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
Penetrating the Smokescreen | Taking Note
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 44 minutes ago
Penetrating the Smokescreen | Taking Note: Penetrating the Smokescreen by John Merrow A great deal has happened since “Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error” appeared in this space two weeks ago. - DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson testified under oath that she learned of Sandy Sanford’s long-buried memo from my blog this past January. My source recalls being in at least one meeting when Ms. Henderson and then Chancellor Michelle Rhee discussed the memo and its contents. Someone is lying. - The DC City Council held what it called a ‘round table’ that, for the m... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Chris Christie: Hypocritical Teacher Basher
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 46 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Chris Christie: Hypocritical Teacher Basher: Chris Christie: Hypocritical Teacher Basher by Duke Chris Christie just can't help himself - he *hates* teachers: Gov. Chris Christie blames “special interest” groups on the failure to enact certain school reforms he says are necessary to improving education in New Jersey. The governor told a friendly Bergenfield crowd Tuesday that Garden State students are in need of more hours in the classroom and longer school years in order to stay competitive. Christie blamed special interests with blocking those changes for purel... more »
State cuts off money to UNO charter schools over insider deals - Chicago Sun-Times
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 57 minutes ago
State cuts off money to UNO charter schools over insider deals - Chicago Sun-Times: State cuts off money to UNO charter schools over insider deals BY DAN MIHALOPOULOS Staff Reporter dmihalopoulos@suntimes.com April 25, 2013 2:02PM 0 0 Share 516 16 [image: From left Gov. PQuinn UNO CEO Juan Rangel House Speaker Michael Madigan Ald. Edward Burke July 2012 groundbreaking Southwest Side] From left, Gov. Pat Quinn, UNO CEO Juan Rangel, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Ald. Edward Burke at the July 2012 groundbreaking on the Southwest Side for the UNO Soccer Academy Charter High School. ...more »
Who Is Today's Principal? — Whole Child Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Who Is Today's Principal? — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Daniel W. Smith]Who Is Today’s Principal? April 25, 2013 by Daniel W. Smith The qualities and skills required of today's principals have shifted quite dramatically over the past decade. It was not long ago that principals were expected to "manage" the building and those hiring building principals looked for individuals who were organized and knowledgeable about building operations. The shift has made it very difficult for principals who were appointed under the previous expectations. Those individuals, w... more »
Parents United wins open records case on BCG list of school closings | Parents United for Public Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Parents United wins open records case on BCG list of school closings | Parents United for Public Education: Parents United wins open records case on BCG list of school closings by parentsunitedphila [image: Image] Parents United for Public Education has won its state Right To Know request to gain public access to the list of 60 schools identified by the Boston Consulting Group for closure and to the firm’s criteria for school closings – a request for information the District has consistently denied to the public. Last spring, the Boston Consulting Group came under intense criticism ... more »
Parents United wins open records request on BCG school closings list | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Parents United wins open records request on BCG school closings list | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Parents United wins open records request on BCG school closings list by Helen Gym Parents United for Public Education has won its state Right To Know request to gain public access to the list of 60 schools identified by the Boston Consulting Group for closure and to the firm’s criteria for school closings -- a request for information the District has consistently denied to the public. Last spring, the Boston Consulting Group came under intense criticism for a controversial ... more »
Corbett school board election puts district charter school on trial | OregonLive.com
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Corbett school board election puts district charter school on trial | OregonLive.com: Corbett school board election puts district charter school on trial [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] Corbett students boast some of the better test scores in Oregon, and the district has made top 10 lists in Newsweek and The Washington Post for having so many students taking tough, college-level classes. Despite such successes, not everyone believes the unconventional way the district operates is the right fit for the quiet, unincorporated community across the Sandy River... more »
