YESTERDAY
The St Helena RSD Saga begins. . . | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog
Posted on July 19, 2013 0 In this age of tweets, instant messages, headline news and 60 second world news round-ups, it easy to overlook more of the subtle details that lie behind just about any story, for those willing to do a little digging. . . but who has the time? People seem to ...read moreThe post The St Helena RSD Saga begins. . . | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
When This Reader Heard President Obama Discuss Trayvon Martin | Diane Ravitch’s blog
A reader posted this comment: “Listening to President Obama’s speech about Trayvon Martin in which he said regarding young black men,”And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?” the thought struck me: “How about ...read moreThe post When This Reader Heard President Obama Discuss Trayvon Martin | Dian
Teach For America under heavy fire from educators and former members | Education | guardian.co.uk
Amanda Holpuch in New York guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 17 July 2013 11.04 EDT Teach for America, a program which places high-achieving college graduates as teachers in low-income schools around the country, is coming under heavy criticism by educators who allege its training for teachers is insufficient and that it destabilizes schools and communities. About 100 of ...read moreThe post Teach For Ame
The Game in Detroit: Pensions | Diane Ravitch’s blog
In a series of legal maneuvers, Governor Snyder of Michigan and his emergency manager rushed to plunge Detroit into a historic bankruptcy. The judge was not pleased. “Prior to her ruling on Friday, she criticized the Snyder administration and Attorney General’s Office for what appeared to be hasty action to outflank pension board attorneys. “It’s ...read moreThe post The Game in Detroit: Pensions
Ed Notes Online: NYC Teacher Bloggers on the Loose: Slam Gotham Schools Coverage And TFA
FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2013 Another blogger slams Gotham Schools, more and more a wholly owned subsidiary of the charter school movement. I spend much more time reading other bloggers than writing my own — that should be painfully obvious in terms of the deteriorating quality over here. Blame the heat. Or lower mental capacity. Or ...read moreThe post Ed Notes Online: NYC Teacher Bloggers on the Loose:
An Illustrative Case of the Numbskullery of Evaluating Teacher Preparation by Student Growth Scores | School Finance 101
Posted on July 19, 2013 Assumption: A good teacher preparation program is one that produces teachers whose students achieve high test score gains Relay Graduate School of Education is housed in North Star Academy in Newark, and its course modules are largely provided by relatively inexperienced “champion” teachers within its own network (and in from ...read moreThe post An Illustrative Case of th
Jersey Jazzman: A Reformy Rumble in Montclair
Friday, July 19, 2013 A Reformy Rumble in Montclair Most folks who know Montclair, NJ wouldn’t think of it as a hotbed of dissent. This integrated, bedroom community strives to be known as a hip outpost full of ex-New Yorkers turned suburbanites. But it looks like Montcliar is becoming the latest front in the war to ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: A Reformy Rumble in Montclair appeared first
Charter advocates criticize UFT’s lawsuit against city’s planning | GothamSchools
by Philissa Cramer, at 8:16 pm Charter school advocates are criticizing the UFT after the union filed a lawsuit that aims to curb the Bloomberg administration’s ability to offer space to charter schools. The 15-page suit, filed today in State Supreme Court, asks for the city to be barred from proposing changes to how school ...read moreThe post Charter advocates criticize UFT’s lawsuit against cit
Prince George’s County: No Democracy for Us | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Prince George’s County, Maryland, will become the first county in the nation where the county executive controls the schools. The executive will appoint the schools’ superintendent and several board members. No doubt the Maryland legislature was impressed by the success of mayoral control in Chicago and Cleveland. Or was it Néw York City, where Mayor ...read moreThe post Prince George’s County: No
A Philadelphia School’s Big Bet on Nonviolence – Jeff Deeney – The Atlantic
In a desperately poor, dangerous part of town, Memphis Street Academy decided to ditch its metal detectors and focus on supporting students. Violence dropped by 90 percent. JEFF DEENEYJUL 18 2013, 7:59 AM ET A view of a street in the Kensington neighborhood of North Philadelphia in 1998. John Paul Jones Middle School, now Memphis ...read moreThe post A Philadelphia School’s Big Bet on Nonviolence
How Pennsylvania Schools Made a Cheating Scandal Disappear | Philadelphia City Paper
Tainted scores throw an entire way of running schools into question. Daniel Denvir City Paper The odds that 11th-graders at Strawberry Mansion High School would have randomly erased so many wrong answers on the math portion of their 2009 state standardized test and then filled in so many right ones were long. Very, very long. ...read moreThe post How Pennsylvania Schools Made a Cheating Scandal D
Education Proposal in House Could Replace ‘No Child’ Act | NYTimes.com
By MOTOKO RICH Published: July 18, 2013 WASHINGTON — For the first time since No Child Left Behind, President George W. Bush’s signature education law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support a dozen years ago, a bill seeking to rewrite the law came to the floor of the House for debate on Thursday, dividing legislators along ...read moreThe post Education Proposal in House Could Replace ‘No Ch
TFA co-CEO’s vs. The Boogeyman | Gary Rubinstein’s Blog
