Friday, June 7, 2013

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-7-13 #thankateacher #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


Seattle Schools Community Forum: Finally - What Might Happen with NCLB

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 minute ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Finally - What Might Happen with NCLB: Finally - What Might Happen with NCLB by Melissa Westbrook Ed Week has a great chart showing the different ideas in Congress around NCLB. I'll have to sit down, read it and ponder it but it would be something of a game changer. I look forward to more dissection from the experts. I'd love to hear what teachers think. (One peeve: so once again, Director Martin-Morris, after seeing a packed house during the School Board testimony and listening to impassioned speakers on Special Ed, the Center School issue, e... more »

One Voice United Rally | NYSUT.org

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 minute ago
One Voice United Rally | NYSUT.org: [image: one voice united] We encourage NYSUT members, parents, students and community activists to come to Albany on June 8 to speak with one voice to fight for the future of public education. LEARN MORE. - About the Rally [image: support public education] Everything you need to know about fighting for the future of public education June 8 in Albany. Learn More - VIDEO: Why We Rally [image: one voice united video testimonials] Watch these video testimonials to find out why these educators and parents will be in Alba... more »

Gray sends D.C. Council a proposal to give chartering authority to schools chancellor - The Washington Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 minute ago
Gray sends D.C. Council a proposal to give chartering authority to schools chancellor - The Washington Post: Gray sends D.C. Council a proposal to give chartering authority to schools chancellor [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] It’s official: Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Friday transmitted legislation to the D.C. Council that would give Chancellor Kaya Henderson the authority to approve new charter schools. Gray (D) announced his intention to seek chartering authority for Henderson during his weekly radio address Sunday, and the bill has been under legal revi... more »

NPE Stories: Michelle Strater Gunderson on standardized testing | The Network For Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 minute ago
NPE Stories: Michelle Strater Gunderson on standardized testing | The Network For Public Education: NPE Stories: Michelle Strater Gunderson on standardized testing by admin I remember watching my fourth grade students at Goudy Elementary (Uptown, Chicago) take the state reading test the year my twin daughters were also in fourth grade. I knew that Kate and Sarah were going to score off the charts on this test. Were my daughters brilliant? No — they were middle class, spoke English at home, were read to constantly, self-confident, well fed, and loved. Here’s what was on the Illinoi... more »

NCLB Bills: A Side-By-Side Comparison - Politics K-12 - Education Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
NCLB Bills: A Side-By-Side Comparison - Politics K-12 - Education Week: NCLB Bills: A Side-By-Side Comparison By Alyson Klein on June 7, 2013 4:33 PM Can't keep the three bills put out in Congress this week on the long-stalled reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act straight? Here's your cheat sheet: *Senate* *Senate* *House* *Category* Democrat Republican Republican *Accountability* Maintains the NCLB law's testing schedule, and states that have federal waivers could stick with those plans. States that don't already have federal waivers would have to come up wi... more »

Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform | The Network For Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform | The Network For Public Education: Uncovering the Truth About Education Reform by admin Webinar Available This week, the Network for Public Education held our latest webinar, featuring two experts on finding out the truth about education reform. We heard from statistician and teacher Mercedes Schneider from Louisiana, and private investigator Michael Corwin of New Mexico. Mercedes shared how we can critically analyze the often flawed “research” being used to justify education reform. Michael described the nuts and bolts of getting info... more »

Delivering on the Promise of Technology to Accelerate Educational Improvements | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Delivering on the Promise of Technology to Accelerate Educational Improvements | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Delivering on the Promise of Technology to Accelerate Educational Improvements by International Society for Technology in Education *Editor's note: This post was scheduled to go up today long before we knew of yesterday's announcement of President Obama's ConnectEd initiative, which calls on the FCC to leverage the E-Rate program to have 99 percent of students connected to the internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within 5 year... more »

