Wednesday, January 30, 2013

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

District officials have said they don’t want to link the volatile issue of school closings with the equally volatile issue of charter school openings. But a major pro-charter foundation is providing financial backing for the current crop of school closing meetings taking place around the city this month.

The Waltons own CPS and they're determined to dismantle the thing. What's the name for a society that has long since surpassed banana republic status?

Stick together, people. Walmart is spending a pretty penny to set you at each other's throats with these bogus

I Feel A Protest Coming On

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

My keyboard has been dodging a lot of vomit lately. I just read this.

In a nutshell, a guy wants to open an "arts-based" charter in Rogers Park. Really. Can we just stop the f*cking madness already?

Dude, start a private school, start a community arts program, or support your public schools. This opening up of charter after charter after charter? It has to stop. I railed at him in the comments over at DNA, although I had to post it through a friend because of the Facebook comment system.

This man needs to start a private school, not a publicly funded charter school that will do damage to Rogers Park, in spite of his good intentions. The charter school model has become a taxpayers’ gift to people without a sustainable business model, like Mr. Frede. If he were trying to start a nonprofit private arts program for the children of Rogers Park,

A Whole Child Deserves a Whole Teacher — Whole Child Education

A Whole Child Deserves a Whole Teacher — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

A Whole Child Deserves a Whole Teacher

January 30, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick

A lot is said and written about the whole child. We often forget, however, that we should be considering the whole adult as well. A teacher's performance in the classroom, and the resulting performances of the students, depend on a cluster of ingredients not the least of which are the teacher's attitudes and dispositions which we refer to as Habits of Mind, which concern not only what teachers can do (abilities) but what they are likely to do. For example,

What is the likelihood that:	Habit of Mind
they will persevere through disappointment and challenge in their teaching, spending additional time, consulting others, reviewing and revising their decisions when hoped for results have not occurred?	Persisting
in the process of teaching and concentrating on the responses of an individual student, they use an eagle view of the classroom to monitor the entire class?	Metacognition (Thinking about Thinking)
faced with stubborn problems they can perceive them flexibly from various perspectives of the disappointed mother, the ambitious father, or the anxious child?	Thinking Flexibly
they will take disappointments in

One New Activity I’m Doing To Help ELLs Learn Academic Vocabulary – & Practice Speaking It | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

One New Activity I’m Doing To Help ELLs Learn Academic Vocabulary – & Practice Speaking It | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

One New Activity I’m Doing To Help ELLs Learn Academic Vocabulary – & Practice Speaking It

by Larry Ferlazzo

One of my students’ favorite activities, and one that I believe is very effective, is several times a week getting together in assigned small groups to practice conversational English. They all have a “cheat sheet” of about seventy different questions and answers that is in our book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide and practice asking and answering each others questions. Of course, if you don’t have our book, you can easily come up with your own “cheat sheet.”
Periodically, I ask students what other kinds of topics they want to practice, they come up with more questions, and I put them together on additional sheets — which they all glue into their notebooks.
My combination Beginners/Intermediate class has a wide enough range that the groups can work on their own with me just walking around between them.
This semester, however, I gained several excellent twelfth-graders who work as peer tutors during one of my class’ periods. I’ve assigned each one to a small group, and have given each of my students and them copies of

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda: Scrap the MAP « Seattle Education

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda: Scrap the MAP « Seattle Education:

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda: Scrap the MAP

by seattleducation2011

Dear Superintendent Banda and Members of the School Board,

Since MAP testing was imposed in Seattle Schools in 2009, Seattle school librarians have continually expressed concern about the loss of library resources for students. School libraries are a proven tool to improve student learning. With the onset of MAP testing, however, the libraries in many schools have been closed for weeks at a time while the space is devoted to testing. Librarians, whose role is to teach information skills and support reading instruction, have been required in many schools to spend weeks and weeks as testing clerks. In many schools the first time a student visits the library is not to check out a book or research a topic, but to take a test—a test that is not aligned to curriculum and covers material that they have not learned.

Scarce computer resources in schools are devoted to testing, and are unavailable for teaching and learning. Scarce technical support—the Department of Technology Services has been cut in recent years—is devoted to shoring up the MAP test, while student and teacher computers sit “Out of Order” for months because no one is available to fix them. These issues and many others were raised by librarians and teachers to district administrators over the years, but no major changes have been made.

