Friday, May 10, 2013

New Error Found in Test Scoring for Gifted Programs - NYTimes.com

New Error Found in Test Scoring for Gifted Programs - NYTimes.com:


New Error Found in Scoring of Test for Gifted Programs

By 
Published: May 10, 2013





Three weeks after New York City disclosed that thousands of students had been wrongly excluded from eligibility in public school gifted programs, the Education Department said that roughly 300 additional students received incorrect scores because of another mistake by the testing company.

Related

Dennis M. Walcott, the schools chancellor, said on Friday that the Education Department was considering terminating the contract with the company, Pearson. After thefirst errors of the company were found, the city withheld $500,000 from its $5.5 million contract.
The city said 82 students were newly eligible for seats in districtwide programs, meaning that they had scored at or above the 90th percentile. It said 64 others were now eligible for one of the five more competitive, citywide gifted programs, open to those at the 97th percentile or higher.
In addition, the percentile ranks of 159 students will rise, within the competition for districtwide or citywide programs, though it was unclear what effect that would have on 


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AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:


AFT’s Rally Cry is Not Heroic–It’s Just Part of the Package

by Kris Nielsen
Or in this CASE
Core Corpse

The union’s statement is misguided, and I would suggest that is purposely so. The call for a moratorium on standardized testing is a call for a temporary quieting of the teachers and parents while the next-level of state (nationally) mandated assessments makes its way down the pipe. AFT’s rally cry to put the brakes on the stakes rings hollow, since the stakes are only to get higher when PARCC hits New York during the 2014-15 school year. The tests are a small part of the big picture, and the movers of the grand plan know that our chipping away at state tests is of minimal concern.
Randi Weingarten is pushing forward with her own misinformation and distraction campaign–again–to take eyes off of the real dangers.
Read what Susan Ohanian and Sara Wottawa have to say about it:
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More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding Page 1 of 3 | UTSanDiego.com

More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding Page 1 of 3 | UTSanDiego.com:


More money doesn’t quell battle over school funding



May 10, 2013, 12:52 p.m.
Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate Democrats are wrestling over competing plans to make the most significant revisions to California’s convoluted way of paying for schools in a quarter-century. Billions of dollars and the education of millions of low-income students are on the line for generations to come. The goal of both is the same: deploy revenues in a manner that targets the most needy students who are lagging behind in test scores and are at greater risk of dropping out. But how to accomplish that — and how quickly — involve intricacies that divide the traditional allies. That debate will only intensify when Brown unveils an updated budget plan Tuesday. He is expected to detail how he plans to spread out a $4.5 billion surge in state revenues, most of which must go to schools by law. Put simply, Brown


Parent asserts school used special ed student as 'bait' in drug sting

May 10, 2013, 2 p.m.
The parent of a middle school student in Temecula is asserting that school administrators used a 14-year-old special education student as “bait” in an on-campus drug sting against his parents’ wishes, according to a claim filed earlier this week against the Temecula Valley Unified School District. “I’m all for let’s get drugs out of our school,” the boy’s mother said by phone. “I’m the first to say that. But you can’t go about it illegally, and to use a special education student or even a general education student to do drug stings, that’s so reckless. “It’s reckless and dangerous.” The woman -- who asked that her eighth-grade son not be identified out of fear for his safety -- said her son notified her in December that the school’s principal and assistant principal planned his involvement in a sting meant to ...

SD city to look at buying disputed school site

May 10, 2013, 3:35 p.m.
The San Diego Unified School District’s attempt to sell off 2.23 acres of prime coastal real estate has taken yet another dramatic turn.
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Anthony Lives at PS 154 in the Bronx.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:


Anthony Lives at PS 154 in the Bronx

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)
Remember that Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life"? Yeah, that one, the one with Billy Mumy as Anthony in which he wished people into the cornfield who annoyed him and the adults were all scared shitless of him?

