Friday, October 26, 2012

by Jim Horn

From the NEPC at the University of Colorado, Boulder:

BOULDER, CO October 16, 2012 – “Local control” has been a bedrock principle of public schooling in America since its earliest days, but a new report concludes the concept “has all but disappeared” in discussions of education policy.

The report, Democracy Left Behind: How Recent Education Reforms Undermine Local School Governance and Democratic Education, by Kenneth Howe and David Meens of the University of Colorado Boulder, examines the impact on democratic ideals of vanishing local control over education. The report examines the making of education policy as well as the decisions about what schools teach and how they teach it.

The report is published today by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado

School Tech Connect: Because You Love Maps, Too

School Tech Connect: Because You Love Maps, Too:

'

Because You Love Maps, Too

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I've been missing out on so many events lately---- I missed the presentation of this fabulous fusion table map, which shows the precincts that get to vote on the elected ed school board question here in Chicago. Click around on it---zoom in, zoom out. I may be mistaken but I believe this map was created by none other than Will Guzzardi. If you've ever tried to figure out precinct boundaries from the maps available online, you'll appreciate how cool this map truly is.

There's a lot of this city that won't get to give an opinion on the question, but that's only because we couldn't get door to door in every precinct. I'm actually not aware of precincts that were worked where it was difficult to get signatures.

If you live in Chicago, and you don't get to vote on this question, it's because the mayor's loyalists in the City

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition - Esquire

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition - Esquire:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Union Scam, Election Edition

By Charles P. Pierce

at 10:52AM

The state of Michigan has put what I think is the country's most intriguing referendum question on its ballot this year. The state, which has been the subject of the gentle ministrations of Republican Governor Rick Snyder and his cronies for the past few years, is asking its citizens to decide whether the ability of workers to bargain collectively should be enshrined as a right in the state's constitution. (FWIW, collective bargaining is recognized as a human right by Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Supreme Court in Canada also recognized it as such in 2007.) The battle over the ballot question has broken down along predictable lines, although it is fairly hilarious to see the Michigan Press Association lining up against the proposal alongside the Mackinac Center For Public Policy, a "free-market" idea chop-shop that is, among its other charms, a hotbed of climate-change denial. The press association claims that it is afraid that passage of the amendment would weaken the state's sunshine laws.

But, thanks to a great grab by Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns, and Money, we also discover that prominent education "reform" grifter Michelle Rhee, and the political-action committee of he

Engaging Parents In School… » California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State

Engaging Parents In School… » California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State:

California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State

by Larry Ferlazzo

California PTA

Each day, as a teacher and as a strong proponent of parent engagement in word and deed, I find myself more amazed by the actions being taken by the California PTA this election season. I don’t think I’m overstating it to suggest that their efforts this year will be used as a case study in political organizing and in political science classes for years to come — in how not to become politically engaged. If you had to make a list of most of the major mistakes a community-based group could make in a political campaign, the California PTA has managed to make a huge percentage of them.
And, by doing so, they have set-back parent engagement efforts in our state dramatically.
I’ve written quite a few posts already about their entanglement with billionaire Molly Munger and their pushing her doomed-to-fail ballot initiative instead of joining forces with Governor Brown and every major education group in the state to support an education initiative much more likely to succeed.
A new poll out this week shows that the Brown initiative still has a chance to pass, while support for the

“Tapping Community Partnerships to Change Education”

by Larry Ferlazzo

Tapping Community Partnerships to Change Education is a post over at Education Week by Michele Molnar.
It reports on an impressive foundation-supported effort to encourage school districts to develop community partnerships. Some of them sound interesting.

SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education)

SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education):

SBE Agenda for November 2012

Agenda for the California State Board of Education (SBE) meeting on November 7-8, 2012.