On January 11 the teachers of Garfield High School announced that they will no longer

Does the FLDOE Work for Jeb Bush’s Foundation? | Scathing Purple Musings

Does the FLDOE Work for Jeb Bush’s Foundation? | Scathing Purple Musings:

Does the FLDOE Work for Jeb Bush’s Foundation?

by Bob Sikes

Today’s release of emails from a DC watchdog indeed provided some troubling revelations. Among these were arranging travel and reimbursements for FLDOE staffers and examples of clear advocacies for their corporate donors. But more than anything else, the sheer volume of emails between multiple Foundation for Excellence in Education staffers and state employees at the Florida Department of Education made the two appear almost co-dependent. But so many policy questions and requests for data were made by FEE staffers to numerous FLDOE staff that one would more likely be left with the impression that the later worked for the former.
Most disturbing of these involved attempts to dictate policy and legislation. This from In the Public Interest:

In addition to sending an invitation to the state board of education to attend a press conference in support of parent trigger legislation, FEE staff was very much involved in legislation affecting the state’s school turnaround procedures, which include converting some neighborhood schools to charter schools. (Education Commissioner Gerard) Robinson emailed (CEO Patricia )Levesque in

Proximity beats ratings in DPS school choice | EdNewsColorado

Proximity beats ratings in DPS school choice | EdNewsColorado:

Proximity beats ratings in DPS school choice

by Julie Poppen

Proximity to schools matters more than the school district’s rating system when families choose schools in Denver.

Image from the school choice page on the DPS website

That’s among the findings of two recently released reports, conclusions that could spark debate about some of the assumptions education reformers have about school choice.
“Almost every family we talked to – even though they are getting through SchoolChoice, they were not accessing any of these beautiful tools that have been created,” said Mike Kromrey, executive director of Together Colorado, which conducted a small study focused on low-income Latino families in Denver. “A lot of money has been

Daily Kos: What we know and what happens next

Daily Kos: What we know and what happens next:

What we know and what happens next

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

First, we will be eternally grateful for all the support and kind wishes. I am sorry I cannot respond to each of you individually, but know that we read and appreciate every comment, kosmail, email, etc. This community is at its best in moments like this when we support one another.
Second, don't worry, I am taking care of myself. I get enough rest, sometimes napping during the day. I take walks around the hospital to burn off energy. I have things I can do (book reviews, school-related stuff) so that I feel productive while remaining fully available to anything Leaves needs.
We do not have a final diagnosis, although we expect that on Friday. We know this much.
- it is apparently a blood-based cancer
- that has caused several lesions in her spine
- the doctors are already addressing those lesions with radiation (1st treatment today)
- chemo is down the road
- she has to wear a supportive back brace any time she is not lying down
- this is not immediately life-threatening
Again, thank you for your support and especially your prayers and holding her (us) in the Light. We know has made a difference.
Peace.

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda | Scrap the MAP!

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda | Scrap the MAP!:

Letter from Seattle School Librarians to Superintendent Banda

January 18, 2013

Dear Superintendent Banda and Members of the School Board,

On January 11 the teachers of Garfield High School announced that they will no longer administer the MAP test because of its negative impact on students. We, librarians in Seattle Public Schools, agree that MAP wastes resources in our schools without

Why, as a parent, I support Garfield teachers’ opposition to excessive and inaccurate testing | Edvoices

Why, as a parent, I support Garfield teachers’ opposition to excessive and inaccurate testing | Edvoices:

Why, as a parent, I support Garfield teachers’ opposition to excessive and inaccurate testing

By Sue Peters January 30, 2013 1:16 pm

For his first school-library experience in kindergarten, my five-year-old son was not allowed to check out a book. Instead he was placed in front of a computer with a set of headphones and told to take a test for an hour.

That was my family’s introduction to the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®), a computerized, adaptive test for math and English, administered to Seattle public school children in grades K-9, three times a year since 2009.

Seattle parents were told the test would help teachers inform instruction and lead to personalized teaching for our children. Instead, it has cost our schools weeks in lost class-time and library access, reams of administrative busy work, and as much as $11 million in scarce district funding. It has also proven to be an unreliable tool, and one which our district is seriously misusing.

Seattle public school children are already fed a veritable alphabet soup of tests, beginning in kindergarten – MAP®, MSP, EOC, HSPE, SAT, ACT, and now, tests tied to the Common Core State Standards.

