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Friday, June 21, 2013

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 6-21-13 AM Posts #edreform #EDCHAT #P2


BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



We Party Patriots » Poverty, Once Relegated to Cities, Now Plaguing Suburban U.S.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago
We Party Patriots » Poverty, Once Relegated to Cities, Now Plaguing Suburban U.S.: Poverty, Once Relegated to Cities, Now Plaguing Suburban U.S. by Chaz Bolte [image: Pittsburgh, PA]Pittsburgh, PA In post-World War II America, the sprawling suburbs made possible by full employment, good wages, and an abundance of automobiles were a symbol of prosperity. Large supermarkets, shopping malls and public parks were a sign of American success that few foresaw fading. But now, as the economy struggles to return to pre-recession standards, the suburbs are becoming poorer. In their recent... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The new 'CPS Way' smells like the old 'CPS Way'

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 34 minutes ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The new 'CPS Way' smells like the old 'CPS Way': The new 'CPS Way' smells like the old 'CPS Way' Last week, as she was closing dozens of neighborhood schools and slashing school budgets at the rest, *Byrd-Bennett* rolled out the new-and-improved CPS 5-year plan and a new mantra, now called The *CPS Way. *It comes neatly packaged, complete with slick brochures and videos. But a little scratch-and-sniff reveals that the new "CPS Way" is the old *CPS Way*. Quick, call in the IG to clean up this mess and get Liar-In-Chief *Becky Carroll *for damage cont... more »

A Declaration To Reset The Education Debate

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 34 minutes ago
A Declaration To Reset The Education Debate: A Declaration To Reset The Education Debate by Isaiah J. Poole You may have seen stories about the poor quality of Washington, D.C.’s public schools. You probably have also heard about how Michelle Rhee was brought from near-obscurity to take over the city’s schools, overnight becoming a national symbol of dramatic education “reform.” What you may not have heard is that after years of high-stakes testing and mass teacher firings along with school closings and reorganizations by Rhee and her successor and protégé, Kaya Henderson, many D.C.... more »

Special Needs students at shuttered Trumbull file federal law suit against CPS. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Special Needs students at shuttered Trumbull file federal law suit against CPS. | Fred Klonsky: Special Needs students at shuttered Trumbull file federal law suit against CPS. by Fred Klonsky [image: 2013-6-19 JN v Byrd-Bennett1 Complaint] COMPLAINT INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 1. Plaintiffs J.N. and D.H.1 (collectively, the “Children”) are children with disabilities who attend Lyman Trumbull Elementary School (“Trumbull”), a Chicago Public School. Plaintiff J.N. is 9 years old and has Down Syndrome. Plaintiff D.H. is 11 years old, is developmentally delayed, and suffers from severe anxie... more »

Shanker Blog » What Some Call Delay Is At Times Just Good Policy Making

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Shanker Blog » What Some Call Delay Is At Times Just Good Policy Making: What Some Call Delay Is At Times Just Good Policy Making by Matthew Di Carlo U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced that states will be given the option to postpone using the results of their new teacher evaluations for high-stakes decisions during the phase-in of the new Common Core-aligned assessments. The reaction from some advocates was swift condemnation – calling the decision little more than a “delay” and a “victory for the status quo.” We hear these kinds of arguments frequently in ... more »

Live from Netroots Nation: Building a Movement to Prevent Gun Violence | Lily's Blackboard

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Live from Netroots Nation: Building a Movement to Prevent Gun Violence | Lily's Blackboard: Live from Netroots Nation: Building a Movement to Prevent Gun Violence by LilysBlackboard [image: Lily's Blackboard Rotating Header Image] Join NEA´s vice president, Lily Eskelsen García as she addresses issues of safety in our schools as part of the national debate around gun violence, and the politics of gun control. Watch the Livestream live here at 12PM Eastern Time. freespeechtv on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Daily Kos: NCTQ Fails US, World

