Why your tax money keeps going down the TIF portal hole | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago Reader
Mayor Emanuel would rather fire 1,000 teachers than give up his biggest slush fund. By Ben Joravsky @joravben ANDREW A. NELLES (EMANUEL), STACIE SCOTT (LEWIS)/SUN-TIMES MEDIA I was all set to give a little love to Mayor Rahm Emanuel for finally getting around to making good on his long-delayed promise to create an easy-to-search TIF ...read moreThe post Why your tax money keeps going down the TIF
Department of Ed Awards $708 million in Contracts for Nation’s Report Card Assessments — THE Journal
By Dian Schaffhauser03/14/13 The National Center on Education Statistics, the primary federal agency in charge of collecting and analyzing data related to education, has just awarded several multi-million dollar contracts to five education and testing companies as part of a five-year contract to administer the next generation of assessments for the National Assessment of Educational ...read moreTh
Why Teaching Is Harder Than It Looks | FemaleIntel.com
Today’s opinion piece explores why teaching is one of the hardest jobs out there. by Brianna on 07/24/2013 Submitted By: Denise Hong This piece was inspired by a heated discussion I had with a man who believes that teachers have an easy job. Please feel free to share it with others if you agree with ...read moreThe post Why Teaching Is Harder Than It Looks | FemaleIntel.com appeared first on NPE N
Principal: “Who Is Going to Help the Children of Florida?” | Diane Ravitch’s blog
A principal writes about the sharp drop in school grades, caused by a change (again) in the grading system by the state: “As a principal of a school in Florida who ‘fell’ from a B to a C, despite all the news press of the lack of reliability in the change in grades, our parents ...read moreThe post Principal: “Who Is Going to Help the Children of Florida?” | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first on
Preparing for High School Applications During Dog Days of Summer – WNYC
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 – 04:00 PM By JEANNIE CHOI The city wraps up its summer series of workshops on the high school admissions process this week. At Tuesday’s event, held at Herbert Lehman High School in the Bronx, hundreds of families got a taste of the complicated process that underpins New York City’s system ...read moreThe post Preparing for High School Applications During Dog Days of Summ
Anthony Weiner Gets Into Verbal Dust-Up in Staten Island | Politicker
By Ross Barkan 7/26 6:40pm Anthony Weiner can’t escape his sexting scandal, not even on the southern tip of Staten Island–one of the farther reaches of New York City. During a press event this afternoon in Tottenville, a local resident directly and repeatedly confronted Mr. Weiner over his escalating controversy, grilling the former congressman and questioning ...read moreThe post Anthony Weiner G
Detroit and Public Employee Contracts: How Will the Detroit Bankruptcy Impact Teacher Contract Negotiations? | Ed In The Apple
Posted on July 25, 2013 | 4 Comments Detroit has been traveling down the path to bankruptcy for a few decades. Last summer the AFT Convention was held in Detroit – a shiny huge convention center, a sleek monorail, downtown casinos and a wide swath of abandoned buildings. Block after block of boarded up stores, ...read moreThe post Detroit and Public Employee Contracts: How Will the Detroit Bankrup
State GOP should pull ad with teachers’ comments | The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 23, 2013 Most of us were taught to be polite when we’re invited into someone’s home. So it’s no surprise that finalists in the annual Teacher of the Year competition said nice things about Gov. Rick Scott at a recent gathering in the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee. They didn’t know those interviews would ...read moreThe post State GOP should pull ad with teachers’ comments | The
A Florida Parent Listens to Ben Austin About Parent Revolution | Diane Ravitch’s blog
This is a hilarious description of a conference call in which Ben Austin of Parent Revolution joined with Congressman George Miller of California to discuss the value of parents seizing control of their schools. Rita Solnet, the Florida parent activist who joined the conference call, quickly learned that parents were not allowed to ask questions, ...read moreThe post A Florida Parent Listens to Be
YESTERDAY
Okemos Parents for Schools: Online schools rapidly expanding, spending tax dollars on marketing
Friday, July 26, 2013 Online schools rapidly expanding, spending tax dollars on marketing Gov. Snyder has made radical expansion of online education for K-12 students a centerpiece of his education policy. Among some there is a sense that online education is meant to fill a niche that conventional public skills aren’t filling. That isn’t what ...read moreThe post Okemos Parents for Schools: Onli
Letter to the NC General Assembly: I Can No Longer Afford to Teach | making our way
July 25, 2013 by lrkf Dear members of the North Carolina General Assembly, The language in this letter is blunt because the facts are not pretty. Teaching is my calling, a true vocation, a labor of love, but I can no longer afford to teach. I moved to North Carolina to teach and to settle ...read moreThe post Letter to the NC General Assembly: I Can No Longer Afford to Teach | making our way appea
“Corporate Reform” or Failed, Desperate Corporate Management? | School Finance 101