So when the teachers at one of Seattle’s most highly respected schools, Garfield High School, made national news on

A quick take on just-released STAAR results | Education Blog

A quick take on just-released STAAR results | Education Blog:

A quick take on just-released STAAR results

0 15

comments (2)

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
4:51 pm on January 30, 2013 | Permalink

New STAAR data is out, allowing us to see how Texas students fared on the state’s new achievement test. Here’s my quick take:

*Passing rates on most end-of-course exams for ninth-graders, who were the first to take these EOC tests, were around 80 percent or more. Algebra I. English I Reading. Biology. World Geography. The passing rates for all ninth-graders, including those who took the test more than once, was at least 80 percent. For biology, it was 91 percent. These numbers are good, and that last one for biology is really good.

But the passing rate for English I writing in the ninth grade was disturbingly low. Only 72 percent passed it then, including after multiple tries. That’s not good, especially when you consider that only 54 percent of ninth-graders passed the writing end-of-course exam on the first try.

*Eighth graders are tanking in social studies, which is something I don’t get. Only 59 percent of eighth

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 1-30-13 #SOSCHAT #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

NYC Educator: Maybe It's a Female Thing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

NYC Educator: Maybe It's a Female Thing: Maybe It's a Female Thing by NYC Educator That's what my supervisor said to me today. Someone called me on my cell phone, looking for my wife. She was from my daughter's school and didn't seem to want to talk to me. I was a little upset with that explanation. I said it wasn't fair. Women can say, "It's a female thing," shut you out, tell you nothing, and look knowingly at one another. Naturally you could never comprehend such a thing because you are an insensitive unintelligent galoot. I protested, along with the one other male teacher in m... more »

Diane in the Evening 1-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: How Credible Are Those Voucher Evaluations? by dianerav What am I missing here? Dr. Patrick Wolf has made his reputation evaluating voucher plans in Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, but now we see that he is speaking at a conservative think tank about the “success” of vouchers during a celebration of school choice. He wrote an opinion piece for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune warning that the state was falling behind in providing Breaking News: Students in Providence Oppose High-Stakes Testing by dianerav Yesterday it was students in Portland, Oregon, today... more »

RHODE ISLAND STUDENTS CALL ON GOVERNOR TO STOP HIGH-STAKES TESTING POLICY « Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

RHODE ISLAND STUDENTS CALL ON GOVERNOR TO STOP HIGH-STAKES TESTING POLICY « Seattle Education: RHODE ISLAND STUDENTS CALL ON GOVERNOR TO STOP HIGH-STAKES TESTING POLICY [image: Microsoft Word - PSU Protest ad.docx] “In just one week, the results of this year’s NECAP test will be released,” said Kelvis Hernandez. “It’s our hope that everyone in Rhode Island passes. But it’s more likely that thousands of students will not score high enough to pass this graduation requirement, particularly among the state’s most vulnerable populations—English Language Learners, students with disabili...more »

Presidential Memorandum -- Coordination of Policies and Programs to Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women and Girls Globally | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Presidential Memorandum -- Coordination of Policies and Programs to Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women and Girls Globally | The White House: Presidential Memorandum -- Coordination of Policies and Programs to Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women and Girls Globally January 30, 2013 MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Coordination of Policies and Programs to Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women and Girls Globally Promoting gender equality and advancing the status of all women and girls around the world remains one of the gr... more »

Six best e-mails on National School Choice Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Six best e-mails on National School Choice Week: Six best e-mails on National School Choice Week Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 30, 2013 at 2:17 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » It’s National School Choice Week, which is not easy to forget if your e-mail queue is graced each day with messages that have subject lines like the ones below. There are, according to the week’s Web site, “3,600 events and counting!” to celebrate school choice, which has become one of the primary focuses of sch... more »

UPDATE: The Failure of State Control Jersey Jazzman: More Newark-Facebook Follies

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: More Newark-Facebook Follies: The Failure of State Control by Duke Anyone want to try to convince me that this is the fault of teachers unions? They say there are rats, mice, cockroaches, spiders, guns and fights in the hallways. *That’s why students say they walked out of a Newark high school today, to protest what they called a filthy school environment that’s also not safe.* They also called for the return of the school’s former principal. During the afternoon protest, students walked out of Barringer High School in staggered waves of 10 or 20. Some students said ... more »

Waldorf-Inspired Schools - Sacramento City Unified School District

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Waldorf-Inspired Schools - Sacramento City Unified School District: http://www.carverartsandscience.org/Waldorf-Inspired Schools Waldorf-inspired schools are places where imagination, creativity and critical thinking skills necessary for college and careers are fostered in a supportive “whole child” environment. Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) at the beginning of the 20th century. The Waldorf education model is used in 60 countries and there are 44 Waldorf-inspired public schools in the United States. SCUSD opened the country’s first public Waldorf-insp... more »

