Big Education Ape: Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 3-20-13 AM Posts #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS

Daily Kos: thoughts on gun registration

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 minutes ago

Daily Kos: thoughts on gun registration: thoughts on gun registration by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) which seems to be the issue being used to attempt to block universal background checks. Let me note 1. I am not and have no desire to be a gun owner 2. I have no problem with responsible ownership of firearms That said, time is long overdue to get control of our gun problem. What I believe is necessary is simple. 1. No one should be able to obtain a firearm, whether by purchase or gift, without a background check. 2. All firearms should be registered in a national database. 3. ... more »

Clean sweep of teachers in Senate parent trigger bill | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 minutes ago

Clean sweep of teachers in Senate parent trigger bill | Get Schooled: Clean sweep of teachers in Senate parent trigger bill by Maureen Downey *Take a look at this Google doc* of the newly revised Parent Empowerment bill, notable for the clean sweep of any mention of teachers or educators. *See my blog yesterday on the odd changes to this bill*. The bill initially had been called the Parent and Educator Empowerment bill, but you can’t find the words “teacher” or “educator” any longer in the title or the text of the legislation. The bill, which passed the House, is in a Senate subcom... more »

Louisiana Educator: Ravitch Encourages Louisiana Educators & Defenders

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 minutes ago

Louisiana Educator: Ravitch Encourages Louisiana Educators & Defenders: Ravitch Encourages Louisiana Educators & Defenders by Michael Deshotels [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Diane Ravitch honored our blog today along with several other Louisiana blogs and individuals who are true supporters of public education in Louisiana. She recommended our Defenders of Public Education data base. I want to take this opportunity to ask each of my readers who are voters in Louisiana to sign up for this group. Here are the details you need to know: - The Defenders of Pub... more »

Modern School: We Don’t Need Celebrity Teachers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago

Modern School: We Don’t Need Celebrity Teachers: We Don’t Need Celebrity Teachers by Michael Dunn In a recent posting on Good Education, Jose Vilson lamented how there aren’t any celebrity K-12 teachers who can “speak to the collective conscience of the educational experience,” as if this was somehow a prerequisite for teachers to gain the autonomy, status and respect they deserve. This is a completely absurd notion with some pretty unfortunate implications. Anthony Bourdain, Wolfgang Puck and Jamie Oliver may have increased the number of people wanting to cook good food at home,... more »

Joy Resmovits: Teacher Tenure Targeted In North Carolina; Few Options For New Orleans Kids In Failing Schools -- Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago

Joy Resmovits: Teacher Tenure Targeted In North Carolina; Few Options For New Orleans Kids In Failing Schools -- Ed Today: Teacher Tenure Targeted In North Carolina; Few Options For New Orleans Kids In Failing Schools -- Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *North Carolina Bill Targets Teachers* A top North Carolina lawmaker has introduced several education reform measures du jour -- including one that would end tenure -- reports the News & Observer. "Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger on Tuesday unveiled what he called the second round of education reforms aimed at holding schools and te... more »

The Great Deception | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago

The Great Deception | EduShyster: The Gr8 Deception by edushyster2012 *How to convince the public to abandon the wishy-washy notion of education for all in three easy steps* It is an indisputably true fact that our public schools are *hopelessly* failing beyond any hope of excellence. Yet the public remains strangely attached to the idea that publicly-funded schools have an obligation to educate all kids. Alas, that old-fashioned notion of equity is like the Lindsay Lohan of principles: washed-up and of waning interest. Today’s edu-visionary is all about excellence: the laser-honed... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] My Trip to North Carolina by dianerav I am speaking later today at UNC in Charlotte. I will be speaking at 7 pm at the Cone McKnight Auditorium – UNCC campus 320 East Ninth St Tomorrow in Raleigh. Details here. Was There Cheating in DC? by dianerav The National Research Council is conducting a five-year review of mayoral control and the D.C. Public schools. The committee created for this purpose will meet on March 22. There is an open session at 1 pm to discuss... more »

Stamford Advocate joins effort to warn about conflict of interest on State Board of Education - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Stamford Advocate joins effort to warn about conflict of interest on State Board of Education - Wait, What?: Stamford Advocate joins effort to warn about conflict of interest on State Board of Education by jonpelto As the Connecticut Legislature prepares to take up the nomination of Andrea Comer to the State Board of Education, the Stamford Advocate has joined the chorus warning that it would be a conflict of interest for her to serve on the Board. About the controversy surrounding Comer, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Jumoke Academy and FUSE charter school m... more »