Ben Austin: A Kids First Dialogue: Open Letter to Dr. Diane Ravitch

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Ben Austin: A Kids First Dialogue: Open Letter to Dr. Diane Ravitch: A Kids First Dialogue: Open Letter to Dr. Diane Ravitch*Stand ON Children First: New AstroTurf from Teacher in the Box* *Dear Professor Diane Ravitch:* Parents, educators, and education advocates have a lot in common when it comes to a kids-first first agenda. But we can never seize that common ground if those with whom we disagree are deemed to be "evil" and sentenced to Hell, as you did last week in your nowinfamous blog post. If we can't start from that basic premise, then we are no more mature than the children... more »

Three Common Factors in High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools — Whole Child Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Three Common Factors in High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]Three Common Factors in High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools June 7, 2013 by Klea Scharberg ASCD authors William Parrett and Kathleen Budge frame some of the factors found in high-performing, high-poverty schools. In these schools, community members are engaged in shifting the culture to one of possibility by acknowledging positive change, teachers are making instructional adjustments to meet the challenges of complex texts, and all are focused on rela... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Jonah Rockoff Testifies at NJBOE: Part I

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Jonah Rockoff Testifies at NJBOE: Part I: Jonah Rockoff Testifies at NJBOE: Part I by Duke I've been given a remarkable piece of audio that I think has to be shared widely. Jonah Rockoff, a professor of finance and economics, testified at the New Jersey State Board of Education this past Wednesday on the topic of teacher evaluation. There is no arguing with Dr. Rockoff's academic qualifications or intellect; still, it speaks volumes about where we are in our education debate that an economics professor is brought before the NJBOE as an expert in education policy. ... more »

UPDATE: The Real Truth About the Common Core State Standards | Truth in American Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
The Real Truth About the Common Core State Standards | Truth in American Education: “State-Led” Common Core Primarily Had Only Five Writers by Shane Vander Hart Joy Pullmann at School Reform News wrote an excellent piece that helps to further demonstrate that the Common Core State Standards were not state-led. While there were many people who served on various committees and work groups all of the feedback was filtered by only five people. After giving a brief history of what led to the development of the Common Core, Pullman writes: By July 1, 2009, NGA and CCSSO had formed more ... more »

Meanwhile, Is Special Master Adamowski trying to destroy Windham’s School System? - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Meanwhile, Is Special Master Adamowski trying to destroy Windham’s School System? - Wait, What?: Meanwhile, Is Special Master Adamowski trying to destroy Windham’s School System? by jonpelto Windham Connecticut has about 3,400 public school students, of which about 62 percent are Latino. In total, 7 in 10 Windham public school students are minority. More than 75 percent of the students come from families that qualify for free or reduced priced lunches. One in four aren’t fluent in English and nearly 40 percent go home to households where English is not the primary language. In... more »

NEA Director Appointed to Suburban D.C. School Board - Teacher Beat - Education Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
NEA Director Appointed to Suburban D.C. School Board - Teacher Beat - Education Week: NEA Director Appointed to Suburban D.C. School Board by Stephen Sawchuk The Prince George's County public schools, a 124,000-student district that abuts the District of Columbia, has a new school board chairman familiar to the national education scene: He's Segun Eubanks, the director of teacher quality for the 3 million-member National Education Association. Mr. Eubanks has two children in the Maryland district. He'll keep his NEA job while chairing the board; the position began June 1. [image: Seg... more »

Arne Duncan To Launch 'High School Redesign' Competition

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Arne Duncan To Launch 'High School Redesign' Competition: Arne Duncan To Launch 'High School Redesign' Competition by Joy Resmovits In his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama promised to bring America's high schools into the future. "I'm announcing a new challenge to redesign America's high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy," Obama said at the time. "We'll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math –- the skills ... more »

The Woman Upstairs and the Pedagogy of Love - Dana Goldstein

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Woman Upstairs and the Pedagogy of Love - Dana Goldstein: The Woman Upstairs and the Pedagogy of Love by Dana Goldstein [image: Screen Shot 2013-06-07 at 11.36.40 AM]Like, I think, a lot of women readers, I have lately been discomfited by Nora Eldridge, the protagonist of Claire Messud’s *The Woman Upstairs. *Nora is pushing 40, single, and childless. She has several close friends, throws fun birthday parties, and makes “serious” art in her spare bedroom. She is also a devoted caretaker of her elderly relatives, and quite good, even excellent, at her elementary school teaching j... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Now That Data Mining is on the Public's Radar....

