Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 4-2-13 #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



Schools Matter: Tom Friedman Signals New Education Rhetoric and the Same Old Crap

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 minutes ago
Schools Matter: Tom Friedman Signals New Education Rhetoric and the Same Old Crap: Tom Friedman Signals New Education Rhetoric and the Same Old Crap by Jim Horn I have been dismissing Tom Friedman for a long time, but occasionally I do find something of interest in his column that someone else said. His latest column follows that pattern, in that it is based largely on quotes from Tony Wagner, a Harvard prof who has made a career of trying to do in education what Tom Friedman has done in politics, i. e., represent an abstract middle-brow version of progressivism that wraps neo-... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Walton paying for CPS propaganda campaign on school closings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 minutes ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Walton paying for CPS propaganda campaign on school closings: Walton paying for CPS propaganda campaign on school closings by Mike Klonsky Federico Waitoller and Stephanie Farmer from CReATE, present research on school closings at today's City Hall press conference. But can education research counter the Walton-funded propaganda campaign? (Mike Klonsky photo)The Walton Fund, philanthropic arm of the mega-billionaire Walton family (Wal-Mart), has given CPS nearly half-a-million dollars to underwrite Rahm's pro-school-closing propaganda campaign. ... more »

Florida’s School Choice Crowd Buses in Kids on a School Day for Political Rally | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 minutes ago
Florida’s School Choice Crowd Buses in Kids on a School Day for Political Rally | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s School Choice Crowd Buses in Kids on a School Day for Political Rally by Bob Sikes *ASTRO TURF KIDS?* In response to a questions from a colleague during yesterday’s Parent Trigger senate hearing, bill sponsor Kelli Stargel seem to bristle when she corrected a senate colleague by insisting that charter schools are public schools. Why so touchy? Stargel’s not alone. Consider this from Ron Matus who wrote this a few days ago in *redinED* Senate sponsor Kelli Stargel... more »

Hispanic Education: CA Migrant Head Start Program Can be Model | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 55 minutes ago
Hispanic Education: CA Migrant Head Start Program Can be Model | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com: Hispanic Education: California Migrant Head Start Program Can be Model [image: Hispanic Education: California Migrant Head Start Program Can be Model]Long before President Obama triggered a new national interest in universal preschool earlier this year, a Central Valley-based Head Start program for children of migrant workers has been breaking down barriers that have kept Latino families out of early learning programs. Data suggests that Latino children, who now make up more than half of ...more »

Learning Math, Learning Justice - Rethinking Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 55 minutes ago
Rethinking Schools: Volume 27, Issue 3 Volume 27, Issue 3 VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 — SPRING 2013 Cover Theme: Learning Math, Learning Justice This issue of *Rethinking Schools* previews our new, expanded, and revised edition of *Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social Justice by the Numbers*. The focus is on teaching math in ways that help students make sense of their world. Editorial: Just MathWhose Community Is This?Mathematics of neighborhood displacement By Eric (Rico) Gutstein Students use advanced math to study gentrification, displacement, and foreclosure in their neighborhood. Bey... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed Reform Collapsing Under Its Own Weight - Part One, Assessments

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 55 minutes ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed Reform Collapsing Under Its Own Weight - Part One, Assessments: Seattle Schools Named for 2012 Achievement by Melissa Westbrook From OPSI: *A total of 381 schools are receiving Washington Achievement Awards for 2012. Award-winning schools were notified today via email by State Superintendent Randy Dorn and State Board of Education Chair Jeff Vincent.* * **The Washington Achievement Awards, now in their fourth year, are sponsored by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. Award winners are selected usin... more »

Public Schools, Private Agendas: Parent Revolution – Hot Ideas for a Cold Economy – The Frying Pan

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Public Schools, Private Agendas: Parent Revolution – Hot Ideas for a Cold Economy – The Frying Pan: Public Schools, Private Agendas: Parent Revolution by Gary Cohn on April 2, 2013 At first glance, it is one of the nation’s hottest new education-reform movements, a seemingly populist crusade to empower poor parents and fix failing public schools. But a closer examination reveals that the “parent-trigger” movement is being heavily financed by the conservative Walton Family Foundation, one of the nation’s largest and most strident anti-union organizations, a Frying Pan News invest... more »