Tom Torlakson

State Board Members

Michael W. Kirst, President

Trish Williams, Vice President

Carl Cohn
Bruce Holaday
Aida Molina
James C. Ramos
Patricia A. Rucker
Ilene W. Straus
Josephine Kao, Student Member
Vacancy
Vacancy

Secretary & Executive Officer

Hon. Tom Torlakson

Executive Director

Susan K. Burr

Schedule of Meeting	Location
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time ± STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Public Session, adjourn to Closed Session - IF NECESSARY. The Closed Session will take place at approximately 8:30 a.m. (The public may not attend.)	California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Room 1101 Sacramento, California 95814 916-319-0827

The Closed Session (1) may commence earlier than 8:30 a.m.; (2) may begin at or before 8:30 a.m., be recessed, and then be reconvened later in the day; or (3) may commence later than 8:30 a.m.

Please see the detailed agenda for more information about the items to be considered and acted upon. The public is welcome.

CLOSED SESSION AGENDA

Conference with Legal Counsel – Existing Litigation: Under Government Code sections 11126(e)(1) and (e)(2)(A), the State Board of Education hereby provides public notice that some or all of the pending litigation which follows will be considered and acted upon in closed session:

Alejo, et al. v. Jack O’Connell, State Board of Education, et al., San Francisco County Superior Court, Case No. CPF-09-509568 CA Ct. of Appeal, 2^nd Dist., Case No. A130721
California School Boards Association, et al. v. California State Board of Education and Aspire Public Schools, Inc.,Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 07353566, CA Ct. of Appeal, 1^st Dist., Case No. A122485, CA Supreme Court, Case No. S186129
California School Boards Association and its Education Legal Alliance, et al. v. The California State Board of Education, et al., Sacramento County Superior Court, Case No. 34-2008-00021188-CU-MC-GDS, CA Ct. of Appeal, 3^rd Dist., Case No. No. C060957
Doe, Jane, and Jason Roe v. State of California, Tom Torlakson, the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC445151
Emma C., et al. v. Delaine Eastin, et al., USDC (No.Dist.CA), Case No. C-96-4179
EMS-BP, LLC, Options for Youth Burbank, Inc., et al. v. California Department of Education, et al., Sacramento County Superior Court, Case No. 03CS01078 and 03CS01079 and related appeal
Graham et al. v the State Board of Education, the California Department of Education, Jack O’Connell, Fred Balcom, Tom Torlakson, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC482694
K.C. et al. v. Jack O’Connell, et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. C054077 MMC
Opportunity for Learning – PB, LLC; Opportunities Learning – C, LLC, and Opportunities for Learning WSH, LLC, Notice of Appeal Before the Audit Appeals Panel
Options for Youth, Burbank, Inc., San Gabriel, Inc. Upland, Inc. and Victor Valley, Notice of Appeal Before the Education Audit Appeals Panel, OAH Case No. 2006100966
Options for Youth-Victor Valley, et al. v. California Department of Education, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC347454
Perris Union High School District v. California State Board of Education, California Department of Education, et al., Riverside County Superior Court, Case No. RIC520862
Porter, et al., v. Manhattan Beach Unified School District, et al., United States District Court, Central District, Case No. CV-00-08402
Reed v. State of California, Los Angeles Unified School District, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell, California Department of Education, and State Board of Education, et al.,
Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC432420, CA Ct. of Appeal, 2^nd Dist., Case No. B230817,
CA Supreme Ct., Case No. 5191256
Shabazz, et al. v. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, President California State Board of Education Dr. Michael Kirst, Does 1-50, Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG12636192
Stoner Park Community Advocates v. City of Los Angeles, Department of Planning of the City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation City of Los Angeles (Respondents) and New West Charter Middle School, State Board of Education (Real Parties in Interest), Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BS138051
Today’s Fresh Start, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Office of Education, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BS112656, CA Ct. of Appeal, 2^nd Dist., Case Nos. B212966
Vergara et al. v. State of California, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Tom Torlakson, the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC484642

Conference with Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation: Under Government Code sections 11126(e)(1) and (e)(2)(B), the State Board of Education hereby provides public notice that it may meet in Closed Session to decide whether there is a significant exposure to litigation, and to consider and act in connection with matters for which there is a significant exposure to litigation. Under Government Code sections 11126(e)(1) and (e)(2)(C), the State Board of Education hereby provides public notice that it may meet in Closed Session to decide to initiate litigation and to consider and act in connection with litigation it has decided to initiate.