The Big Easy – Sell Out Our Children, Destroy Community Space, Watch Future Generations Indebted to Wall Street and K-Street | Dissident Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

The Big Easy – Sell Out Our Children, Destroy Community Space, Watch Future Generations Indebted to Wall Street and K-Street | Dissident Voice: The Big Easy – Sell Out Our Children, Destroy Community Space, Watch Future Generations Indebted to Wall Street and K-Street by Paul Haeder “American cities flourished almost solely as centers for business, and they showed it. Americans omitted to build the ceremonial spaces and public structures that these other functions might have called for. What business required were offices, factories, housing for workers, and little else. Beyond a... more »

Invasion Of The Charter Schools - Page 1 - News - New York - Village Voice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Invasion Of The Charter Schools - Page 1 - News - New York - Village Voice: Invasion Of The Charter Schools Former City Councilmember Eva Moskowitz, with Bloomberg's union-busting blessing, is pushing her Success Academy edu-franchise into Brooklyn. The natives aren't buying. Comments (5)By Anya Kamenetz Wednesday, Jan 30 2013 *When the hipsters of Williamsburg,* Greenpoint, and Bushwick are ready to add a little hipster to the family, we inevitably join the Brooklyn Baby Hui. The hui (it's a Maori term for "community," natch) has all the information anxious new parents need on maki... more »

Summer Food Service Applications - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Summer Food Service Applications - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Urges Agencies to Apply to Become Summer Food Service Program Sponsors SACRAMENTO—In order to keep children well-nourished during the summer recess and ready to learn when they go back to school in the fall, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today urged eligible organizations to apply now to become meal sites this summer through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). "During summer recess, low-income children often miss out on the daily nutritious meals a... more »

UPDATE: Schools Matter: Corporate Lobbying by Memphis BioWorks Buys Charter Renewal for MASE

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Schools Matter: Corporate Lobbying by Memphis BioWorks Buys Charter Renewal for MASE: Corporate Lobbying by Memphis BioWorks Buys Charter Renewal for MASE by Jim Horn The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports this morning that the Shelby County School Board voted 18-1 to renew the local charter school, MASE, which has worse test scores than public schools that have been turned over recently for charter conversion. But heavy lobbying by officials of the school operator, Memphis Bioworks Foundation, was evident in the split that developed on the board over the fate of the 10-year-old ... more »

PPS & Portland Student Unions urge students to boycott Standardized Testing. | Portland Student Union

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

PPS & Portland Student Unions urge students to boycott Standardized Testing. | Portland Student Union: PPS & Portland Student Unions urge students to boycott Standardized Testing. Posted on January 26, 2013by portlandstudentunion The PPS and Portland Student Unions will be teaming up in organizing an Opt-Out Campaign in which students are encouraged to opt-out of taking their standardized OAKS tests. The Student Unions want to send a strong message against to the standardized testing system as we believe that standardized tests scores are an inaccurate depiction of a student’s kn... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: More MAP Boycott Support

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More MAP Boycott Support: More MAP Boycott Support by Melissa Westbrook Via Diane Ravitch's blog: - Australian teachers chime in. - I haven't seen the letter but Ingraham teachers have apparently notified the Superintendent of their support for the boycott. - High school students in Oregon are organizing their own opt-out. “We need more community based schools and better relationships between students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Schools should not be being evaluated based on student’s standardized test scores, but rather a 360 portfoli... more »

Gerald Coles: Education in Obama's Second Term: What Lies Ahead? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

Gerald Coles: Education in Obama's Second Term: What Lies Ahead? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Gerald Coles: Education in Obama's Second Term: What Lies Ahead? by Anthony Cody [image: Living in Dialogue] *Guest post by Gerald Coles.* I wish President Obama's comments on education, in his second inaugural speech, had not brought to mind the lines from Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues: "Look Out Kid, They Keep It All Hid... Look Out Kid, You're Gonna Get Hit." While a surface reading of the remarks suggest a concern for schooling and children, particularly po... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, January 30, 2013

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Fensterwald: State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate Education Headlines *Wednesday, January 30, 2013* Lowder gets 3-year contract extension by 4-3 voteBy the same narrow margin that won him the job seven months ago, Superintendent Steve Lowder received a contract extension, a raise and more job security at Tuesday night's Stockton Unified school board meeting. Tustin Unified and city settle legal battleAfter 35 months of wrangling, and at least $1.5 million paid to lawyers, the legal dispute betwee... more »