Letter to the Sacramento County Board of Education: Just Say No to the Fortune School Charter Revision | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Letter to the Sacramento County Board of Education: Just Say No to the Fortune School Charter Revision | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: Letter to the Sacramento County Board of Education: Just Say No to the Fortune School Charter Revision by Kate_Lenox [image: Home] published by Kate_Lenox on Tue, 04/02/2013 - 1:07pm Dear SCOE Board of Trustees: It has come to our attention that the Fortune School will be coming before the SCOE board to ask for a material revision of its charter. It is proposing a new school in Elk Grove School USD more than three miles from t... more »

Atlanta school cheating indictments: Your questions, answered. By Dana Goldstein

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Atlanta school cheating indictments: Your questions, answered.: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy What You Need to Know About the Shocking Cheating Indictments in the Atlanta Public Schools By Dana Goldstein | Posted Tuesday, April 2, 2013, at 3:07 PM [image: Share on Facebook] 3 16 [image: 97021506] The Atlanta indictment alleges a top-down conspiracy. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images A March 29 grand jury indictment details the shockingly sick culture of adult cheating that existed within the Atlanta public schools under former superinten... more »

The Common Core Reality that Florida Republican Senators Want to Ignore in Parent Trigger Fight | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Common Core Reality that Florida Republican Senators Want to Ignore in Parent Trigger Fight | Scathing Purple Musings: The Common Core Reality that Florida Republican Senators Want to Ignore in Parent Trigger Fight by Bob Sikes Susan Smith reminded senate republicans of something they don’t want to be reminded of during yesterday’s Senate Education Committee hearing on Parent Trigger. Florida’s implementation of Common Core Standards (CCS) has consequences which will come into play in the bill they say is just about “giving parents a seat at the table.” Referring to a prese... more »

Will Charter Schools Survive The Charter School Movement?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Will Charter Schools Survive The Charter School Movement?: Will Charter Schools Survive The Charter School Movement? by Jeff Bryant [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] America’s education polices are brimming with contradiction. Schools, we’re told, need more standardization, but parents need more choices, which standardization precludes. Teachers need to be held to more accountability, but entry into the teaching force needs to be easier with fewer qualifications. This kind of contradiction applies to one of the more contentious ideas often equated to schoo... more »

In Pictures: Rahm & others announce “and justice for…” | Reclaim Reform

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
In Pictures: Rahm & others announce “and justice for…” | Reclaim Reform: In Pictures: Rahm & others announce “and justice for…” by kenpreviti Bill Moyers dares to speak truth to power and us all – even the most deluded of us all. “Bill reports on the hypocrisy of ‘justice for all’ in a society where billions are squandered for a war born in fraud while the poor are pushed aside. Turns out true justice — not just the word we recite from the Pledge of Allegiance — is still unaffordable for those who need it most.” As a matter of fact, it’s not only the poor, it is also the middle clas... more »

The Wonders of Promoting School Involvement From Spanish Speaking Parents | NewsTacoNewsTaco

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Wonders of Promoting School Involvement From Spanish Speaking Parents | NewsTacoNewsTaco: The Wonders of Promoting School Involvement From Spanish Speaking Parents by NewsTaco [image: homework] [image: NBCLatino]By Esther J. Cepeda, NBCLatino CHICAGO — Something bordering on the miraculous happened at my community high school the other night: The parents who speak only Spanish were included and respected in a meeting in a way that did not turn the whole thing into a big, fat mess. In the past, the school district’s well-intentioned efforts to include non-English-speaking parent...more »