Under Government Code Section 11126(c)(14), the State Board of Education hereby provides public notice that it may meet in Closed Session to review and discuss the actual content of pupil achievement tests (including, but not limited to, the High School Exit Exam) that have been submitted for State Board approval and/or approved by the State Board.

Under Government Code Section 11126(a), the State Board of Education hereby provides public notice that it may meet in Closed Session regarding the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, or dismissal, discipline, or release of public employees, or a complaint or charge against public employees. Public employees include persons exempt from civil service under Article VII, Section 4(e) of the California Constitution.

Schedule of Meeting	Location
Thursday, November 8, 2012 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time ± STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Closed Session - IF NECESSARY - will take place at approximately 8:30 a.m. (The public may not attend.)	California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Room 1101 Sacramento, California 95814 916-319-0827

Schedule of Meeting	Location
Thursday, November 8, 2012 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time ± (Upon Adjournment of Closed Session, if held.) STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Public Session	California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Room 1101 Sacramento, California 95814 916-319-0827

Please see the detailed agenda for more information about the items to be considered and acted upon. The public is welcome.

ALL TIMES ARE APPROXIMATE AND ARE PROVIDED
FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY

ALL ITEMS MAY BE RE-ORDERED TO BE HEARD ON
ANY DAY OF THE NOTICED MEETING

THE ORDER OF BUSINESS MAY BE CHANGED WITHOUT NOTICE

SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education):

Item 4 (DOC)

Subject: English Language Development Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve: Adoption of newly revised English Language Development Standards.

Item 5 (DOC)

Subject: English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, 2014 Revision: Approval of Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee Guidelines and Appointment of Members of the Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee.

Subject: Supplemental Instructional Materials Review Aligned to the Common Core State Standards: Approval of Supplemental Instructional Materials.

continue reading SBE Agenda for November 2012 - State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education):

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 10-26-12 #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

Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago

Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project: Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Projectby Jonathan Raymond, published on *October 26, 2012* at *3:41 PM* Storyline: Sacramento City Unified School District [image: RSS Feed] Community Tags jonathan raymond parents sacramento city unified school district scusd teachers During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball"... more »

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education: Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers by Shane Vander Hart [image: NCLB]Jane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Projectprovided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers. States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB. What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control. Pretty soon states will probably be asking for waivers for the waivers. - In September 201... more »

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education: The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days by seattleducation2011 I usually stay on course providing information and views on education but this information was so horrific that I had to share it. These votes affect all of us, our families, our children and of course, education. This information was provided by the US House of Representatives Democratic Caucus and are: 60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to re... more »

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?: Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? by jonpelto Last week it was the resignation of the President and Executive Vice President of Connecticut’s new Board of Regents, the group responsible for overseeing the merged system of Connecticut’s State Universities and Community and Technical Colleges. The solution, we were told, was that the actual Board of Regents would step forward, take control and actually perform the duties allocated to them under state law. At t... more »

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story: Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results By Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian Friday, October 26, 2012 17:05 EDT [image: US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shake hands following the second presidential debate at the David Mack Center at Hofstra University in Hempstead via AFP] Topics: new orleans The teacher’s command of his class is total. “Which one is the whole number?” he asks crisply. “Is it seven over three, or is... more »

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News: California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group By Steven Harmon Bay Area News Group Posted: 10/25/2012 04:25:48 PM PDT Updated: 10/25/2012 11:27:13 PM PDT Click photo to enlarge Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices... (Rich Pedroncelli/AP file) Related Stories - Oct 25: - Mercury News editorial: FPPC's Ann Ravel is fighting for voters' right to know - Oct 18: - Shad... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess by Duke Bust Unions 2nd Let's stop calling StudentsFirst an "education reform group," because they're not. They are a political organization: Now, the political action committee of StudentsFirst is pumping $500,000 into a campaign against Michigan's Proposal 2, a ballot measure that would protect collective bargaining by enshrining it in the state's constitution. Mlive.com first reported the contribution Thursday morning. StudentsFirst is a national lobbying and advocacy shop based in ... more »