Do schools for ‘the gifted’ promote segregation?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Do schools for ‘the gifted’ promote segregation?: Do schools for ‘the gifted’ promote segregation? Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 20, 2013 at 5:00 am 10 Comments More [image: gifted 2]Are schools for “gifted” students promoting segregation? Here’s an argument that they are, from Wendy Lecker, a columnist for Hearst Connecticut Media Group and senior attorney for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity project at the Education Law Center. By Wendy Lecker From Brown vs. Board of Education to Connecticut’s landmark case, Sheff v. O’Neill, to the language of the Connecticut constitution, the ... more »

Ben Joravsky and the “parent penis theory.” | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Ben Joravsky and the “parent penis theory.” | Fred Klonsky: Ben Joravsky and the “parent penis theory.” by Fred Klonsky [image: torture-in-Persepolis] Nobody explains things morel clearly than Ben Joravsky in the Chicago Reader: *Central-office officials have not clarified who brought Persepolis to Byrd-Bennett’s attention. But it’s widely assumed that it all began with a complaint from a parent about the book’s interrogation scene, which features a drawing of *

Is Education The Same As Schooling? | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Is Education The Same As Schooling? | The Jose Vilson: Is Education The Same As Schooling? by Jose Vilson Bill Gates [image: Bill Gates]In the first piece of my two-part series on Bill Gates’ interview on teacher evaluation, I found myself perplexed by this college dropout, one of many, keeping with the same old adage that kids take tests all the time and that’s just a part of getting an education, so just deal with it. Of course, it led to many questions: 1. How many tests actually determine whether they get to the next level of their education? 2. Will these tests accur... more »

The Last Minute Bait and Switch on Parent Trigger | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

The Last Minute Bait and Switch on Parent Trigger | Scathing Purple Musings: The Last Minute Bait and Switch on Parent Trigger by Bob Sikes Carlos Trujillo is losing the argument in the House on Parent Trigger. And that supposed groundswell of support from parents hasn’t materialized either. In yesterday’s hearing, 23 people spoke in opposition with four in support. One was a an actual parent. The other three were paid lobbyist from predictable places: Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, Michelle Rhee’s Student’s First and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. But yesterda... more »

Alternative bill to speed up teacher dismissals introduced | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Alternative bill to speed up teacher dismissals introduced | EdSource Today: Alternative bill to speed up teacher dismissals introduced - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald A year ago, Assemblymember Joan Buchanan cast a deciding vote killing a bill that would have pared back the process for firing teachers and administrators alleged to have done egregious acts against children. She said the legislation dealt with a narrow subset of dismissal cases and failed to deal with cumbersome procedures affecting all dismissals. [image: Buchanan's bill would set a seven-month limit on ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Making Sense of Funding Foreign Language Immersion

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Making Sense of Funding Foreign Language Immersion: Making Sense of Funding Foreign Language Immersion by Melissa Westbrook To start, *I think that foreign language teaching is great and should be started in every elementary school. *I would advocate for foreign language several times a week in every elementary versus what we have now which are four foreign language immersion elementary schools that are ONLY open to neighborhood children. I did a previous post on this subject that covers some of the history. JSIS started as a Mickey Rooney/Judy G... more »

Parent and Educator Empowerment Act moves from House to Senate. Teacher empowerment erodes along the way. | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Parent and Educator Empowerment Act moves from House to Senate. Teacher empowerment erodes along the way. | Get Schooled: Parent and Educator Empowerment Act moves from House to Senate. Teacher empowerment erodes along the way. by Maureen Downey [image: downeyart0726 (Medium)]A Senate subcommittee takes up the *parent trigger bil*l this morning at 8. As the Parent and Educator Empowerment bill moved from the House to the Senate, one piece apparently was lost in the journey: Teacher power. *According to the legislative update posted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educator... more »

The Educated Reporter: Feds Weigh College Financial Aid for Competency Based Learning

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

The Educated Reporter: Feds Weigh College Financial Aid for Competency Based Learning: Feds Weigh College Financial Aid for Competency Based Learning by Emily Richmond An interesting letter went out Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Education, asking interested colleges to submit applications for approval for federal financial aid for students in programs that take into account alternative measures -- and not just credit hours -- in awarding degrees. "This is a key step forward in expanding access to affordable higher education," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in... more »

TFA sponsors reform propaganda videos | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