Lake Effect: Commentary: Some Efforts at School Reform Are "Waste of Time"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Lake Effect: Commentary: Some Efforts at School Reform Are "Waste of Time": Commentary: Some Efforts at School Reform Are "Waste of Time" Lake Effect - - [image: Download] - Download - | - [image: Embed] - Embed - | - [image: RSS] - RSS - | - [image: Podcast] - Podcast [image: How should we approach school reform? -] [image: Click to Enlarge Photo]How should we approach school reform? LAKE EFFECT | DEC 19, 2012 *Lake Effect previously interviewed leaders from the coalition called Schools That Can Milwaukee, who talked about that group’s growth, an... more »

Modern School: Graduation Rates Highest in 40 Years

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Modern School: Graduation Rates Highest in 40 Years: Graduation Rates Highest in 40 Years by Michael Dunn High school graduation rates are now at their highest level since the 1970s. In 2009-2010, 78.2% of students earned their diploma in four years, compared with 75.5% in 2008-2009. The graduation rate peaked at 78.7% in 1969-1970 and declined steadily until recently, dropping as low as 71% in the 1990s (data from Bloomberg News). The largest increases were among African American and Hispanic youth. On the one hand, we should all take a step back and relax. Our schools are not... more »

Joy Resmovits: Antonio Villaraigosa's Education Reforms Questioned By Mayoral Contenders: Ed Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Joy Resmovits: Antonio Villaraigosa's Education Reforms Questioned By Mayoral Contenders: Ed Today: Antonio Villaraigosa's Education Reforms Questioned By Mayoral Contenders: Ed Today by Joy Resmovits *Reform Fatigue In L.A.?* "Antonio Villaraigosa Led The Way On Education Reform, But His Potential Successors Are Reluctant To Pick Up The Torch," reads the headline of an L.A. Weekly blog post.. The two top mayoral contenders to replace Villaraigosa at the helm of the nation's second largest school district aren't campaigning Villaraigosa-style reforms. The West Coast city's dynam... more »

Can traditional school systems be replaced by charters? - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Can traditional school systems be replaced by charters? - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post: Can traditional school systems be replaced by charters? By Emma Brown When activists from the District and across the country gathered Tuesday at the U.S. Education Department to call for an end to school closures, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued a statement in solidarity: “It’s time to fix, not close, our schools,” she said. A few miles away, Andy Smarick argued the opposite: it’s time to close, not fix, our schools. D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya ... more »

Schools Matter: Simple Is As Simple Does

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Schools Matter: Simple Is As Simple Does: Simple Is As Simple Does by Storm Have you seen "Simple English Wikipedia"? This is a companion site for "Regular English Wikipedia." Here is the description (my emphasis): This is the front page of the Simple English Wikipedia. Wikipedias are places where people work together to write encyclopedias in different languages. We use Simple English words and grammar here. The Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone! *That includes children and adults who are learning English.* There are 91,451 articles on the Simple English Wikipedia. All...more »

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] If I Were Secretary of Education…..(1) by dianerav In response to another post, asking what would you do if you were Secretary of Education: If I were the Secretary of Education, I would take all the money being spent on testing and use a good portion of it to hire aids, reading specialists, nurses, librarians, and all the other support staff needed to truly serve the needs of a school. School boards would consist of teachers and parents. Walton Foundation Awards $158 Million for Privatization by dianerav Th... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: NSBA Pushes Back Against Arne Duncan but Supports Common Core Standards?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: NSBA Pushes Back Against Arne Duncan but Supports Common Core Standards?: NSBA Pushes Back Against Arne Duncan but Supports Common Core Standards? by stlgretchen National School Board Association issues press release: *Alexandria, Va. (Jan. 29, 2013) – More than 700 school board members and state school boards association leaders will be meeting with their members of Congress and urging them to co-sponsor legislation, developed by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), to protect local school district governance from unnecessary and counter-pr... more »

Cut services, borrow money: Connecticut State Budget Day - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Cut services, borrow money: Connecticut State Budget Day - Wait, What?: Cut services, borrow money: Connecticut State Budget Day It is budget day in Connecticut, the day Governor Malloy goes before a joint session of the Connecticut General Assembly to present his proposed budget for the next two fiscal years. A clear, concise snapshot of the “state of the state” can be seen through the CTNewsjunkie story that was posted late last night. Governor To Announce New Nonprofit Funding Initiative “Less than 24 hours before the state’s nonprofit community providers were to rally Wednesda... more »

State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate | EdSource Today: State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate ** January 30th, 2013 | Add a Comment | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on print More Sharing Services A state commission has ruled that the state must reimburse school districts about $1 billion in mandated special education costs dating back 20 years. But like many protracted mandate cases, the victory is largely one of principle. Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to include a small payb... more »