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Daily Kos: NCTQ Fails US, World: NCTQ Fails US, World byplthomasEdDFollow - Some things are simply too complicated for public public consumption. Rankings are one such example. By their nature, rankings often send messages that are deeply distorted, but we persist in creating rankings where none are justified. Education has a long and ugly relationship with rankings, making a mess even messier (if that is possible). Two aspects of the perpetual education debate are worth noting for their complexity: (1) The eternal claim that schools need to be reformed (see Deleuze),... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-21-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] L.A.: The Context for Steve Zimmer’s Defense of Class Size Reduction by dianerav Last night I blogged about the recent meeting of the LAUSD school board and pointed out Steve Zimmer’s eloquent defense of class size limits. The high point of his six-minute statement was when he compared the class sizes in L.A. public schools–40 or more–with the class sizes in local charter schools, which boast of 20 or so. He did it dramatically, reading out the names of each char... more »

After passage of school finance plan, focus shifts to implementation | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
After passage of school finance plan, focus shifts to implementation | EdSource Today: After passage of school finance plan, focus shifts to implementation - by Louis Freedberg by Louis Freedberg Less than a week after the state Legislature approved a sweeping school finance reform plan that will funnel additional funds to low-income students and English learners, the state’s finance chief says school districts will have to spend the extra funds in a way “that shows improved outcomes” among their students. Ana Matosantos, the director of the Department of Finance, was speaking dur... more »

iPads in Los Angeles and TCO | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
iPads in Los Angeles and TCO | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: iPads in Los Angeles and TCO by larrycuban One of the downsides of raising questions about the classroom effectiveness of new technologies is when a school district buys tablets and laptops, journalists call to ask for my view of the purchases. That happened yesterday when the Board of Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)–the second largest school system in the nation–approved a $30 million contract with Apple Inc. to buy iPads for every student in 47 schools in the first pha... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 6-20-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
*Nite Cap UPDATE* * * *UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* ** *CORPORATE ED REFORM* Education Hostage Crisis by teachbad A recent report by one of my favorite local NPR-affiliate reporters, Kavitha Cardoza, made me want to scream. She was reporting on a report about suspension and expulsion rates in Washington DC traditional and public charter school. The gist of it is that 1) students in poor neighborhoods get suspended and expelled more than students in wealthier neighborhoods; and 2) charter schools suspend and expel students at a higher rate than traditional public schools. Other sni... more »

Student Loan Proposal Would Avert Deadline, But Raise Borrowing Costs, Boosting Government Profit

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Student Loan Proposal Would Avert Deadline, But Raise Borrowing Costs, Boosting Government Profit: Student Loan Proposal Would Avert Deadline, But Raise Borrowing Costs, Boosting Government Profit by Joy Resmovits [image: student loan deadline] WASHINGTON -- Student borrowers and their families would pay more to finance college under a proposal pushed by a bipartisan group of senators, increasing the federal government’s profits despite warnings over record student debt levels. The proposal comes as the federal government has been recording mounting profit off the backs of ... more »

Invisibility and People Of Color in Education Reform - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Invisibility and People Of Color in Education Reform - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson: Invisibility and People Of Color in Education Reform by Jose Vilson [image: Mad, The Invisible Man] Mad, The Invisible Man Whenever people ask me where I stand on education reform, I ask them where I should start. Obviously, issues of equity and access rank at the top of my list of ideas I love to emphasize, but I can also get into curriculum and teacher quality if / when we need to have that debate. I don’t always agree with some of my colleagues on things, but we generally agree that schools... more »

Daily Kos: My style and philosophy of teaching

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Daily Kos: My style and philosophy of teaching: My style and philosophy of teaching by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I have been going through the accumulations of 18 years of teaching and 67 years of life, purging what can be discarded and occasionally discovering things that I had forgotten. I still had all my papers, notes, tests, etc. as back as taking AP US Government 50 years ago. I encountered a paper written at the conclusion of my Methods of Teaching course, written in December of 1994, just before I began my student teaching. I reread it and realized that much of what I... more »