Posted on July 26, 2013 I suspect there are a lot of readers of my blog and twitter followers who frequently use the phrase “corporate reform” to characterize the current heavily privately financed movement to push specific “reforms” to public education systems. My readers may not have noticed, but I tend not to use this ...read moreThe post “Corporate Reform” or Failed, Desperate Corporate Manag
The Real Bloodbath | Yinzercation
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our public schools, and they’re not even in session. In the heat of the summer Pittsburgh schools – and our teachers – have come under attack. First, in an appalling public statement on the residency requirement for city police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police president, Sgt. ...read moreThe post The Real Bloodbath | Yinzercation appeared first on NPE N
Action Alert: Parent Trigger Conference Call | Seattle Education
Parents to Rep. George Miller: To celebrate “National Parents Day,” please listen to parents! Parents Across America, a network of grassroots parents and parent groups across the U.S., has learned that Rep George Miller, ranking Democratic member of the House education committee, is holding a teleconference today to celebrate the July 28th National Parents Day. ...read moreThe post Action Alert: P
End of Jeb Bush Miracle? Florida Grades Collapse | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Jeb Bush has toured the country boasting of the Florida miracle. Central to the miracle is the letter grades for schools. But the state just reported that the proportion of A-rated schools fell from 48% to 29%. Is the Jeb miracle over? The schools didn’t suddenly get worse. The grading system is arbitrary, capricious, and ...read moreThe post End of Jeb Bush Miracle? Florida Grades Collapse | Dian
Sens. Alexander and Paul Head to Tennessee, Team Up on Choice – Politics K-12 – Education Week
By Alyson Klein on July 26, 2013 2:37 PM U.S. Senate Republicans’ top man on education policy—Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, the ranking Republican on the education committee—has found himself in some hot water lately with tea party Republicans in his home state who would like to mount a primary challenge against him, at least according ...read moreThe post Sens. Alexander and Paul Head to Tennesse
Cartoons from Robert Rendo | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
JULY 26, 2013 · 1:00 AM For this month’s feature on cartoons*, I chose a selection from Robert Rendo. We met through my blog and he sent along a sampling of his cartoons from which I selected some on students and testing. He sent me the following description of himself. Robert Rendo grew up in ...read moreThe post Cartoons from Robert Rendo | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice ap
Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: After being ousted as Bridgeport Supt., Vallas gets schools to pay his legal fees
Friday, July 26, 2013 After being ousted as Bridgeport Supt., Vallas gets schools to pay his legal fees “We thought we had a good guy,” said Tammy Boyle, a parent leader and mother of two children. “But at each and every turn, he has ignored the wishes and the voices of the people of Bridgeport.” ...read moreThe post Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: After being ousted as Bridgeport Supt., Vallas get
JUL 25
How Much New Common Core Tests Could Cost — And, Maybe, Save — Indiana | StateImpact Indiana
JULY 25, 2013 | 9:41 AM BY ELLE MOXLEY KYLE STOKES / STATEIMPACT INDIANA A student at a public intermediate school in Anderson. A consortium writing Common Core-aligned standardized tests for 18 states released an estimate for how much their assessment will cost when it rolls out in 2014-15. The PARCC consortium said this week its test will cost ...read moreThe post How Much New Common Core Tests
With A Brooklyn Accent: Why TFA Has Become A Badge of Shame
THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013 Why TFA Has Become A Badge of Shame There are great teachers who have come out of Teach for America, some of whom are my former students. There are also school districts throughout the country, somet rural, some urban, where Teach for America Corps members once filled a real need. But ...read moreThe post With A Brooklyn Accent: Why TFA Has Become A Badge of Shame appeared
Please Help Marie Corfield Win a Seat in the New Jersey Assembly | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Marie Corfield is a teacher who is running for the legislature in New Jersey. She will be a strong and effective voice for public education in a state where it is under attack by Chris Christie’s administration. Marie is having a “money bomb” on July 25. She needs our help. I will contribute to her ...read moreThe post Please Help Marie Corfield Win a Seat in the New Jersey Assembly | Diane Ravitc
Diane Ravitch: 3 Dubious Uses of Technology in Schools | Scientific American
Technology can inspire creativity or dehumanize learning By Diane Ravitch Learning in the Digital Age Technology is remaking every aspect of education, bringing top-notch courses to the world’s poorest citizens and reshaping the way all students learn » July 18, 2013 Technology is transforming American education, for good and for ill. The good comes ...read moreThe post Diane Ravitch: 3 Dubious
Is Special Master Adamowski next for the Court Room? | Jon Pelto – Wait, What?