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Now That Data Mining is on the Public's Radar....: Now That Data Mining is on the Public's Radar.... by stlgretchen ...let's revisit a MEW column on student data mining first published on December 28, 2011 via Emmett McGroarty and Jane Robbins of American Principles Project. From *The Department of Education Just Won The Data Jackpot:* *Emmett McGroarty, executive director of the Preserve Innocence Initiative of the American Principles Project and Jane Robbins, a senior fellow with the APP, wrote a great opinion piece that was featured in today's New Y... more »

StudentsFirst rescinds Ragan's 'Reformer of the Year' recognition » Knoxville News Sentinel

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
StudentsFirst rescinds Ragan's 'Reformer of the Year' recognition » Knoxville News Sentinel: StudentsFirst rescinds Ragan's 'Reformer of the Year' recognition [image: State Rep. John D. Ragan, R-Oak Ridge] State Rep. John D. Ragan, R-Oak Ridge NASHVILLE — Responding to an online petition drive launched by an 11-year-old Oak Ridge boy, StudentsFirst has rescinded its designation of state Rep. John Ragan as a ‘reformer of the year” because he sponsored a so-called “the don’t say gay bill.” “His introduction of ill-conceived and harmful legislation including HB 1332 — which would have c... more »

Closing the Broadband Gap for Students and Teachers | ED.gov Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Closing the Broadband Gap for Students and Teachers | ED.gov Blog: Closing the Broadband Gap for Students and Teachers by Richard Culatta [image: President Barack Obama views student projects created on laptops during a tour at Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., June 6, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)] President Barack Obama views student projects created on laptops during a tour at Mooresville Middle School in Mooresville, N.C., June 6, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Yesterday, President Obama and Secretary Duncan launched the Connect... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, June 7, 2013

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Education Headlines *Friday, June 7, 2013* MORENO VALLEY: Residents challenge school board member’s appointmentA petition was filed to remove the Moreno Valley school board member appointed to replace Mike Rios. Residents are seeking to void the appointment of Gary Baugh and force an election. They have about 2,000 signatures and believe they need about 1,500. Deputy Mayor Joan Sullivan named CEO of Partnership for LA ShoolsJoan Sullivan, the education deputy to outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has been named CEO of the 2... more »

Five People Wrote 'State-Led' Common Core | Heartlander Magazine

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Five People Wrote 'State-Led' Common Core | Heartlander Magazine: Five People Wrote 'State-Led' Common Core June 7, 2013 JOY PULLMANNJoy Pullmann (jpullmann@heartland.org) is a research fellow of The Heartland Institute and managing... (read full bio) EMAIL Audio Lindsey Burke: NCLB Waivers, Virginia, and the Common Core - play - 00:00 17:10 Download as .mp3 Share on linkedin - [image: Print]Print - [image: Email]Email *Editor’s Note: This article is the second of three. **Read the first here** .* Many education leaders continue to insist the process for creating nationa... more »

How Do We Judge Success in a Democracy? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
How Do We Judge Success in a Democracy? - Bridging Differences - Education Week: How Do We Judge Success in a Democracy? by Deborah Meier Dear Michael, I just wrote and discarded a 3,000-plus-word response to your queries. But I'll post it later on mydeborahmeier.com blog. There's just too much to say! I essentially repeated my argument about why parents are not the problem; it's the *conditions* under which they have to raise their children, the obstacles they must overcome to cope with daily crises that are the problem—mostly related to poverty and racism. I repeated my reasons f... more »