TFA sponsors reform propaganda videos | Gary Rubinstein's Blog: TFA sponsors reform propaganda videos by Gary Rubinstein I recently learned through one of my Twitter followers about a series of videos from an organization called RESETin Minnesota. Minnesota is a place that has a large TFA and TFA charter school presence. Even one of the new co-CEOs has several relatives involved in Minnesota charters. TFA, as well as several charter organizations, are ‘partners’ with RESET. RESET seems to be an organization that promotes the supposed benefits of the corporate reform model. They ... more »

Schools Matter: Parent Trigger - False Promises, Divided Communities and Disrupted Young Lives

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Schools Matter: Parent Trigger - False Promises, Divided Communities and Disrupted Young Lives: Parent Trigger - False Promises, Divided Communities and Disrupted Young Lives by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *Thank you for this thoughtful and informative video exposing The Heartland Institute, Parent Revolution, and ALEC's corporate charter trigger law. We're hopeful that videos like this will counter the lies the trigger proponents promulgate, and that communities will resist when these outsiders come to steal our schools. —rdsathene* PopoutThe video tells the story of Adelanto, C... more »

NYC Educator: Neutered Action

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

NYC Educator: Neutered Action: Neutered Action by NYC Educator One of my favorite fables is *The Pearl *by John Steinbeck. In it, Steinbeck writes of how the common people are cheated. They go to sell their pearls, from one buyer to the next, but each buyer is just an arm of the one true buyer--they actually commiserate to keep prices down, rather than competing for the pearls they buy. That's how I feel every time New Action drops another ridiculous paper in my mailbox. We oppose this and that, but it's all good because we support that and this. The implication is that any actual... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago research group on school closings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago research group on school closings: Chicago research group on school closings by Mike Klonsky The Chicago research group, CReATE, has been turning out the best, most readable stuff on corporate-style school reform. CReATE's latest research brief, prepared by Stephanie Farmer, Isaura Pulido, Pamela J. Konkol, Kate Phillippo, David Stovall and Mike Klonsky, on School Closures, is worth a read. It concludes: *At present, the data reviewed in this research brief does not support Chicago Public Schools’ claim that closures are a viable solution to ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Real Reason For Vouchers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Real Reason For Vouchers: The Real Reason For Vouchers by Duke *So what if I support vouchers to get votes in Lakewood? Wanna make something of it?* NJ Governor Chris Christie, 3/19/13: *Gov. Chris Christie today picked up the endorsement of Orthodox Jewish education*, community and business leaders, after bringing his small government message to a retirement community down the road. At Yeshiva Toras Aron, a religious school for boys, *Christie said his proposal for private school vouchers would ensure it is “the education of the parents’ choice*, regardless...more »

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teacher Evaluation: Math Fail #3

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teacher Evaluation: Math Fail #3: NJ Teacher Evaluation: Math Fail #3 by Duke Let's go back to this slide from the NJDOE's presentation on their proposed new teacher evaluation system, AchieveNJ: The yellow annotation is mine from a previous post on Student Growth Percentiles. Apparently, even though SGPs are on a scale from 1 to 99, the NJDOE thought it would be fine to give an example of a teacher's median SGP as "2.0," which makes no sense at all; read the post for all the details. Alas, this is not the only problem here... Let's talk a bit about the "Teache... more »

Breaking: Board Votes to Oust Monica Garcia From Presidency - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Breaking: Board Votes to Oust Monica Garcia From Presidency - LA School Report: Breaking: Board Votes to Oust Monica Garcia From Presidency by Samantha Oltman The LAUSD Board voted today, 4 to 3, to limit the School Board president’s term to two years per individual. This will end Monica Garcia’s role as the Board’s president, a seat she has held for six consecutive years. Board member Steve Zimmer was the deciding vote, joining his colleagues Marguerite LaMotte, Bennett Kayser, and Richard Vladovic to approve the limitation. Garcia, Tamar Galatzan, and Nury Martinez voted again... more »

School Tech Connect: CPS Chief Has No Answers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

School Tech Connect: CPS Chief Has No Answers: CPS Chief Has No Answers by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Raise Your Hand has a press conference today at CPS headquarters, and Wendy Katten managed to catch CPS Chief Administrator Tim Cawley in an impromptu question/non-answer session. It's really quite remarkable--- first he admits that he's really not the man to talk to, and then it becomes clear that nobody really knows who the man to talk to is. Wendy is relentless. Bear with the sound; I'm working with cell phone footage. Go full screen and crank it. Popout Wendy Katten Ques... more »

L.A. school board targets Garcia with term-limits vote - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

