Sunday, April 28, 2013

by Joy Resmovits

States are drastically underfunding programs for their youngest learners now more than ever, according to a report released Monday, even as researchers and policymakers increasingly point to pre-school as a ladder to the middle class.

Funding per student for state pre-school programs has reached its lowest point in a decade, according to "The State of Preschool 2012," the annual yearbook released by Rutgers University's National Institute for Early Education Research. "The 2011-2012 school year was the worst in a decade for progress in access to high-quality pre-K for America’s children," the authors wrote. After a decade of increasing enrollment, that growth stalled, according to the report. Though the 2011-2012 school year marks the first time pre-K enrollment didn't increase along with the rate of population change.

"The state of preschool was a state of emergency" in 2012, said Steve Barnett, NIEER's director. Between the

Where Is The Middle Ground In The Education Debate

Where Is The Middle Ground In The Education Debate:

Where Is The Middle Ground In The Education Debate

By Jeff Bryant | October 13, 2011

By the time that July slips slowly off the calendar, events this month — culminating with an upcoming teacher/parent-organized march on the nation’s capital – will have clarified all too well the lay of the land in the debate on the fate of our nation’s public schools.

And no, education is not “the new abortion,” as was recently declared in this article by Richard Whitmire, author of The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation’s Worst School District. Although it’s easy for journalists to characterize the edu-debate as a classic struggle between “two sides” who “just glare and shout” at each other, this is a gross over-simplification.

Even a good education reporter like Dana Goldstein can make this mistake, as she did in a recent blog post when she declared that resolving the conflict over education policy was just a matter of finding the “middle ground” between “contentious binaries,” such as

The Educated Reporter: State Spending on Preschool Hits 10-Year Low as Policymakers Push for Federal Investment

The Educated Reporter: State Spending on Preschool Hits 10-Year Low as Policymakers Push for Federal Investment:

State Spending on Preschool Hits 10-Year Low as Policymakers Push for Federal Investment

by Emily Richmond

Even as President Obama launches a massive push expand preschool opportunities for young children, early childhood education advocates are expressing dismay over a new report that access and funding have hit 10-year lows.

The president's plan would expand opportunities for families that don't have the means to pay for private preschool programs but also earn too much to qualify for existing state programs aimed at children in poverty.

Here are a few of the sure-to-be sound bite statistics in the State of Preschool 2012 Yearbook, compiled by theNational Institute for Early Education Research:

· Among the 40 states that offer pre-K programs, funding dropped by more than $548 million – the largest one-

Analysis: Experience in Florida suggests caution with teacher evaluations not a bad idea SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Analysis: Experience in Florida suggests caution with teacher evaluations not a bad idea

By Tom Chorneau
Monday, April 29, 2013

Last week California lawmakers failed for a second consecutive year to find agreement on a new system for evaluating classroom educators – shooting down in the state Senate what the author called a modest proposal requiring districts to use multiple measurements in performing evaluations at least every three years for veteran personnel.

The legislation faced stiff opposition from the state’s powerful teachers unions, and while linking teacher pay with student performance remains a key goal of the Obama administration, there remained enough uncertainty around the proposal to cause its demise, again.

SB 441 by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, is scheduled for reconsideration this Wednesday but even the author does not appear optimistic he will find the one additional vote needed to move the bill along.

There may be good reason for critics to howl about this outcome – especially as evidence mounts that the current system is not workable.

But looking around at other states, particularly Florida, might suggest the best move is to wait for a better answer.

The sunshine state, which has basked in national attention for its progressive education agenda, was an early entry in

Moms’ group shakes up status quo on Texas’ testing regimen | www.statesman.com

Moms’ group shakes up status quo on Texas’ testing regimen | www.statesman.com:

Moms’ group shakes up status quo on Texas’ testing regimen

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Moms’ group shakes up status quo on Texas’ testing regimen photo

Rodolfo Gonzalez

The leaders of Texans Advocating For Meaningful Student Assessments have sparked a statewide parent movement to curtail standardized testing.

By Kate Alexander

American-Statesman Staff

They were dismissed as moms, overprotective and easily manipulated moms.

But those women, determined to protect their children from state testing mandates that they say had gone too far, have overwhelmed the powerful business and political forces that made Texas the capital of high-stakes testing.

It started small, with just eight women from Austin and suburban Houston at the center. But the movement spread fast and wide, and now Texas is on the verge of a dramatic testing turnaround.