Common Core Presentations and Omissions | InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Common Core Presentations and Omissions | InterACT: Common Core Presentations and Omissions by David B. Cohen Diane Ravitch (Jan. 2012; photo by the author) [image: Diane Ravitch (Jan. 2012; photo by the author)]Still thinking over the presentations I attended at the recent ASCD Conference, I was struck by some other recent blog posts about the Common Core standards transition. There’s been a recent back-and-forth exchange of posts debating a number of issues relating to the CCSS, involving Marc Tucker, Diane Ravitch, and Stephen Krashen. Tucker just posted in EdWeek his “Last Round... more »

Dear 8th Grader: You Have a 3% Chance of Getting Ready for College « The Core Knowledge Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Dear 8th Grader: You Have a 3% Chance of Getting Ready for College « The Core Knowledge Blog: Dear 8th Grader: You Have a 3% Chance of Getting Ready for College by Lisa Hansel What are the odds that an eighth grader in a high-poverty school who is far behind academically will catch up? You know the odds are low, but single-digit low? According toresearch from ACT, catching up in high school is rare—if by “catching up” we mean getting poorly prepared eighth graders ready for college by twelfth grade. An eighth grader in a high-poverty school who is far from meeting ACT’s college r... more »

Why Common Core tests won’t be what Arne Duncan promised

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Why Common Core tests won’t be what Arne Duncan promised: Why Common Core tests won’t be what Arne Duncan promised Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 2, 2013 at 12:31 pm [image: bubble]On Sept. 2, 2010, Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave a speech called “Beyond The Bubble Tests: The Next Generation of Assessments.” Duncan was referring to standardized tests that were just then starting to be created to align with the Common Core State Standards. These tests, being developed by two multi-state consortia with $360 million in federal funds, promised to go beyond the familiar multip... more »

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: American Indian Model Schools enrollment trends: student retention and demographics

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: American Indian Model Schools enrollment trends: student retention and demographics: American Indian Model Schools enrollment trends: student retention and demographics *STUDENT RETENTION* *American** Indian Public Charter School*** School Code #6113807 3637 Magee Ave., Oakland, CA Total Enroll 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 6th>8th Student retention 2011-12 255 4 121 80 50 71>50 70.4% 2010-11 179 0 82 57 40 66>40 60.6% 2009-10 193 1 71 52 69 77>69 89.6% 2008-09 182 0 66 72 44 62>44 71.0% 2007-08 190 5 77 59 49 2006-07 174 11 62 54 47 200... more »

The Crumbling of Corporate School "Reform" | California Progress Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
The Crumbling of Corporate School "Reform" | California Progress Report: The Crumbling of Corporate School "Reform" by callen *By Randy Shaw* In the past month, 1. Los Angeles voters overwhelmingly rejected a billionaire-backed school board candidate seeking to shift control of the district to anti-union forces; 2. Thirty-five Atlanta educators, including a close ally of prominent "reformer" Michelle Rhee, were indicted for altering students' test scores; 3. Rhee, head of "Students First," was herself caught lying about being a "public school parent" after it was reported that... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, April 2, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Judge adds twist to school yoga case* Education Headlines *Tuesday, April 2, 2013* Bassett Unified Superintendent Martin Galindo resignsHistory appears to be repeating itself at Bassett Unified where now the second district leader in less than three years has resigned because of irreparable tensions with the school board. Temecula schools forming own special education planTemecula educators are a step closer to taking control over delivering special education programs to students. Judge adds twist to school yoga caseA routine co... more »

When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post | School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post | School Finance 101: When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post by schoolfinance101 Yesterday, Matt Di Carlo over at Shankerblog put out his April fools post. The genius of the post is in its subtlety. Matt put together a few graphs of longitudinal NAEP data showing that Maryland had made greater than average national gains on NAEP and then asserted that these gains must therefore be a function of some policy conditions that exist in Maryland. In the Post-RTTT era, ...more »

The Big Swindle | Bill Ayers

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Big Swindle | Bill Ayers: The Big Swindle by billayers The road to the massive cheating scandal in Atlanta (NY *Times* 3/30/2013) runs right through the White House. The former superintendent, Dr. Beverly *L. *Hall, and her 34 obedient subordinates now face criminal charges, but the central role played by a group of un-indicted and largely unacknowledged co-conspirators, her powerful enablers, is barely noted. Beyond her “strong relations with the business elite” who reportedly made her “untouchable” in Atlanta, she was a national super-star for more than a decade because her... more »

Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Thom Markham]Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education April 2, 2013 by Thom Markham Yesterday's date: *April 1, 2013.* Yesterday's lead education article: *How should we handle homework?* Yesterday's lead statistic: *ADHD diagnosed in 11 percent of U.S. children.* Today's question: *Can we connect the dots?* No, this was not an April Fool's question. It's a simple scattergram, a graph of disparate facts and headlines arranged into no particular pattern—until you begin to probe and p... more »

UPDATE: PSAT Part 1: A parent’s request to stop school closings + Never let a tragedy go to waste Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive »

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Never let a tragedy go to waste: Never let a tragedy go to waste by admin Hadiya Pendleton’s mother, Cleopatra, and brother, Nathaniel, Jr. [image: Hadiya Pendleton's mother, Cleopatra, and brother, Nathaniel, Jr.] Murdered CPS student Hadiya Pendleton’s family is moving forward with plans for an anti-violence foundation in her honor. Bless their efforts – we hope this project gives them some measure of comfort. According to the Tribune, others are looking to see how they can get involved, too, though motivation in some of th... more »

Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching Specialties - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching Specialties - US News and World Report: Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching SpecialtiesChanging curriculum standards and demographics are driving demand for teachers in various specialties. By RETT FISHER April 2, 2013 RSS Feed Print [image: Job openings for K-12 teachers who specialize in special education and STEM fields are increasing.] Job openings for K-12 teachers who specialize in special education and STEM fields are increasing. Big changes in education, driven by changing curriculum standards, demographics and diagnoses of kids with special need... more »

UPDATE: I’m not an educator. I just play one while working at the state capital. Interesting info on data points from #SXSWedu – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
@dianeravitch is talking about @shankerinst who’s talking about MD – @ the chalk face: I’m not an educator. I just play one while working at the state capital. by Timothy D. Slekar Yesterday, Carnegie Mellon University English professor Kathy M. Newman published an opinion piece about high stakes testing in the *Pittsburgh Post-Gazette* that has since gone viral. The title was simple: Why I Won’t Let My Son Take The PSSA. The passage itself was powerful and very well articulated. For example after talking about the problems the PSSAs (NCLB tests in PA) were causing at home, Pro... more »

Conspiracy theories. | Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Conspiracy theories. | Fred Klonsky: Conspiracy theories. by Fred Klonsky [image: William-Burroughs-London-1988-300x203]*“A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what’s going on.”* - William S. Burroughs. Some pundits (Yes. I’m looking at you Eric Zorn and Laura Washington) have dismissed the accusation of racism when it comes to school closings. They sneer at Karen Lewis for suggesting such a thing as the Mayor closes schools that are over 90% African-American in a district with 42% African-American enrollment. I wonder what they will say if and when lawyers go into federal co... more »

The Atlanta Cheating Scandal

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
The Atlanta Cheating Scandal: The Atlanta Cheating Scandal by Sam There was a good conversation last night on the new prime time MSNBC Chris Hayes show about the Atlanta Cheating scandal. Still waiting to see if the investigation in DC ever gets as extensive as this — and, if it does, to what extent it exposes similar willful ignorance: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NYC Educator: UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
NYC Educator: UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition: UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition by NYC Educator Someone just sent me an email received from the New Action Caucus. Most of it is not of any interest, but I was struck by this: *MORE has shifted its campaign - from attacking Unity to attacking Unity/New Action. We weren't really expecting this, but it's not a great surprise either. (Even though they assured us a few months ago that they would not do this). Looks like they panicked when they saw how widely our literature had gotten out. ... more »

Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach - Bridging Differences - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach by Deborah Meier *Today, Deborah Meier starts a month-long blog conversation with Elliott Witney, a former KIPP educator who now serves as the executive director of strategic initiatives and innovation in the Spring Branch independent school district in Houston, Texas. Mr. Witney was school leader at the first KIPP—Knowledge Is Power Program—charter school for 10 years.* Dear Elliott, First, thank you for agreeing to take part with me in this public discussion. ... more »

UPDATE: Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago Schools Matter: Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Schools Matter: Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7: Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago by Jim Horn Click to enlarge. Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7 by Jim Horn [image: Opt Out of High Stakes Testing] I am coming to ODOE2 to remember and honor so many who cannot come and for so many of the forgotten victims of high stakes standardized testing. I am coming to DC for that Louisiana 4th grader in 2002 whose heart could be heard pounding across the desk by the teacher who had to tell him he would be in the 4th grade for the third time because he didn’t pass the st... more »

Charter schools possess no magic formula: Opposing view

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Charter schools possess no magic formula: Opposing view: Charter schools possess no magic formula: Opposing view More money gives KIPP schools an edge. [image: oppose040113] (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY) STORY HIGHLIGHTS - KIPP received, on average, as much as $5,760 more per pupil than local school districts. - KIPP gives students more time in schools while placing a reasonable limit on class sizes. - Given the additional money, public schools can certainly emulate this approach. Studies of charter schools have usually shown they provide no benefits. But ... more »

Federal Judge Orders Michelle Rhee Suit to Go Forward, will Broaden to Concealment and Fraud Claims

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Federal Judge Orders Michelle Rhee Suit to Go Forward, will Broaden to Concealment and Fraud Claims: Federal Judge Orders Michelle Rhee Suit to Go Forward, will Broaden to Concealment and Fraud ClaimsA US federal judge has denied a Motion to Dismiss by former DC Public School Chancellor Michelle Rhee in a wrongful termination lawsuit over the mass firings of DC Public School teachers back in 2009. Case to be amended to add concealment and fraud claims against Rhee and her CFO Noah Wepman. For nearly three years, efforts by hundreds of DC Public School teachers who were victims of... more »

Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial — MSNBC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial — MSNBC: [image: All In with Chris Hayes] Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial Ned Resnikoff, @resnikoff 1:09 PM on 04/01/2013 - Twitter96 - Facebook412 - 33 [image: In this file photo taken Jan. 18, 2011 Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall, center, speaks with school board member LaChandra Butler Parks, left, and Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, vice chair of the board, right, during the city's specially called public school board meeting in Atlanta. On Friday, Hall wa... more »

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Julian Vasquez Heilig Adds Graphics to the NEPC Story by dianerav Read here to see the illustrated version of the Wolf attack on me and NEPC. What do we need to protect us from future Wolf attacks? Garlic? A mirror? Maybe just common sense and concern for the commonweal. But what do I know. I am but a humble blogger with a doctorate in history, not a statistician. Texas Leads the Nation in Testing, But Not in Education by dianerav A great post here by Carolyn Hein... more »

UPDATE: News Flash Update: CT Post proves validity of lawsuit with news story about suit against Pryor, Vallas and Bridgeport Board of Education - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
News Flash Update: CT Post proves validity of lawsuit with news story about suit against Pryor, Vallas and Bridgeport Board of Education - Wait, What?: News Review: Vallas’ illegal contract leads to suit against Bridgeport Board of Education, Commissioner Pryor and Vallas by jonpelto As first reported by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas in the CTMirror, Attorney Norm Pattis has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court alleging that Superintendent Paul Vallas’ contract to serve as Bridgeport’s superintendent of schools is illegal. Pattis is the attorney who brought the case that led Connecticut’s ... more »

Why I fight, and why you should too | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Why I fight, and why you should too | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: "Was Abe A RINO Too?" John Boehner Has No Use For Lincoln In Context by crazycrawfish Reblogged from mykeystrokes.com: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) sent a memo to all House Republicans today, telling them what a great job they're doing. Of particular interest, though, was the Speaker arguing how "noble" he and his party are for trying to balance the budget. From the memo: The book Congressman Lincoln by Chris DeRose, which I recently read, includes a chapter focused on Abraham Lincoln's efforts to help craft a ne... more »

Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson: The racket with standardized test scores

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson: The racket with standardized test scores: Eugene Robinson: The racket with standardized test scores by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) It is time to acknowledge that the fashionable theory of school reform — requiring that pay and job security for teachers, principals and administrators depend on their students’ standardized test scores — is at best a well-intentioned mistake, and at worst nothing but a racket. I read that first paragraph of this column by Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson and found myself wanting to stand up and cheer. F... more »

Criminal indictment of Beverly Hall: Is it illegal to be an overly demanding boss? | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Criminal indictment of Beverly Hall: Is it illegal to be an overly demanding boss? | Get Schooled: Criminal indictment of Beverly Hall: Is it illegal to be an overly demanding boss? by Maureen Downey *Oglethorpe University President Lawrence Schall *doesn’t dodge the hard stuff. Proving it again today, he dons his legal robes — he is an attorney – and discusses the nature of the charges against former APS school chief Beverly Hall. He is not the only one questioning the breadth of the criminal charges facing Hall and other educators as a result of a cheating scandal first expose... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: At City Hall this morning

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: At City Hall this morning: At City Hall this morning by Mike Klonsky Rahm, "no negotiations..."I'm heading down to City Hall this morning for a 9:30 press conference outside the mayor's office. *Wendy Katten* from theRaise Your Hand Coalition and representatives from the research group CReATE will be releasing their latest reports on Chicago's mass school closings and urging Rahm's hand-picked Board of Education to back off the closings. They and the mayor would do well to listen. But it's not likely. Rahm has made it clear that he's done negotiating ... more »

The new challenges of teaching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The new challenges of teaching: The new challenges of teaching Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 2, 2013 at 4:00 am 3 Comments More [image: teaching]What can we learn about assessment from photographs? Katherine Schultz, a professor and dean of the School of Education at Mills College in Oakland, explains in the following post about the challenges of teaching and assessment. She is the author of the 2009 book, “Rethinking Classroom Participation: Listening to Silent Voices.” By Katherine Schultz The world of public education was shocked recently by the story of former Atlanta publ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Get Busy and Start Downloading/Saving Files from ed.gov for Common Core Information

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Get Busy and Start Downloading/Saving Files from ed.gov for Common Core Information: Get Busy and Start Downloading/Saving Files from ed.gov for Common Core Information by stlgretchen Perhaps it is coincidental, but since Glenn Beck has been focusing on Common Core standards, trying to access Common Core/Race to the Top documents on the ed.gov signed by states has yielded few results. When you search "race to the top phase 2 applications" this is what you will see: *The U.S. Department of Education's main website, www.ed.gov, is temporarily unavaila... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Who Runs The Reformy Campaign Money Machine?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Who Runs The Reformy Campaign Money Machine?: Who Runs The Reformy Campaign Money Machine? by Duke *So I need to find someone to help me give it away to low-level politicians! * *The reformy-minded campaign finance machine is becoming a fact of American political life*. Michelle Rhee's political giving around the country has been well-documented, as have the lobbying efforts of members of the educational-industrial complex such as K12, Inc and Jeb's Bush's FEE. *What I don't think we've really determined, as of yet, is just how well-coordinated and far-reaching thi... more »

Private Prison Company Pulls Out of Stadium Naming Deal |

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Private Prison Company Pulls Out of Stadium Naming Deal |: Private Prison Company Pulls Out of Stadium Naming Deal by Angus Johnston Controversial private prison company the GEO Group announced yesterday that it is pulling out of a deal to buy naming rights for the Florida Atlantic University football stadium. GEO’s prisons, including immigration detention centers and juvenile correctional facilities, have been the sites of a long list of documented violations of prisoners’ rights, and students have been protesting the FAU stadium naming deal since it was announced in February, st... more »