When Senator Don Williams and State Representative Susan Johnson developed legislation that allowed the Malloy administration to foist “Special Master” Steven Adamowski on the unsuspecting students, parents, teachers and taxpayers of Windham, Connecticut it was sold as a way to help Windham’s schools. The result has been anything but helpful. Special Master Adamowski’s arrogant, abusive and dictat
A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience | Seattle Education
KIPP is one of the charter school franchises that’s been tossed around in Seattle by ed reformers as an option if charter schools were to be legalized in our state. I’ve been following KIPP and several articles that I have come across are listed in the right column of this blog under “KIPP”. It could ...read moreThe post A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience | Seattle Education appeare
Crazy Crawfish Investigates the Recovery School District in St. Helena’s Parish | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Are you in the mood for a demonstration of investigative scholarship written in journalistic style? If so, curl up in a comfy chair and read this saga, wherein the LouisianaRecovery School District makes claims that cannot be substantiated. If this is true, if data are so easily manipulated and fabricated, why should we trust any ...read moreThe post Crazy Crawfish Investigates the Recovery School
Jersey Jazzman: Why “Libtards” Need Tenure
Thursday, July 25, 2013 Why “Libtards” Need Tenure I’m sure that by now you’ve all heard about the police chief of Gilberton, PA, who enjoys firing automatic firearms on YouTube: One of the details of this story that hasn’t gotten as much play is that Mark Kessler is a member of the North Schuylkill Board of ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: Why “Libtards” Need Tenure appeared first on NPE News
North Carolina: Public Education in Peril | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Dr. June Atkinson, the state superintendent of instruction in North Carolina, said, ““For the first time in my career of more than 30 years in public education, I am truly worried about students in our care.” Lindsay Wagner summarizes the damage done to public education by the North Carolina legislature: It cut more than $500 ...read moreThe post North Carolina: Public Education in Peril | Diane R
Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: Rahm — ‘Let them eat chaos.’
Thursday, July 25, 2013 Rahm — ‘Let them eat chaos.’ While protesting teachers marched outside, parent Chitunda Tillman Sr, who has 3 kids who are CPS students, protests tells the board exactly what he thinks about their school budget cuts. (Alex Wroblewski~Sun-Times) “With a historic billion-dollar deficit, we are taking every step we can to ...read moreThe post Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: Rah
Common Core Could Be Disrupted As States Drop Out Of PARCC : NPR
CORY TURNER and ROBERT SIEGEL July 25, 2013 5:12 PM Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET. In addition to Georgia, a handful of other states — Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and Alabama — have dropped out of or scaled back their participation in the Partnership ...read moreThe post Common Core Could Be Disrupted As States Drop Out Of
The cost of child poverty: $500 billion a year | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 25 at 6:00 am The United States has the second-highest child poverty rate among the world’s richest 35 nations, and the cost in economic and educational outcomes is half a trillion dollars a year, according to a new report by the Educational Testing Service. The report, called “Poverty and Education, Finding ...read moreThe post The cost of child poverty: $500 b
Why Parents Should Oppose inBloom | Diane Ravitch’s blog
In this post, New York City activist Leonie Haimson explains what inBloom is, how the U.S. Department of Education weakened privacy protections in 2009 and 2011, and why parents should demand the right to withhold their child’s confidential data from inBloom. The creators of inBloom talk about its benefits in creating customized learning tools, but ...read moreThe post Why Parents Should Oppose in
JUL 24
Newark’s Teachers’ Village: Your Tax Dollars at Work for TFA | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Jersey Jazzman reports in excruciating detail about Teach for America’s bold plan to expand in New Jersey, which seems to happen most often in states with rightwing governors and/or legislatures. Their expansion is linked with a $150 million development in Newark that will build three new charter schools and provide low-rent housing for their teachers. ...read moreThe post Newark’s Teachers’ Villa
A teacher gets depressed: a real story in comics | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 24 at 4:00 am The following is a highly unusual post — not only in form but in subject matter. David Lee Finkle, a middle-school teacher in Florida who draws the comic strip “Mr. Fitz” for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, writes and illustrates the story of his own depression, caused ...read moreThe post A teacher gets depressed: a real story in comics | The Answ
With A Brooklyn Accent | Why Teach for America is Seductive to Mayors and Legislators and Destructive to Everyone Else
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013 Teach for America offers states and municipalities the opportunity to subcontract their teaching to non-union workers, saving large expenses in pensions and health care. Such a policy saves saves money, as subcontracting usually does; but it destroys a section of the local middle class, drives down compensation for all workers, and ...read moreThe post With A Brooklyn Acce
Louisiana Will Test 3- and 4-Year Olds | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Louisiana will begin testing large numbers of preschool children this fall to determine their academic readiness. If they are found to be not ready, it is not clear who will be held accountable: their teachers? Their families? “The goal, they say, is to create a grading system like the current School Performance Score reports for ...read moreThe post Louisiana Will Test 3- and 4-Year Olds | Diane