Ed Notes Online: Susan Ohanian lays bare the roots of ed deform going back to the Clintons

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Ed Notes Online: Susan Ohanian lays bare the roots of ed deform going back to the Clintons: Susan Ohanian lays bare the roots of ed deform going back to the Clintons by ed notes online History counts my chickadees, so if you want to understand the roots of ed deform read this entirely through. Susan doesn't get into the role Shanker and the union played in supporting so much of this as outlined in the Kahlenberg bio - which Kahlenberg paints as a good thing --- no wonder both the UFT/AFT and Broad backed the book. Thus when people accuse Randi of changing the direction of the uni... more »

School Tech Connect: A Note About Marketing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

School Tech Connect: A Note About Marketing: A Note About Marketing by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) *Our research, marketing and brand-building tools** help clients navigate to their desired destinations every step of the way.* - Loran Marketing Listen, parents. If you find yourself being shunted off into a room to talk to a marketing person about keeping your neighborhood school closing, the thing you have to remember is this: You're not the client. You're the obstacle the client has to overcome. All of your complaints, your concerns, your from-the-heart advocacy for a co... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Latest Chicago gun deaths. Communities in distress.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Latest Chicago gun deaths. Communities in distress.: Latest Chicago gun deaths. Communities in distress. by Mike Klonsky *"He hits the one that hurts the most to lose,” said Chicago Police Officer Damon Stewart, 36, Hadiya ’s godfather. “I changed her diapers, I played with her growing up. My heart is broken.”* Isolated and racially segregated neighborhoods in economic distress. Schools, medical and mental health facilities facing closure. The lives and family situations of thousands of mainly black and Latino youth in disarray and being further des... more »

The Vietnamization of public education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

The Vietnamization of public education: The Vietnamization of public education Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 30, 2013 at 6:00 am - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » [image: the generals]Here’s an interesting look at the false metrics of success that characterized the Vietnam War, and now, school reform, by Steve Cohen, a senior lecturer in education at Tufts University. By Steve Cohen I have been reading a new book, “The Generals,” byTom Ricks. He looks at individual American military leader... more »

Bush Foundation “staff acted to promote their corporate funders’ priorities” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Bush Foundation “staff acted to promote their corporate funders’ priorities” | Scathing Purple Musings: Bush Foundation “staff acted to promote their corporate funders’ priorities” by Bob Sikes Florida’s mainstream media have been poking around the embers of the relationship between Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education and it’s corporate sponsors. *Orlando Sentinel * reporter Leslie Postal reports that a government watchdog group will releasing emails which “paint a graphic picture of corporate money distorting democracy.” The group In the Public Interest plans to de... more »

Uncertainty in School Reform: The Untold Story | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Uncertainty in School Reform: The Untold Story | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Uncertainty in School Reform: The Untold Story by larrycuban Listen to Michael Mann, a climatolgist at Penn State University who talked about the science behind global warming and rising sea levels. *Any honest assessment of the science is going to recognize that there are things we understand pretty darn well and things that we sort of know. But there are things that are uncertain and there are things we just have no idea about whatsoever.* (Nate Silver, *The Signal and the Noise... more »

UPDATE: Fred Klonsky CPS under federal investigation for civil rights violations + John Dillon: Perhaps there are other voices besides the extremists. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

John Dillon: Perhaps there are other voices besides the extremists. « Fred Klonsky: Chicago Public Schools under federal investigation for civil rights violations in school closings. by Fred Klonsky [image: image640x480-1] From WBEZ: *National education officials are investigating how Chicago Public Schools has handled closing schools in recent years.* *A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed Tuesday that CPS is one of six urban school districts being investigated by the department’s Office of Civil Rights. School * John Dillon: Perhaps there are other voices... more »

Gates-Financed Common Core Standards Turn Kindergarten into Global Economy Zone - DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Gates-Financed Common Core Standards Turn Kindergarten into Global Economy Zone - DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News: Gates-Financed Common Core Standards Turn Kindergarten into Global Economy Zone by Susan Ohanian [image: Gates-Financed Common Core Standards Turn Kindergarten into Global Economy Zone] The Council of Great City Schools (CGCS) promotes a video *From the Page to the Classroom: Implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts and Literacy*that purports to supply the background for the Common Core...more »