“Who allowed these big boys to go and play in education? Now the moms have to clean it up, as usual,” said Theresa Treviño, a child psychiatrist and Austin mother who helped launch the parent group, Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessments.

The group has spurred parents from across the state to flood the Capitol phone lines, pack

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle MAP Protest Goes On (and Goes International)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle MAP Protest Goes On (and Goes International):

Seattle MAP Protest Goes On (and Goes International)

by Melissa Westbrook

There is a press conference tomorrow by the Seattle teachers/staff against MAP testing to announce the boycott for the next round of testing is to grow larger. (They will be announcing new schools joining in.)

Their message to the district; Don't Renew the MAP Contract. The MAP contract expires this spring and the call is for the Superintendent to decline to renew the contract with NWEA.

From the press release:

Garfield history teacher Jesse Hagopian said, “Our movement for quality assessment is becoming an ‘educators’ spring’ uprising. New elementary and high schools in Seattle are joining the movement here in Seattle. Hundreds of teachers from around the state just voted overwhelming to support the continuing MAP test boycott at the Washington Education Association’s end of April Representative Assembly. In Chicago hundreds of students walked out of school to protest their own high stakes test. In New York thousands of parents have opted their children out of a standardized test—and this is all just in the last week.”

Seattle Schools Community Forum: In Advance of the Mayoral Forums

Seattle Schools Community Forum: In Advance of the Mayoral Forums:

In Advance of the Mayoral Forums

by Melissa Westbrook

The King County Democrats had their endorsement interviews this weekend and have put up the questionaires that each candidate filled out. Very illuminating.

To note:

Murray, Martin, Harrell, Steinbrueck all say no to charters (and vouchers)
Burgess and McGinn gave "qualified" answers to charters. Here they are:

Burgess
I did not support the charter school campaign last year as I viewed that effort as a distraction from some of the larger issues we need to address related to public education. I’m a strong advocate for innovation and reform in public education, but these initiatives should be pursued in cooperation with our teachers, principals and parents. We have seen significant reforms in Seattle Public Schools through the collective bargaining process; for example, teacher evaluation protocols and creative approach schools.

McGinn
I believe we should monitor the 40 charter schools authorized statewide by the statewide initiative to determine

Changing Membership, Changing Electorate | JD2718

Changing Membership, Changing Electorate | JD2718:

Changing Membership, Changing Electorate

by jd2718

This is a time series of charts, showing UFT membership and votes by division for the 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013 elections. I created the charts from the numbers of ballots mailed and the number of ballots returned, which has been part of the reported election results, including this year.
Raw numbers, by division, by year, with turnout percentages are included at the bottom of this post.
Members by Division, by year

Voters by Division, by Year

UFT Elections – Sitting at the Count

by jd2718

I arrived. Hotel meeting room, for a large meeting, set up with rows of tables with ballot counters doing something… sorting? flattening? stacking? In front were some more important looking tables. I missed the scanners and monitors – I was looking for something else.
In the back, right, were the observers. I found Joel Berger, then found Mike Shulman. They were not wearing their concern on their faces, but I felt it. Before walking out with Mike I said hi to some of the Unity people and some of the MORE people. The Unity people looked bored, and perhaps a bit tired. The MORE people were relaxed.
Mike and I found a quiet place to sit around the corner. We looked through the participation numbers… down

UFT election turnout is concerning

by jd2718

Reviewing data since 2004, participation in UFT elections is down across the board. In 2007 there was a drop, an uptick in 2010, and a big drop in 2010. This trend was stronger than any variation among the divisions, including retirees. Here are the percents by division, followed by the divisional data displayed as a line graph…

	2004	2007	2010	2013
Elementary	34%	24%	28%	21%
Middle	28%	19%	25%	17%
High	31%	23%	26%	20%
Functional	27%	21%	23%	15%
Retirees	49%	45%	46%	38%

Subtotals
Teachers	32%	23%	27%	20%
In Service	30%	22%	25%	18%

Total	36%	29%	32%	25%

The same data, graphed:

Gov. Brown Calls for Redistribution of School Funding :: Fox&Hounds

Gov. Brown Calls for Redistribution of School Funding :: Fox&Hounds:

Gov. Brown Calls for Redistribution of School Funding

By Katy Grimes

Calwatchdog.com news reporter

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Citing a lack of civil rights and social inequities as what is wrong with California public schools, Gov. Jerry Brown vowed Wednesday at a Capitol press conference to give more money to the K-12 school districts that serve poorer students and English-language learners.