How Did Sequestration Impact K-12 Schools? | Politics K-12 – Education Week
By Alyson Klein on July 24, 2013 7:16 AM As Congress shifts into budget season, education advocates are getting ready to renew their push to fight the across-the-board cuts to federal K-12 programs, better known inside the Beltway as “sequestration.” But to make their case, education organizations will likely have to hand lawmakers examples of ...read moreThe post How Did Sequestration Impact K-12
NYC Educator: Only City Teachers Should Be Fired for Nothing, Implies Daily News
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 I was pretty surprised to find this story in the Daily News today. Apparently a teacher in Merrick, Long Island appeared shirtless in some stupid reality show, and resigned under pressure from administration. The News appears sympathetic to his cause, as am I. Sometimes people take off their shirts, and I ...read moreThe post NYC Educator: Only City Teachers Should Be Fire
JUL 23
Jersey Jazzman: Marie Corfield Money Bomb: Thursday, July 25!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 Marie Corfield Money Bomb: Thursday, July 25! When a teacher runs for office, those of us who work in schools need to support her: On July 25th, please give what you can to support Marie Corfield For New Jersey Assembly by participating in her “Money Bomb.” Marie is a mother, a teacher, and ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: Marie Corfield Money Bomb: Thursday, July 25! ap
Education Overhaul Faces a Test of Partisanship – NYTimes.com
By MOTOKO RICH Published: July 23, 2013 On the day that President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law in early 2002, he flew to a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, the home district of Representative John A. Boehner, a leading Republican supporter of the bill. Later that afternoon, the president appeared ...read moreThe post Education Overhaul Faces a Test of Partisanship – NYTimes.co
NYC Parent Sounds Alarm on Student Privacy | WNYC
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 – 04:00 AM By LEONIE HAIMSON Parent advocate Leonie Haimson wants more New York parents to know that the state has agreed to share sensitive information about their children’s education with a national data-sharing system run by inBloom. While state and city officials have tried to reassure families that privacy is a top ...read moreThe post NYC Parent Sounds Alarm on Stude
We don’t need no stinkin Certificate of Occupancy…. Laws don’t apply to Rev. Moales | Jon Pelto – Wait, What?
The strange twisted tale of Reverend Kenneth Moales, Jr. the Paul Vallas defender, Mayor Bill Finch campaign treasurer and Chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education took another strange turn yesterday when the Connecticut Post reported that Moales’ 1500-seat church, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, never acquired a certificate of occupancy when it opened ...read moreThe post We don’t need no
Jersey Jazzman: The Hopelessly Broken NJ Charter Oversight System
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 Better late than never: the NJDOE has released the list of new charter schools that have received final approval to open this fall: Among those approved, Camden will see two new charter schools. The only final charter approved for Newark was the new Philip’s Academy Charter School, a conversion from the ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: The Hopelessly Broken NJ Charter Ov
With A Brooklyn Accent: What the Badass Teachers Association Has Accomplished in the First Five Weeks of its Existence
TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013 The Badass Teachers Association has been very busy answering the assaults on Public Education. Here is a list of what we have done in the short month and a half we have been in existence. We are 23,000 strong and ready to call out people who are trying to destroy public ...read moreThe post With A Brooklyn Accent: What the Badass Teachers Association Has Accomplished in the
Federal civil rights office reopens high school admissions case | GothamSchools
by Geoff Decker, at 2:13 pm The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has reopened a discrimination case into the city’s high school admissions policies after dismissing it earlier in the month. The reversal came after the attorney who filed the legal complaint found that the office failed to follow its own dismissal ...read moreThe post Federal civil rights office reopens high sch
Is Public Education on Its Death Bed? Should It Be? Seven Points of Argument, Leverage and Change. – Teacher in a Strange Land – Education Week Teacher
Is Public Education on Its Death Bed? Should It Be? Seven Points of Argument, Leverage and Change. By Nancy Flanagan on July 23, 2013 1:52 PM Last week, I was lunchtime speaker at the local Mensa group’s monthly meeting. The program chairman who asked me to speak suggested this title for my talk: Is public ...read moreThe post Is Public Education on Its Death Bed? Should It Be? Seven Points of Arg
Pennsylvania Releases Some Findings on Cheating | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Apparently in response to Daniel Denvir’s article accusing the state of Pennsylvania of dragging its feet on an investigation of cheating on state tests, the state released some information. Just remember whenever you hear a governor or other politician boasting about test scores that they have no idea (and neither will you) whether the gains ...read moreThe post Pennsylvania Releases Some Finding
Is InBloom Enthusiasm Inspired By Gates Grants? | Anthony Cody – Living in Dialogue
By Anthony Cody on July 23, 2013 11:55 AM This weekend I read an unusual opinion column in the Denver Post, written by the president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), a former teacher named Kerrie Dallman. The commentary is titled “InBloom enables great teaching tools,” and it presents reasons she is delighted with the ...read moreThe post Is InBloom Enthusiasm Inspired By Gates Grants?