Whitney Tilson: Hates The USA, But Loves Ignorance and EAG News!.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: Whitney Tilson: Hates The USA, But Loves Ignorance and EAG News! by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) It's been some time since I ripped Whitney Tilson on these pages, hell its been almost a year! But The Doucheney again is letting his really, really tiny head do the thinking for his not much bigger head as he still shows us he does not know when to speak or shut up or whom to trust. Whitney in today's convoluted and mentally twisted he mass emailed, lamented how the unions, and I am sure he means the UFT most of all, protect sex offending teacher... more »

Late Night: Look, It’s Entitled High School Me! | Firedoglake

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Late Night: Look, It’s Entitled High School Me! | Firedoglake: Late Night: Look, It’s Entitled High School Me! by Allison Hantschel Popout Seriously, I think I wrote something this snippy and spoiled in high school, but it’s still in my diary (I TOLD YOU TO BURN THAT, MOM) and not in the pages of the Wall Street Journal: Like me, millions of high-school seniors with sour grapes are asking themselves this week how they failed to get into the colleges of their dreams. It’s simple: For years, they—we—were lied to. Colleges tell you, “Just be yourself.” That is great advice, as long a... more »

On getting poor kids into “top” colleges – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
On getting poor kids into “top” colleges – @ the chalk face: On getting poor kids into “top” colleges by Chalk Face, PhD Good day this Sunday in the Times for education stories. Food for thought. Still getting through it all. On sending poor kids to college worthy of their potential, giving them greater access to information. The study cited in the article noted packets of information given to low income kids and it increased the rate at which they applied and were admitted to selective colleges. Great. If you look at the study, here’s what they meant by packets of information. From... more »

My Exclusive Interview with The Amazing Robert J. Marzano [Edutopia] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
My Exclusive Interview with The Amazing Robert J. Marzano [Edutopia] | The Jose Vilson: My Exclusive Interview with The Amazing Robert J. Marzano [Edutopia] by Jose Vilson Last week, I got an exclusive interview with Robert J. Marzano, Ph.D on his latest book, *The Art and Science of the Art of Science of Teaching, Leading, and Instructurizing*. Here’s an excerpt: *The Art and Science of the Art and Science of Teaching, Leading, and Instructurizing: How Everyone with a Thought About Education Can Affect Students Even a Little Bit2* takes a hard look at learning from the perspec... more »

All Things Education: In Virginia, an opportunity to undermine the institution of public, democratic education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
All Things Education: In Virginia, an opportunity to undermine the institution of public, democratic education: In Virginia, an opportunity to undermine the institution of public, democratic education by Rachel Levy Virginians who value public schools, local control of public schools, and public democratic institutions should be afraid. This may be the beginning of the end. Governor McDonnell proposed legislation SB1324 (which passed, though in the Senate by the skin of its teeth) that established a new bureaucratic entity, a statewide school division named the Opportunity Edu... more »

How to Privatize 101: For Fun and Profit Temecula Valley Charter changes likely mean new teachers Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Temecula Valley Charter changes likely mean new teachers Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com: Temecula Valley Charter changes likely mean new teachers [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991]*How to Privatize 101: For Fun and Profit * The Temecula Valley Charter community is bracing for change after the school board unanimously approved a cost-saving charter revision last week. With the revision calling for the charter school to hire non-district teachers, all 19 of the school’s instructors are expected to leave the 500-student school in Winchester, school officials sai... more »

H.R.1368: Prepare All Kids Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
H.R.1368: Prepare All Kids Act of 2013 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: H.R.1368 - Prepare All Kids Act of 2013 To assist States in providing voluntary high-quality universal prekindergarten programs and programs to support infants and toddlers. view all titles (2) - Overview - Actions & Votes - News (0) & Blogs (0) - Comments (0) Bill's Views - Today:1 - Past Seven Days:12 - All-Time:21 Introduced House Passes Senate Passes President Signs *03/20/13* * * * * * * Official Bill TextComment on about 17 Pages Sponsor Representative Carolyn Maloney D-NY Vie... more »