By Gary Rubinstein So here I am trying to mind my own business when I see this tweet on my feed: This is by one of the co-CEOs of TFA, Matt Kramer, quoting something that the other CEO Elisa Villanueva-Beard said in a speech at an alumni award event in Detroit. This line surely got ...read moreThe post TFA co-CEO’s vs. The Boogeyman | Gary Rubinstein’s Blog appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
Five basic lessons on public education (short and long versions) | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 19 at 4:00 am Here’s a primer on public education for those moments when you are having a discussion about school reform and public education and you need some facts to back up your argument. It was written in the form of five basic lessons by Brian Langley, a physics ...read moreThe post Five basic lessons on public education (short and long versions) | The Ans
The Negative Effects of Holding Kids Back in Third Grade | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Jeb Bush goes across the nation boasting of the “Florida Miracle.” It consists of tough test-based accountability, charters, vouchers, and online charters, with plenty of profits to spur innovation. Remember the much-acclaimed Texas miracle? Here is a paper by Umut Ozek, a researcher at the American Institutes for Research, which debunks the value of holding ...read moreThe post The Negative Effec
Unions Say CORE Waiver Creates ‘Privatized Shadow’ Education System | Politics K-12 – Education Week
By Michele McNeil on July 19, 2013 8:22 AM This week, the nine California districts that are applying for their own tailor-made No Child Left Behind waiver met with officials from the U.S. Department of Education to try to seal the deal. Time is of the essence because districts need to make important decisions about ...read moreThe post Unions Say CORE Waiver Creates ‘Privatized Shadow’ Education
NYC Educator: Gotham Schools Values
Yesterday I went to a rally at City Hall to protest Bloomberg’s plan to extend co-locations for years into the term of his successor (assuming he doesn’t buy off the City Council and change the law again). I saw a group of reporters there, and cameras. For example, it merited a story at NY1. You ...read moreThe post NYC Educator: Gotham Schools Values appeared first on NPE News Briefs.
David Kirp: Frequent Turnover of Superintendents Is a Bad Idea | Diane Ravitch’s blog
David Kirp writes that the frequent firing and turnover of coaches in the National Basketball Association is destabilizing, and the same is true in the superintendency of school districts. Of course, bad superintendents should be removed, but when the superintendent is doing a good job, they should have time to get something accomplished. The bottom ...read moreThe post David Kirp: Frequent Turnov
JUL 18
Following the Money Trail in Chicago | Diane Ravitch’s blog
This investigative article by Steve Horn traces the money trail that ties together the major players in the corporate reform movement in Chicago. From President Obama to Arne Duncan to Rahm Emanuel, the thread that ties them all together is the Joyce Foundation. As the privatization movement advances, its path has been well prepared by ...read moreThe post Following the Money Trail in Chicago | Di
Advocates Oppose ESEA Teacher-Evaluation Amendments | Politics K-12 – Education Week
By Stephen Sawchuk on July 18, 2013 12:15 PM UPDATED By guest blogger Stephen Sawchuk Advocates are lining up their positions on amendments related to teacher evaluation that are included in a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that will hit the House floor in short order. A letter sent this morning ...read moreThe post Advocates Oppose ESEA Teacher-Evaluation Amendment
Florida GOP lawmakers urge break with Common Core testing group | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 18 at 2:35 pm Are Republicans about to fight with other Republicans in Florida over the Common Core? In a rather extraordinary letter (see text below), Florida’s top Republican lawmakers just asked the state’s education commissioner to pull out of a group designing high-stakes standardized tests aligned with the Common ...read moreThe post Florida GOP lawmakers
Charter school movement on the verge of big wins in North Carolina | NC Policy Watch
Posted on 7/18/2013 by Lindsay Wagner Charter schools are frequently touted as small laboratories of innovation where best practices in education can be developed and scaled up to serve the greater good, ideally in traditional public schools that serve all-comers. This week, however, North Carolina lawmakers voted to elevate charter schools to a bigger stage, ...read moreThe post Charter school mo
Fate of Inkster, Buena Vista schools at issue in Thursday talks | The Detroit News
State lawmakers face redrawing lines if two school districts close JENNIFER CHAMBERS THE DETROIT NEWS Lansing — Discussions on whether to dissolve two financially insolvent school districts begin Thursday morning, kick-starting a process that’s expected to reroute hundreds of K-12 students to new districts this fall. At a meeting at 9:30 a.m. in Lansing, state ...read moreThe post Fate of Inkster,
Texas School District Decides Fate of ‘Mark of the Beast’ Student Chips
Fifteen-year-old Andrea Hernandez was expelled from her San Antonio magnet school. But it wasn’t for defiance, skipping school, using drugs or carrying a weapon on campus. Rather, it was because she objected to the tracking microchip embedded in her student ID card. She called it the ”mark of the beast,” sacrilege to her Christian faith—not to mention ...read moreThe post Texas School District Dec
With A Brooklyn Accent: Mission Statement of the Badass Teachers Association
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 Mission Statement of the Badass Teachers Association BADASS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CLARIFICATION OUR MISSION JULY 18, 2013 Dear Members – We would like to make it clear and concise what our mission is for this association of teachers. We believe that our actions will occur in three phases and continue to evolve ...read moreThe post With A Brooklyn Accent: Mission Statement o