Teaching Career Pathways: Peer Evaluation « InterACT

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

Teaching Career Pathways: Peer Evaluation « InterACT: Teaching Career Pathways: Peer Evaluation by David B. Cohen [image: report2cover]*Note: in November 2012, Accomplished California Teachers (ACT) released the policy report “Promoting Quality Teaching: New Approaches to Compensation and Career Pathways.” The following post is the third in a series of profiles showing how California teacher leaders are beginning to develop and follow diversified career pathways. California teachers, and our peers around the nation, are looking for opportunities to innovate and lead in our field,... more »

LAUSD'S "RESPONSIBLE" ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR TOADY TEACHER PERVERTS GET A PASS, WHILE INNOCENT TEACHERS GET SCREWED - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

LAUSD'S "RESPONSIBLE" ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR TOADY TEACHER PERVERTS GET A PASS, WHILE INNOCENT TEACHERS GET SCREWED - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S "RESPONSIBLE" ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR TOADY TEACHER PERVERTS GET A PASS, WHILE INNOCENT TEACHERS GET SCREWED by Leonard Isenberg [image: Pervert.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español)* * * *Robert Pimental was arrested Wednesday, January 23, 2013 for sexual abuse of up to 20 children while he served as a teacher at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary School in Wilmington, CA. Authorities allege that Pimental inappropriately touched the children o... more »

10 Executive Actions "to our posterity" Dear Mr. President: Thinking About Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago

Thinking About Schools: 10 Executive Actions "to our posterity" [image: My Photo] JHSTLMt. Kisco, New York, United StatesSuperintendent of the Bedford Central School District, NY. Lifetime public school teacher, principal, and superintendent. Blog is solely my opinion.View my complete profile Dear Mr. President: re: Education, please... 1. Read the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and note the word “education” does not appear; whereas words like life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, created equal, unalienable rights, general welfare, blessings of liberty, justic... more »

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 1-29-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

* * *Nite Cap UPDATE**UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE* Teacher-led PD on Tech Tuesday by Joe Mazza *Teacher-led PD = the most meaningful and collaborative PD available in education today.* This morning, we held our bi-weekly Tech Tuesday for staff. The topic was on *Skype in the Classroom*. Two local district educators, Glenn Yetter ( @CoachYetter) and Brett Baker (@Bakerbg), Skyped into our before school meeting to teach us about the benefits of Skyping across the school, out to a nearby school or even a country 7 timezones away. We discussed #MysterySkype, Skype bookchats, Skype cultu... more »

PPB: Mission Hill School: The kind of learning, the kind of caring we want for all kids

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

PPB: Mission Hill School: The kind of learning, the kind of caring we want for all kids: Mission Hill School: The kind of learning, the kind of caring we want for all kids by Anne Geiger Popout Mission Hill School Thanks, Deborah Meier for sharing this on Facebook--- Mission Hill School contains... "the ingredients for transformational learning itself: A richly diverse community. An integrated approach to academic study. A clearly defined set of aspirational habits of mind. A skilled, trusted and empowered community of adults. And a recognition that, in the end, school must... more »

Sacramento Press / Opinion: Private money and public schools (Part II)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Sacramento Press / Opinion: Private money and public schools (Part I + II): Private money and public schools: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. team up part one by Seth Sandronsky [image: DFER Fake Democrats for Education Privatization (click on Picture)] Last December 3, the California Fair Political Practices Commission recommended fining Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a Democrat, $37,500 for improperly reporting donations to his multiple nonprofit groups. The political watchdog agency agreed to this penalty at a Dec. 13 meeting. The donations included a ... more »

Louisiana Educator: Is a Teacher Shortage Developing?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Louisiana Educator: Is a Teacher Shortage Developing?: Is a Teacher Shortage Developing? by Michael Deshotels Our State Department of Education crack PR team apparently wanted to counteract the recent news reports about the large increase in teacher retirements in Louisiana. So they released their own report pointing out that total teacher attrition has not increased by much in the last few years. But in so doing they also gave the numbers of initial teacher licences granted in the last several years. So here is what the data released by the LDOE shows about number of teachers l... more »

NYC Educator: Testing Blues

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

NYC Educator: Testing Blues: Testing Blues by NYC Educator This is the fifth time I'm taking this test, and I don't understand what the hell is so important about it. I mean, I don't even care about this stuff. Who does? What will I ever need to know it for? I mean, the teacher's pretty nice and I don't want to insult her, but it's not my fault she chose a job where she needs to talk about this stuff all the time. So anyway, the topic doesn't interest me, and I'm just not gonna write about it. Instead, I'm gonna talk about what I had for dinner last night. We had steak and rice. ... more »