Daily Kos: Innovation Schools Nothing New

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Daily Kos: Innovation Schools Nothing New: Innovation Schools Nothing New by rss@dailykos.com (plthomasEdD) Emma Brown in *The Washington Post* offers an important window into school reform occurring (*ad infinitum*) in Washington DC: D.C. Council member David A. Catania plans to announce wide-ranging legislation Tuesday that could substantially reshape the city’s public education system, as he seeks to increase funding to educate poor children, give more power to principals, change the city’s school lottery system and end social promotion of children who are performing below grad... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-7-13 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] Wendy Kopp Hails Philadelphia’s “Progress” As District Suffers Draconian Cuts by dianerav Why did Wendy Kopp hail Philadelphia’s “progress” on the same day that the state-run School Reform Commission slashed the city’s public school budget to the bone, eliminating librarians, arts programs, athletics, and counselors, stripping bare an impoverished district? Maybe she was confused. Or misinformed. Or maybe she meant it. Kopp quickly apologized but Philadelphia journa... more »

The 2013 Louisiana Legislative Session: What Did We Gain? | deutsch29

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
The 2013 Louisiana Legislative Session: What Did We Gain? | deutsch29: The 2013 Louisiana Legislative Session: What Did We Gain? by deutsch29 The 2013 Louisiana legislative session ended this evening (Thursday, June 6th). It was not the surprise attack of 2012, a time when both House and Senate majorities seemed bent upon unquestioningly bowing to Jindal in his efforts to blindside traditional public education. To my knowledge, there was no locking teachers out of the Capitol this year or demanding that teachers who wished to testify openly declare that they were choosing to be a... more »

Funding reform worries potential ‘loser’ schools within ‘winning’ districts | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Funding reform worries potential ‘loser’ schools within ‘winning’ districts | EdSource Today: Funding reform worries potential ‘loser’ schools within ‘winning’ districts - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Until now, the greatest tension over Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed school finance reform has been largely among districts: a political tussle between unhappy suburban and optimistic urban school factions over how new education dollars should be divvied up. But signs of discord in Los Angeles Unified indicate that the same battles over money may eventually play out among “... more »

Daily Kos: Does the Constitution still exist except on paper?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Daily Kos: Does the Constitution still exist except on paper?: Does the Constitution still exist except on paper? by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Please tell me under what provision of the Constitution the government is entitled to have a secret interpretation of a public law. While in theory ignorance of the law is not considered an excuse for its violation, that presumes that the law itself is known. if the interpretation of the law is not available to all, how then can anyone know what the law is? There may truly be scary things in the world. But it is far scary to think that o... more »

6-7-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: [image: gears] CPS enrollment figures unreliable, so we should probably rethink this whole school funding scheme, no? by Chalk Face, PhD The Chicago Tribune is reporting today that the enrollment proportion offered by CPS to tout progress of the massive closure plan is, well, bunk. Bottom line: Chicago Public Schools touted a smooth start to the school closing process this week by announcing that 78 percent of students at schools being shut down have been enrolled […] The One Type of Data That is Off Limits (For Now) by Kris Nielsen Health ... more »

solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Say that again Mr. Kayser! LAUSD should have more public meetings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Say that again Mr. Kayser! LAUSD should have more public meetings: @TCFKSM: Say that again Mr. Kayser! LAUSD should have more public meetings by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene First published on @TCFKSM on June 6, 2013 ------------------------------ *"As it is, the meetings are held downtown in the middle of the day when most parents, students and employees cannot participate. Ultimately this behavior pattern leads to decisions made in a vacuum, isolation from reality and the rubberstamping of pre-determined outcomes."—Bennett Kayser* [image: Those who can, TEACH. ... more »