Badass Teachers Association Shows a New Spirit of Defiance - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Badass Teachers Association Shows a New Spirit of Defiance - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Badass Teachers Association Shows a New Spirit of Defiance by Anthony Cody Some teachers finally seem to have had enough, and they are letting the world know it. A closed group on Facebook called the Badass Teachers Association has added more than a thousand members a day since its launch less than a week ago, rapidly approaching the 7000 mark, showing no sign of letting up. Mark Naison, a professor of African American studies at Fordham University in New York, founded the grou... more »

Moales Empire Collapsing, Moales’ state funded childcare sites being foreclosed on - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Moales Empire Collapsing, Moales’ state funded childcare sites being foreclosed on - Wait, What?: Moales Empire Collapsing, Moales’ state funded childcare sites being foreclosed on by jonpelto Reverend Kenneth Moales Jr., the bullying, flamboyant chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education and former campaign treasurer for Mayor Bill Finch, is finally facing the music as he and his church are being served with foreclosure papers on all of his church’s properties, including the buildings that house the taxpayer-funded day-care centers owned and operated by his mother and sister.... more »

Arne Duncan Expected To Tap Emma Vadehra As New Chief Of Staff

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Arne Duncan Expected To Tap Emma Vadehra As New Chief Of Staff: Arne Duncan Expected To Tap Emma Vadehra As New Chief Of Staff by Joy Resmovits [image: arne duncan emma vadehra] U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will likely soon tap a new chief of staff, sources say. Sources close to the administration, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Huffington Post that Joanne Weiss, Duncan's longtime right-hand woman, will depart the U.S. Education Department this summer, likely in July. She is expected to be replaced by Emma Vadehra, w... more »

Loan companies charge students for services available for free - The Denver Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Loan companies charge students for services available for free - The Denver Post: Loan companies charge students for services available for free POSTED: 06/20/2013 08:12:45 AM MDT UPDATED: 06/20/2013 11:36:32 AM MDT ByJohn Hechinger, Bloomberg News In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 file picture, students attend graduation ceremonies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) (Butch Dill) BOSTON — Polly Williams, a single mother who had recently lost her job, was desperate to lower the payments on her $23,000 in student loans. So last June, she called one ... more »

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 6-20-13 #soschat #edreform

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
*SPECIAL **Mid Day Banana Break* Student Engagement—Essential for Success in School—Is More Complex, Changeable Than Previously Thought by Jonathan Kantrowitz *“Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates.” – Pitt professor Ming-Te Wang* A student who shows up on time for school and listens respectfully in class might appear fully engaged to outside observers, including teachers. But other measures of student engagement, including the student’s emotiona... more »

New Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) Site Features Open Data and Mobile-Friendly Design | ED.gov Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
New Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) Site Features Open Data and Mobile-Friendly Design | ED.gov Blog: New Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) Site Features Open Data and Mobile-Friendly Design Posted on June 20, 2013 by Jill James [image: FREE] Visit the new Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) Homepage! We are excited to announce that a beta version of FREE’s new website will launch tonight! The new version of the Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) is powered by the Learning Registry, an open database for sharing digital... more »

Diane in the Evening 6-20-13Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Did You Ever Expect to Hear Eloquence at a School Board Meeting? by dianerav Steve Zimmer, the school board member who beat back a multi-million dollar campaign to defeat him just a few months ago, spoke to his fellow members of the Los Angeles school board at their meeting yesterday. He talked about the importance of class size. He demolished the claim that teachers want to reduce class size Parent to LAUSD School Board: Please Protect Us with Fairness by dianerav This is testimony delivered by a parent to the Lo... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's great longer-school-day hoax. Charging students $500 for extra classes.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's great longer-school-day hoax. Charging students $500 for extra classes.: Rahm's great longer-school-day hoax. Charging students $500 for extra classes. by Mike Klonsky (Fred Klonsky toon)The hoax began with a mega-political campaign which tried unsuccessfully to convince CPS parents and teachers that the magic bullet in school reform was more seat time for students. When hardly any schools bought into this bogus, baseless notion, the mayor imposed his will on schools, as usual, from the top down. It was Karen Lewis and the CTU who, without oppo... more »