NYC Educator: Invasion of the Talent Coaches
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NYC Educator: Invasion of the Talent Coaches: Invasion of the Talent Coaches by NYC Educator I'm hearing stories all over about the DOE's dreaded agents, doing practice observations. Armed with their adapted Danielson rubrics, with the three domains they have determined are inevitable, they do 15-minute observations. During these 15 minutes, they determine whether teachers are highly effective, effective, developing, or ineffective. The fact that the evaluation system does not yet exist deters them not at all. The fix is in, they figure, and Reformy John (King) will grant them what... more »
New book includes chapter by PAA’s Dora Taylor | Parents Across America
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
New book includes chapter by PAA’s Dora Taylor | Parents Across America: New book includes chapter by PAA’s Dora Taylor by pureparents Our Seattle PAA founding member, Dora Taylor, has a chapter in new book, “Left Behind in the Race to the Top: Realities of School Reform,” edited by Julie Gorlewski, State University of New York-New Paltz and Brad Porfilio, Lewis University. Dora’s chapter is called “High Stakes Testing: A Parent’s Perspective.” From the publicity flyer: Public education is suffering attacks that are well funded and extraordinarily complex and multifaceted. These c... more »
If the union leadership is talking to Cullerton, what’s the deal? | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
If the union leadership is talking to Cullerton, what’s the deal? | Fred Klonsky: If the union leadership is talking to Cullerton, what’s the deal? by Fred Klonsky [image: IMG_4837r1] *Photo credit: IEA. I asked Cinda if she wanted to address the crowd. “If they want me to,” she said.* The rumors have been floating around for about a week. After being excluded from the pension discussion going on in the Illinois General Assembly, word has been circulating that the leadership of the state public employee unions are involved in negotiations. With Cullerton at least. Madigan is a differ... more »
Teachers Don't Suck !: Talk About Waste
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Teachers Don't Suck !: Talk About Waste: Talk About Waste by Walt S, *I read the following replies on the local message board pertaining to the granting of school insurance contracts to companies who doled out campaign contributions. The word "waste" was used and when I thought about NJ "waste" it raised my BP to all time highs. I just had to write my reply. I guess "waste" is a relative term but below are the postings from the Internet and my reply.* *************** *So in our state there may just be bigger fish to fry than prosecuting the teacher's union in the court of publi... more »
The false promise of 'education reform' | HeraldNet.com - Opinion
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The false promise of 'education reform' | HeraldNet.com - Opinion: The false promise of 'education reform' By Brendan Williams - Opinion Sign up for HeraldNet Headlines See sample | More Newsletters Since her time as District of Columbia schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee has been the face of "education reform." Regimenting testing for D.C. kids, she fired 241 teachers in one day alone in 2010 for low test scores. She fired a principal on camera. In turn, D.C. voters fired her mayoral patron in 2010 and she resigned. She now travels the country denouncing teachers, vis... more »
Diane in the Evening 4-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Randy Turner Explains His Suspension by dianerav Randy Turner was suspended not for his Huffington Post article but for his book. This is why teachers need tenure: Academic freedom. He sent this comment: “Thanks for the kind words from everyone. My suspension coming at almost exactly the same time as my Huffington Post blog was a coincidence. Basically, it happened because I wrote a novel, No Child Left Alive, criticizing many of the practices in education today, particularly those done by overambitious admini... more »
Weekly Leg Fax: Parents oppose the parent trigger | Parents Across America
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Weekly Leg Fax: Parents oppose the parent trigger | Parents Across America: Weekly Leg Fax: Parents oppose the parent trigger by pureparents *Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax* April 24, 2013 *Parents oppose “parent trigger” laws* *The story: **Support for parent trigger laws isn’t parent-based or local**. * The Florida legislature is currently debating a controversial “parent trigger” law which could hand public schools over to a private management company if 51% of a school’s parents sign a petition requesting that change. Parent trigger laws are being pushed across the nation ... more »
Steve Perry Talks to White People | EduShyster