Brown said state funding needs to balance social equity and restore school funding cuts; and provide supplemental funding to children in high-poverty schools.

Following passage of Proposition 30 last November, raising taxes $6 billion, Brown’s controversial plan to shift money from wealthier schools to poor ones is a result of an emboldened Democratic supermajority.

Lawmakers and the governor are clearly preparing for the state’s looming June 15 budget deadline, with Brown working hard to get his proposal passed. Earlier this week, state

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Failure to Manage

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Failure to Manage:

Seattle Schools Transportation - Towncars?

by Melissa Westbrook

From the "Uh Oh" department, KIRO news is going to have a report at 5 p.m. about SPS transportation. They allege it includes private transportation of "hundreds" of students, some in towncars. (I knew SPS used taxis.) I'm hoping the district has a clear explanation AND the KIRO actually gives them the time to explain it.

Failure to Manage

by Charlie Mas

The core mission of Seattle Public Schools is to educate students. The executives and managers in the District who are most directly responsible for the accomplishment of that mission are:

Superintendent, Jose Banda
Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Michael Tolley
Executive Director of Curriculum and Instructional Support, Shauna Heath
Executive Directors of Schools, Marni Campbell, Carmela Dellino, Kim Whitworth
Principals

I don't know about your workplace, but any organization with any kind of intentional management makes a periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the organization's efforts. The same can and should be expected from Seattle Public Schools.

For the schools, the School Report Cards are intended to fulfill this function. The report cards from a number of schools could be combined for the regions and there is a District Scorecard that compiles the data for the whole district.

There are others who have part of the management responsibility as well. They include:

Executive Director of Special Education, Zakiyyah McWilliams
Director of English Language Learners, Veronica Gallardo
Manager of Advanced Learning, Robert Vaughan
Manager of Native American Education, Arlie Neskahi
Administrator of International Education, Karen Kodama

There are no Report Cards that tell about the performance of these programs. While there is some opportunity to

Chicago Student Boycott: Israel and Malcolm set the record straight – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

Chicago Student Boycott: Israel and Malcolm set the record straight – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:

Chicago Student Boycott: Israel and Malcolm set the record straight

by Timothy D. Slekar

“Hundreds of Chicago students are taking up the mantle in the fight against the role of standardized tests in public school closures as they walked out of a state exam Wednesday. Their message: “We are over-tested, under-resourced and fed up!” Common Dreams.

“The only place that students should be during the school day is in the classroom with their teachers getting the education they need to be successful in life,” said Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Chicago Public Schools CEO, in response to the boycott.MSNBC

So are students “over tested” or should they be “in the classroom with their teachers?”

Listen to what Chicago students Israel and Malcolm had to say on @the chalkface radio.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chalkface/2013/04/28/at-the-chalk-face-progressive-edreform-talk

Someone has

inBloom. Colorado. May 16th. Be Informed. | United Opt Out National

inBloom. Colorado. May 16th. Be Informed. | United Opt Out National:

inBloom. Colorado. May 16th. Be Informed.

by admin

Did you know that Jefferson County Public Schools will share confidential and personal student records with a corporation and store them on a data “cloud” without parental consent? Did you know that this corporation, called inBloom, Inc., intends to share the information with vendors to help them develop and market their “learning products?”

The data will include children’s name, address, email, test scores, racial, economic and special education status, and may include detailed disciplinary and health records as well. See here for a sample of data they can collect.

Colorado (Jefferson County) is one of nine “pilot” states that have agreed to share confidential student and teacher data with inBloom Inc. According to

Peg with Pen: Open the Door. Speak Loudly.

Peg with Pen: Open the Door. Speak Loudly.:

Open the Door. Speak Loudly.

by Peggy

In light of what has happened to teachers this week who have been fired, disciplined and reprimanded by those who wish to silence us - see here, here, and here - this is my response:

Teachers are public intellectuals - this includes being involved in politics and advocating for our students - this is part of our job. The mantra of "shut the door and do what is best for your students" is simply not good enough anymore.

We must open the door and speak loudly.