Roger Dickinson California State Senate, District 6

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Roger Dickinson, California State Senate: MEET ROGER Assemblymember Roger Dickinson represents the 7th Assembly District, centered in the city of Sacramento and the surrounding areas. Roger has been a dedicated public servant for over four decades, representing California as a consumer protection advocate, educator and Supervisor. A strong advocate for youth, the environment and job creation, Roger has been at the forefront of reform in California. He believes in working together to create lasting solutions. With a history of bipartisan corporation, he won't sacrifice his pri... more »

Duncan grants relief to some schools facing two sets of standardized tests next year | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Duncan grants relief to some schools facing two sets of standardized tests next year | EdSource Today: Duncan grants relief to some schools facing two sets of standardized tests next year - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has just made the challenge of transitioning to the Common Core standards a less burdensome for about one in five schools in California. [image: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan during a visit this spring to Fremont High in Sunnyvale. Photo by Kathryn Baron.] U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan during a vis... more »

Make All Students Feel Special — Whole Child Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Make All Students Feel Special — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Make All Students Feel Special June 20, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers [image: ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show] *Post written by Rachel Syms, a native of Los Angeles who moved to Chicago to pursue a degree in journalism at Columbia College. She hopes to write for a magazine after graduation.* "How many of you, yourselves, were challenging, disruptive, or unmotivated back when you were in school?" That's the question Brian Mendler, adjunct professor at St. John Fish... more »

What Makes a Phenomenal Teacher? Diane Ravitch joins us to help answer this question - The Takeaway

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
What Makes a Phenomenal Teacher? - The Takeaway: What Makes a Phenomenal Teacher?Thursday, June 20, 2013 - Share - - - Print - Email Play 00:00 / 00:00 ListenAddDownloadEmbed Stream m3u Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock (Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock) A truly great teacher can be unforgettable. But according to a recent report released by the National Council on Teacher Quality, U.S. education programs are not preparing teachers for the classroom. The data shows that fewer than one in nine programs for future elementary teachers actually properly prepare teachers to ... more »

Bahamian Rhapsody | My Island View

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Bahamian Rhapsody | My Island View: Bahamian Rhapsody by tomwhitby This week I attended another international education conference – the Net.1 Conference (The 1st Annual Nassau Education Technology Conference.) It was the first of its kind to be held in the Bahamas. There were over 200 educators from the Bahamas and several other surrounding island nations. Often as American educators we are faced with the day-to-day problems of our own system and are unaware of the challenges and real obstacles faced by other countries as they also strive to educate their young. Many of the thi... more »

NYC Educator: Thompson Says No Raises for Teachers, to Near-Universal Acclaim of UFT Delegate Assembly

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
NYC Educator: Thompson Says No Raises for Teachers, to Near-Universal Acclaim of UFT Delegate Assembly: Thompson Says No Raises for Teachers, to Near-Universal Acclaim of UFT Delegate Assembly by NYC Educator What happens when you publicly announce teachers don't deserve the raise all other city employees got between 2008-2010? Well, you get the UFT endorsement, of course. Now it's a little more complicated than that, of course. During the last mayoral run, it appeared that Thompson and the UFT were BFFs. In fact, sometimes I heard Thompson say things that could just as well have c... more »

Compromise in the works for bill restricting schools use of long-term bonds SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: Compromise in the works for bill restricting schools use of long-term bonds Stakeholders battling over legislation that would restrict schools from using long-term bonds appeared Wednesday to find compromise on amendments that would make the bill more palatable to districts. The Senate’s education committee decided to delay further action until next week, giving Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, time to consider proposed changes to AB 182. Meanwhile, the panel moved several other key education bills including one that would rewrite the ... more »