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Steve Perry Talks to White People | EduShyster: Steve Perry Talks to White People by edushyster2012 Dr. Steve Perry, America’s “most wanted educator” thrilled Minneapolis by “bringing it” and “raising the roof.” This week found America’s “most wanted educator” venturing to perhaps the whitest place in America: Minneapolis. There, Dr. Steve Perry delighted the crowd with his unique brand of high-octane, high-expectations roof raising, including referring to teacher unions as “roaches.” In this special guest post, an embittered veteran teacher weighs in on what she and her low-achiev... more »
UPDATE: Common Core Standards CCSSO Releases C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards | Truth in American Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice (Part I) | Truth in American Education: Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Kills Anti-Common Core Bill by Shane Vander Hart [image: alabama-state-capitol]The Alabama Anti-Common Core bill dies, more accurately was killed by a State Senator who is confused. EdWeek reports: First, the legislative news. The Alabama Senate President Pro Tem, Del Marsh, a Republican, announced that he would not entertain any bills pertaining to the common core for a full Senate vote. That means Senate Bill 403, which passed the Senate Education Committee and... more »
UPDATE: What Do We Spend Our Education Dollars On? Seattle Schools Community Forum: NAEP Scores - Pretty Darn Good
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: NAEP Scores in Economics - Pretty Darn Good: 80 Students Won't Graduate Due to Math Test by Charlie Mas Linda Shaw of the Seattle Times reported today that there are 80 high school seniors who can't graduate because they didn't pass the two state End Of Course math tests. School principals wanted superintendent Banda to seek a waiver for the students but the superintendent Banda will not. Statewide there are over 3,000 students in a similar situation. What Do We Spend Our Education Dollars On? by Melissa Westbrook Apparently there is some confusion... more »
Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi—and nationwide | Hechinger Report
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi—and nationwide | Hechinger Report: Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi—and nationwide by Alan Richard [image: Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi—and nationwide] Debate is raging this year in Mississippi about whether state legislators should agree to start public pre-k programs for the first time. They’re also arguing about school funding and charter schools. In decades of debate on school reform in Mississippi, though, one iss... more »
Vallas, Pryor and the State Board of Education temporarily dodge lawsuit (Bridgeport Style) - Wait, What?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Vallas, Pryor and the State Board of Education temporarily dodge lawsuit (Bridgeport Style) - Wait, What?: Vallas, Pryor and the State Board of Education temporarily dodge lawsuit (Bridgeport Style) by jonpelto The state law Governor Malloy pushed through allowing his Commissioner of Education to waive the certification requirements for Paul Vallas had two simple provisions. To become Bridgeport’s permanent superintendent Vallas would have to complete his “probationary period” as Acting Superintendent and pass an Education Leadership Program at a Connecticut institution of high... more »
Teaching Students About Trade-Offs - Bridging Differences - Education Week
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Teaching Students About Trade-Offs - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Teaching Students About Trade-Offs by Deborah Meier Dear Elliott, You remind me of what always gives me hope—about myself and the world! We are insatiably inclined to learn from our experience—although too often we do less and less of it as we grow older. Schools have the unique potential of being conscious places for thinking aloud together—across ages and different histories. They are the heart—potentially—of the answer to "how best to teach teachers." Bringing faculties, K-12 teachers, parents, and stud... more »
UPDATE FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, April 25, 2013
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donates $350,000 to LAUSD reformer's campaign Education Headlines *Thursday, April 25, 2013* Ventura superintendent says school district budget looking betterThe budget outlook for the next academic year in the Ventura Unified School District is the brightest it's been in six years, Superintendent Trudy Arriaga said Tuesday. Oxnard district plans to open academies at 3 schoolsThe academies will promote an integrated curriculum of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Pleasant Va... more »