Kevin Huffman and the Mind of a Reformer | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Kevin Huffman, Tennessee state education commissioner, has decided that children with disabilities need to take the same standardized state tests as other children. For many years, children with severe disabilities took an alternative test, but Huffman wants to put an end to that. He says it is time to stop lying to these children. “For ...read moreThe post Kevin Huffman and the Mind of a Reformer
School Finance 101: Reformy Distractions, Diversions & Smokescreens from What’s Really Needed | School Finance 101
Posted on July 23, 2013 0 We conclude with a discussion of three themes in the current political rhetoric regarding school finance that we see as creating significant barriers to substantive reforms. Three arguments in particular, are pervasive in the broader education reform debate, with implications for school funding equity and adequacy: First, that through ...read moreThe post School Finance 1
Daniel Denvir: Pennsylvania Covering Up Major Cheating Scandal | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Daniel Denvir, crack investigative journalist in Philadelphia, reports that the state has dragged its feet on an investigation of a major cheating scandal. Despite evidence of high rates of erasures, the state has done nothing and refuses reporters’ requests for information. Denvir writes: “Over the last two years, inquiries were closed or altered with little ...read moreThe post Daniel Denvir: Pe
How Common Core could affect every state — even those that reject it | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 23 at 7:00 amE-mail the writer Not all states approved the Common Core State Standards, and some of those that did are now reconsidering whether to implement them. But it turns out that the standards could wind up affecting students in every state — even if their legislatures reject the ...read moreThe post How Common Core could affect every state — even those
Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: With Tim Tyson on Moral Monday in N.C.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 With Tim Tyson on Moral Monday in N.C. Tim Tyson Susan and I stopped in and paid a visit with old friend Tim Tyson in Durham, N.C. yesterday. A professor at Duke University, Tim was on his way over to the Moral Monday protest in Raliegh. Susan Klonsky reports from Durham: ...read moreThe post Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog: With Tim Tyson on Moral Monday in N.C. appeared firs
Bruce Baker: One of the Dumbest Ways to Evaluate Teachers | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Bruce Baker here examines a “graduate school” created by charter schools where their inexperienced teachers train new teachers how to produce high test scores. The model is a charter in New Jersey called North Star that gets great “growth scores” but has remarkably high attrition rates, especially among black boys. Baker writes: “But is a ...read moreThe post Bruce Baker: One of the Dumbest Ways t
PARCC’s Convenient Release of Cost Analysis | Scathing Purple Musings
Posted on July 23, 2013 by Bob Sikes Pearson pushed back this week. Reeling from the news that Florida’s top two legislative leaders wanted out of the PARCC testing consortium that are part of Common Core Standards, Pearson, who was awarded the contract for PARCC, released a cost analysis of PARCC. And surprise! It costs ...read moreThe post PARCC’s Convenient Release of Cost Analysis | Scathing P
JUL 22
TALLAHASSEE: School grade ‘safety net’ vote opens new rifts – Schools – MiamiHerald.com
BY TIA MITCHELL HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU TALLAHASSEE — The state Board of Education’s decision last week to inflate school grades for a second year was widely praised by parents and educators, but it also exposed a hard-to-miss rift between the closest allies of former Gov. Jeb Bush and those who back Gov. Rick Scott. The ...read moreThe post TALLAHASSEE: School grade ‘safety net’ vote open
Detroit Bankruptcy Could Set Legal Precedent For Bankrupt Cities With Pension Obligations, Experts Say | Huff Post
DETROIT — Pensioners across the country have reason to watch Detroit’s historic bankruptcy filing closely. The legal wrangling over whether the city’s filing is unconstitutional may have widespread impact on cities in crisis across the United States. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr says the city’s crippling lack of services and devastating population loss can’t be ...read moreThe post Detroit
Why Great Teachers Are Fleeing the Profession – Speakeasy – Wall Street Journal
By RAFE ESQUITH Everybody agrees: a great teacher is the difference between success and failure, for a school, a class, and a student. But right now, great teachers are leaving the profession faster than Dodger fans exiting the stadium during the 7th inning. The Internet is awash in videos and blogs from outstanding teachers who ...read moreThe post Why Great Teachers Are Fleeing the Profession –
Vallas Refers to Bloggers as “Electronic Graffitti” | Diane Ravitch’s blog
These days, the blogosphere has become a medium for democratic expression. With so few mainstream media still in existence, blogging has become an important forum for those who have no voice. Today’s New York Times has an article about the controversy surrounding Paul Vallas in Bridgeport. Vallas speaks contemptuously of bloggers as “electronic graffitti.” The ...read moreThe post Vallas Refers to
