Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Is Bill Gates Data Mining Your Children?
| Blooming Automatons? (Image from Flickr, by edenpictures) |
Want your child to flower academically? That’s what inBloom Inc. says it will do by accessing your child’s social security number, test scores, hobbies, learning disabilities, attendance records, career goals, homework completion records, and other personal data, in order to develop “personalized” learning aids that it will sell back to you or your school district.
Private Education Companies are School Officials According to Fed
inBloom’s new $100 million database has been in operation for three months, the Business Insider reports. Funded by the Gates Foundation, with its infrastructure built by Amplify Education, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s New’s Corp, the database was designed to acquire and monitor student data from kindergarten through high school. It already contains files on millions of children, according to Reuters. While local school officials retain legal control over the information, federal law allows them to share these files with private
The unreasonable ‘Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013′
You won’t believe what a bill called “The Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013″ and introduced in the Maryland legislature is intended to accomplish. (Or maybe you will.) My colleague Michael Rosenwald calls it a bill “to protect Pop-Tart guns.” … Continue reading →
Revamp Teacher Evaluation Plan, Says LA Times
Expressing concern about increasing divisiveness between LAUSD and the teachers union, the LA Times editorial page calls for a more thoughtful, balanced approach to making much-needed improvements, including a proposal for LAUSD to make student achievement less than 30
April Vote Will Highlight Union Factions
PEAC member Alex Caputo-Pearl, left, at a UTLA-led Steve Zimmer phone bank
Tomorrow’s much-anticipated House of Representatives debate over District 6 endorsements isn’t the only potentially divisive issue UTLA’s governing body has on tap this Spring.Next month, members of the teachers union will also vote on a new initiative to demand various things from
What age should kids start learning sex ed? In Chicago, it's kindergarten
How soon is too soon to talk about sex in schools? Credit: Photo by c.a.muller via Flickr Creative CommonsWhen it comes to talking to kids about sex -- what should they know and when? I was wondering about this last night, when I stumbled on a show on Nick Jr where an interviewer was pretending to be a small child, asking people those oh-so innocent questions that get parents all tangled up. “What is intercourse?” “Why does my penis change size?” “What’s that tiny diaper you wear, Mom?”
Put on the spot, the parents were embarrassed, tongue tied and generally came up with odd responses. Which got me wondering what a parent should say when a young child asks these kinds of questions. How young is too young to talk about it?
In California, schools have to teach HIV/AIDS prevention once in middle school and once in high school,
Five Hechinger Report writers recognized with national awards
For the third consecutive year, The Hechinger Report has been honored with National Awards for Education writing from the Education Writers Association. Our brand of solutions-oriented, in-depth writing about education has been appearing in major publications across the U.S. since May, 2010. Five Report writers are among thewinners of the 2012 National Awards for Education Reporting, announced Tuesday by the Education Writers Association. Sarah Carr won first prize for beat reporting, for stories covering k-12 education in the South. Carr’s
Here are folks interviewed for the DeKalb school board
Here is the list of 63 people interviewed by the governor’s panel and the districts for which they were under consideration. (The districts are the numbers next to their names. Remember, DeKalb has two super districts.) The governor is scheduled to announce six board members from this list tomorrow at 11 a.m.
“I am overwhelmed by the extraordinary group of people in DeKalb County who stepped forward to try to help their community,” said Gov. Nathan Deal. “I greatly appreciate the nominating panel’s hard work and the difficult choices the members faced when narrowing down a field with so many excellent candidates. These individuals have worked with the best interests of DeKalb’s children in mind, and I’m proud of the progress we have made. Protecting the opportunities of our youngest generation is a sacred trust; I want DeKalb’s parents, students, teachers and homeowners to know, it’s a trust I will keep.”
The list:
“I am overwhelmed by the extraordinary group of people in DeKalb County who stepped forward to try to help their community,” said Gov. Nathan Deal. “I greatly appreciate the nominating panel’s hard work and the difficult choices the members faced when narrowing down a field with so many excellent candidates. These individuals have worked with the best interests of DeKalb’s children in mind, and I’m proud of the progress we have made. Protecting the opportunities of our youngest generation is a sacred trust; I want DeKalb’s parents, students, teachers and homeowners to know, it’s a trust I will keep.”
The list:
What A Great Piece In “The New Yorker” About Standardized Tests
The New Yorker has just published a great piece titled Seattle’s Low-Stakes Testing Trap. Here’s a quote:
Mayor Overreached Against Zimmer, Says Reformer
Last week’s School Board primary outcome wasn’t a win or even a mixed result for Mayor Villaraigosa and his merry band of reformers, according to former state senator Gloria Romero. It was a big loss.Romero has had public disagreements with Villaraigosa in the past, and she first made her negative assessmentof the outcome in an LA Times piece last week.
Now, in a new Orange County Register commentary, the head of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) – California writes, “The balance of power on the school board has shifted away from the mayor, who overreached, and from the broader reform community.”