“It’s our democracy, stupid.” | Deborah Meier on Education

“It’s our democracy, stupid.” | Deborah Meier on Education:

“It’s our democracy, stupid.”

by debmeier

Friends,
The continued existence of democracy, much less an even stronger one, is what is in a crisis. The “school crisis”, along with many others, is a distraction. Just a symptom of the more serious crisis we face. Schools are simply one of our many institutions that are under attack. The very “idea” of democracy is being undermined over and over again–and its not easy for me to see how we can put humpty-dumpty together again. Because it’s democracy that is the real basis for the idea of accountability! “Throw the rascals out” is where it all begins. But “accountability” is now being used as a tool to undermine democracy!
The democracy we have experienced for several hundred years was pretty thin at it’s start, and began slowly to take on some flesh—as more and more of us were included, viewed as members of “the ruling class” with a right to make decisions about our future. But on every front we’re losing ground: voting? Clearly between gerrymandering and media consolidation and huge spending by rich individuals, corporations and foundations (so-called) the decks are heavily stacked against “us”. For perhaps the first (or 2nd?) time in our history the people’s vote for Congress is not reflected in who got elected to represent us. The number of low-income and black citizens who are now in jail make a mockery of democracy–and deprive millions of their right to vote. And

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 4-28-13 #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: Unity Loyalty

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago

NYC Educator: Unity Loyalty: Unity Loyalty by NYC Educator There's a thread on Gotham Schools that's interesting not so much for its content, that Mulgrew won, but rather for its comment thread. Particularly interesting is the Unity fan, one "Les Vegas." Les has strong opinions about MORE. .*..you were running a slate of unqualified candidates, several with radical practices.* This is a theme that comes up whenever anyone has the temerity to oppose the Unity stranglehold on power. They're unqualified and incapable. I remember Unity calling New Action, "No Action" back in the eig... more »

3 Things That Show Strength, Not Weakness | Connected Principals

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 32 minutes ago

3 Things That Show Strength, Not Weakness | Connected Principals: 3 Things That Show Strength, Not Weakness by George Couros cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by phalinn As a student, I had a specific notion of what a principal should be and in my head they were similar to the “Wizard of Oz”; a person that hid behind the curtain but had all of the knowledge in the world. I would say that when I became a teacher, that notion carried over. They would always have the answer and be the place where the “buck stops”. Working closely with my last couple of principals though, I sa... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Ouch. These Common Core Meetings Didn't Go So Well for School District Officials

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: Ouch. These Common Core Meetings Didn't Go So Well for School District Officials: Ouch. These Common Core Meetings Didn't Go So Well for School District Officials by stlgretchen Concerns about the Common Core adoption and implementation keep surfacing about the lack of transparency in the process and the lack of any pilot studies providing research based documentation of CCSS proponent claims. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent by the states who must adhere to the mandates drawn up by the two private trade organizations, the National Gove... more »

Ed Notes Online: 500 Rally at Tweed to Protest Testing Policy Organized by Change the Stakes, Parent Voices and TOFT

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago

Ed Notes Online: 500 Rally at Tweed to Protest Testing Policy Organized by Change the Stakes, Parent Voices and TOFT: 500 Rally at Tweed to Protest Testing Policy Organized by Change the Stakes, Parent Voices and TOFT by ed notes online A Young MOREFriday many of us in MORE attended one of the best rallies we've been part of on the steps of Tweed which were packed with parents, teachers and children protesting high stakes tests with many MORE tee-shirts in the crowd. Change the Stakes has emerged out of a committee set up by GEM 2 years ago and has grown into a powerful parent advo... more »

Colorado Student Activists: Join us May 10th | United Opt Out National

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 48 minutes ago

Colorado Student Activists: Join us May 10th | United Opt Out National: Colorado Student Activists: Join us May 10th by admin Post navigation← Previous COLORADO STUDENT ACTIVISTS: JOIN US MAY 10TH Posted on April 28, 2013 April 28th, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHAT: Students standing up for our education WHEN: May 10th, 2013 from 1:30 – 5:00pm WHERE: West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol On a student retreat in March, student leaders in Colorado decided that more actions needed to take place to fix our public school system. From there, three student leaders went to Washington D.C... more »

Research on Reforms Our mission is to contribute to the improvement of the New Orleans Public Schools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 48 minutes ago