And if today is any indication, Anthony is alive and well at PS 154 in the Bronx. But, not all adults are afraid of Anthony at PS 154. The teachers, the aides, the paras, the custodial staff, the cafeteria XXXXXXXXXXXXhas a fear of Anthony. Only XXXXXXXXXXXX doesn't want Anthony to get angry.
workers, school safety, have no fear of Anthony. Only,

Today was a typical day for Anthony at PS 154. Anthony as usual was roaming the halls, banging 
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NYC Educator: Principal Suit and the Librarian

NYC Educator: Principal Suit and the Librarian:


Principal Suit and the Librarian

by NYC Educator
Principal Suit was in his office doing Very Important Work when all of a sudden he realized he needed some important information. The only way to get this information, he determined, would be to get the book that contained it. Where could he get a book, he mused, when all of a sudden it hit him like a shot. The library! There were lots of books in the library, and it was just upstairs.

However, going upstairs would mean moving from the chair, which fit him so well after all those years sitting on it, so he called a student monitor. The student monitor was excited to be of service, and dutifully took the paper with the name of the book up to the library.

The librarian looked at the book title and said, "I'm sorry, but this book is in reference. You can't take it out of the library."

"But it's for Principal Suit," protested the monitor.

"Rules are rules," said the librarian, and began to arrange things behind her desk.

Principal Suit could not believe the news, when the monitor gave it to 
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Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-10-13 #thankateacher #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



Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago
Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester: Education Department Furloughs Averted Despite Sequester by Joy Resmovits As some federal workers face furloughs because of sequestration budget cuts, the U.S. Education Department's approximately 4,700 employees can breathe easy, according to an internal memo sent Friday. "ED will not need to furlough any employees this fiscal year," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote to his staff. The Education Department joins the Government Accountability Office and the departments of agriculture, commerce, justice, and state in ...more »

Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Release of “Gold Standard Research” Once Again Exposes Milwaukee Voucher Program by millerlf *Recent Research and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program* *These articles represent peer-reviewed findings based on the same data and conducted by many of the same researchers who conducted the original evaluation covered in the SCDP reports. (School Choice Demonstration Project; the legislatively mandated study of the effectiveness of the school choice progra... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup Something to Smile (Ruefully) About

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup: Something to Smile (Ruefully) About by Melissa Westbrook Over at Diane Ravitch's blog, she has *more evidence of corporate ed reform crack-up.* I'll just let her tell you: At a panel discussion in New York City, Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas made a startling admission. He said that the efforts to develop a teacher evaluation metric was a huge mess and that no one understands it. He said: “The Bridgeport, Conn. superintendent — who has served stints in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans and earned a reputation as a turn... more »

Diane in the Evening 5-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Hart Research Associates Explains the Methodology of AFT Common Core Polling by dianerav A few days go, Professor Ira Shor posted a comment and asked if Mercedes Schneider would analyze the poll showing that 75% of AFT teachers support the Common Core standards. Mercedes Schneider saw his request in the comments section and posted her analysis. Schneider is a high school teacher in Louisiana with a doctorate in statistics and research methods. Hart Research Associates, which conducted the poll, did not agree ... more »

In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Get Schooled: In Republican war on Common Core, a voice of sanity. But will anyone listen? Georgia Republicans are expected to ratchet up their resistance to the Common Core State Standards at their conference this weekend in Athens, reflective of a growing national GOP effort to link the standards to President Obama. This is not a policy fight; it is political mudwrestling. One influential Republican state senator is taking a stand against his colleagues. State Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunw... more »

Former IEA President Ken Swanson endorses SB2404. Do you need another reason to oppose it. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Former IEA President Ken Swanson endorses SB2404. Do you need another reason to oppose it. | Fred Klonsky: Former IEA President Ken Swanson endorses SB2404. Do you need another reason to oppose it. by Fred Klonsky [image: 0] The man behind Senate Bill 7, retired IEA President Ken Swanson, emerged from retirement to offer his support for the Cullerton/We Are One pension cutting bill. On the IEA website: *My heartiest congratulations to the We Are One coalition and all in IEA who worked with *

