Big Education Ape: Jan 7, 2013

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Cal Grant Rules Disqualify 80 Percent of For-Profits

by cmaadmin

LOS ANGELES — A state report examining Cal Grant’s new eligibility standards says the tighter rules have disqualified 80 percent of California’s for-profit colleges from the financial aid program.
The state Legislative Analyst’s Office released the 20-page report Monday to update lawmakers on how the rules adopted last year have affected higher education. The new standards were designed to steer students toward a

Heads Up Seattle! “Charter School Moguls Scam Oregon Out of Millions”

by seattleducation2011

At first I thought I would post this article as part of the Weekly Update but because it is so close to home and with charter franchises and their corporate bellhops [1] chomping at the bit to get a piece of the taxpayer’s pie in our state, I decided to post this in full today, [...]

Arbor Heights Burglarized Again

by Melissa Westbrook

From th West Seattle Blog, a report of yet another break-in (the second in two months) at Arbor Heights Elementary. Both times, computers were taken. From WS Blog:

4:29 PM UPDATE: More information from SPS’s Wippel: Four computers were stolen today, worth $1,800 each – $7,200 total – “And no budget to replace them. The four stolen last November weren’t replaced either. (Principal) Christy Collins said the kids ‘feel violated’.”

How did the thieves get in?

STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF DOE’S SCHOOL CLOSINGS LIST

by admin

NEW YORK CITY PARENTS UNION STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S SCHOOL CLOSINGS LIST New York, NY– Today, the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) released the first of its annual list of schools to be closed or phased out for “poor performance.” The New York City Parents [...]

At LAUSD's Chatsworth Elementary, LAPD lieutenant is front and center

by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer

Arriving at Chatsworth Elementary School after a three-week winter break, students and parents were greeted early Monday by LAPD Lt. Cory Palka, who shook the kids' hands, chatted up the moms and dads and - despite his easygoing demeanor - brought a feeling of security to those entering the campus gates. | Read "Glendale elementary school evacuated after bomb threat"

Rhee Gives California Ed Policies An “F”; CA “Great Results With Diminishing Resources” Report Comes Out At Same Time

by Larry Ferlazzo

At about the same time Michelle Rhee, resident of our fair city of Sacramento, gave California education policies an “F,” a report based on actual research and focused on how students are doing in the classroom was published with the title “California’s K-12 Public Schools: Great Results With Diminishing Resources.”
No wonder our state’s deputy superintendent of instruction said:
…that the state’s F rating is a “badge of honor.” “This is an organization that frankly makes its living by asserting that schools are failing,” Zeiger said of StudentsFirst. “I would have been surprised if we had got anything else.”
You can read more about Rhee’s grading system here. And you can read about a report card given to Rhee by a New York school’s group here.
I’ve previously shared my perspective on Rhee in The Washington Post.

The Great Pension Robbery.

by Fred Klonsky

A Spoiler for Frontline’s Michelle Rhee Documentary

by Jose Vilson

Michelle Rhee

A bunch of my friends have already started posting up the trailer for Frontline‘s documentary on Michelle Rhee entitled The Education of Michelle Rhee (PBS, starting January 8th, check your local listings). Honestly, I’m not watching it. Most people get a benefit of a doubt, but Rhee’s earned nothing but doubt from me. Her videotaped firing of a principal when she was the Chancellor of Washington, DC schools was only the first of many things I started to find out about her that would / should offend anyone interested in true education reform, not the

Bad Reformy Football Analogies

by Duke

Time for another round of "Bad Reformy Analogies," the game where you spot the analogies used by the corporate education reformer and list the many ways in which it makes absolutely no sense.

Today's "Bad Reformy Analogy" comes from former mediocre Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and former mediocre New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein. Ready? Let's play!

It’s hard to watch Robert Griffin III play football and not think about education policy.

RG3, as fans call him, is a rookie who has been playing in the National Football League for all of 18 weeks, but led the Washington Redskins to twice as many victories as they had last year, their first

There Is No Debating the Six Shifts

UCI students visited by FBI over Palestine organizing

by mtd

IRVINE, California – Earlier this afternoon, two UC Irvine students were visited at their homes by FBI agents. The agents were asking questions about individuals involved with UCI’s Muslim Student Union and their work on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) organizing at UCI. The students told the agents that they would only answer questions with a lawyer present.
If you are contacted by the police or FBI, do not let them into your home without a warrant. Inform them that you will not answer their questions without a lawyer present and end the conversation. Make sure to collect the

Steve Duin: Like we can afford $300 an hour at Portland City Hall

by Steve Duin, The Oregonian

Of the two no-bid contracts Portland's former human resources director was hired as a consultant under, Portland Public Schools' might reap some benefit; the city's is more problematic.