UPDATE #commoncore + Burning Bridges – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Burning Bridges – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: A new post written @huffingtonpost on the #commoncore by Chalk Face, PhD I don’t know, some things are appropriate for the Huffington Post. This came from conversations I’ve had with proponents of the CCSS. There is a rabid insistence that it’s not a curriculum, it’s just standards, as if that makes it less intrusive or more palatable. If that insistence is ideological, I get it. But if it is based on some kind of understanding of the nature of curriculum, then it’s incorrect. We then have to reexamine other claims made by th... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Passion Now Spills into the Bedroom?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Passion Now Spills into the Bedroom?: Common Core Passion Now Spills into the Bedroom? by stlgretchen New talking point of Common Core proponents: *Don't canoodle with right wingers.* Now that's some research/data to prop up CCSS claims. Arne Duncan asked the business community to defend Common Core standards. Education insiders aredoubting the long term success of the implementation of the standards and the proponents must be getting nervous. Education reform organizations are attacking taxpayers/organizations who want local control/au... more »
Another great image a la #cpsboycott, racism in chicago – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Another great image a la #cpsboycott, racism in chicago – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Another great image a la #cpsboycott, racism in chicago APRIL 25, 2013 BY CHALK FACE, PHD LEAVE A COMMENT [image: Another great image a la #cpsboycott, racism in chicago] Self-explanatory. Won’t Let You Opt Out? Try All “A” Day by ontogenyx It is heartening to see the testing boycotts in Chicago, Portland, Seattle and elsewhere, and yet there is so much more to do to bring down the high stakes testing that has turned our schools in profit centers for corporations, while killing learning a... more »
Law that holds parents accountable for kids truancy applied differently across Southern California | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Law that holds parents accountable for kids truancy applied differently across Southern California | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Law that holds parents accountable for kids truancy applied differently across Southern California by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez *A student reads in the classroom. ; Credit: Jonathan Pobre/Flickr CC* [image: Mercer 2083]Last week, six parents in Orange County who had let their kids miss up to 22 days from school were charged with two misdemeanors: contributing to the delinquency of a minor and failure to reasonably supervise or encourage school attendance. This last... more »
U.S. Department of Education Releases Blueprint to Elevate and Transform the Teaching Profession, Calls Educators to Action | U.S. Department of Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
U.S. Department of Education Releases Blueprint to Elevate and Transform the Teaching Profession, Calls Educators to Action | U.S. Department of Education: U.S. Department of Education Releases Blueprint to Elevate and Transform the Teaching Profession, Calls Educators to Action APRIL 25, 2013 *Contact: * Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Today the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will release the Obama Administration's blueprint for elevating and transforming the teaching profession, also known as the Blueprint for RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Profess... more »
Shanker Blog » Can The Common Core Standards Reverse The “Rising Tide Of Mediocrity”?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Shanker Blog » Can The Common Core Standards Reverse The “Rising Tide Of Mediocrity”?: Can The Common Core Standards Reverse The “Rising Tide Of Mediocrity”? by Lisa Hansel *Our guest author today is Lisa Hansel, communications director for the Core Knowledge Foundation. Previously, she was the editor of *American Educator*, the magazine published by the American Federation of Teachers.* Spring 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of two landmark publications. One, an essay by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., in *The American Scholar* titled “Cultural Literacy,” sparked a small but steadily growing ... more »
Education Group Casts Doubt on Value of Michelle Rhee's School Reforms: DCist
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Education Group Casts Doubt on Value of Michelle Rhee's School Reforms: DCist: Education Group Casts Doubt on Value of Michelle Rhee's School Reforms [image: 2011_0421_rheebroom.jpg]The conventional wisdom is that former D.C. Schools Chancellor and current national education reformer Michelle Rhee brought much-needed positive change to the D.C. public school system during her tenure, firing ineffective teachers, closing under-performing schools and more aggressively pushing students and teachers to perform better. But a new report from an education advocacy group says much the oppo... more »
MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
mike simpson 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] Good News! Excellent Results on NAEP Economics Test by dianerav The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) just released the results of its Economics test for high school seniors. Only 18% of students ranked “below basic,” which surely included high numbers of students who are English language learners and have serious disabilities. 82% are basic or above. A remarkable 43% of students ranked “proficient” or above. Proficient is excellent performance. ... more »
Louisiana Educator: Big Victories for the Real Educators of Louisiana!