L.A. school board targets Garcia with term-limits vote - latimes.com: L.A. school board targets Garcia with term-limits vote [image: Monica Garcia] A narrow majority of Los Angeles Board of Education members voted Tuesday to set a limit of two consecutive years for the school board presidency. Unless the new rule is rescinded later, the decision would end the six-year run of current President Monica Garcia in July. The board president has no greater authority than others on the seven-member panel, but runs the meetings and frequently represents the nation’s second-largest school s... more »

Daily Kos: The forgotten cost of war

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Daily Kos: The forgotten cost of war: The forgotten cost of war by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) is driven home in a powerful way in a piece by Ron Kovic at Truthdig, titled The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq Most probably only know about Kovic from the movie biopic on him starring Tom Cruise in an Oscar nominated performance, "Born on the Fourth of July." If you saw the movie, forget about it and just read what Kovic has written. Here is his opening paragraph, which only hints at the power of what you will encounter reading this piece: Thirty-eight years ago, on Jan. 20, 1968, I w... more »

Model SARBs Selected - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Model SARBs Selected - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces 2012-13 Model Attendance, Dropout Prevention Programs SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that 11 programs have been designated as models of attendance improvement and dropout prevention by the State School Attendance Review Board (State SARB). Torlakson congratulated the 2012-13 Model SARBs for their work in reducing the number of students who are chronically absent, which results in costing school districts millions of dollars each...more »

Student Voice Toolkit – A Blast from the Past Student Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Student Voice: Student Voice Toolkit – A Blast from the Past by admin As many prepare for the inaugural 2013 *Student Voice Live!* Summit that will be held at the Microsoft Offices in New York City, New York on April 13 th, I encourage us to take time to review what each of us has learned thus far. Over the past 7-months, there have been numerous Student Blog Contributions, weekly #StuVoice Twitter Meetings, insightful Student Panel Webinars and various initiatives to propel the work and impact to those in our communities and around the world. One particular #StuVoice Twitter Meet... more »

Union "Surveys" Teachers for Deasy Criticism - LA School Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago

Union "Surveys" Teachers for Deasy Criticism - LA School Report: Union “Surveys” Teachers for Deasy Criticism by Samantha Oltman Superintendent John Deasy The teachers union’s on-again, off-again plan to survey its members on what they think about LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy’s job performance is back on again. However, this time around the union has a much stronger idea of what kinds of negative views its members should express. The union first mentioned in January that it planned to survey members about Deasy. At the time, the survey was described in neutral terms: “UTLA member... more »

CAPTA Resolution, Achievement: Eliminating the Gap Sacramento Council PTA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Sacramento Council PTA: [image: Sacramento Council of PTAs]March 19, 2013SACRAMENTO COUNCIL UPDATE Click here to read CAPTA Resolution, Achievement: Eliminating the Gap Jason Shah and Benito Delgado-Olson are young men who are dedicated to reducing the achievement gap through innovative organizations they started. Read more Sacramento Council of PTAs commends the SCUSD in their efforts to eliminate the achievement gap, and we are excited that we were invited as a stakeholder in this important task. Board Update - dated March 15, 2013: "SCUSD has convened a Closing the Achieveme... more »

Zorn on Persepolis shows what’s wrong with Chicago big media school reporting. UPDATED: Zorn responds. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Zorn on Persepolis shows what’s wrong with Chicago big media school reporting. UPDATED: Zorn responds. | Fred Klonsky: Zorn on Persepolis shows what’s wrong with Chicago big media school reporting. by Fred Klonsky My brother Mike tells the truth about the Chicago coverage of the CPS * Persepolis* fiasco. *“Funny. It seems the Klonsky brothers are the best news source in town on this one.”* And the Chicago Tribune’s Eric Zorn fully demonstrates the point. He demonstrates why the Sun-Times and his Tribune suck when it comes to education coverage. Writing on his Tribune blog about the... more »

Where Are Progressives In The Fight To Save Public Schools?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

Where Are Progressives In The Fight To Save Public Schools?: Where Are Progressives In The Fight To Save Public Schools? by Jeff Bryant *This post is republished from the Education Opportunity Network, a new online publication edited by Jeff Bryant.* This week, here was Paul Krugman’s assessment of the current policy agenda governing the nation’s public schools: “We have the illusion of consensus, an illusion based on a process in which anyone questioning the preferred narrative is immediately marginalized, no matter how strong his or her credentials.” Except, Krugman wasn’t writing ... more »

On "Innovation" in Social Policy, and "Solutionism" in Education - Dana Goldstein