Rocketship Education seeks OK for school site in San Jose's Tamien neighborhood

The passions driving and opposing charter schools will collide in public this month as Rocketship Education tries to move closer toward opening another elementary school in San Jose. On Jan. 8, the San Jose City Council will consider allowing a school on 3.5 acres next to the Tamien light-rail station, at 1178 Lick Ave. The

Pension Changes Prompt Mass Retirements. Is Your State Next?

by kenpreviti

Is your state next? Teachers, judges, law clerks, emergency rescue responders, infrastructure repair engineers, etc.
How long can they take abuse and cuts that deny decent wages, healthcare and retirement benefits for themselves and their families? How long can people face their families, friends and neighbors as they themselves are ridiculed and scapegoated because of their public service careers? Who wants to look forward to an old age

@thechalkface calls for #msnbc #boycott

by Timothy D. Slekar

Why in the hell would MSNBC’s morning joe prominently feature Michelle Rhee and her ridiculous state report card? Why does this woman continue to get media attention? Every reform that she either implemented or advocates for has been demonstrated to lead to deceitful behavior or simply not work! She advocates an ideologically driven, corporate-based reform [...]

#Edreform propaganda posters, the grand experiment. Thoughts?

by Chalk Face

Filed under: education reform Tagged: edreform, hst, propaganda, testing, united opt out

If you think Paulo Freire is interesting…

by ClassroomStruggle

What school of pedagogy has left the most significant imprint on Brazil’s largest social movement, the Landless Worker’s Movement (the MST)? Forgive yourself if you said Paulo Freire. While he did influence MST’s community schools, try out the pedagogy developed in Soviet Russia from 1918-1931. In those years, according to the MST, vast and important [...]

Are They Still Hosing The Teachers Of Tomorrow?

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I'm going to bed. Roger Sanders has a good summary posted. I just now realized you can't comment on his blog. Or am I blind?

What I still don't know is this: are the Poverty Plus® Cash Balance aBissmal pensions for the poor teaching recruits of tomorrow still in this thing? Or did they give that up?

I'm asking because nobody's coughed up a model about what a retirement would look like under that plan. When people finally see how badly they've been nekritzed by this Legislature, there's going to be some harsh times.

Protests across U.S. against Keystone XL include pipeline contractor Michels Corporation of Brownsville, Wisconsin

by bluecheddar

My time is short this evening for writing, so this is brief. I am sharing information and a video sent to my by a Wisconsin protester who spoke up today at the Brownsville, WI office of the Keystone XL contractor Michels Corporation. It feels like the protests against the Keystone XL pipeline are getting stronger just as the Idle No More movement is catching fire across the entire continent. This is looking like a huge convergence of

2013 EdTech Predictions: An Interview With Michael Feldstein

by Joshua Kim

Blog:

Technology and Learning

Michael Feldstein is "an educational technology consultant and a lifelong educator," with previous gigs as "senior program manager of MindTap at Cengage Learning and principal product strategy manager for Academic Enterprise Solutions (formerly Academic Enterprise Initiative, or AEI) at Oracle."

He is also a terrific speaker (recommend Michael for any keynote you need keynoted), an excellent

(California judge rules) Corporations aren't people in carpool lanes

Source: [b]San Francisco Chronicle[/b]

Jonathan Frieman, a 56-year old San Rafael resident and self-described social entrepreneur, failed to persuade a Marin County Superior Court judge Monday after he argued that he was not alone when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over i...

Remainders: A new principal finds the job is harder than it looks

by Philissa Cramer

The founding principal of a new charter schools says, “This is harder than it looks!” (Charter Notebook)
The creator of the New Yorker’s Newtown cover discusses his relationship to schools. (The New Yorker)
The Department of Education has opened this year’s Community Education Council elections. (DOE)
Here’s a primer on what families need to know about the possible school bus strike. (SchoolBook)

As NRA analogy draws ire, teacher evaluations take backseat

by Philissa Cramer

Union officials, elected officials, and parent advocates gathered on the steps of City Hall to decry Mayor Bloomberg's comments comparing the union to the NRA.

Elected officials, parent advocates, and three of the four Democratic candidates for mayor lined up today to call

What Do Students Think About School?

by aristotlethewise

What Do Students Think About School?

by Andreas Schleicher

Everyone knows what parents and the general public think about school. The media talk about it every day. But what do the ones who are at the receiving end think, namely students? PISA tried to find out. Specifically, PISA sought to find out whether 15-year-olds feel that what they have learned in school is useful for them, both in the immediate and for their futures. The assessment asked students, for example, whether school has prepared them for adult life when they leave school or whether they think that school has been a waste of time; and

Ironic Twist in Rhee’s Report

by dianerav

Mercedes Schneider, who has been writing up terrific statistical analyses of Louisiana’s fudging of school data, read the New York Times account of Rhee’s report card on education reforms and makes a great observation:
“The ratings, which focused purely on state laws and policies, did not take into account student test scores.”

Gallaudet Reinstates Official Who Signed Petition