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Big Victories for the Real Educators of Louisiana!: Big Victories for the Real Educators of Louisiana! by Michael Deshotels Yesterday an amazing series of events happened in the Louisiana House Education Committee. Due to the hundreds of emails and phone calls by the real educators of Louisiana (and the powerful evidence of incompetent implementation of the Act 54 evaluation system) , *all three of the bills designed to circumvent the court decision striking down Act 1 of 2012* were pulled off the Committee agenda for the time being. This is the same committe... more »
UPDATE: How arcane rules — not student achievement — drove No Child Left Behind
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
How arcane rules — not student achievement — drove No Child Left Behind: How arcane rules — not student achievement — drove No Child Left Behind Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 25, 2013 at 5:00 am 3 Comments More [image: nclb]If No Child Left Behind was supposed to be about anything, it was improving student achievement. Here’s an important piece about how it wasn’t really student achievement that affected NCLB outcomes but, rather, tiny differences in arcane rules. This was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washi... more »
Pension debate inside. Rally outside. | Fred Klonsky
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Pension debate inside. Rally outside. | Fred Klonsky: Pension debate inside. Rally outside. by Fred Klonsky The Daily Herald and corporate group Reboot Illinois sponsored a forum on the state’s public employee pension debt at Harper College in Palatine last night. Tickets to the event were carefully distributed. But many teacher pension activist got inside. S0eaking were state representative pension bombers Elaine Nekritz and Tom Morrison. IEA President Cinda Klickna represented the state’s public employee union leadership. Outside Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice gathered teache... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Definitions
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Definitions: New Definitions by Charlie Mas Today at the Management Oversight work session for Teaching and Learning we learned of some new definitions, or, more precisely, the re-definition of some terms. *Early Education* now refers to Pre-K through grade 5. Cashel Toner will be responsible for all of that. Previously, early education referred only to Birth to Kindergarten. Now it includes all of elementary education as well. The definition of *Academic Assurances* has been narrowed. It now refers only to the academic opportunity that the d... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: STUDENT VOICE
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: STUDENT VOICE: STUDENT VOICE by Mike Klonsky Kenyon students pack the college theater to watch plays written by 4th-graders who sat on stage and saw their play performed by college students .I made the 7-hour drive back from Kenyon just in time to make it to class yesterday. The contrast between this pastoral Ohio campus and Chicago's urban school battlefield was never more striking. At Kenyon I helped advise students on their final projects. One of them, bound for a great teaching career (I hope) worked with 4th-grade public schools students in near... more »
Shocker: Hartford Superintendent proposes another Achievement First Inc. Charter School - Wait, What?
