Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Sequestration Cuts Forcing Schools That Serve Military, Native American Students To Squeeze
When President Barack Obama signed an executive order Friday night mandating across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, Henry Strom, the superintendent of public schools in Mt. Adams, Wash., was prepared. But the preparations hurt.
Mt. Adams serves Washington's Yakima Reservation -- many of its students are Native Americans who live in poverty. That means that unlike most U.S. school districts, Strom counts on a funding stream straight from the federal government, called "Impact Aid," to pay for one-fifth of his budget. This school year, Strom cut five teachers and five assistants -- small cuts that feel big in a tiny rural district that only has 63 teachers to begin
Mt. Adams serves Washington's Yakima Reservation -- many of its students are Native Americans who live in poverty. That means that unlike most U.S. school districts, Strom counts on a funding stream straight from the federal government, called "Impact Aid," to pay for one-fifth of his budget. This school year, Strom cut five teachers and five assistants -- small cuts that feel big in a tiny rural district that only has 63 teachers to begin
Bobby Jindal's Education Reform Law Struck Down By Republican Judge
Months after a court struck down Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) school voucher program, the Republican star is suffering another major judicial blow to his education agenda. On Monday, a Baton Rouge judge threw out Jindal's major education-reform package, reports the Associated Press.
The 2012 law ended the practice of firing teachers in reverse order of their seniority, a major win for the reform crowd. It also made it harder for teachers to get tenure, required that the state schools chief review all school superintendent contracts, and pulled back on the power of local school boards.
Republican Judge Michael Caldwell had previously upheld most of the law after overruling the piece that limited
The 2012 law ended the practice of firing teachers in reverse order of their seniority, a major win for the reform crowd. It also made it harder for teachers to get tenure, required that the state schools chief review all school superintendent contracts, and pulled back on the power of local school boards.
Republican Judge Michael Caldwell had previously upheld most of the law after overruling the piece that limited
What does it mean to be ‘aligned to the Common Core?’
Did you know that…
- Google Apps can help you ‘launch a stress-free implementation of the Common Core’s required technology components?’
- these 5 apps will help your kids meet the new Common Core standards?
- FASTT Math is ‘the only fact fluency program to extend beyond math fact fluency practice into more rigorous Common Core objectives?’
- ‘Great Books programs meet Common Core standards?’
- these student center activities are ‘aligned to the Common Core?’
- all of these Pinterest resources are ‘aligned with specific Common Core standards?’
- every one of McGraw-Hill’s ‘core math, reading, and language arts programs fully align with the Common Core?’
- you can watch video clips of ‘Common Core-aligned teaching and learning?’
- NWEA ‘has developed a set of MAP assessments aligned to the Common Core?’
- you can get access to ‘the world’s first and only on-demand, comprehensive training on the Common Core standards?’
- all of these software programs are ‘aligned to the Common Core,’ even Timez Attack?
- you can ‘become a Common Core Black Belt?’
- the new SimCity video game will ‘conform with the Common Core?’
Hite to discuss teachers contract on Radio Times
Superintendent William Hite, along with retired teacher and activist Ron Whitehorne and education analyst Andrew Rotherham, will discuss the pending teachers' contract on WHYY's Radio Times Tuesday morning.
The current contract is due to expire in August. The District's opening proposals -- leaked last week to the press-- include a steep salary cut, restructuring of the compensation system, an end to seniority and elimination of many provisions around working conditions, such as access to water fountains.
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The current contract is due to expire in August. The District's opening proposals -- leaked last week to the press-- include a steep salary cut, restructuring of the compensation system, an end to seniority and elimination of many provisions around working conditions, such as access to water fountains.
read more
Closure critics: Mayor Nutter, help us stop school closings
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Opponents of the mass school-closings plan stood in front of City Hall this morning appealing to Mayor Nutter for help in stopping the District from closing 29 Philadelphia schools.
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Opponents of the mass school-closings plan stood in front of City Hall this morning appealing to Mayor Nutter for help in stopping the District from closing 29 Philadelphia schools.
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Afternoon Video: "Good Luck Reading Beowulf, You Monsters!"
Afternoon Video: "Good Luck Reading Beowulf, You Monsters!"