City could cancel Pearson G&T contract after new error revealed | GothamSchools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
City could cancel Pearson G&T contract after new error revealed | GothamSchools: City could cancel Pearson G&T contract after new error revealed by Philissa Cramer *THE UNITED STATES OF PEARSON?* Department of Education officials say a fourth error by Pearson in grading city students’ gifted screening exams could be the final straw in their contract with the testing supergiant. Last month, the department announced that Pearson had made three serious errors when grading the screening tests, leading to nearly 5,000 children getting scores that were lower than they deserved. The depa... more »

Lower-income districts would benefit from 55 percent parcel tax passage threshold, study suggests | EdSource Today

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Lower-income districts would benefit from 55 percent parcel tax passage threshold, study suggests | EdSource Today: Lower-income districts would benefit from 55 percent parcel tax passage threshold, study suggests - by John Fensterwald by John Fensterwald Only about one in eight school districts in California have passed a parcel tax, and they predominantly have been wealthier and smaller districts. But if the threshold for passing a parcel tax were dropped from a two-thirds majority to 55 percent, an EdSource analysis suggests more districts with larger enrollments of low-income ... more »

Are We Really Waiting for Superman? « The Core Knowledge Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Are We Really Waiting for Superman? « The Core Knowledge Blog: Are We Really Waiting for Superman? by Lisa Hansel Having spent the last week thinking a lot about teacher preparation, I’d like to share a few more thoughts on teaching, teacher preparation, and student achievement. In the last two posts, we’ve seen that far too many teacher preparation programs eschew *preparation*and that, instead, there’s an emphasis on social-justice activism, which often results in academic programs that try to build character while ignoring the social-justice lessons embedded in many great wor... more »

What Does the Mediterranean Diet Tell Us About School Reform? — Whole Child Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
What Does the Mediterranean Diet Tell Us About School Reform? — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Kristen Pekarek]What Does the Mediterranean Diet Tell Us About School Reform? May 10, 2013 by Kristen Pekarek In an article on the *Washington Post*'s *Answer Sheet* blog, author Martin Blank shares his belief that diet research shows us how education reform needs to be more broadly focused. "A Mediterranean diet, like educating our children," he says, "is like a black box in which a number of ingredients—* together*—are needed to achieve the desired outcomes." Blank f... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Expert on school finance and equity Bruce Baker concludes: class sizes in NYC schools are freakin’ huge!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Expert on school finance and equity Bruce Baker concludes: class sizes in NYC schools are freakin’ huge!: Expert on school finance and equity Bruce Baker concludes: class sizes in NYC schools are freakin’ huge! by Leonie Haimson Yesterday, Bruce Baker of Rutgers presented one of his brilliant statistical exposes on his School Finance 101 blog, revealing the inequities in funding and class size between NYC and the rest of the state. Here are some of his findings, though I suggest you read the whole blog. This chart shows how the higher poverty level stud... more »

UPDATE: Testing Time to Double with Common Core + @HuffingtonPost Rhee is now a “so-called” corporate reformer. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
@HuffingtonPost Rhee is now a “so-called” corporate reformer. – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Testing Time to Double with Common Core Corporate Standards by Jim Horn Only two testing sites in Oklahoma this year did not experience technical issues during state testing. Wonder what will happen in two years if the Common Core moves forward. A clip from a report from KOSU: Click here to download audio Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education said more than 9-thousand students couldn’t take tests […] Popout Original audio source (sessoin2_mixdown-3.mp3) @Huffing... more »

Holy Missing Documents, Batman! DOE has no record of inBloom agreement cancellation for student data ‘parking’ | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Holy Missing Documents, Batman! DOE has no record of inBloom agreement cancellation for student data ‘parking’ | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Holy Missing Documents, Batman! DOE has no record of inBloom agreement cancellation for student data 'parking' by crazycrawfish [image: Batman and the Bat Signal] Reblogged from Louisiana Voice: The late comedian Brother Dave Gardner once said, “I believe if a man’s down, kick him. If he survives it, he has a chance to rise above it.” As a loyal follower of Brother Dave since my youth of so many years ago, it is not mine to question. I was, after ... more »