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago

On "Innovation" in Social Policy, and "Solutionism" in Education - Dana Goldstein: On "Innovation" in Social Policy, and "Solutionism" in Education by Dana Goldstein The following was written by the Princeton sociologist Melvin Tumin, in 1973. Tumin was thinking about the Teacher Corps, a Great Society program that was a sort of lefty precursor to Teach for America, in which intern teachers arrived in disadvantaged schools eager to close achievement gaps and -- because it was the sixties -- also build racial pride, improve student self-esteem, and overhaul the curriculum to bette... more »

Exceeding Needs Through a Partnership Perspective — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Exceeding Needs Through a Partnership Perspective — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Fred Ende]Exceeding Needs Through a Partnership Perspective March 19, 2013 by Fred Ende As a coordinator of science for a number of districts in the northern suburbs of New York City, I have the opportunity to work with schools with a tremendous array of needs. For some, finances are the primary culprit in educational challenges faced. In others, high populations of language learners or mobile student populations make it difficult to provide for each and every student. In still ot... more »

Dan Biss is in deep doo-doo with fellow Dems. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Dan Biss is in deep doo-doo with fellow Dems. | Fred Klonsky: Dan Biss is in deep doo-doo with fellow Dems. by Fred Klonsky The some good pension news coming from Springfield today. The first is that State Senate President John Cullerton’s Senate Bill 1 is in big trouble. SB1 is the mash-up bill that includes the blatantly unconstitutional Biss/Cross/Nekritz pension bomb with Cullerton’s own forced-choice of health care or COLA. The other good news is that Senator Dan “I don’t know much about the Constitution” Biss is in deep shit with his Democratic pals. This is coming from Sprin... more »

Daily Kos: TeacherKen on Three Decades of Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Daily Kos: TeacherKen on Three Decades of Reform: TeacherKen on Three Decades of Reform by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) *explanation - I posted a comment on a thread on Diane Ravitch's blog, and today she turned it into a post, which I reproduce below, using her formatting.* Kenneth Bernstein is an award-winning NBCT who recently retired as a teacher of government. He is now caring for his wife, who is recovering from a major illness. He usually blogs at the Daily Kos but has taken the time to share his insights here as a comment. Thank you, Ken. He writes: *We have had a decad... more »

Diane in the Evening 3-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Anti-Teacher Legislation Introduced in North Carolina Legislature by dianerav No more career teachers in North Carolina. That’s the goal of legislation introduced by Phil Berger, the President Pro Tem of the State Senate in North Carolina. The experienced, high-performing teachers would get a four-year contract. Others would get shorter contracts. No tenure for any teachers. Lots of performance pay built in. Bonuses would be tied to new teacher evaluation programs now From Rhode Island: “I Failed the Test” by diane... more »

When it comes to testing, listen to teachers | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

When it comes to testing, listen to teachers | Hechinger Report: When it comes to testing, listen to teachers by Christina Lear [image: When it comes to testing, listen to teachers] In my second year of teaching in the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), my principal organized monthly “data meetings.” The stated purpose of these meetings was to reflect on our classroom instruction and student progress in light of students’ latest results on district-created standardized tests. I’d always start these meetings with the same comment: “We can’t talk about what these data show if the test... more »

PSAT for 3-19-13, Part 1: More reasons to support the school closing moratorium

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 3-19-13, Part 1: More reasons to support the school closing moratorium: PSAT for 3-19-13, Part 1: More reasons to support the school closing moratorium by admin [image: psat_logo]For Public Schools Action Tuesday today, please get in touch with your statesenators and representatives asap to support SB1571 and HB3283, the CPS school closing moratorium bills. Here are some *new* reasons why: - Senator Delgado is holding a hearing on SB1571 this afternoon at 1 pm. Several of our aldermen are traveling down to Spr... more »

UPDATE: Let Your House Rep Know What You Think Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education News Roundup

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education News Roundup: Let Your House Rep Know What You Think by Melissa Westbrook The nonsense that is* SB 5328 *- the bill for letter grades for schools - passed the Senate. Please, please let your House representatives know that you do not support this. On the face of it, why? If this is so important, why not grade ALL public institutions, starting with the Legislature and the elected officials there? Even Stand says that "*schools are already being graded by the Achievement Index"* so exactly why do we need this? In fact, the Achievement ... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, March 19, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Lockyer: School bond election deals appear illegal* Education Headlines *Tuesday, March 19, 2013* Berkeley school board president quits to avoid conflict of interestSchool board President Leah Wilson will resign her post March 31, citing a potential conflict of interest with her new job as Court Executive Officer of Alameda County Superior Court. School district discriminated against gay students, ACLU allegesIn a letter from the ACLU, the Hesperia Unified School District is accused of discriminating against gay and lesbian st... more »