Why Was Someone Wearing a KKK Robe at Oberlin? The Theories So Far
Oberlin College, in northern Ohio, cancelled classes today a few hours after someone (it's unclear who) wasspotted wearing KKK garb on campus. As the latest chapter in a string of hate-filled incidents at the famously liberal alma mater of Lena Dunham, Michelle Malkin, and Adam Moss, it spurred several media outlets — including Gawker, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post — to look for answers, just as campus outlets like The Oberlin Review (which documented the recent spate of homophobic and racist graffiti) and Oberlin Microaggressions, a group Tumblr that broke the news of the KKK sighting, have been doing for the past month. Here's a guide to what we know — and don't know — so far.
Theory No. 1: An Oberlin Staff Member Did It
Shortly after Gawker published an Oberlin-wide email reporting the incident and announcing that classes had
Statement on Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council’s Efforts To Undermine Real Parent Power
In the March 3rd issue of The New York Post, parents and other readers learned that members of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) are going to Albany to present four position papers to legislators as part of their Lobby Day activities. The position papers are entitled “College and Career Readiness”, “School Closings”, “Co-locations” and [...]
Paul Thomas on Mathematica KIPP Study | Diane Ravitch's blog
Student-led ballot initiative taking hold prior to March on State Capitol
As students descend on the capital and demand that more be done to increase the quality and decrease the cost of education, an extraction fee for oil and natural gas championed by UC Berkeley students is rapidly increasing its support among this core constituency. The California Modernization and Economic Development Act, or CMED, was just submitted to the Attorney General’s office, and summary and title are expected near the end of April. The 9.5% fee on oil and natural gas extracted from the state and sold on the global market would raise approximately the same amount of revenue as Senate Bill 241, a similar proposal in the Senate by Senator Noreen Evans.
However, the Evans’ bill would allocate virtually all of the revenue towards education spending, with some of the revenue allocated for the purposes of maintaining state parks. By contrast, The California Modernization and
However, the Evans’ bill would allocate virtually all of the revenue towards education spending, with some of the revenue allocated for the purposes of maintaining state parks. By contrast, The California Modernization and
#huffpost lovin the “faith based reformers”
“Research shows that when expectations are raised, students rise to meet them. Adapting to higher standards and raising expectations may prove challenging, but they are the steps we must take so that our kids are successful in high schools and prepared for colleges and careers. Readiness is worth a celebration.”Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon made this concluding statement in her recent post at Huffington Post.
That’s it. “Research shows…” What research? How about an example of just one study in a peer reviewed journal? Or is just assumed that when a person of political power makes an assertion that it must be true? I mean why would HuffPost want to check on the validity of an assertion made by an education reformer? It’s obviously a proven fact that “faith based reforms” work. How do we know this? Because people like Sheila Simon said so. And that’s enough for HuffPost.
The Education Games Endure
Writing about his students exploring George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Chris Gilbert explains:
This idea is relevant because corporate education reformers deliberately mask history. In fact, their reforms require a forced forgetting, as the public will only embrace irrational notions if opposing ideas are concealed. Orwell’s words (below in quotes) are used here, as they were in my classroom, to expose misguided narratives and the history they obscure.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their
A Parade of Women
One of the highlights of Women’s History Month this March will be various commemorations of one of the most famous civil-rights demonstrations of all time, the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 when an estimated 8,000 people marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., on March 3. Organized by the suffragist Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the parade took place on the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson to draw attention to the exclusion of women from voting.
Rowdy crowds met the marchers, and the battle had barely begun. It would be seven more years before theNineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting any citizen from being denied the right
Rowdy crowds met the marchers, and the battle had barely begun. It would be seven more years before theNineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting any citizen from being denied the right
Update: Direct Fundraising Lags Behind
New disclosure reports available from LA City Ethics reveal that direct fundraising by candidates — limited to $1,000 per individual contributor — continues to lag far behind outside fundraising, which is unlimited. One possible interpretation is that candidates are hoping that outside expenditures will be enough to fuel their campaigns. Another is that candidates are waiting to see if they make it through the March 5 primary before focusing on direct appeals.District 2 (Downtown – East Los Angeles): Robert Skeels has raised a total of $19,000, adding $2,000 since the last reporting period last month; Annamarie Montanez has raised $9,200 altogether, adding less than $100 since last month; Abelardo Diaz has raised $3,900 altogether, adding only a few dollars to his coffers since last
Reactions to DeKalb school board ruling. Governor says time of the essence to name new board.
Among the reactions to the federal court ruling late today that the suspensions of the DeKalb board members can stand and replacements can be named:
DeKalb School Board Chair Melvin Johnson: “I respect the judge’s opinion, and appreciate the judge providing an opinion in a timely manner, because time is of the essence. It is essential that