Peg with Pen: A Letter to Educators Who Embrace the #commoncore

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Peg with Pen: A Letter to Educators Who Embrace the #commoncore: A Letter to Educators Who Embrace the #commoncore by Peggy Dear Educator Friends, While the common core may not be an issue for you, or your school, do know that for others it will be a major issue. And the problem is this, while the standards might work for you and your school, there are many standards in CC that do not work for many students and many communities. Creating a set of national standards that cannot be changed, in which only 15% can be added (which must be approved by the DOE) is a serious problem when w... more »

Problems with new ratings of teachers colleges, point by point

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Problems with new ratings of teachers colleges, point by point: Problems with new ratings of teachers colleges, point by point By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 20, 2013 at 10:50 amE-mail the writer [image: ranking]It was big news this week when a conservative organization called the National Council on Teacher Quality released ratings of teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities and essentially slammed nearly all of them as being subpar. While there certainly a good number of ineffective teacher prep programs, it would be hard to know which ones from the council’s ... more »

UPDATE FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, June 20, 2013

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *LAUSD passes guidelines for Parent Trigger, seeks changes in state law* Education Headlines *Thursday, June 20, 2013* Conejo School District accepts bid for surplus propertyThe Conejo Valley Unified School District's Board of Education accepted a $3.286 million bid for surplus property it owns in the Rancho Conejo Industrial Park in Thousand Oaks. Moorpark schools fill budget gap with general fund moneyThe Moorpark Unified School District on Tuesday adopted a budget for the next fiscal year, with questions raised by board member... more »

Courant examines effort to develop home-grown teacher evaluation plans…But… - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Courant examines effort to develop home-grown teacher evaluation plans…But… - Wait, What?: Courant examines effort to develop home-grown teacher evaluation plans…But… by jonpelto In a news article today, the Hartford Courant examines the effort to develop home-grown teacher evaluation plans…But the Courant article fails to explore or discover why the Malloy administration added new legislative language to limit the rights of parents, teachers, boards of education and local towns during the recent legislative session. The Hartford Courant’s education reporter, Kathy Megan, writes ab... more »

6-20-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: [image: gears] At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd, 6PM EST by Chalk Face, PhD At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd at 6PM EST. Educated educators talking education, this time on the recent NCTQ report on teacher preparation. Remember, we are at the helm in the BTR chatroom, live tweeting @thechalkface, and you can always call in to speak with us live, 805-727-7111. Tagged: at the […] Does this qualify as “intimidation” from NCTQ? Watch out #highered and #teacherprep by Chalk Face, PhD I received an email message ... more »

Stop School Funding Ignorance Now! A Philadelphia Story | School Finance 101

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Stop School Funding Ignorance Now! A Philadelphia Story | School Finance 101: Stop School Funding Ignorance Now! A Philadelphia Story by schoolfinance101 [image: Slide1] On a daily basis, I continue to be befuddled by the ignorant bluster, intellectual laziness and mathematical and financial ineptitude of those who most loudly opine on how to fix America’s supposed dreadful public education system. Common examples that irk me include taking numbers out context to make them seem shocking, like this Newark example (some additional context), or the repeated misrepresentation of per ... more »

Federal guidelines on school safety: Don't arm educators | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Federal guidelines on school safety: Don't arm educators | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: Federal guidelines on school safety: Don't arm educators By Maureen Downey *The federal government released its guidelines for school emergency operations plan*s this week under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education with Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The publication is a resource for schools, not a mandate they must adopt. Most of the recommendations are common s... more »