Louisiana: $615 Million for Consultants, $0 for Home Care for Disabled | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Governor Bobby Jindal eliminated a $4 million program that provides home care for people with developmental disabilities. You know, the state can’t afford it. But the state treasurer pointed out that the Louisiana Department of Education spent an astonishing $615 million on consultants in the five years from 2005-2010. According to the local media: “State ...read moreThe post Louisiana: $615 Milli
Georgia Drops Out of PARCC; Will Florida Soon Follow? | Scathing Purple Musings
Posted on July 22, 2013 by Bob Sikes From Wayne Washington in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution: Georgia leaders announced today that the state will not offer a new and expensive standardized test tied to the controversial set of national standards called Common Core. In rejecting the test, Gov. Nathan Deal and Superintendent John Barge cited its ...read moreThe post Georgia Drops Out of PARCC; Wil
The First Review of “Reign of Error”! | Diane Ravitch’s blog
This is the first review of my new book. Kirkus sends out early reviews that are read by journalists, librarians, and others in the publishing industry. This reviewer provides an accurate summary of the book. He or she got the main point and presents it succinctly here. REIGN OF ERROR The Hoax of the Privatization ...read moreThe post The First Review of “Reign of Error”! | Diane Ravitch’s blog ap
Jersey Jazzman: Free Lunch “Fraud” Menu: Red Herring
Monday, July 22, 2013 Apparently, the greatest threat to the fiscal well-being of New Jersey is children who might be getting their school lunches for free [all emphases in this post mine]: More than 100 people – including 83 public employees – gave false information about income on applications for free lunches submitted to school districts. ...read moreThe post Jersey Jazzman: Free Lunch “Fraud”
Mother Crusader: Another Christie Crony Gets A Charter
Monday, July 22, 2013 The announcement of the six charters receiving final approval to open in September was four days off schedule. The press release is full of platitudes about how well vetted these schools were, and how confident Commissioner Cerf is that these schools will be stellar. “We must hold a high bar for ...read moreThe post Mother Crusader: Another Christie Crony Gets A Charter (And
OECD Wants to Measure And Grade Universities | Diane Ravitch’s blog
The OECD is so pleased with the “success” of international testing for K-12 that it wants to bring the same testing to higher education. Then, presumably, it would be possible to compare higher education across nations and see who is best, who ranks lowest, and get everyone to compete on the terms that OECD chooses. ...read moreThe post OECD Wants to Measure And Grade Universities | Diane Ravitch’
Can Children Be Measured Like Corn As They Grow? | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Amy Prime is a second grade teacher in Iowa and a parent of five children. She knows how different each of her children are. In this article, she wonders how the Common Core will work, and she draws an analogy with farmers growing corn. Her analogy begins like this: “It is easy to like the ...read moreThe post Can Children Be Measured Like Corn As They Grow? | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first o
John Thompson: How Can Teach For America Stop Making Enemies? – Living in Dialogue – Education Week Teacher
By Anthony Cody on July 22, 2013 9:33 AM Guest post by John Thompson. Teach For America Co-CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard’s address to alumni, “Fighting the Wrong Enemy,” is correct on this point, “It’s disheartening that people who should be our partners in a larger movement for social justice are fighting the wrong enemy.” But, ...read moreThe post John Thompson: How Can Teach For America Stop Makin
Latest dispute with UFT could cost city $15 million in grants | GothamSchools
by Geoff Decker, at 10:00 am The Department of Education has until 5:00 p.m. to get Michael Mulgrew’s signature for a grant application that could bring in as much as $15 million in funding for professional development and other teacher training resources. Today is the deadline for districts to apply to New York’s Strengthening Teacher ...read moreThe post Latest dispute with UFT could cost city $
England vs Scotland: Competing school reform visions | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 22 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer Here is a post about the different ways that England and Scotland are approaching school reform — with echoes of the U.S. reform debate — by Marc Tucker, president of the non-profit National Center on Education and the Economy and an internationally known expert ...read moreThe post England vs Scotland: Competing school reform visi
NC Legislature: $5.1 Million for TFA | Diane Ravitch’s blog
As reported earlier, the far-right North Carolina legislature voted to start vouchers and to end teacher tenure. But there was good news for TFA: the far-right Republican majority allocated $5.1 million for Teach for America. The governor’s education advisor Eric Guckian is an alum of TFA. TFA presents itself as passionately devoted to equity, but ...read moreThe post NC Legislature: $5.1 Million
The whole truth and nothing but the truth… | Wait, What?
