

Education Headlines

Monday, July 2, 2012

School districts get $52M to pay for controversial construction plan

Two Coachella Valley school districts have received about $52 million for school construction projects from the state allocation board.

O.C.'s public face of education retires

For the past decade, Bill Habermehl has served as the unofficial Ed McMahon of the Orange County education scene, bursting into classrooms with balloons and cameras and an entourage to deliver trophies and $15,000 checks to Orange County's Teachers of the Year. Habermehl, 69, an unabashed cheerleader and champion of Orange County schools, retired Friday after 11 years as county schools superintendent.

Outgoing Twin Rivers trustee finds vindication in grand jury report

After years of being dismissed as an ill-informed troublemaker, Twin Rivers Unified School District outgoing trustee Alecia Eugene-Chasten is feeling more than vindicated in the wake of Thursday's release of a critical grand

Clock is ticking on pay for Sweetwater boss

Sweetwater schools Superintendent Ed Brand — just approved to stay on through December at $20,000 a month — might not do so.

Citizen protests $11 million no-bid contract

An El Cajon woman has demanded the Grossmont Union High School District rescind its award of an $11 million no-bid construction management contract - even though a renegotiation saved 12 percent in management costs.

Some felony charges dropped against Ivy Academia Charter School founders

Six felony charges were dropped Friday against the husband-and-wife team who founded Ivy Academia Charter School, although the couple still faces three dozen counts in the alleged theft of up to $120,000 in public funds, officials said.

L.A. district weighing graduation of students who failed class

After three seniors failed a class, made it up in a few days and graduated, teachers criticized the turnaround. But officials say they worked within the system.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Rio approves budget, delays vote on fact-finding report

The Rio School District board approved a budget on Thursday that would result in a negative ending balance in 2013 while putting off a vote on a fact-finding report that calls for a pay cut across the district.

Ventura Unified puts parcel tax on November ballot

Voters in the Ventura Unified School District will be asked in November to back a parcel tax to maintain academic programs in the 29-school district.

Defeat of Calif. teacher bill shows union power

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa slammed it as "cynical political manipulation," Los Angeles schools Superintendent John Deasy termed it shameful, but for the California Teachers Association, it was a victory.

Pajaro Valley USD approves budget for 2012-13 school year

Leaders of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Wednesday passed a $173 million budget for next school year that they described as stable, preventing layoffs and program cuts.

Mill Valley's student bulge could push out Ring Mountain Day School

The Mill Valley School District's bulging enrollment is putting pressure on the district to look for ways to expand, and now that pressure is being felt by the private Ring Mountain Day School, which learned this week that it may have to begin looking for a new campus.

Daily Kos: Turning the tide on Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and corporate education

Daily Kos: Turning the tide on corporate education:

Turning the tide on corporate education

byDante AtkinsFollowforDaily Kos

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106 COMMENTS

Michelle Rhee (Hyungwon Kang/Reuters)

If there's a dollar to be made by taking a public service provided by the government, privatizing it and inserting an unnecessary middleman to suck up profits at taxpayer expense, there will always be a corporation for that. The fact that these corporations who seek to profit at taxpayer expense have armies of lobbyists and politicians in Congress ready and waiting to do their bidding is bad enough, even when there is a progressive movement there to fight against it. But when this conservative shift toward private profit in any service is viewed by the public and the media as the progressive alternative to the status quo, that service may not be long for this world.

That is exactly the concern with the fate of public education. It goes without saying that the conservative movement seeks to eviscerate funding for public education, for the sake of both profit and theocracy. But the bigger danger is the fact that the trend toward corporate, for-profit education is frequently seen as the