A Playbook for the Common Core'ites: Part 2 :: Frederick M. Hess

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
A Playbook for the Common Core'ites: Part 2 :: Frederick M. Hess: A Playbook for the Common Core'ites: Part 2 On Tuesday, I tried to explain how Common Core enthusiasts have gotten themselves into their current fix, where their dazzling, Race to the Top-fueled victories of 2010 and 2011 have given way to a divisive, frustrating slog. Today, the Common Core'ites have some serious challenges. Among these: 1] They have no one who seems able to credibly address concerns on the Tea Party right; 2] are dismissive of practical questions, like whether the technology will actually support... more »

Germantown High School's final graduation was a celebration, not a funeral | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Germantown High School's final graduation was a celebration, not a funeral | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Germantown High School's final graduation was a celebration, not a funeral by thenotebook *by Brian Hickey for NewsWorks* A newly minted Germantown High School graduate, Shyhiem Crump stood outside the New Covenant Church posing for pictures just before noon Wednesday. In his hands was a framed black-and-white graduation photograph of his late father Darnell. Crump conceded that he was both a little nervous before the big day and bummed since he and his classmates represe... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: More problems with N.Y. testing privatization madness. T(est) for Texas

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: More problems with N.Y. testing privatization madness. T(est) for Texas: More problems with N.Y. testing privatization madness. T(est) for Texas by Mike Klonsky Columbia University's Teachers College held two Masters convocations on May 21. During the ceremonies students held up signs that read "I am not a number" and "not a test score." Photo by George JosephFrom today's Daily News *McGraw-Hill will pay overtime to teachers to work nights and weekends to catch up on grading the high school exams after a scanning glitch prevented the educators... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Superintendent Performance Evaluation Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Growth Boundaries Project

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Growth Boundaries Project: Work out of sequence will create problems by Charlie Mas The attendance area boundary work is scheduled out and will end in a motion before the Board introduced in October and approved in November. There is also work scheduled out for discussion and decision about the re-vision of Advanced Learning and Special Education. The timetable for that work should have it finish up some time around January of 2014. There is no current timetable set for the Equitable Access Framework. It was supposed to be done by Ap... more »

City Council final session today | Parents United for Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
City Council final session today | Parents United for Public Education: City Council final session today by parentsunitedphila Today is City Council’s last session. It isn’t lost on us that City Council plans to end its year without giving our children a guarantee about school funding. The good news is that the activism of parents and community members on the ground has sent a clear signal all the way to the governor’s office to do more for Philadelphia. The bad news is that they still want to play political games, making all funding conditional on exorbitant givebacks from the teac... more »

Update “Do you have any idea what your doing to us … our school … even to me?” | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
“Do you have any idea what your doing to us … our school … even to me?” | Fred Klonsky: Ten minute drawing. Chicago toilet paper. by Fred Klonsky [image: Toilet paper] Click on image to enlarge. Union-hating Republican Rauner is a Democratic pal. Further adventures in Bizarro World. by Fred Klonsky [image: g12c0000830333e65360c49a61a7f75dc312de62dfc4f5bf38c5f4c581e] Here’s a political prediction. Millionaire Bruce Rauner will never be governor of Illinois. Here is why I say that. Rauner has decided to make his gubernatorial campaign a run against public employee unions. That’s it. Th... more »

Schools & What We Mean by Being 'Successful' - Bridging Differences - Education Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Schools & What We Mean by Being 'Successful' - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Schools & What We Mean by Being 'Successful' by Deborah Meier *Today, Deborah Meier files her first blog response to Todd Sutler of the Odyssey Initiative, who joins her on Bridging Differences this week and next.* Dear Todd, I notice that even you and I talk in terms of success, so it makes me wonder: What do we mean by words like "the best" or "successful," whether in personal or organizational terms? Does it assume one has to "stand out" from others or a ranking order of celebrity, power, fame... more »