The facts: On March 4, 2013 (despite a state law prohibiting Paul Vallas from becoming Bridgeport’s permanent superintendent of schools until he had completed a School Leadership Program, which would have then allowed Connecticut’s Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor to waive Vallas’ need for certification), the Bridgeport Board of Education voted 5 to 4 to ...read moreThe post The whole truth
JUL 21
Michigan Debates Common Core | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Strongest supporters of Common Core: business community, Jeb Bush, StudentsFirst, other corporate reformers. Strongest critics: Republicans. As usual, the debate is framed as rightwing vs. rightwing. It is way more complex than that. There ought to be a law that anyone commenting on or writing about the Common Core should be required to read them ...read moreThe post Michigan Debates Common Core |
Lance Hill: A Principal Paid $115,000 for a School with 13 Students? | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Lance Hill reports that Steve Barr has hired a principal at a salary of $115,000 for a charter school with an enrollment of 13 freshman students. Perhaps the reason enrollment is so low is that Barr hyped the schools as “the most dangerous school in America” on a TV show in Oprah’s channel. Some parents ...read moreThe post Lance Hill: A Principal Paid $115,000 for a School with 13 Students? | Dia
A new (even worse) version of NCLB is on the table | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog
Friday, July 19, 2013 A new (even worse) version of NCLB is on the table After 6 years of failed attempts to reauthorize NCLB, a new bill, named as you might expect — the Student Success Act — has been brought to the House floor for a vote. But this bill is even worse than ...read moreThe post A new (even worse) version of NCLB is on the table | Mike Klonsky’s SmallTalk Blog appeared first on NPE
NC Lieutenant Governor Has 67 Questions About Common Core | Susan Ohanian Speaks Out
Ohanian Comment: NOTE: Dan Forest is a Republican. Does that mean Liberals will dismiss 65 of his 67 questions? Or all of them? We might disagree on what the “right” answers are, but I think we can agree that there are a lot of really good questions here. I would think it an embarrassment that ...read moreThe post NC Lieutenant Governor Has 67 Questions About Common Core | Susan Ohanian Speaks Out
Peg with Pen: Colorado Education Association President Promotes inBloom – without the Facts
Saturday, July 20, 2013 Colorado Education Association President Promotes inBloom – without the Facts Yesterday I read an opinion piece in the Denver Post by Kerrie Dallman, teacher and president of the Colorado Education Association, the state affiliate of the NEA. I am a Colorado public school teacher, a parent with a child in the ...read moreThe post Peg with Pen: Colorado Education Association
Baltimore Sun – Fix the teaching/testing disconnect in Maryland
By Renee A. Foose Updated July 17, 2013 The release of the Maryland School Assessment results — anticipated early next week — will surely send a ripple of shock to parents across the state. Educators are bracing for dips in math performance. At first glance, the scores will appear to indicate that student achievement has ...read moreThe post Baltimore Sun – Fix the teaching/testing disconnect in M
Warning: The Common Core standards may be harmful to children | Kappan
Joanne Yatvin JOANNE YATVIN (jyatvin@comcast.net) is an adjunct professor and supervisor of student teachers at the Portland State University Graduate School of Education, Portland, Ore., and is a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Abstract The author, a longtime teacher and principal, levels harsh criticisms against the English/language arts standards ...read mo
Finally, a film that celebrates public education | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 21 at 9:15 am We’ve seen a stream of films promoting the school reform agenda, but here’s a piece about a different kind of movie, one that actually celebrates public education. This was written by Peter Dreier, professor of politics and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at ...read moreThe post Finally, a film that celebrates public educatio
A Teacher’s Letter to Bill Gates | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Teacherbiz writes a friendly but very candid letter to Big Brother Bill Gates. Teacherbiz has some good advice: “You know that feeling you get when you think you’re doing something good—and then you realize you’re actually doing harm? I’ve experienced it, and it’s not a good feeling—and the only way to get rid of that ...read moreThe post A Teacher’s Letter to Bill Gates | Diane Ravitch’s blog app
Ed Notes Online: Newark Schools for Sale: Cami Anderson, Cerf Keep Turnaround Board Member Campbell Brown Under the Sheets
Turnaround has refused to provide information about its failed foray into Orange schools. Now, Turnaround For Children is interviewing schools in Newark for September. What is Turnaround and what is its proposed role in Newark? The best source for information would be Turnaround, right? Wrong. …Newark Schools for Sale Ted Cohen sent this follow-up report ...read moreThe post Ed Notes Online: Newar
A Blog About School: Where do the board candidates stand?
SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013 Where do the board candidates stand? I just emailed the following to all of the current school board candidates here in the Iowa City Community School District: I’m the father of three kids in the Iowa City schools, and I also write a blog about education issues. I am sending this ...read moreThe post A Blog About School: Where do the board candidates stand? appeared first
JUL 20
NYC Educator: Chicago–Now With 4% Fewer Teachers!