The Corporate Takeover of Public Education | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The Corporate Takeover of Public Education | toteachornototeach: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education by aristotlethewise *The Corporate Takeover of Public Education* by Diann Woodard Independent research in recent months has documented that the nation’s wealthiest philanthropic foundations are steering funding away from public school systems, attended by 90 percent of American students, and toward “challengers” to public education, especially charter schools. Education Week recently reported that at the start of the decade, less than a quarter of K-12 giving from top foundatio... more »

Legislation being considered that would subject charter schools to disclosure laws SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *Legislation being considered that would subject charter schools to disclosure laws* *By Kimberly Beltran* Friday, June 07, 2013 Charter schools would be subject to the same open meeting and disclosure laws as traditional public schools and other local government agencies under a bill now pending in the California Senate. AB 913, authored by Assemblyman Ed Chau, D-Monterey Park, and sponsored by the California School Boards Association and the California Teachers Association, passed in the Assembly last month and now awaits action in the Sen... more »

NYC Educator: Principal Sappenbottom Runs a PD Session

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
NYC Educator: Principal Sappenbottom Runs a PD Session: Principal Sappenbottom Runs a PD Session by NYC Educator *by Curious Teacher* Today was the last professional development day of the year. The teachers were promised that from 8-8:30 "breakfast would be served." Some teachers were naive enough to think that this actually meant coffee, bagels, donuts, maybe some juice. It had been that way in most every other school. So teachers strolled into school today and found that to Principal Sappenbottom, "breakfast" meant few boxes of bagels which were gone within 5 minutes. Forget ... more »

Louisiana Educator: Legislative Session Earns a D-

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Legislative Session Earns a D-: Legislative Session Earns a D- by Michael Deshotels The new state budget approved in the last hours of the legislative session, includes a small, apparently permanent pay raise for public school teachers and a significant expansion of the school voucher program. The salary supplement originally proposed by the Senate would have been a one time salary supplement and would have added additional burdens on local school systems to fund related costs such as retirement contributions without adequate state funding. The compromise budge... more »

Does Online Instruction Work? (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Does Online Instruction Work? (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Does Online Instruction Work? (Part 3) by larrycuban Here is the fundamental question that public policymakers (e.g., federal and state officials, local school board members and superintendents) have to answer when making decisions that involve children and youth compelled to attend public school. Such a question, however, about the effectiveness of online instruction in raising student’s academic achievement and producing other desirable outcomes such as increased attendance, higher gra... more »

Governor Brown, Add SB69's Revisions To Your Local Control Funding Formula | K-12 News Network

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Governor Brown, Add SB69's Revisions To Your Local Control Funding Formula | K-12 News Network: Governor Brown, Add SB69′s Revisions To Your Local Control Funding Formula by admin We have a historic opportunity: for the second time this school year, public education supporters in California can boost funding back to pre-Great Recession 2007-2008 levels and begin to get us out of the basement among all fifty states when it comes to state per pupil funding. We need to let Governor Brown know he must flex and alter his version of Local Control Funding Formula to reflect SB69′s impro... more »

UPDATE:Tribune is an apologist for UNO corruption. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Tribune is an apologist for UNO corruption. | Fred Klonsky: The in box. “I don’t have a lot of confidence in CPS’s ability to take care of the living children that are being affected by these closures and I don’t have much more confidence that they can take care of the historical artifacts either frankly.” by Fred Klonsky These (other WPA murals) are at Kohn, Wentworth, Lafayette, and West Pullman as well. And maybe Stewart too? There are WPA ones at Kohn, Wentworth, and West Pullman–they are federal property, and CPS either needs to display them or give them back to the federal g... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The end of Europe?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The end of Europe?: The end of Europe? by Mike Klonsky Cabo Da Roca, the end of EuropeThat's the ominous name given to the wild, rocky coast on the westernmost end of Portugal. On another level, lots of folks here are talking about the *end of Europe*. While I don't believe that the end is in sight, the standard of living here is in free-fall and millions of people are truly suffering under imposed austerity and are ready for change. Educators are a big part of the protest movement and lots of debate is taking place over the role of schooling in Portu... more »