Jersey Jazzman: Bad Education Researcher Media Appearances
Thursday, July 18, 2013 Bad Education Researcher Media Appearances Apparently, according to NPR, the only people casting doubt on charter school research who matter are those who are normally charter cheerleaders: There have been lots of skirmishes over charter school data over the years. But few have created as big a ruckus as the 26-state ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: Bad Education Resear
‘Teachers’ Letters To Bill Gates’ Website Reveals 7 Major Things Educators Want The Mogul To Know | Huffington Post
By Rececca Klein Posted: 07/16/2013 Just five years after leaving the day-to-day operations of Microsoft, Bill Gates has become a major player in education policy — and some teachers are not pleased. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated billions of dollars to advocacy groups and research organizations that support causes such as charter ...read moreThe post ‘Teachers’ Letters To Bil
‘Stand Your Ground’ group pushes privatization of public education | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 17 at 1:51 pm ALEC logo of Center for Media and Freedom (Update: Adding new report on ALEC-influenced bills; clarifying history of Stand Your Ground in Florida) The group behind “Stand Your Ground” laws in a number of states has been mighty busy working to get laws passed in the ...read moreThe post ‘Stand Your Ground’ group pushes privatization of public educat
Republicans Target House Democrats Ahead of ESEA Floor Vote | Politics K-12 – Education Week
By Michele McNeil on July 17, 2013 4:39 PM The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting 10 House Democrats in a media campaign in advance of this week’s expected floor vote on a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act. Starting tomorrow, the NRCC is placing paid banner ads—some of which are pictured below—on ...read moreThe post Republicans Target House Democrats Ahead of ESEA Floo
Senate Reaches Deal to End Fight Over Student Loan Interest Rates | NYTimes.com
By JEREMY W. PETERS Published: July 17, 2013 WASHINGTON — Senators negotiating a bipartisan deal to keep student loan rates low reached a deal on Wednesday night that could end the partisan feud on Capitol Hill that has threatened to permanently double interest rates. Two Senate aides said that the new proposal, which had been ...read moreThe post Senate Reaches Deal to End Fight Over Student Loan
Mother Crusader: Florida Republican With Ties To Academica Defends Pitbull
Thursday, July 18, 2013 Looks like Jersey Jazzman and I may have hit a bit of a sore spot for Pitbull and his pal Fernando Zulueta. You see, Pitbull’s pal Ferny is the CEO over at Academica. Academica is running the charter Pitbull is pimping. Academica makes A LOT of money off of charter schools. ...read moreThe post Mother Crusader: Florida Republican With Ties To Academica Defends Pitbull ap
Key questions begging for answers about school reform | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 18 at 4:00 am Here is a thoughtful piece about school reform and the march toward privatization of public education. It was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. His writing ...read moreThe post Key questions begging for answers about
Carmen Lopez explains why taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for Vallas’ legal defense | Wait, What?
The following is a commentary piece that appeared in yesterday’s Connecticut Post. It explains, in no uncertain terms, why it is legally and moral wrong for the taxpayers of Bridgeport and Connecticut to be paying Paul Vallas’ legal bills. But leave it Mayor Bill Finch and the City of Bridgeport to turn their backs on ...read moreThe post Carmen Lopez explains why taxpayers shouldn’t be paying fo
Rollback of NCLB to get vote | Libby A. Nelson – POLITICO.com
A bill to roll back No Child Left Behind, the far-reaching 2001 education overhaul that expired six years ago but remains in effect, will finally get a vote in the House of Representatives later this week after clearing a procedural hurdle Wednesday night—and despite grumbling from some of the chamber’s more conservative members. The House ...read moreThe post Rollback of NCLB to get vote | Libby
City’s bid to site schools before Bloomberg’s exit draws criticism | GothamSchools
by Philissa Cramer, at 6:44 pm Supporters of Martin Van Buren High School held a press conference Tuesday to oppose what they said are the Department of Education’s plans to open a new school in the building in the future. The department is under fire for trying to put plans in place for after Mayor ...read moreThe post City’s bid to site schools before Bloomberg’s exit draws criticism | GothamSch
With A Brooklyn Accent: Why People Love the Badass Teachers Association!
Why People Love the BATS! So excited by the response to The Badass Teachers Association at the fundraiser for an anti-testing candidate for NY Mayor, Bill De Blasio. It is hard to put in words how much people I met there, most of them teachers, and activist parents, LOVE the idea that a group like this exists!!! ...read moreThe post With A Brooklyn Accent: Why People Love the Badass Teachers Ass
President Obama and the New Elitism | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Paul Horton, a history teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School, wrote the following open letter to President Obama: July 12, 2013 Dear Mr. President, I am very concerned about how you decided to go the way that you did with your Education policies. I was recently told by a close friend of the ...read moreThe post President Obama and the New Elitism | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first on