Evaluations Are Better Than No Evaluations - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Evaluations Are Better Than No Evaluations - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Evaluations Are Better Than No Evaluations by Deborah Meier *10% of something is better than 100% of nothing* *Eric "Rick" Hanushek continues a blog conversation with Deborah Meier this week.* Dear Deborah, In our conversations about accountability, we have skirted around the issue that I think drives the most heated debate—namely, that accountability involves evaluation of teachers and administrators. And teachers and administrators are "agin it," period. Can't we pare through some of the smoke a... more »

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): CReATE Releases Research Brief on School Closures

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): CReATE Releases Research Brief on School Closures: CReATE Releases Research Brief on School Closures When a school is closed, the facility is shut down, school staff is displaced, children are sent to other schools, and the community loses a vital resource. If Chicago Public Schools (CPS) follows the city’s Commission on School Utilization March 2013 recommendations, 80 CPS neighborhood schools (13% of the entire system) will be closed, disrupting the lives of nearly 25,000 children. CPS expects that s... more »

Demand goes up for open enrollment in Sac City Unified | news10.net

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Demand goes up for open enrollment in Sac City Unified | news10.net: Demand goes up for open enrollment in Sac City Unified - - - - [image: Share] - [image: Email] - [image: Print] - - A *A* A + Chris Nguyen - FILED UNDER - News - Local News - Education - COMMUNITIES - Natomas News - Land Park - Pocket News - South Sacramento News - East Sacramento News - Rancho Cordova - Gold River News - Fair Oaks - Carmichael News SACRAMENTO, Calif. - It's down to the wire for families in the Sac City Unified School District. Parents hav...more »

Effective Public Schooling—The Essential Element is Caring | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Effective Public Schooling—The Essential Element is Caring | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Effective Public Schooling—The Essential Element is Caring by Cheryl S. Williams In the work that the Learning First Alliance (LFA) has undertaken over the past months in gathering data on public attitudes and perceptions of public education, one common assumption among the general public becomes clear: - Student success and teacher effectiveness are related to a single quality - *caring* So, the public and educators alike believe that if teachers care about thei... more »

School Tech Connect: In Which I Explain Why I'm Opposed To Another Concept School

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

School Tech Connect: In Which I Explain Why I'm Opposed To Another Concept School: In Which I Explain Why I'm Opposed To Another Concept School by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Just an update about the state charter panel that's meeting today at 1:30 PM at the Thompson Center. I don't know if this is a hearing or just a public meeting, or what, but it appears from the agenda that Concept Schools is getting two new charters--- a decision that overrides the CPS decision. I don't know if there was a previous hearing, but from what I can tell, the decision is made.

Daily Kos: Juan Cole lists top 10 ways Iraq war harmed US

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Daily Kos: Juan Cole lists top 10 ways Iraq war harmed US: Juan Cole lists top 10 ways Iraq war harmed US by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) in this powerful post. He describes this as the first in a series of posts he intends to do looking back on the decade since the war commenced. He reminds us bluntly: Coming into 2003, the US enjoyed a great deal of sympathy and solidarity from the rest of the world (including Iran) over the al-Qaeda strikes of September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the US was widely seen as an international bully. He... more »

News Update: Finch cuts Bridgeport School budget ; Claims it won’t reduce funding for schools (oh, okay) - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

News Update: Finch cuts Bridgeport School budget ; Claims it won’t reduce funding for schools (oh, okay) - Wait, What?: One Adam-12, One Adam-12, we have a COI in progress by jonpelto COI as in Conflict of Interest… (Written by Jonathan Pelto and Wendy Lecker) Yesterday, the Connecticut State Department of Education held an eight-hour training session for elected officials, administrators and parents associated with the “turnaround” schools that make up the Commissioner’s Network. Among various education reformers, the “training event” featured none other than the Jumoke Academy’s ... more »

Joy Resmovits: NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Joy Resmovits: NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today: NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *NYC Teachers' Free Pass?* The Wall Street Journal crunched eight years worth of data, and found that more than 10 percent of principals *did not flunk one teacher* on their evaluations. "The findings give ammunition to Department of Education officials who say the teacher-rating system should be changed," WSJ's Lisa Fleisher writes. "New York City is one of a handful of school districts statewide that hasn't adopt... more »