Saturday, July 20, 2013 Chicago–Now With 4% Fewer Teachers! Reformy Rahm Emanuel has made education a priority in Chicago. That’s a pretty good idea, since Arne Duncan’s Renaissance 2010 has proven an abject failure. Now, were I mayor of Chicago, looking at all the reformy things that didn’t work for Arne, I’d take a different ...read moreThe post NYC Educator: Chicago–Now With 4% Fewer Teachers!
Malloy’s Commissioner of Education signs another $1 million contract with out-side consultants | Jon Pelto – Wait, What?
Governor Malloy and Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor’s education reform and economic development strategy came into greater focus this week with news that a few months ago Stefan Pryor continued his un-ending effort to divert scarce taxpayer funds to consultants. As previously reported, last month Pryor and his “Chief Turnaround Officer,” Debra Kushan, let go a ...read moreThe post Malloy’s Com
What House Republicans did right with the education bill | The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss, Published: July 20 at 1:16 pm There are many things to oppose in the legislation that the Republican-led House of Representatives just approved to rewrite the much-maligned 2002 No Child Left Behind bill. The bill, passed on Friday without a single Democratic vote in support, would, if it were to become law, ...read moreThe post What House Republicans did right with the educati
Goodbye, Student IDs—Hello, Iris Scanners | Take Part
Is iris recognition technology in schools a good idea or an invasion of privacy? July 18, 2013Suzi Parker Suzi Parker is a journalist whose work also appears in The Christian Science Monitor and Reuters. Iris scanning sounds like a procedure from a science fiction movie. But it’s real, and it’s coming to a school near ...read moreThe post Goodbye, Student IDs—Hello, Iris Scanners | Take Part appea
Florida’s Public School Grading System Fails | Take Part
The state finally admits that the way it grades schools is inaccurate. July 18, 2013 Suzi Parker Suzi Parker is a journalist whose work also appears in The Christian Science Monitor and Reuters. Basing the success of a school on standardized test scores is proving to be more flawed than school officials originally thought. (Photo: ...read moreThe post Florida’s Public School Grading System Fails |
State Auditor Finds Testing Contract Oversight Lacking | The Texas Tribune
by Morgan Smith July 16, 2013 The Texas Education Agency does not have a process in place to adequately oversee the state’s $462 million student testing contract with Pearson Education, a report from the State Auditor’s Office concluded Tuesday. The statewide standardized tests “were administered and graded in a timely manner,” the report states. But, ...read moreThe post State Auditor Finds Testi
Cashing in on Kids Report Exposes ALEC | SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE
JULY 19, 2013 BY FREETOTEACH The Center for Media and Democracy has a new report out on ALEC (Good beach reading) Despite widespread public opposition to the education privatization agenda, at least 139 bills or state budget provisions reflecting American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) education bills have been introduced in 43 states and the District ...read moreThe post Cashing in on Kids R
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
Law on Racial Diversity Stirs Greenwich Schools | NYTimes.com
By AL BAKER Published: July 19, 2013 GREENWICH, Conn. — Just a few minutes’ drive from the polo fields, the fieldstone walls guarding 10-acre estates and the Greenwich Country Day School, from which the elder George Bush graduated in 1937, is far denser terrain, where the homes are smaller and closer together and part of ...read moreThe post Law on Racial Diversity Stirs Greenwich Schools | NYTime
Joshua Starr Searches for Néw Measures | Diane Ravitch’s blog
Superintendent Joshua Starr in Montgomery County, Maryland, is searching for ways to measure students other than test scores. The district has commissioned Gallup to develop measures of social and emotional factors. Sounds good but why not do what Sidwell Friends, Exeter, Andover, Lakeside Academy, and schools in Finland do: Trust professional judgment. HuffPost reporter Joy ...read moreThe post J
Ed Notes Online: Gotham Schools Funders: You Get What You Pay For
SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013 Yesterday I posted hits from my fellow bloggers to Gotham Schools’ increasingly pro ed deform agenda (NYC Teacher Bloggers on the Loose: Slam Gotham Schools Coverage) — they don’t even bother defending themselves against these charges. NYC Educator hit them hard: when an astroturf group like Students First NY holds a ...read moreThe post Ed Notes Online: Gotham Schools Fund
Ed Notes Online: Call for Waiver from teacher evaluations in NY
Call for Waiver from teacher evaluations in NY This came in an email as a suggestion for MORE to take up the cause and I think it should. But I wonder if the UFT which supports and vehemently defends the new evaluation system will be calling for a waiver. It is now possible for states ...read moreThe post Ed Notes Online: Call for Waiver from teacher evaluations in NY appeared first on NPE News Br