Villaraigosa and the reform coalition weren’t the only parties at fault during the contentious primary, according to
School custodian wins national award for helping kids
Sometimes a nice little story is just the ticket, and here’s one: A custodian at a Texas high school won the national LifeChanger of the Year award for his efforts to help and mentor students. Charles Clark, head custodian at … Continue reading →
Why SGPs CAN'T Evaluate Teachers
If you're a teacher or a parent in New Jersey, get used to this acronym: SGP.
Here's the key to understanding SGPs: as their "inventor," Damian Betebenner says, SGPs are a descriptivemeasure. They measure student "growth," relative to other students, but SGPs make no attempt to determineOne prevailing question both during and after the meeting had to do with how the process would work, especially the tests scores and a complex formula called “student growth percentiles” (SGP) that will measures students’ progress against that of comparable peers.The state is expected to release its first SGP scores for overall school performance this month, based on 2011-2012 tests, but has only started to share them for individual teachers. [emphasis mine]
Video: Dallas ISD talks about new breakfast in the classroom expansion
Several months ago, Dallas ISD trustee Dan Micciche advocated for the expansion of breakfast in the classroom. It works like this: Students take a few minutes of their first period every day to eat breakfast provided by DISD.
The district kicked off the visit site to read more]
Early Retirement Agreement Update:
State employees who are eligible may elect to retire in lieu of layoff under the terms of the new Stipulated Agreement between the Malloy Administration and SEBAC:
State employee employed as of December 1, 2012 and you are a member of the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System (SERS). Offer applies to non-represented employees, including managers, as well as to members of all bargaining units.
Prior to August 31, 2011 you were under the age of 55 AND had twenty-five or more years of service.
SERS members must irrevocably elect to retire in lieu of layoff AND sign a stipulated agreement by May 1, 2013.
Retirement date: Eligible Tier I members must retire no later than July 1, 2013. Tier 2
$420,000 allocated for armed guards in Newtown
Source: [b]New Haven Register[/b]
NEWTOWN — The Board of Finance voted unanimously Monday night to set aside $420,000 in the contingency fund for the coming year for 4.3 armed security positions, allowing all seven of public schools to have armed police officers or the equivalent.
The ...
NEWTOWN — The Board of Finance voted unanimously Monday night to set aside $420,000 in the contingency fund for the coming year for 4.3 armed security positions, allowing all seven of public schools to have armed police officers or the equivalent.
The ...
March 18 Chat – Monique Coleman
We are beyond thrilled to announce Monique Coleman will cohost the March 18th Chat! We’ll let her amazing accolades speak for themselves.
From GirlUp: Monique Coleman is most recognized as Taylor McKessie from the tremendously successful High School Musical franchise, as well as the 4th place contestant on season 3 of ABC’s hit show, Dancing with the Stars.
From the United Nations: The UN appointed Disney Actress and youth activist Monique Coleman as a “Youth
From GirlUp: Monique Coleman is most recognized as Taylor McKessie from the tremendously successful High School Musical franchise, as well as the 4th place contestant on season 3 of ABC’s hit show, Dancing with the Stars.
From the United Nations: The UN appointed Disney Actress and youth activist Monique Coleman as a “Youth
Want to Transform Public Education? Act Locally
I have been teaching at King for 13 years and we serve a 1,517 student population that is 86 percent minority. About 16 percent of students are English Language Learners and over 85 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. I also live up the hill from the school, which gives me a different perspective on the transformation that’s
Political divide still entrenched as PEP shutters more schools
Chancellor Walcott looks on as an I.S. 292 student reads a statement against the city’s plan to move the middle grades of the UFT Charter School into her building. (Nell Gluckman)
At Monday night’s Panel for Educational Policy meeting, there was a single moment of consensus: All of the panel members voted to support the proposed location for Eagle Academy for Young Men of Harlem.But for the rest of the meeting, as expected, the panel members split along the same lines that have divided
Special Education Executive Director Hired
Zakiyyah McWilliams has been selected by Superintendent Banda as the Executive Director of Special Education.
From the announcement:
Statement on Resignation of MA Early Education Commissioner
From the announcement:
Ms. McWilliams brings to Seattle more than 30 years of experience in education, with a strong emphasis on students with special needs. In her role, she will oversee all aspects of our Special Education department and will communicate and collaborate with families, staff and administrative staff.
Ms. McWilliams comes to us from the Compton Unified School District, where she started in 2007 as Special Education Program Administrator and since 2011, has been the Administrator of the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Support and Compliance. She is currently Compton’s lead for disproportionality and focused
Statement on Resignation of MA Early Education Commissioner
Carolyn Lyons, president and CEO of Strategies for Children, issued the following statement today on the resignation yesterday of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins: “We at Strategies for Children and our Early Education for All Campaign thank former Commissioner Killins for her leadership on behalf of the commonwealth’s young children and families. She [...]