Research on Reforms: Our mission is to contribute to the improvement of the New Orleans Public Schools by conducting research on reforms, and publishing research findings, so that successful reforms can be replicated, and failing practices can be eliminated. Our organization goals and our mission are founded upon the premise that effective education policies and practices: 1. Promote equal access and quality education for all students, 2. Are research-based and data-driven, and 3. Reflect an understanding of how children learn and how schools become effectiv... more »

Wresting the Public’s Rights: Lawsuits Against White, LDOE et al. | deutsch29

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Wresting the Public’s Rights: Lawsuits Against White, LDOE et al. | deutsch29: Wresting the Public’s Rights: Lawsuits Against White, LDOE et al. by deutsch29 Corporate reform thrusts ahead with little regard for what is legal or even decent. Privatizers are just fine with forcing those whose lives they callously damage to spend both money and time in litigation in order to gain what they were legally entitled to in the first place. I’m sure Eli Broad would be proud. He probably offers *Make the “Non-talented” Waste Their Resources on Needless Litigation* as a course at his (We ... more »

Daily Kos: Religious indoctrination in the military is now a serious issue

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Daily Kos: Religious indoctrination in the military is now a serious issue: Religious indoctrination in the military is now a serious issue by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) It must be. After all, Sally Quinn, wife of former legendary editor of the *Washington Post* Ben Bradlee and author of the "On Faith" part of the paper, wrote that U.S. military should put religious freedom at the front. There are others here for whom tracking the Dominionists in America, including what they are doing in the military, is their main focus. Thus you could - and should - have read Death by Domin... more »

Diane in the Evening 4-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Dayne Sherman: Jindal’s War Against the People of Louisiana by dianerav Dayne Sherman is going to a rally at the state capitol in Baton Rouge on April 30. The people of Louisiana are waking up to Jindal’s war against the common weal. Now, says Sherman, even the Legislature is turning against Jindal. Four big issues stir public antipathy: *First, we have to repeal the tax give-aways passed under Jindal. Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux) has a bill to do this very thing. We now give away an extra 2 billion... more »

Pre #commoncore kindergarten and #commoncore kindergarten – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Pre #commoncore kindergarten and #commoncore kindergarten – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Pre #commoncore kindergarten and #commoncore kindergarten by Timothy D. Slekar Thanks to Sara Wottwa for the image collections below. You can read about these images on her blog at http://nocommonsenseeducation.blogspot.com/2013/04/kindergarten-comparison.html . Kindergarten (Pre Common Core) [image: CAM00512-1] Common Core Kindergarten [image: Mikey's Kindergarten Experience] It’s never too early to start getting your five-year olds ready for college and careers! Someone has to ... more »

No Rich Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

No Rich Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com: No Rich Child Left BehindBy SEAN F. REARDON Here’s a fact that may not surprise you: the children of the rich perform better in school, on average, than children from middle-class or poor families. Students growing up in richer families have better grades and higher standardized test scores, on average, than poorer students; they also have higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities and school leadership positions, higher graduation rates and higher rates of college enrollment and completion. Whether you think it deeply unj... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Important! Attorney handling class action lawsuit vs. NYS exams wants to hear from NYS parents

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: Important! Attorney handling class action lawsuit vs. NYS exams wants to hear from NYS parents: Important! Attorney handling class action lawsuit vs. NYS exams wants to hear from NYS parents by Leonie Haimson Van White, the attorney handling the class action lawsuit of parents whose child was punished for opting out of the state exams in the Rochester area, is looking for information from New York state parents, to be sent to him at van.white@thelegalbrief.com. More specifically, he would like to hear from parents if their children opted out of thes... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week: Seattle Schools This Week by Melissa Westbrook *Monday, April 29th* Special meeting of Audit& Finance. One thing on the agenda - potential RIF presentation by HR head, Paul Apostle. Also, if you wish to speak at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, you can start calling/writing at 8 am on Monday. *Tuesday, April 30th* Charter Commission Meeting in Bellevue from 10 am - 5 p.m. at the Bellevue Arts Museum. Agenda. Open to the public (and people do come and go). They will be having an Executive Session first thing unti... more »

Florida approves online-only public university education - Yahoo! News

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Florida approves online-only public university education - Yahoo! News: Florida approves online-only public university educationBy Bill Cotterell | Reuters – Sat, Apr 27, 2013 *Con Academy * *Browse Con Academy library of over 3,100 educational videos...* TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Public university students in Florida next year will be able to start working toward college degrees without actually going to college, under a law Governor Rick Scott signed on Monday in front of educators and business lobbyists. The state-run University of Florida plans to start a series of onlin... more »