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky: The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. by Fred Klonsky It came as shocking news. Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System reported out that their return on investment was .76% for fiscal year 2012. Holy crap. That’s less than 1%! Last year the return was 23.6%. And it isn’t just Illinois. Bloomberg reports today: U.S. state and local-government pensions ended the 2012 fiscal year with a median gain of 1.15 percent as the European ... more »

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Molly McCloskey]Best Questions: School Culture October 26, 2012 by Molly McCloskey We live in a parallel universe. Here at ASCD, we are committed to ensuring that each *child*, in each school and in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. And, one of the things we know for sure is that in order for that to happen for kids, the *adults* around them must also be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That parallel need is particularly striking this month as we... more »

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reformby thenotebook on Oct 26 2012 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - activism - community organizing - parent involvement - parent organizing - student activism - William Hite - Philadelphia Federation of Teachers - school closing *by Charlotte Pope* “We are in this together. This fight you are not fighting alone.” These are t... more »

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement: A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement by Constance Clark Location, location, location—it matters in real estate, and the harsh reality is, it matters in student achievement, too. While wealthy Americans can pay for private school or move to a top-ranked district in suburbia, countless other parents are left with their neighborhood public school default. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But what if the choice is not good enough? Montg... more »

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network #UCDAVIS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network: Education: The Blueprint for Change By Linda Katehi When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education. It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities. When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did... more »

Diane in the Evening 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: A Tiny Brush with Greatness by dianerav Jacques Barzun, one of the great thinkers of our age, died at the age of 104 in San Antonio, after a long and distinguished career as a thinker, teacher, cultural critic, and author. The obituary in the New York Times describes his amazing career. We are not likely to see his like again. Our age moves too swiftly and demands too much interactivity to allow figures like Barzun to grow, ripen and flourish. He had the unusual ability to transmit his vast knowledge of history to the public. I did not know him well but I had... more »

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money): Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money) Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 1:44 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » How’s this for outrageous? The principal of a charter school in Orange County, Fla., received a check for $519,453.36 in taxpayer money after the district school board agreed to let the school voluntarily close rather than be shut down for poor performance. According to a stor... more »

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed* Alice Walton of the Walton family, who are big contributors to the proliferation of charter schools and vouchers, is the same Alice Walton who has contributed $1.7M, and counting, to the charter school Initiative 1240 in Washington State. The Walton’s are investing ... more »

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) *In schools for the rich, children get taught. In schools for the poor, children get tested. -- Diane Ravitch* I just not got to watch the entire video of Diane Ravitch's recent talk at the City Club. I wish I had been there. Every moment of it is a devastating indictment of the status quo. I've seen people who can speak intelligently about many of these issues, but there is nobody that I know of who can speak about *all* of them in such clear ter... more »

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education: Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? Posted on October 26, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart Restoring Oklahoma Public Education released their report about Oklahoma’s P20 councilwhich is a follow-up to an earlier paper they wrote that analyzed recent education reforms and how they impacted student privacy (see below). How Much Data is Enough Data? What happens to privacy when bureaucracies exceed their scope? Here is th

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?: Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? by jonpelto Senators Cassano and Williams (Photo courtesy of Christine Stuart) Following a press conference, yesterday, by State Senators Don Williams and Steve Cassano, the former chief of staff for the Connecticut Republican Party, and managing director of Voters for Good Government, admitted to Connecticut media outlets that television ads are going to be run against certain Democratic State S... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg by Melissa Westbrook [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] In the latest in how to lose public education dollars, this story from NBC News. (I'll call out in red how this parallels I-1240.) *A Florida state senator is calling for an investigation into the payout of more than $500,000 to the principal of a failed Orange County charter school.* *A school board chairman bla... more »

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Kris Nielsen.* This post was originally published here on his blog, Middle Grades Mastery. I love teaching. Or, I did love teaching. I loved teaching when my job was to teach. Now, I don't love teaching, because my job is no longer teaching. Was that introduction awkward enough? That's kind of how my job feels: awkward, frustrating, backwards, stifling, and redundant. Breaking away from the comparison to the introduction, I'd ... more »