UPDATE NEA - Raise Your Hand

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NEA - Raise Your Hand: Raise Your Hand for Public Education Empowering Educators to Lead Pin It Join us for a day of innovation, inspiration and invitation! Are you on Facebook? You can RSVP to this event there. Agenda Pre-opening Music Presentation – DJ Spinderella Moderator: Pat Dolan, TURN (Teacher Union Reform Network) *Opening Remarks – NEA President Dennis Van Roekel* *Collaboration to Lead the Profession* Speaker: Dr. Jerry D. Weast, Former Superintendent of Schools, Montgomery County, MD Affiliate Engagement: ISTA ESP’s Leading the Profession with School Safety – Donna Niel... more »

Education Reform at 20: What Lies Ahead |

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Education Reform at 20: What Lies Ahead |: Education Reform at 20: What Lies Ahead June 20, 2013 by Alyssa Haywoode [image: Noah Berger, president Mass Budget; Eileen Rudden, founder, Sankaty Growth Partners; John Jackson, president and CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education; John Bissell, executive vice president, Greylock Federal Credit Union. Photo: Alyssa Haywoode for Strategies for Children] Noah Berger, president MassBudget; Eileen Rudden, founder, Sankaty Growth Partners; John Jackson, president and CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education; John Bissell, executive vice... more »

First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Announce Winning Recipes in Nationwide “healthy Lunchtime Challenge” | The White House

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Announce Winning Recipes in Nationwide “healthy Lunchtime Challenge” | The White House: First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Announce Winning Recipes in Nationwide “healthy Lunchtime Challenge” by The White House *54 Kids to Attend "State Dinner" at White House on July 9 To Celebrate Nutritious, Delicious Lunchtime Dishes* *Washington, DC – *First Lady Michelle Obama, Epicurious, the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture today announced the winners of a nationwide recipe challenge to promote healthy lunches as part ... more »

Teachers won't give up when it comes to common sense gun laws | Lily's Blackboard

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Teachers won't give up when it comes to common sense gun laws | Lily's Blackboard: Any Gun to Anyone, But We Will Never Give Up by Lily [image: Lily's Blackboard Rotating Header Image] Columbine. Aurora. Newtown. Virginia Tech, We can whisper a litany of locations like a prayer, and without saying anything more than the names of these places, heads will bow and people understand how they are connected. Gabby Giffords greeting voters in an Arizona supermarket parking lot. Patients waiting in a Ft. Hood doctor’s office. Folks standing in a movie to see Batman in Colorado. We don’t ne... more »

Accumulation by Dispossesion | educarenow

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Accumulation by Dispossesion | educarenow: Accumulation by Dispossesion Posted on June 19, 2013 | Leave a comment Kirsten L. Buras has written a scathing indictment of the neoliberal reform agenda in Race, Charter Schools, and Conscious Capitalism: On Spatial Politics of Whiteness as Property (and the Unconscionable Assault on Black New Orleans).. Though it was written 2 years ago (2011), and though it focuses on New Orleans in its Post Katrina reform, this paper outlines what is now going on across the country. It’s an important contribution to naming and recognizing a pattern co... more »

Daily Kos: Badass Teachers Association - teachers fight back

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Daily Kos: Badass Teachers Association - teachers fight back: Badass Teachers Association - teachers fight back by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) [image: Candaloo Gonzalez] Mark Naison is a professor of African-American Studies at Fordham University, and an activist FOR public education and against the "reform" movement. Earlier this week he established a Facebook Group called Badass Teachers Association (and yes, I have joined). News of this has spread like wildfire. Today is the 6th day of the group's existence. It is already over 5,800 members as of 8 AM EDT. It is one more exam... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Michigan: How to Destroy Communities by dianerav I was tempted to call this post “the outrage of the day.” It is hard to read it without a sense of blood-boiling rage. It was written by Stacy Erwin Oakes, a Democratic legislator from Saginaw. Governor Rick Snyder wants to eliminate public education. He wants a state where every family shops for an education provider. As this article shows, his latest gambit was an effort to dissolve the state’s school districts. T... more »


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