Beliefs in the “Goodness” of Technology: Those Talkative Kids in Ads | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Beliefs in the “Goodness” of Technology: Those Talkative Kids in Ads | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Beliefs in the “Goodness” of Technology: Those Talkative Kids in Ads by larrycuban [image: images]Have you seen those 30-second ads by AT & T with six year-olds sitting around a table answering questions from an adult about whether more is better than less and whether faster is better than slower? The kids, cute as buttons, answer that faster is better than slower and, of course, more is better than less. If you have not seen the ads, see here and here. They h... more »

Bill Gates’s $5 billion plan to videotape America’s teachers

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Bill Gates’s $5 billion plan to videotape America’s teachers: Bill Gates’s $5 billion plan to videotape America’s teachers Posted by Valerie Strauss on May 10, 2013 at 1:02 pm [image: Bill Gates speaks on teachers’ need to get better feedback. Watch his talk during our first television special, TED Talks Education, airing Tuesday, May 7 at 10/9c on PBS. Photo: Ryan Lash] Bill Gates delivering his TED Talk on videotaping teachers. (By Ryan Lash) If, say, Dennis van Roekel or Randi Weingarten, the presidents of the nation’s two national teachers ... more »

Diane Ravitch Joins Group to Monitor Public Schools - NYTimes.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Diane Ravitch Joins Group to Monitor Public Schools - NYTimes.com: Advocacy Group to Monitor Reform Efforts in Public SchoolsBy MOTOKO RICH [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Diane Ravitch, the historian and former assistant education secretary who has become an outspoken critic of those who favor high-stakes testing, tenure reforms and other controversial measures aimed at the public schools, has joined with other education advocates to form a group that will grade and endorse political candidates. The group will be called the Network for Public Education and is... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm is bombing

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm is bombing: Rahm is bombing by Mike Klonsky In the minds of many Chicagoans, tough-talking *Little Emperor*Rahm is proving himself to be little more than a windbag and a corporate toady. He's like my old dog Bogart who barked loudly but shat near the house. His "get-tough" approach with Parking Meters LLC was rejected by the City Council when it was discovered that it would actually add millions more to the hated LLC's bottom line instead of curbing their greedy grab of of citizens' dollars . The same with his phonynegotiations with the Cub-own... more »

Parents are mobilizing, the way they know how | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Parents are mobilizing, the way they know how | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Parents are mobilizing, the way they know how by thenotebook *by Kristen Poole* Hundreds of students marched to City Hall yesterday demanding that the city help with the School District's dire budget shortfall. It was an admirable, even inspiring moment of collective civic action. The students, who came from many different schools, organized a march in the ways expected from young people today: over social media, through text messaging, and by word of mouth. The demonstration was both highly visi... more »

For Jason Richwine: The Research and History on Race, IQ, and Immigration - Dana Goldstein

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
For Jason Richwine: The Research and History on Race, IQ, and Immigration - Dana Goldstein: For Jason Richwine: The Research and History on Race, IQ, and Immigration by Dana Goldstein It turns out that the deliciously-named Jason Richwine, author of an anti-immigration reform paper from the Heritage Foundation, is also the author of a 2009 Harvard public policy dissertation called "IQ and Immigration Policy," which claims that because Latinos are genetically intellectually inferior to whites and Asians, their immigration to the U.S. should be tightly restricted. Richwine has also... more »

Plan aims to determine students' socioeconomic status

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Plan aims to determine students' socioeconomic status: *Plan aims to determine students' socioeconomic status* Greg Toppo2:01 p.m. EDT May 9, 2013 STORY HIGHLIGHTS - Proposal classifies students by more than just parent income or education - Survey would use Census data to get a bigger picture of students' lives - Plan could have a big impact on education debates Looking for a clearer picture of how poor, middle-class and wealthy students perform in U.S. schools, the Obama administration wants to redefine how it calculates children's socioeconomic status. In a new w... more »