A Middle Fish Messed with the Tests in Atlanta | JD2718

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
A Middle Fish Messed with the Tests in Atlanta | JD2718: A Middle Fish Messed with the Tests in Atlanta by jd2718 The smallfry and minnows were the teachers and students. And bigger than those, but still near the bottom: principals. Which makes former Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall definitely a “Middle Fish” What of the big fish? The national figures who promote this crud? And the sharks – the hedge fund guys and corporations who make profit off denying kids quality education? Most of the thoughts I’ve had on the Atlanta testing scandal, others have already had them. I sh... more »

Why Teachers Cheat | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Why Teachers Cheat | toteachornototeach: Why Teachers Cheat by aristotlethewise [image: original]*Why Teachers Cheat* by David Callahan The indictment last week of 35 teachers and administrators in Atlanta for manipulating test scores is just the latest chapter in that city’s long festering “teacher cheating” scandal. In turn, Atlanta is just one of many cities where evidence has surfaced that educators fudged testing data. Perhaps the best way to think of these cheating scandals is that they are the result of a natural experiment: What happens when you change incentives so that l... more »

Diane in the Evening 4-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Louisiana Teacher to NBC: Not for Sale! by dianerav Just got this in the email. It was posted on Facebook: Deborah Hohn Tonguis posted in LA Public Teachers: Our Classrooms are Not for Sale! Here is my email response to Holly Boffy, who sent an email request to all of the Louisiana Teachers of the Year to participate in an upcoming visit by NBC. She has no shame… From: Holly Boffy Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 9:53 PM Subject: Unique opportunity in the New Orleans area Dear Teachers of the Year, If you live in ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Cheating in Atlanta; but didn't it happen here too?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC Public School Parents: Cheating in Atlanta; but didn't it happen here too?: Cheating in Atlanta; but didn't it happen here too? by Leonie Haimson The indictments in Atlanta of the former superintendent, Beverly Hall and 32 associates for conspiracy in encouraging cheating on the Georgia state tests are shocking enough. But the evidence suggests that the much the same has happened over the last ten years in NYC. The only difference is no effort or resources have been put by the city or the state into uncovering the phenomenon; in fact, quite the reverse. Under Bloomberg and ... more »

#Syracuse Has the Virus – @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
#Syracuse Has the Virus – @ the chalk face: #Syracuse Has the Virus by Kris Nielsen I’ve been very busy communicating with parents and teachers in my state, finishing my speech for Occupy DOE 2.0 (Woohoo!), and stuff like that. My contributions to *The Chalk Face* have been a little wanting, but it’s not because I’ve been quiet. Honestly, I’ve felt a little sick. Not because I have an illness or a virus, but because my new city does. Yes, Syracuse, New York, has caught a deadly virus–the Broad Virus. [image: 2011-10-13-db-syracuse1jpg-51f2c8cdb66a6fb5]From Paul Riede at syracu... more »

Rally and Teach In at Serna Center Thursday, April 4th 2013, 4:30 to 5:30 pm

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
*Rally and Teach In at Serna Center Thursday, April 4th 2013, 4:30 to 5:30 pm * * * https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7wdDUUSR15dMVpGTk55V2lRQ2M/edit?usp=sharing Post navigation← Previous Next →OFFICIAL POSTER FOR OCCUPY DOE IN DC NOW AVAILABLE Please feel free to go to this link and download the file to create a poster and/or t-shirt! There are several options – the first two downloads are for posters and the third one is specifically created to be used on a t-shirt. Enjoy! A big thank you goes to Jay Rivett who designed our poster. Jay can be reached at jayrivett81@gmail.c... more »

A Whole Child Education Transformation — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A Whole Child Education Transformation — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Walter McKenzie]A Whole Child Education Transformation April 1, 2013 by Walter McKenzie Everyone freeze! Stop right where you are and look around. Survey the landscape. With all the clamoring and commotion in education, have you stopped to notice? Education transformation is already well underway. I know, I know. With all the posturing and politicking going on from your local school board to the state house to the White House, there's a public perception that it's business as usual. Voices o... more »