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

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
*Nite Cap UPDATE* * * *UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* ** *CORPORATE ED REFORM* Ingraham's PTA vs PTO Vote (Fleshed Out) by Melissa Westbrook I've gotten way behind on threads and I did want to flesh out the discussion leading to Ingraham High School's decision to leave PTA and have a Parent Teacher Organization. By my count, there were about 60+ people at the meeting. It was a regular PTA meeting so they did their business meeting first. (They did their Golden Acorn awards and I really love hearing these stories about such hard-working and positive people.) The PTA President, Keik... more »

Engaging Parents In School…

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Engaging Parents In School…: “Parents Taking Assertive Stance in Children’s Education” Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 29 minutes ago Parents Taking Assertive Stance in Children’s Education is a useful compilation of tweets, articles and videos on various recent examples of “parent activism.” It’s worth a look…. What’s Missing In “Stand For Children” Article On Parent Engagement? Only The Most Important Thing…. Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 29 minutes ago The Hechinger Report just published an article by the leaders of the “school reform” group ... more »

No year’s delay: Deal likely on school finance reform, Steinberg says | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
No year’s delay: Deal likely on school finance reform, Steinberg says | EdSource Today: No year’s delay: Deal likely on school finance reform, Steinberg says - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald *OMG THE MONEY FAIRY MUST BE BACK IN SACRAMENTO!!!* The Senate has dropped its call for a year’s delay in implementing Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for sweeping K-12 finance reform, making it likely a deal over Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula will be struck in the next few days, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Thursday. Steinberg made the prediction during a public lun... more »

Santa Clara Unified: Administrators, principals flee turbulent school district - Inside Bay Area

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Santa Clara Unified: Administrators, principals flee turbulent school district - Inside Bay Area: Santa Clara Unified: Administrators, principals flee turbulent school district By Sharon Noguchi snoguchi@mercurynews.com Posted: 06/06/2013 11:11:39 AM PDT Updated: 06/06/2013 04:16:58 PM PDT SANTA CLARA -- Since a power shift in November, the Santa Clara Unified School Board has been accused of micromanaging, chiding and intimidating employees, usurping their roles and making abrupt decisions that muddled school operations. Now, as the school year ends Friday, more than one-fifth ... more »

Praises Obama's E-rate and Technology Plan - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Praises Obama's E-rate and Technology Plan - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Praises President Obama's Plan to Overhaul Federal Program to Help Schools Buy Technology SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent Tom Torlakson today hailed President Obama's call to give more schools broadband Internet access and wireless network capacity. Torlakson has long called for modernizing the federal Schools and Libraries Program, more commonly known as E-rate, a surcharge on telephone bills that provides discounts to assist schools and libraries to obtain affordable t... more »

Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes: Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 6, 2013 at 5:21 pmE-mail the writer 0 Comments More [image: commoncore]A coalition of education organizations and unions that support the Common Core State Standards issued an open letter on Thursday backing a moratorium of at least one year on the high stakes associated with new standardized tests being given to students that are aligned with the Core. The letter was issued by the Learning First Alliance, whose me... more »

A Call for a Transition Period in Common Core Implementation | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A Call for a Transition Period in Common Core Implementation | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: A Call for a Transition Period in Common Core Implementation by Cheryl S. Williams The Learning First Alliance has sent an open letter to education stakeholders recommending a transition period in Common Core implementation. Fifteen of our member organizations joined together to suggest that for at least one year after the original deadline, the results from assessments of the Common Core State Standards be used only to guide instruction and attention to curriculum d... more »

Diann Woodard: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Diann Woodard: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education Independent research in recent months has documented that the nation's wealthiest philanthropic foundations are steering funding away from public school systems, attended by 90 percent of American students, and toward "challengers" to public education, especially charter schools. *Education Week* recently reported that at the start of the decade, less than a quarter of K-12 giving from top foundations was given to groups supporting charter schools and privatization, about $90 milli... more »

Education reform is made of teachers.

