Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break
Teachers in the English department at Brooklyn Technical High School say that the DOE’s implementation of a new English Language Arts test — part of a series of performance assessments in the new teacher evaluation system — is robbing them of valuable instructional time. Calling the exam “poorly written and grossly mismanaged,” they urge the DOE to consider alternate assessments that would be more
A Guide to the Conspiracy Theories Fuelling the Common Core Fight
Associated Press So far only one Common Core conspiracy theory has panned out: conservative megadonors like the Koch brothers want to destroy the plan and eventually take down the Department of Education. But plenty others are floating around. As Politico reported on Tuesday, conservatives are funding advocacy groups that want to use anger over the national education standards to get rid of te
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez,The California Report For more than a decade, California educators have been trying to close the achievement gap between Latinos and their white and Asian classmates. Latinos do worse on standardized tests and are less likely to go to college. But new statistics show the gap isn’t just a product of poor neighborhoods and low performing schools. It’s also found in public scho
Get Schooled: Online schools: Wired for failure under currrent conditons?
Should we be more concerned with the rush to embrace online learning and the lack of scrutiny of the growing for-profit sector in virtual education? That's certainly the take-away of an Education Week essay about a teacher’s experience with K12 Inc., the nation’s largest operator of virtual schools and ...
Two early scenes in Shaun of the Dead require viewers to understand zombie narrative tropes in order to achieve the film’s satirical intent—distinguishing Shaun of the Dead from the zombie horror films it skewers: Shaun makes nearly identical trips from his apartment to a local convenience store, the first involving a normal day and the second after the (unknown to him) zombie apocalypse. Througho
Ridgewood school officials put an end to private lunch deliveries
Lunch deliveries to students in the village’s schools will cease after this Friday, following a decision announced by district officials. Area businesses delivery a flurry of lunches to Ridgewood schools daily — particularly to the elementary and middle schools.
Editorial boards agree on special election for LAUSD seat
If the editorial boards of Los Angeles area newspapers were charged with filling the vacant LA Unified school board seat left by the sudden death of Marguerite LaMotte, it would be easy: they are unanimous in that finding a successor should come through a special election, rather than an appointment. But politics is never easy, and, instead, the vacancy has sparked disagreement and paralysis at th
California Democrats propose universal preschool for 4-year-oldsCalifornia Democrats on Tuesday proposed creating universal preschool for 4-year-olds. The program would be voluntary, just as kindergarten is in California. Over a 5-year phase-in beginning in 2015-16 school year, it is estimated to cost $1.3 billion.
The state is awarding a total of $3.3 million in grants to 67 school districts to help provide high school students with special learning opportunities in subjects such as English-language arts, mathematics, science, history and social science, foreign language and visual and performing arts. In the East Bay, two Alameda County districts and three Contra Costa County districts will receive a total of $250,000.
Portland Public Schools parents: Would you support a teachers strike?
Take our poll, then share your thoughts in the survey we've created at the end of this post.
PSAT for 1-7-14: A CHIberia Challenge
My friends at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless have sent around what I believe is the best action to take on a frigid day like today. They write: Hi Chicago, aka residents of #CHIberia, There are 21,000 homeless people in Chicago and we can do some good for them in this time of below zero temperatures. Consider taking the #CHIberiaChallenge, it’s real simple. Instead of ordering delivery or
East Room 11:55 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Please, everybody, have a seat. (Applause.) Well, Happy New Year, everybody. AUDIENCE: Happy New Year! THE PRESIDENT: I hope you're keeping warm. A few weeks ago, I said that 2014 could be a breakthrough year for America. Think about it: Five years ago this month our economy was shedding 800,000 jobs just in one month. But as Americans buckle
The widespread cheating in American schools is the result of the educational equivalent of iatrogenesis. It is educator-caused, the result of threats and intense pressure to raise scores on standardized tests. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Thompson: The No Excuses School Debate
As a student, I would have despised the "No Excuses" pedagogy, but I understand why some students and their families choose it. Some people enjoy competition and structure and, in the inner city many students will choose anything over the chronic chaos of dysfunctional schools. While I see no chance that KIPP-style schools can be successfully scaled up, I always learn from Mike Goldstei
Schopp’s Not So Subtle Threat Towards SD Parents Wanting to Opt-Out of Smarter Balanced
A mother whose child attended school in the Tri Valley School District in Colton, SD asked her school district about opting out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Her school district contacted the South Dakota Department of Education regarding her request. Below is the response from South Dakota Secretary of Education Dr. Melody Schopp.In a nutshell Dr. Schopp says that not only would opting ou
Are Progressive Critics of Common Core "Getting Played" By Enemies of Public Education?