May revise much easier + SBE acts to secure waiver of Title I carryover rule SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: *SBE acts to secure waiver of Title I carryover rule* *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, May 10, 2013 The California State Board of Education accepted an offer from federal officials Thursday to soften the impact of sequestration on school districts and voted to purse a waiver to rules limiting how many Title I dollars can be carried over from one fiscal year to the next. Existing law provides that no more than 15 percent of a district’s Title I allotment from one budget year can be retained for use in the next. There is a process for receiving an exc... more »

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, May 10, 2013

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *California governor's school funding plan would alleviate inequities, report says* Education Headlines *Friday, May 10, 2013* Protest over superintendent leads to another sickout at Waverly SchoolRoughly one-third of Waverly Elementary School students called in sick on Thursday as part of yet another protest waged against Linden Unified School District by a group of frustrated parents. Linden board accused of inactionA Stockton labor law attorney says Linden Unified School District trustees have failed to act on an independent... more »

John Thompson: An Improbable Tale of Successful Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
John Thompson: An Improbable Tale of Successful Reform - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: An Improbable Tale of Successful Reform by Anthony Cody [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] *Guest post by John Thompson.* David Kirp begins his new book, Improbable Scholars, with the sentence, "Educators have grown wearily accustomed to being slapped around." School "reformers" have lambasted public schools as "fossilized bureaucracies run by paper-pushers and filled with time-serving teachers preoccupied with their own job security, not the... more »

Common Core: The Sixteen Billion Dollar Educational Scam | Truth in American Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Common Core: The Sixteen Billion Dollar Educational Scam | Truth in American Education: Common Core: The Sixteen Billion Dollar Educational Scam by Karen Schroeder The government is planning to spend about 16 BILLION dollars to implement programs that are basically the same as those paid for in the 1950s. Many have been given the false impression that Common Core State Standards and the International Baccalaureate programs will reform and improve education. However, these two newest educational policies are an extension of old policies that weakened the American educational syste... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst Influence Targeted In Report By New York Group

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst Influence Targeted In Report By New York Group: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst Influence Targeted In Report By New York Group by Joy Resmovits Since Michelle Rhee's first days as Washington, D.C., schools chancellor, she has evoked intense reactions. Both presidential candidates in 2008 gave her glowing praise in a debate. In the last few months, her loudest critics have called her everything from an "Asian b**ch" to a "dickhead." Which is to say that much criticism of Rhee, the most visible member of the so... more »

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center: Duncan Demagogy Best of the Ed Blogs *Best of the Ed Blogs* features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make *Best of the Ed Blogs* your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics. Duncan Demagogy Best of the Ed Blogs Mike Klonsky May 10, 2013 Infographic: “A Visual Essay on the Changing State Of Education” Best of the Ed Blogs... more »

Friday on the Whole Child Virtual Conference — Whole Child Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Friday on the Whole Child Virtual Conference — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Whole Child Virtual Conference]Friday on the Whole Child Virtual Conference May 10, 2013 by Whole Child Virtual Conference We invite you to participate in ASCD's third annual Whole Child Virtual Conference. Entitled "Moving from Implementation to Sustainability to Culture," sessions will offer educators around the globe leadership discussions and strategies to support their work to implement and sustain a whole child approach to education. *UNICEF and Child-Friendly Schools* [image: Ch... more »

UPDATE: To absolutely nobody’s surprise + ChiTrib readers are not happy with biased anti-CTU election coverage. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
ChiTrib readers are not happy with biased anti-CTU election coverage. | Fred Klonsky: The in box. Dear Cinda. by Fred Klonsky Fred, I wrote the following letter to the IEA, but it came back as undeliverable. Could you get it to them? Dear Ms.Klickna, Whenever my union negotiated a contract for my high school district, it always had the courtesy to not only meet with and present it to the staff, but it permited the staff to vote on said contract. Not To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the Illinois Senate passes the Cullerton/We Are One bill. by Fred Klonsky [image: g1831830000000... more »