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Education reform is made of teachers.: Education Reform Is Made of Teachers By Matthew Yglesias | Posted Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 2:11 PM [image: Share on Facebook] 5 21 [image: Social worker Juliana Stevenson, Kipp Infinity Elementary School Co-Principal Stephanie Adams, Kelly Meyer, Co-Principal Lindsay Fry, teacher Perri Lawrie attend the American Heart Association Teaching Gardens Planting in Harlem on May 12, 2012, in New York City.] Social worker Juliana Stevenson, Kipp Infinity Elementary School Co-Principal Stephanie Adams, Kelly Meyer, Co-Principal Lindsay Fry, teacher ... more »

UConn Becomes “Mail Order” Degree School for the “Special Elite” (Part I) - Wait, What?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
UConn Becomes “Mail Order” Degree School for the “Special Elite” (Part I) - Wait, What?: UConn Becomes “Mail Order” Degree School for the “Special Elite” (Part I) by jonpelto Did you pay to go to UConn? Are you still paying? You aren’t alone. This year there are 17,528 undergraduates at the Storrs campus with another 4,773 undergraduates at regional campuses. Then add in the 7,955 graduate and professional degree students. The total cost of tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate is just over $22,500 a year. The cost for an out of state student is just over $40,000. A g... more »

Diane in the Evening 6-6-13 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: *IN HER OWN WORDS* A Suggestion for the President by dianerav A reader (Mom/Speducator) has an idea for President Obama. Instead of going to Mooresville, North Carolina, to talk up the high-tech classroom, she says, how about this: “Shouldn’t he have instead traveled to Chicago to offer support to the thousands of families whose lives will be in upheaval in a matter of months.” Iowa’s “Sweeping” School Reform Bill by dianerav Governor Terry Branstad pushed through school reform in Iowa that is supposedly sweeping, b... more »

A public thanks to Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky | Parents United for Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A public thanks to Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky | Parents United for Public Education: A public thanks to Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky Posted on June 6, 2013 by PARENTSUNITEDPHILALeave a comment [image: Image] Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky (used with permission) *The SRC’s vote May 30th stripped away any pretense that next year’s budget has a child-centered, education-focused mission. Gone from the budget are core educational responsibilities from schools which are already bare bones: the arts, guidance counselors, books & supplies, librarians, sports, and extracurricular activiti...more »

Louisiana legislator invokes witch doctor to defend creationist law

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Louisiana legislator invokes witch doctor to defend creationist law: Louisiana legislator invokes witch doctor to defend creationist law By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 6, 2013 at 2:43 pmE-mail the writer [image: Louisiana Sen. Elbert Guillory (http://senate.la.gov/guillory/)] Louisiana Sen. Elbert Guillory (senate.la.gov) In the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up category: A Louisiana state senator defended the Louisiana Science Education Act — a 2008 law that allows creationism to be taught in public school science classrooms through materials that ostensibly “critique” evolution — by ... more »

What Does It Take to Stop Common Core? Defund It. | Truth in American Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
What Does It Take to Stop Common Core? Defund It. | Truth in American Education: What Does It Take to Stop Common Core? Defund It. by Shane Vander Hart Michael McShane of American Enterprise Institute wrote a guest post at the Washington Post’s education blog, Answer Sheet. He asked, is it really that easy to block the Common Core State Standards? He was responding to the Michigan Legislature pausing funding for the Common Core. To try and stop the Common Core, (Tom) McMillin introduced, along with several other lawmakers,HB 4276, which specifically states, “The state board mod... more »





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