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky: Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. by Fred Klonsky The Illinois Teacher Retirement System board of trustees is wrapping up their meeting today. Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery’s call for the firing of TRS Executive Director Richard Ingram has been met so far with silence. It could happen today. I hear they will meet in executive session at some point to discuss Ingram. You may recall that several weeks ago Ingram gave an interview to Crain’s where he stron... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Calling All Pro Bono Lawyers by dianerav A reader just raised an interesting question offline. He lives in New Jersey, where the state constitution requires that the state provide a “thorough and efficient” public education. New Jersey officials today are doing their best to dismantle and privatize the state’s public education system. Are they violating their oath of office? What does it say in other state constitutions where the privatizers are busy dismantling the public system for fun, power, profit and ide... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 26, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *No* On *32*: Stop Special Exemptions Education Headlines *Friday, October 26, 2012* Encinitas school district changes website following campaigning complaintA San Diego man has complained to the Encinitas Union School District that its website has inappropriate campaign material supporting tax propositions on the November ballot. Galt elementary school district board increases developer feesOver the next five years, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District estimated it will need room for an additional 106 new students due to n... more »

Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’: Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 4:00 am Wisconsin cows Another day, another state comes up with another cockamamie way to grade schools for “accountability” purposes. In this post Gene V. Glass, Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University and senior researcher at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s National Education Policy Center, looks at the very large problems with Wisconsin’s new Overall Accountability Index mea... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, October 26, 2012 With everything else schools have riding on next month’s election, progress on many less obvious but still critical programs and projects will also be jeopardized if voters turn down tax measures on Nov. 6. The work of updating California’s teacher performance assessment, for example, could be set back as education programs statewide brace for another round of big cuts. The testing, designed to measure a new teacher cand...more »

Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching: Rubi at 100: still teaching by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Four years ago I mentioned in a diary the women who had first taught me cello more than half a century ago, and persuaded my sister and myself to go to what was then National Music Camp in Interlochen Michigan, which she herself had attended in 1929. A few days later I got an email from her daughter, who happened to have googled her mom and found my post, and who informed me her mother, then 96, was still teaching. On October 19 Rubi Wentzel turned 100. Her daughter Leslie Krikoria... more »

Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach: Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development by aristotlethewise *Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development * A paper delivered at the annual Society for Neuroscientists meeting contended that there was a relationship between income and educational attainment of the parents and the development of their child’s brain – especially areas used in learning, memory and stress processing. The researchers studied brain scans of children wh... more »

Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess: Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? *by Frederick M. Hess • Oct 26, 2012 at 7:03 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Print Send RSS [image: Share] Share The *NYT*'s Thomas Friedman is at it again. Last Sunday, with his customary humility, he opined in "Obama's Best-Kept Secrets," "While I don't know how Obamacare will come out, I'm certain that my two favorite Obama initiatives will be transformative." One of the two was Race to the Top (the other was the President's push to boo... more »

Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today: Report: weighted student formula alone not enough ** October 26th, 2012 | 4 Comments | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services Less experienced, lower paid teachers tend to teach in schools with the poorest children, while veteran, higher paid teachers work predominantly in schools with fewer needy children, contributing to significant funding disparities among schools within most of the state’s largest school districts. That gap wouldn’t neces... more »

Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster: Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America by edushyster2012 Pioneers for excellence and choice break ground on what will be the 13th charter school in Douglas County, Colorado, the rephormiest place in America. Reader: nothing brings me more joy each day than the arrival of the EduShyster mailbag. Will it contain a shiny alert from one of the interchangeable #edreform PAC-lets, trumpeting vaguely and ominously about parents’ rights? Or perhaps there is to be news of a fresh new study boldly claiming the need for fr... more »

High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report: High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open SourceEducators can download free teaching materials and get paid to share their lessons. By KELSEY SHEEHY October 26, 2012 RSS Feed Print [image: Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson and Teachers Pay Teachers.] Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson. For a high school French teacher looking for a creative approach to verb conjugation, new lesson plans are ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Abyss

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

School Tech Connect: The Abyss: The Abyss by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) It does not surprise me that they're just throwing money at people and not even tracking it. That's how these things work. In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million. Seriously, go read the entire story. DOE has given away almost a billion dollars to charter schools since 2008, and yet there's this: Additionally, the audit, which was conducted by San Francisco-based educ... more »

NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich by NYC Educator Yesterday a girl in my class got a 44 on my test. It freaked me out a little, because the test was fairly easy. In fact, it was a multiple choice test, which I don't usually give, and she filled in eight "E" answers, though the options were only A, B, C, and D. This is the third test I've given this year. She was absent for the first one, and was out for three days in a row. In the rush of beginning the year, I failed to follow up ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240 by Charlie Mas [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] Crosscut is running two articles on I-1240, one in favor and one opposed. They are worth reading if only because the article in favor demonstrates the naive and thoughtless acceptance of every myth and marketing line offered by the proponents of charters. The person writing in favor of the initiative is a voucher advocate living in a rural area. He doesn't know what he talking about and he obviously hasn't given any of it much though... more »

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green: Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green 26 OCTOBER 2012 52 NO COMMENT *(A guest post by Dr. Doug Green at http://www.drdouggreen.com/).* ** * * * * With all of the news about Lance Armstrong, who seems to be the poster boy for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), I think it’s time to look at how this situation impacts schools. School districts in many districts have been testing high school students for a while to see it they are engaged in the kind of cheating ... more »

Schools Matter: TRACK ME!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Schools Matter: TRACK ME!: TRACK ME! by Jim Horn When corporate education antiquarians reformers talk about the virtues of charter schools, high on their list is charter freedom from bureaucratic red tape and regulations that rule the "government" schools. Without such restrictions, the story goes, charter schools are free to innovate, adapt to changing needs locally, and improve learning. Sounds great, right? What this means in reality is that charter school corporations, both nonprofit and forprofit, are unconstrained in opening schools in any discarded shell of a building, w... more »

Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

School-To-Prison Pipeline Lawsuits - Business Insider: * * *Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils* [image: young boy in prison] The Justice Department is taking a stand against an educational policy in Mississippi that incarcerates kids for just being kids. The department says in its lawsuit that officials in the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County "routinely arrest students without determining whether there is probable cause when a school wants to press charges, and the students are routinely jailed," The Associated Pr... more »

An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism: An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs by Angus Johnston On Wednesday, students at Wilberforce University, a small historically black college just outside of Dayton Ohio, gave a demonstration of what student power can mean. Fed up with the college’s failure to address its longstanding problems, than three hundred of the school’s five hundred enrolled students marched on Wilberforce’s administrative offices to request transfer applications. Some ... more »

Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas by larrycuban As a high school history teacher and district superintendent, I had to learn the differences between problems and dilemmas because the former required solutions and the latter required compromises. As a researcher and professor, I worked with K-12 teachers, principals, school board members and superintendents in distinguishing between problems and dilemmas when it came to figuring out school reforms and getting into complexities of classroom prac... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"? by stlgretchen Suess was writing about personal journeys, not about data determining those personal journeys "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" Remember the Dr. Suess book with that name? It's a book given to many graduates as they enter the world. It's a book about choices, change, risk and growth a young boy faces as he explores life. Excerpts from a summary of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" from suite101.com: *Oh The... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: More Resources On Different Cultures Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures (I’m also add that entire “The Best” list to The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners): Chinese families’ worldly goods … Continue reading → “Quicklinkr” Looks Like It Could Be Useful For Many Purposes Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why? by Mike Klonsky An article in the Oct. 17 Nation by Matthew Cunningham-Cook, asks the question, "Why Do Some of America's Wealthiest Individuals Have Fingers in Louisiana's Education System?" *As Naomi Klein detailed in The Shock Doctrine, post-Katrina New Orleans has been Ground Zero for efforts to privatize schools and weaken teacher unions—hallmarks of education reform. After the hurricane, the vast majority of New Orleans publ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap": The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap" by Melissa Westbrook I have been desperate to get a thread on this issue because both McKenna and Inslee have been talking about it (along with Rep Carlyle and Rep Hunter) but pulling it altogether was going to be a task. Enter Goldy with a good article (and a chart!). It pretty much completes what I thought - Seattle and other "wealthier" districts would get less. My understanding of the property tax swap is that it would phase out levy equalization an... more »

Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] | The Jose Vilson: Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] by Jose DREAM girl Recently, the conversation around the use of the word “illegal immigrant” came to a precipice when the New York Times’ public editor said there was nothing wrong with using the phrase. Writers like Jose Antonio Vargas and institutions like Univision chimed in, and rightly so. “Illegal immigrant” suggests that the immigrant themselves is illegal.** The very term suggests that these men, women, and children who migrate live an existence of ... more »

H.R.6556: Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

H.R.6556: Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: H.R.6556 - Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 To amend the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, and for other purposes.view all titles (2) - Overview - Actions & Votes - News (0) & Blogs (0) - Comments (0) Bill's Views - Today:1 - Past Seven Days:9 - All-Time:45 Introduced House Passes Senate Passes President Signs *09/20/12* * * * * * * Official Bill TextComment on about 1 Pages Sponsor Representative Debbie Wasserman Schu... more »

Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court | OregonLive.com: Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court by The Associated Press BOISE -- A group seeking to avoid being forced to reveal donors whose $200,000 financed TV ads promoting public schools chief Tom Luna's education overhaul filed a request Thursday to move the case to federal court. The effort by Education Voters of Idaho came just hours before a state judge in Boise is scheduled Friday to consider Secretary of State Ben Ysursa's demand that ... more »

five elements to help redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

five elements to help redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst: five elements to help redefine public ed by monika hardy [image: Image] Our latest post on dmlcentral.net, five elements we believe are key to redefining public ed in a community (the chapters of our little book). Click here to read the rest of the post.

Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems | GothamSchools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems | GothamSchools: Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems by Rachel Cromidas Councilman Jackson waives at Shael Polakow-Suransky (far right) during a hearing on the networks. Facing criticism that the Department of Education does not hold the organizations responsible for supporting schools accountable for their success, Chief Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky told members of the City Council today that the opposite is true. In fact, he said during a heated hearing about the department’s netwo... more »

Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | Class Size Matters Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | Class Size Matters Sign our Petition: the proven benefits of smaller classes: Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent!*The letter* Norman sent Friday to the Attorney General and the Regents on behalf of Class Size Matters and other parent groups is posted here. *A background memo on these issues* is here. I don’t think it is an overstatement to say this whole project represents perhaps the most seriou... more »

Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents - Wait, What?: Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents by jonpelto (Or, after translating that to English, read – have these people lost their collective minds?) Everyone knows that without an educated workforce, Connecticut’s economic future is somewhere between non-functioning and non-existent. So despite running for office on a platform of increasing funding for public high education, one of the first things Governor Malloy did was push through the deepest cuts in state hi... more »

From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. « Fred Klonsky: From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. by Fred Klonsky *Today’s business section of the New York Times has an article that mentions all of our pensions being cut in this manner: “Time appears to be running out for a relatively painless fiscal reform, the task force said.”* *I deeply resent having our reduced retirement incomes and other measures described by billionaires as “relatively painless fiscal reform.”* *Our incomes – relatively painless fiscal reform.* *The article has multiple presuppositions (huge fiscal problems at the s... more »

NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny'by Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 25 2012 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - racial equity - school choice With Philadelphia firmly committed to creating a "portfolio" of schools as a way to improve outcomes for all students, it seemed worthwhile to take note of a study just released by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. It found ... more »

Democurmudgeon: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Democurmudgeon: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math.: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math. by Democurmudgeon In Scott Walker's latest weekly address, he listed "Transforming Education" as one of his top priorities. What does that mean? What else could he do? Would he expand vouchers where no ones wants school "choice?" Sure. But Walker will now have a more difficult job pushing his privatization plans after the horrific results of the countries longest... more »

A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video | Seattle Education: A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video by seattleducation2011 *Charter School Fairy Tales* What do we want? *DIRECT VOTER CONTACT!* When do we want it? *NOW!* Help *People for Our Public Schools *reach voters this week and tell them to vote NO on I-1240! To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, YOU are the only YOU there is. And we need YOU to help us now!! 1. *Phone bank* – THIS WEEK, Thursday Oct 25 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at our office in Seattle, 1914 N. 34th Street, Suite 209.... more »