Alone among policy heavyweights, Vallas conveys reform fears | GothamSchools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Alone among policy heavyweights, Vallas conveys reform fears | GothamSchools: Alone among policy heavyweights, Vallas conveys reform fears by Geoff Decker On a night when education leaders offered a spirited defense of the policies they are trying to implement, an unusual voice emerged as the dissenter: Paul Vallas. The Bridgeport, Conn. superintendent — who has served stints in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans and earned a reputation as a turnaround consultant for struggling districts with big budget gaps — said reforms he backed were at risk of collapsing “under the weigh... more »

Louisiana Educator: Illegal Payments for Vouchers Should be Recovered

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Illegal Payments for Vouchers Should be Recovered: Illegal Payments for Vouchers Should be Recovered by Michael Deshotels Last year when LAE, LFT and the School Boards' Association filed suit against the Jindal Vouchers, claiming that the payments taken from the MFP were unconstitutional, Superintendent John White representing the State decided to start making quarterly payments to the voucher schools anyway, instead of making the payments contingent upon the pending court ruling. LAE attorney Brian Blackwell warned against this practice at the time, and even ... more »

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Michigan Formula: Defund the Schools, Then Tie Teacher Pay to Scores by dianerav Here is the absurd consequence of the terrible ideas that have dominated education policy in the US. for the past 20 or so years. The governor and legislators in Michigan have stripped more than a billion dollars from the public schools even as they better test scores. Now, as they plan to cut public school budgets even more, they want to tie teachers’ Parent in Philly to Gover... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Bill Gates's Ridiculous TED Talk, Part II

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Bill Gates's Ridiculous TED Talk, Part II: Bill Gates's Ridiculous TED Talk, Part II by Duke As I blogged before, Bill Gates's talk at TED about teacher evaluation was patently absurd. Gates actually said this: (1:06) *Until recently, over 98% of teachers just got one word of feedback: "Satisfactory."* *That is an amazingly ignorant statement on its face.* Does Gates really believe teachers get "*one word of feedback*" in their evaluations? Seriously? We live in a world where powerful people like Gates are allowed to make audacious statements like this without ... more »

Senator Harris’ no vote. | Fred Klonsky

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Senator Harris’ no vote. | Fred Klonsky: Senator Harris’ no vote. by Fred Klonsky *State Senator Napoleon Harris.* From John Dillon’s blog: [image: napoleon-harris-nfl-vikings]When I asked about Constitutional issues, the new Senator responded, “We make laws and people have to follow them. If we make the law, it has to be followed and we need to make these laws.” I asked if it would be possible for my associate and I to talk to the Senator about these important Constitutional issues and about the Pension Protection Clause. “I’m going on vacation,” he responded. “I want to have s... more »

Grammar rules everyone should follow | toteachornototeach

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Grammar rules everyone should follow | toteachornototeach: Grammar rules everyone should follow by aristotlethewise Grammar rules everyone should follow *Following the inaugural Bad Grammar awards, Thomas Jones lists nine grammatical conventions that, depending on context, you may – sorry, might – as well adhere to* by Thomas Jones The Idler Academy’s inaugural Bad Grammar award was bestowed last week on 100 academics who wrote an open letter to Michael Gove in March criticising the education secretary’s revised national curriculum. The letter reads at times as if it was written by ... more »

Teach for America Has Gone Too Far – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Teach for America Has Gone Too Far – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Teach for America Has Gone Too Far by Katie Osgood It is not a secret that I am no fan of Teach for America. The very idea of the organization I find absolutely baffling. (Let’s cure educational inequality by exacerbating the inequality of placing poorly trained, inexperienced teachers in our neediest classrooms? Huh?) But TFA’s recent actions have sent me over the edge. Last night, on twitter, I was appalled to watch tweets fly by about a very fancy, very expensive fundraising dinner taking place in Ch... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: "Slow Eddie" Burke wants the UNO tap turned on again. Gee, I wonder why?