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Shocker: Hartford Superintendent proposes another Achievement First Inc. Charter School - Wait, What?: Shocker: Hartford Superintendent proposes another Achievement First Inc. Charter School by jonpelto Joined by the Chairman of the Hartford Board of Education, Hartford Superintendent of Schools and “education reformer protégé,” Christiana Kishimoto, began her annual “State of the Schools” speech by presenting Governor Malloy with the Hartford State of the Schools Award “to thank him for education reform and its impact on Hartford.” Then, Kishimoto announced that she was throwin... more »
Schooling in the Ownership Society: The city that works
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: The city that works: The city that works by Mike Klonsky RaunerBack in the early '70s, Chicago earned the nickname, *the city that works*. Then, like now, the phrase always required the addendum, *works for whom*? The same question might also be asked about the city's public schools. Under mayoral control, Chicago has been reconstructing a two-tier system of public schools: selective enrollment schools for top scoring students and those with well-connected parents, and under-resourced neighborhood schools for the majority. Today that notion was ... more »
John Thompson: Education Reform Party is Over -- What a Mess! - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
John Thompson: Education Reform Party is Over -- What a Mess! - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: Education Reform Party is Over -- What a Mess! by Anthony Cody *Guest post by John Thompson.* Back when "Dandy Don" Meredith was host of Monday Night Football, when the game was all over but the shouting, he would break into song. We need a 21st century way of saying the obvious. Test-driven school "reform" failed. To borrow a phrase regarding "closing time," test-driven "reformers"do not have to go home, but they can't stay here in our children's schools. In... more »
NYC Public School Parents: Bloomberg's education legacy in The Nation
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Bloomberg's education legacy in The Nation: Bloomberg's education legacy in The Nation by Leonie Haimson Diane Ravitch and I have an article in this week's The Nation about Michael Bloomberg's damaging legacy for our schools; and how his policies widened inequities rather than narrowed them. Here is the introduction: In 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his schools chancellor at the time, Joel Klein, testified before Congress that their policies had led to a substantial narrowing of the racial achievement gap, meaning the gap in test scores between white ... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Scope and Sequence, Alignment and Walk-Thru, Oh My
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Scope and Sequence, Alignment and Walk-Thru, Oh My: Scope and Sequence, Alignment and Walk-Thru, Oh My by Melissa Westbrook I have been to many, many Work Sessions. This current one, Teach and Learning: Part One of Curriculum and Instruction, takes the cake. A dense, voluminous presentation with more edu-speak than you can shake an eraser at. Department head Shauna Heath is a master of this verbage. Right now, the directors are struggling to get this verbage understood. At one point she said they still needed to define "curriculum." She also... more »
Jersey Jazzman: How Every Kid Could Go To Bill Gates's Private School
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: How Every Kid Could Go To Bill Gates's Private School: How Every Kid Could Go To Bill Gates's Private School by Duke *I'd rather not...* There are times when I'm not sure that even EduShyster could parody the musings of Bill Gates. For example: After almost two decades of pursuing improvements in U.S. education through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates maintains a sweeping and grand ambition. His goal for the next 20 years, he says, is to graduate roughly twice as many kids from college, move the United States up in the international rankings,*and do so... more »
The Effective Principal — Whole Child Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The Effective Principal — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]The Effective Principal April 24, 2013 by Klea Scharberg The topic of principal effectiveness and its role in comprehensive, sustainable school improvement has been on our minds as we bring our ASCD Forum discussion to a close. We asked readers of *ASCD SmartBrief*, a free daily e-mail news service that provides summaries and links to major education stories and issues, what best defines effective principals. More than a third (34 percent) of readers agree that the most important standard i... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Happy Blog Birthday, Diane!
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Happy Blog Birthday, Diane!: Happy Blog Birthday, Diane! by Duke On the one year anniversary of her eponymous Wordpress site, let us raise a glass to Diane Ravitch - blogger. There's no point in my retelling yet again how much Diane means to the real reform movement for her tireless advocacy, her books, her speeches, her media appearances, and everything else she has done to turn back the billionaire-powered tide of reforminess. We all know what she's done; we all know what she means to us. But I think it's worth giving Diane special praise for her blog. It's beco... more »
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donates another $350,000 to LAUSD race - LA Daily News