Obama’s big second-term education problem

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Obama’s big second-term education problem: Obama’s big second-term education problem Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 28, 2013 at 12:48 pm 0 Comments More [image: President Obama and Arne Duncan (ed.gov)] President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. (ed.gov) President Obama has a big problem in his second term in terms of education policy: his first term. Obama and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, pushed hard in their first term to have a major impact on changing public schools with a larger-than-ever federal role in school policy issues that affected every single cla... more »

Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Bribing New York City Department Of Education Employee In Furtherance Of $2.7 Million Fraud Parent Advocates

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org: Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Bribing New York City Department Of Education Employee In Furtherance Of $2.7 Million Fraud Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NELSON RUIZ pled guilty today to defrauding the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) out of approximately $2.7 million and to bribing a DOE employee in furtherance of the fraud scheme. RUIZ pled guilty in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl. Pree... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Teachers Punished When They Question Authority

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Teachers Punished When They Question Authority: Teachers Punished When They Question Authority by Duke One of the friends of this blog is teacher/blogger @rratto; he's reposted and retweeted me more times than I could count, which I very much appreciate. So this is hardly an unbiased opinion on my part; nevertheless, the story he is telling at his blog is shocking and disturbing: It all began Wednesday evening with the following “tweets”; [image: tweet ccss] My initial tweet was an editorial comment based on a Common Core standard (which includes a similar example ... more »

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Sunday reads. | Fred Klonsky: Sunday reads. by Fred Klonsky [image: 2013_04_27_CM9] *Photo: Chicagoist.com Friday’s Chicago Critical Mass bike ride in support of keeping all Chicago public schools open. * *Did you watch the game?** ‘‘Grueling,’’ *Hinrich said in summing up the Bulls’ Game 4 victory at the United Center.* ‘‘It was just one of those games that everyone is going to be talking about for a while.’’* *One year moratorium* on virtual charters. *Family wealth* is still the greatest predictor of school success. *Life in Rahm’s Chicago.* Alderman’s sister gets a key post in CP... more »

Connecting test scores to teacher evaluations: Why not? | Dangerously Irrelevant

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

Connecting test scores to teacher evaluations: Why not? | Dangerously Irrelevant: Connecting test scores to teacher evaluations: Why not? by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod) Mike Wiser at The Quad-City Times reported today on the controversy here in Iowa around connecting student test scores to teacher evaluations (aka ‘value-added modeling’ or ‘VAM’). Last week I shared the research and prevailing opinion of scholars supporting why this should not be done. In the article, notes that ‘teacher accountability has to be be part of it, or it’s not reform.’ This is consonant w... more »

Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act | The Jose Vilson

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act | The Jose Vilson: Short Notes: Disempowerment Is A Cooperative Act by Jose Vilson [image: Sabrina Stevens at TEDxNYED, Brooklyn Tech] Sabrina Stevens at TEDxNYED, Brooklyn Tech A few things: - The Atlantic’s John Tierney joins in the chorus of the annoyed in this essay about the Atlanta / Washington DC cheating scandals and its ramifications for education reform. [The Atlantic] - Michael Doyle makes a clear argument for the village raising the child. [BHS Doyle] - Florida’s investigating K-12 Inc. Hate to use the wo... more »

Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures | Scathing Purple Musings: Rhee, Stargel Got Some ‘Splainin’ to do About Those Parent Trigger Petition Signatures by Bob Sikes Yes, they did: 9 No, they didn’t: 9 (Updates as responses arrive) Kathleen McGrory’s story that appeared in the *Miami Herald *on Friday included revelations that two people on the list of Parent Trigger supporters Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst submitted to Lakeland Senator Kelli Stargel never signed the petition. One confirmed that she did. Scathing Purple Musings... more »

Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner | The White House

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago

Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner | The White House: Remarks by The President at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner by The White House Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. 10:14 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. (Laughter.) How do you like my new entrance music? (Applause.) Rush Limbaugh warned you about this -- second term, baby. (Laughter and applause.) We’re changing things around here a little bit. (Laughter.) Actually, my advisors were a little worried about the new rap ent... more »