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. | Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. | Parents Across America: First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. by pureparents “We don’t just have failing schools; we have a failing system of epidemic proportions. Community and parent voices have been removed from the process and the privatization has removed all checks and balances so that the system is no longer accountable to the public,” said *Karran Harper-Royal, parent with Parents Across America, New Orleans.* “The answer is not charter schools, the answer is fortifying traditional public schools thro... more »

PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition: PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition by admin [image: psat_logo]Tomorrow, WEDNESDAY, January 30 is a national call/phone/fax day to tell Seattle Public Schools that you, your organization and your union stand with the Garfield test boycotters. Send your message to Seattle Schools Superintendant José Banda: - Phone: (206) 252-0180 - Fax: (206) 252-0209 - E-mail: superintendent@seattleschools.org Here’s t... more »

Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession by Nancy Flanagan *Guest post by Kelly Flynn.* [image: kellyflynn.jpg]*Halfway through her senior year, Kimberly suddenly stopped coming to school. Messages left for her parents went unreturned. When she finally showed up after a three-week absence, I pulled her aside and inquired about her well-being. She'd been kicked out of her parent's house, she said, but she did not want to say why. For three weeks she'd been living in her boyfriend's van. Sh... more »

On being disloyal. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

On being disloyal. « Fred Klonsky: On being disloyal. by Fred Klonsky An Illinois member of the NEA board of directors wrote and suggested that I was creating disunity in the IEA because of my criticisms of their handling of the pension issue. He asked that I not post his comments and, as always, I will adhere to his wishes. But I want to share my response. *I think that your suggestion that I am the cause of disunity is grossly unfair.* *That there are differences in our union is an objective fact. Some wish to remain quiet about those differences. I don’t. To be unified around ... more »

Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Elizabeth Pfiffner]Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students January 29, 2013 by Elizabeth Pfiffner As part of the school team, school social workers share the goal of ensuring that all students receive a quality education. We work with students and their families to address personal, family, and societal issues that create obstacles for learning. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards will create a strong foundation for school social workers in our mission ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NYC Public School Parents: Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care?: Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care? by Leonie Haimson On Sunday, there was a front page story about how Bradley Tusk is coordinating the campaign against Obama’s appointment of Chuck Hagel as US Secretary of Defense on the grounds that Hagel was anti-choice and anti-gay (apparently Hagel made an anti-gay comment in 1998). Tusk’s campaign includes TV ads and sending mailers that push Sen. Schumer to oppose the nomination with the mysterious name of “Use your Mandate” as the return address. I’ve receive... more »

Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation | Hechinger Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation | Hechinger Report: Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation by Hechinger Report [image: Divided We Fail] On June 28, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that officially ended the era of school desegregation that followed *Brown v. Board of Education*. Five of the nine justices declared that race alone could no longer be used to assign students to a school, undermining the biggest civil rights cases of the previous century. Under the new... more »

Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’ | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’ | The Raw Story: Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’ By David Edwards Tuesday, January 29, 2013 15:20 EST [image: Print Friendly] Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon1 [image: Antonin Scalia speaks to Fox News] Topics: SMU law professor Bryan A. Garner ♦ Southern Methodist University ♦ supreme court justice antonin scalia Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Monday said the U.S. Constitution ... more »

Ed Notes Online: Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Ed Notes Online: Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now: Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now by ed notes online I don't want to lose that kind of money on a teacher's salary. But I'm willing to do it. Because that's the right thing to do. And it's also educational for my students to see me standing up for things that are right. --- Garfield HS Teacher Teachers will not back down in face of Supe threat of 10 day suspension without pay. "Teachers will volunteer their time." This is must see as teacher Jesse Hagopian... more »

Schools Matter: Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Schools Matter: Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data: Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data by skrashen Carnoy and Rothstein (2013) compared US performance with Korean, Finland and Canada on the PISA 2009, given to 15-year-olds. All three of these countries generally score about 1/3 of a standard deviation better than the US in reading and math on international tests; Arne Duncan refers to these three countries as the three “consistent high-performers” (Carnoy and Rothstein, 2013 p. 10). In the PISA 2009 reading test, Korea had the highest score of all OECD... more »

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics « Cooperative Catalyst: Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics by robinclane Recently, I attend a meeting of the Austin Social Justice Teachers Inquiry Group, during which we talked about… politics. A scary word in a school. Big “P” Politics referred to ways teachers can be involved politically beyond the walls of their classroom; little “p” politics meant bringing current events and social justice into lessons and activities. One concern that always comes up when talking to other teachers about bringing social just... more »

Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 1-19-13 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

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