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: "Slow Eddie" Burke wants the UNO tap turned on again. Gee, I wonder why?: "Slow Eddie" Burke wants the UNO tap turned on again. Gee, I wonder why? by Mike Klonsky From left, Gov. Pat Quinn, UNO CEO Juan Rangel, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Ald. Edward Burke at the July 2012 groundbreaking on the Southwest Side for the UNO Soccer Academy High School.Back in the Harold Washington days, they called him "Slow Eddie" Burke to distinguish him from "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak, as a leader of the racist cabal of 29 Chicago aldermen who stood in opposition... more »

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Appreciating Teachers!: My Top 10!

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Appreciating Teachers!: My Top 10!: Appreciating Teachers!: My Top 10! by Lisa M Chocolate, gift certificates, and lunch are great! I really do appreciate all the thanks I have received during the week. But I'd like to share some tips on what would REALLY make me feel appreciated! This goes out to anyone who interacts with teachers,in no particular order: 1. Please take responsibility for your child. I can not raise your child(ren) and my own. We each have a hand in raising your child. I need your help. 2. Stop making excuses for your ch... more »

Michigan parent to Arne Duncan: ‘Our schools are at the breaking point’

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Michigan parent to Arne Duncan: ‘Our schools are at the breaking point’: Michigan parent to Arne Duncan: ‘Our schools are at the breaking point’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on May 10, 2013 at 4:00 am 3 Comments More [image: michigan]Education Secretary Arne Duncan just visited Michigan where he visited schools in Detroit and the Perry Child Development Center in Ypsilanti. Here’s an open letter to Duncan, put out before the visit and written by Steve J. Norton, executive director for Michigan Parents for Schools, a nonprofit advocacy group pushing for quality local public education. T... more »

Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. by crazycrawfish [image: The one thing you can really trust about John White] If I was John White I would be more than a little concerned right about now. I’ve gotten word that people are asking for his resignation. He’s lied so many times, to so many people, I doubt he even knows what the truth is anymore but I know he never cared. The one thing you can really trust about John White This was posted on BESE member Lottie Bebee’s Facebook page: This is a must read! Every teacher and administrator sh... more »

Ride for a Reason: Bike for school dollars + Jerry Brown’s plan to fund locally - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Ride for a Reason: Bike for school dollars + Jerry Brown’s plan to fund locally - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Ride for a Reason: Bike for school dollars + Jerry Brown’s plan to fund locally By awoodall Thursday, May 9th, 2013 at 1:55 pm in No Comments For those of you who fought for more school funding and are resting easy after the passage of Prop 30: You might be planning a backyard barbecue or some spring cleaning this weekend but not the annual Ride for a Reason bike to Sacramento, whose organizers would like to remind you that *it’s not over... more »

Daily Kos: A very quick update on me

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Daily Kos: A very quick update on me: A very quick update on me by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) As people who read this diary from two days ago, I have come to the conclusion that I really should go back into the classroom. On Wednesday I called the woman who putting together something for me not in a school to tell her, and she was very disappointed, although I might still do it part-time or even full-time temporarily until I am back in a school. This morning I taught a 30 minute mini-lesson to a group of 8th graders at a school that has expressed interest in me. Rather than d... more »

EdSource | Raising Revenues Locally: Parcel Taxes in California School Districts 1983-2012

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
EdSource | Raising Revenues Locally: Parcel Taxes in California School Districts 1983-2012: Raising Revenues Locally: Parcel Taxes in California School Districts 1983-2012 May 2013 34 pages PDF Download*Free*Download There is renewed discussion in the Legislature to reduce the voting threshold for passage of parcel taxes to 55 percent from the current two-thirds requirement. This EdSource report analyzes all the parcel tax elections since 1983, and looks at how a lower voting threshold might benefit some low-income school districts. *» Download Executive Summary «* *» Download Ful... more »

ACLU seeks records tied to $11 million in state grants to religious schools - NorthJersey.com