Today, Politico offers an analysis of conservative's organized opposition to the Common Core which points out that the end game for many of these Koch-funded groups is total annihilation of public education
SED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch seemed not to be listening to the public during their Gospel of the Common Core Tour in November and December, but the members of the legislature - including Assembly Speaker Silver - were:ALBANY—Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Tuesday he expects the state Board of Regents to form a plan for improving and possibly delaying implementation of t
A new report from In the Public Interest (ITPI) highlights some of the horror stories that happen when local and state governments “outsource” or “privatize” public functions to private companies, and offers recommendations to prevent similar disasters. “Government Is Bad, Business Is Good” Every day you hear again and again that government doesn’t work and costs too much, while business is always
Parents: Tips To Help Your Child Complete the FAFSA
If you’re a parent of a college bound child, the financial aid process can seem a bit overwhelming. Who’s considered the parent? Who do you include in household size? How do assets and tax filing fit into the process? Does this have to be done every year? Here are some common questions that parents have when helping their children prepare for and pay for college or career school: Why does my c
The State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC) spent a busy 2013 working with its partners for stronger advocates, better policies, and improved outcomes for kids. SPARC commissioned and released a number of briefs and hosted webinars on a variety of ways we can improve outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system. Below are the most accessed resources from SPARC in 2013. A special thank you to our funders at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, who made these important resources possible. We look forward to a great 2014!
- Medicaid to 26 for Youth in Foster Care: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes a provision that allows all young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. This brief, authored by ChildFocus, outlines key steps child welfare stakeholders can take to ensure Medicaid coverage to age 26 for youth in, or who have aged out of, foster care.
- Medicaid and Children in Foster Care: This brief, authored by Center for Health Care Strategies, details the health care needs of children in foster care and the role of Medicaid in providing health coverage for this population. It also highlights existing policy levers that may help to address some of the ongoing health and well-being issues faced by children in foster care.
- Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices in Child Welfare: Child welfare system stakeholders, and the children and families they serve, can greatly benefit from integrating trauma knowledge into their policies and practices and thereby improve outcomes for abused and neglected children. This brief, authored by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, highlights the effects of trauma on child well-being and provide practice recommendations and examples of specific initiatives to guide transformation of the system.
- Raising the Bar: Child Welfare’s Shift Towards Well-Being: This brief, authored by the Center for the Study of Social Policty, summarizes the research, policy and practice trends driving this increased focus on well-being, highlights promising federal, state, and local efforts from across the county, and outlines initial steps for policymakers and advocates to implement a policy and practice agenda in their community.
- NACAC State Adoption Fact Sheets: The state-by-state fact sheets from the North American Council on Adoptable Children, derived mostly from 2011 AFCARS data, have information about the number of waiting children, the length of time children spend in care, the race of waiting and adopted children, types of exits from foster care, Title IV-E payments, and more.
- Child Welfare Financing in the United States: Many sources of public funding are available to help support child welfare activities, making the overall approach to child welfare financing in the United States a web of federal, state, and local dollars. This brief, authored by Child Trends and the True North Group, summarizes key facts and trends regarding national, state, and local child welfare financing in an easy-to-read question and answer
- Electronic Information Exchange: Elements that Matter for Children in Foster Care: This brief, Authored by The Children’s Partnership, lays out the case for investing in systems that enable electronic information exchange for children and youth in foster care, reviews existing efforts underway in states and communities, identifies specific elements that serve this population most effectively, and discusses steps that state advocates can take to establish an integrated electronic record of care for foster children and youth in their state.
- Education Records of Children in Foster Care: This brief, authored by the Legal Center for Foster Care & Education, describes the barriers to educational success that children in foster care often face, and how a new amendment to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) makes it easier for child welfare agencies to collaborate with schools to eliminate these barriers for children in foster care. It provides examples of steps that state child welfare agencies and schools have already taken to implement it, as well as a list of considerations stakeholders should contemplate when implementing the law in their own jurisdictions
- Therapeutic Foster Care: Exceptional Care for Complex, Trauma-Impacted Youth in Foster Care: This brief, authored by the Foster Family-based Treatment Association, highlights the promising practice of therapeutic, or treatment foster care (TFC) and its success in delivering services to foster youth with severe mental, emotional, or behavioral health needs or for medically fragile or developmentally delayed youth whose physical and emotional health needs require more intensive clinical and medical intervention than can be accommodated in traditional foster care.
- The Uninterrupted Scholars Act: How Recent Changes to FERPA Can Improve Educational Outcomes for Children in Care: This webinar was hosted by SPARC and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, together with the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education (a collaboration of the American Bar Association, Juvenile Law Center, and Education Law Center-PA).