Duncan Protest Planned at AERA – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Duncan Protest Planned at AERA – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Duncan Protest Planned at AERA by Jim Horn For the first time since I can remember some members of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)—the largest association of educators and educational researchers in the world—are taking a public stand at AERA’s annual meeting in San Francisco against the corporatization, standardization and privatization of education. [image: reclaimaera-thumbnail]Sadly, the leadership of AERA has invited Arne Duncan, who represents and supports the technocratic, dehumaniz... more »

Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: Nancy Kaffer: School reform dangerous if you don't understand value of education There’s a fight brewing over the heart and soul of public education. In one corner, we have Gov. Rick Snyder, who says he believes that the point of an education is to connect the student with a job. It’s not a crazy notion — it worked for Snyder, after all; the governor amassed a slew of degrees at an astonishingly young age, and rode his academic success to the top of three fields. An... more »

Common Core goals come under fire - NewsandSentinel.com |

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Common Core goals come under fire - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel: Common Core goals come under fireStandards are being eyedApril 28, 2013 By EVAN BEVINS , The Marietta Times Save | Post a comment | Standards are being eyed MARIETTA - Three years after Ohio adopted the Common Core educational standards and a little more than 15 months from the start of the first year in which students will be tested on them, the standards are coming under fire at the national, state and local levels. "It's basically a pow... more »

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] NYC Parent Meeting on inBloom and Student Privacy Tomorrow by dianerav This notice just in: “Parents, do you know your child’s confidential, personal school records are going to be shared with a corporation called inBloom Inc? This highly sensitive information will be stored on a data cloud and disclosed to for-profit corporations to help them develop and market their “learning products” The data will include your child’s names, address, photo, email, test score... more »

Daily Kos: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Daily Kos: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing: I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) So says Thomas Gibbons-Neff in this piece in today's *Washington Post*. WHy should we care that he says that? 13 at the time of the September 11 attacks that justified our going into Afghanistan, he served two tours there as a Marine rifleman. His family home is a few blocks from the blast site in Boston. As he writes, When a relative told me, his voice brimming with anger, that he wanted to kill th... more »

Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds - Education - The Sacramento Bee

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds - Education - The Sacramento Bee: Nearly 12% of Sac City students chronically absent, UC Davis study finds lkalb@sacbee.comPUBLISHED SUNDAY, APR. 28, 2013 *"Poverty proved to be a major facet of the problem."* Thousands of Sacramento City Unified School District students consistently fail to take the most basic step toward learning at school – showing up for class. A sobering report on chronically high absenteeism in the district found 11.7 percent of the students miss at least one out of every 10 school days.... more »

Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations - The Denver Post

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations - The Denver Post: *Parents struggle with funding the high cost of college educations* Brian Kerr and his wife, Julie, oversee studying by their quadruplets at their home in Littleton last week. The quadruplets, from left, are Chrissy, Clare, John and Catherine. After having already paid for their two older daughters to go to college, Brian and Julie Kerr now have their 17-year-old quadruplets, juniors in high school, beginning to look at college. (*Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post*) Brian Kerr admits that whe... more »

Education programs funding - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

Education programs funding - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: S.758 Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 7 minutes ago A bill to establish a comprehensive literacy program. Bill Introduced: S.756 Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act of 2013 Open Congress : Major Bill Actions in Education programs funding - 7 minutes ago A bill to allow funds under title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to be used to provide training to school personnel regarding how to rec... more »

More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: More on the RESPECT Blueprint: Attracting the Desperate and the Naive by Jim Horn [image: RESPECT chart] *“. . . attracting a high-performing and diverse pool of talented individuals to become teachers and principals is a critical priority” (p. 5). * For all the Arne-talk about attracting the best and the brightest, the chart from p. 24 of this Orwellian version of teacher respect shows us a different vision. Click on it to enlarge (my red inserts). ”Beginning teachers”... more »

I need to set the record straight | Opine I will

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago

I need to set the record straight | Opine I will: I need to set the record straight I teach my students that their reputation is the most important asset they own. Your reputation is determined by your actions, your deeds, and also how you are viewed by others. Therefore, it is vital that you understand that your reputation ultimately defines you. Success is not judged by how much you make, but rather, real success is judged by your character and how others view your actions and deeds. I believe this with my heart and soul. Unfortunately, my character was questioned by an unprove... more »