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
ACLU seeks records tied to $11 million in state grants to religious schools - NorthJersey.com: ACLU seeks records tied to $11 million in state grants to religious schools THURSDAY MAY 9, 2013, 7:51 PM BY JIM NORMAN STAFF WRITER THE RECORD PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAIL [image: Gov. Chris Christie] NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR'S OFFICE Gov. Chris Christie The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a public records request on Thursday demanding the disclosure of guidelines that the Christie administration followed when it granted $11 million to two religious scho... more »

Buena Vista Graduation In Question As Michigan School District Remains Shuttered

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Buena Vista Graduation In Question As Michigan School District Remains Shuttered: Buena Vista Graduation In Question As Michigan School District Remains Shuttered by Joy Resmovits When high school seniors worry about whether they can graduate, it's usually because they're failing a class or two. Not in Buena Vista. The tiny Michigan township's school district of about 400 mostly black, mostly poor students is broke. Schools are shuttered indefinitely. Seniors don't know if there will be a graduation or a prom. Or even a diploma. The district had students pay a fee for their gra... more »

Protesting budget cuts, students march on City Hall | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Protesting budget cuts, students march on City Hall | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Protesting budget cuts, students march on City Hall by thenotebook Popout Two days after hundreds of students from around the city rallied outside School District headquarters protesting budget cuts, hundreds more left school today to march on City Hall. *(Video by NewsWorks)* read more Schools' need for money center of attention in Philadelphia by thenotebook Popout *by Tom MacDonald for NewsWorks* Time is running out on efforts to close the Philadelphia School District's $300 million budge...more »

SBE Adopts Common Core Math Material Timeline - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
SBE Adopts Common Core Math Material Timeline - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education): State Board of Education Adopts Timeline for New Common Core Math Materials * * * * *Schools Chief Torlakson Seeks to Have New Texts Ready for Students by Fall 2014* SACRAMENTO—California will begin its review of instructional materials based on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics this year to provide students with new print and digital materials by the fall of 2014, under a timeline approved today by the State Board of Education. At the recommendation of State Superintendent of Public Inst... more »

Date this School (and Possibly Marry It) | EduShyster

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Date this School (and Possibly Marry It) | EduShyster: Date this School (and Possibly Marry It) by edushyster2012 Happy National Charter School Week, excellence lovers! Today we turn our extended attention spans to a fiercely urgent question: what if there was a way for teachers with enhanced excellence to find their perfect school match? And better yet, what if this dating service weeded out all of the duds—the dirty, low-expectations public schools that can be such a buzz kill for a young excellence lover? At last our dream has come true! myEDmatch.com combines the cool fun vibe... more »

Today Is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day — Whole Child Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Today Is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Klea Scharberg]Today Is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day May 9, 2013 by Klea Scharberg [image: National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, May 9, 2013] What does it take for children to be mentally healthy? Being mentally healthy is not just about emotional and behavioral difficulties. It's also about being mentally strong and resilient and having the skills and supports to deal with stressful issues when they arise. Today is National Children's Mental ... more »

UPDATE: Pearson Protest + @HuffingtonPost and @educationweek: Time to Walk? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
@HuffingtonPost and @educationweek: Time to Walk? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Pearson Protest in NJ Changed to Thursday May 23 by freetoteach *DEMAND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE THURSDAY,* *MAY 23, 12:00PM Hoboken Ferry, 1 Hudson Place Hoboken, NJ* Tell Governor Christie:  Quit the corporate welfare and fund our public schools! Protest Governor Christie’s giveaways to corporate ed giant Pearson! High-stakes testing giant Pearson Education, Inc. was offered an $80 million payday from the state of New Jersey to relocate workers from Bergen County to Hoboken – even t... more »

Thousands prepare for a three-day march against school closings

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Chicago Teachers Union | Thousands prepare for a three-day march against school closings: * * *Thousands prepare for a three-day march against school closings as Chicago’s mayor continues his assault on working-class people under the guise of education reform* * * * * *CHICAGO –* As the city braces itself for the largest assault on public education in the country, thousands of parents, students, teachers, clergy, citizens and community leaders are preparing for a “long march” against school closings on May 18, 19 and 20. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Karen Lewis said th... more »














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