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donates another $350,000 to LAUSD race - LA Daily News: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donates another $350,000 to LAUSD race by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who contributed $1 million to a slate of reformers in the LAUSD primary election, has now donated $350,000 to support a candidate facing a runoff for a school board seat in May.According to statements filed today on the city Ethics Commission website, Bloomberg made the $350,000 donation on Tuesday to the Coalition for School Reform, which is backing... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Big Fight at Nova/World School Yesterday
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Big Fight at Nova/World School Yesterday: Big Fight at Nova/World School Yesterday by Melissa Westbrook From the Stranger Slog: *A Central District high school was locked down yesterday afternoon as police responded to reports that a former student and suspected gang member had assaulted several peers and had allegedly pulled a gun on one student. * ***Students from Nova High school and the World School, a multilingual school for newly arrived immigrant and refugee students that shares space with Nova, were locked into the building at around 2:30 ... more »
NYC Educator: Reclaiming Our Precious Nouns
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC Educator: Reclaiming Our Precious Nouns: Reclaiming Our Precious Nouns by NYC Educator Michael Fiorillo wrote a great piece about the "choices" city residents have for their kids. The corporate geniuses who make all the decisions about education have determined, since vouchers have never been popular anywhere, to get into the charter business. Of course, by the sole criterion with which they are measured, test scores, they aren't really any better than the neighborhood schools they displace. But everyone wants Choice. You can go to the neighborhood school, if they haven't clos... more »
Stanford nonprofit questions success of Advanced Placement Program - San Jose Mercury News
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Stanford nonprofit questions success of Advanced Placement Program - San Jose Mercury News: Stanford nonprofit questions success of Advanced Placement Program By Theresa Harrington Contra Costa Times Posted: 04/24/2013 06:24:10 AM PDT Updated: 04/24/2013 06:24:34 AM PDT STANFORD -- A nonprofit organization in the Stanford Graduate School of Education is reporting that the Advanced Placement program -- which offers college level courses in high schools and is a factor considered by many colleges in making admissions decisions -- may not live up to its claims. In a report release... more »
Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula | EdSource Today
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula | EdSource Today: ' Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Gov. Jerry Brown emphatically vowed Wednesday “to fight with everything I have and whatever we have to bring to bear” for passage this year of his school finance reform, as proposed. Back from a trip to China and re-engaged on a priority issue, Brown spoke at a news conference a day after Senate Democrats announced they would propose a bill that would delay action on the governor’s Local Control ... more »
State sued for lacks of services to students learning English - latimes.com
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
State sued for lacks of services to students learning English - latimes.com: State sued for lack of services to students learning English by By Howard Blume [image: Mark Rosenbaum]Mark Rosenbaum, chief counsel of the ACLU of Southern California, which is suing California over lack of services to students who are not fluent in English. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press / May 30, 2012) The state education department has ignored its obligation to make sure that thousands of students learning English receive adequate and legally required assistance, according to a lawsuit filed W... more »
Students in D.C. region can’t formally ‘opt out’ of standardized tests
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Students in D.C. region can’t formally ‘opt out’ of standardized tests: Students in D.C. region can’t formally ‘opt out’ of standardized tests Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 24, 2013 at 3:51 pm 5 Comments More [image: test]Though parents in some other states are formally “opting out” of high-stakes standardized tests and keeping their children at home on test days, officials in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia say it is not permitted in their jurisdictions. A movement by parents to opt out of standardized tests and keep their children home on test day — without penalty fo... more »
NYC Public School Parents: Citizens of WHAT World? Charter's recruiting tactics and leaked documents
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC Public School Parents: Citizens of WHAT World? Charter's recruiting tactics and leaked documents: Citizens of WHAT World? Recruiting tactics and leaked documents by Leonie Haimson ** *For more on this issue, see the DNA article here.* Williamsburg and Greenpoint parents have been fighting what we see as a real threat to re-segregate public schools in our neighborhood through Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWC), a Los Angeles-based chain of schools imposed upon District 14 as well as District 17 in Crown Heights. *CWC's Core parent group = "Predominantly white"* From ... more »
McMillin Amendment Halts Common Core in Michigan | Truth in American Education
mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
McMillin Amendment Halts Common Core in Michigan | Truth in American Education: McMillin Amendment Halts Common Core in Michigan by Shane Vander Hart [image: michigan-state-capitol] Breaking…. big move in the Michigan House of Representatives! The Michigan House today approved the Department of Education budget (HB4328) on a 59-51 vote with an amendment which does not allow them to implement Common Core State Standards or “Smarter Balanced Assessments”. The amendment was sponsored by State Rep. Tom McMillin, the amendment is similar to House Bill 4276 which is currently before t...more »