RPNPS Voices: Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago

RPNPS Voices: Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today: "Rogers Park Neighbors For Public Schools" Scenes From The Uptown Rally and March Today Here's a bit of a slide show from today's event in Uptown. It was a terrific rally and march--- we made banners, listened to the Stewart band, had a press conference, and marched around the various parts of Uptown that are struggling to survive. "The stations of gentrification," is how I referred to it. Stewart Elementary, The Men's Hotel, the former Hull House, and Stockton Elementary. Karen Zaccor and Stavroula Harrisis from North... more »

Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students | The Raw Story: Mexico’s border schools deal with an influx of English-speaking students by The Christian Science Monitor [image: Temp Headline Image]Schoolchildren scamper across the border to waiting parents in the Mexican town of Palomas in May 2009.(Tony Avelar/The Christian Science Monitor/File) Elementary students at Lamberto Hernández School in this northern Mexican city were long gone by the time teachers sat down recently to learn about the growing population of English-speaking students in their c... more »

Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap | Scathing Purple Musings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap | Scathing Purple Musings: Bush Foundation Hides Behind Parent Revolution in Faux Parent Group Flap by Bob Sikes Two separate revelations this week further unmasked the political scam that has become Florida’s Parent Trigger legislation. The first involves evidence that the petition that Michelle Rhee furnished Lakeland Senator Kelli Stargel is filled with people who never signed it. *Scathing Purple Musings* reported on the other that concerns the existence of a faux parent group called The Sunshine Parents... more »

Education in America: right or privilege? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Education in America: right or privilege? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Education in America: right or privilege? by Kuhio Kane So, is schooling in America a right or privilege? Do we hold sacrosanct our hopes and wishes that what still remains is a free and public right to education in America? Or, has the division of inequity in America, driven by the leverage gained by banks too big to fail who are responsible for the shaping of opportunity create education as privilege? I was told recently that schooling in America is a right because it is taxpayer funded. I... more »

Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago

Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Cage-Busting Skunks Disrupting the Status Quo by Nancy Flanagan ** *"When you wage war on the public schools, you're attacking the mortar that holds the community together. You're not a conservative, you're a vandal."* ~Garrison Keillor~ This is a blog about innovation--that is, innovation in public education. More specifically, creating catchy memes to push "pioneering" thinking while simultaneously attacking the "status quo" (painted as bad, very bad) in American education. Und... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

NYC Public School Parents: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response: Why do the media nearly always frame education issues as the UFT vs. the Mayor; and Ben Chapman's response by Leonie Haimson [image: Corporate Media = Corporate Lies] One of my particular gripes is how the politics of education in NYC is usually framed by the media in simplistic terms as a battle between the teachers union vs. the mayor, without any reference to the views of parents, advocates or other members of the community. This is especially ... more »

Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ | The Raw Story

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ | The Raw Story: Students organizing Georgia integrated prom: Governor’s silence is ‘political suicide’ by Arturo Garcia [image: Georgia Governor Nathan Deal via Wikimedia Commons] Two of the student organizers of the first integrated prom for a Georgia high school told Democracy Now anchors Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez that Gov. Nathan Deal’s (R) reluctance to back them could come back to haunt him politically. “It really shocked me,” Wilcox County High School student Brandon Davis said in an... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jersey Jazzman: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update: Perth Amboy Schools Circus Update by Duke So what's new in Perth Amboy, The Reformiest District in New Jersey™? The superintendent of the city's schools says that a board member is lying about where he lives, the most recent salvo in an ongoing public-education battle. *Janine Caffrey said at a school board meeting Thursday night that the state is investigating whether Israel Varela lives on Lewis Street in the city or 40 miles away in Hunterdon County*. School board members are required to live in the school district. *"He needs... more »

Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Bennett: #commoncore because Exxon-Mobile said so. by Timothy D. Slekar Thanks to Bob Sikes for bringing us a new defense for the common core. It seems that the Sun Sentinel was present at the Broward Workshop’s State of Our County forum on April 12 and got the pleasure of listening to Tony Bennet defend the federally imposed/market driven common core curriculum. You know the #commoncore? - The standards that are really a curriculum that will usher in an era of testing never before ... more »

Diane in the Evening 4-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Parent: I Am Fighting Against the Testing Mania by dianerav I received an email from a parent in Long Island who has decided to join the campaign against high-stakes testing. She blames Common Core for her children’s unhappiness with school, but Common Core is just the latest manifestation of the testing obsession embedded in No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. She blogs, writes letter, button holes elected officials. She is fighting for her children and for all other children. With more parents like h... more »