Fight over effective teachers shifts to courtroom…
Jennifer Medina in The New York Times… “They have tried and failed to loosen tenure rules for teachers in contract talks and state legislatures. So now, a group of rising stars in the movement to overhaul education employment has gone to court. In a small, wood-paneled courtroom here this week, nine public school students are challenging California’s ironclad tenure system, arguing that their righ
Why Common Core isn’t the answer…
Marion Brady via Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post… “The Common Core State Standards have become targets for criticism from all corners of the political spectrum for various reasons. Here’s a different take, from Marion Brady, a veteran classroom teacher, who has written history and world culture textbooks (Prentice-Hall), professional books, numerous nationally distributed column…” Read it
Common Core standards – Gates paid for everything…
The great Diane Ravitch… “The Gates Foundation has spent $200 million or so to pay for the Common Core standards. Gates paid for everything because the U.S. Department of Education is prohibited by law from doing anything that might control, direct,or supervise curriculum or instruction. Of course, this did not stop Arne Duncan from shelling out $350 million to pay for new online tests of the Comm
A public boarding school for the arts…
Deborah Fallows in The Atlantic… “The 240+ South Carolina students are a natural match with this very specialized residential school. They steep in their identity and passion as young artists. (There are 5 arts tracks: dance, drama, visual arts, music, and creative writing.)…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post A public boarding school for the arts… appeared first o
YESTERDAY
What it feels like to be a teacher in NC…
Katie Mgongolwa at The Huffington Post… “I am the 14 percent. I am one of many teachers in North Carolina considering leaving the profession. I don’t want to. It hurts to voice this. But we are entering a time of darkness in education in the Tar Heel state. We are forced to wonder if an administration plagued with controversy has purposefully attempted to devalue North Carolina public education in
LA school officials in the dark over computer inventories…
Annie Gilbertson at KPCC – Southern California Public Radio… “Los Angeles Unified School District officials said they don’t have a complete accounting of computers at schools because they stopped counting during budget cuts – and a new survey meant to get an accurate accounting is incomplete, according to records, statements at public meetings and interviews…” Read it. What do you think? Read and
Schools starve students to punish deadbeat parents…
Brandy Zadroznyat The Daily Beast… “Picture this. School-age children with rumbling tummies move their styrofoam trays in an orderly lunch line. It’s Tuesday, and at Uintah Elementary School in Salt Lake City that means one thing for excited youngsters: pizza day. Students fill their trays with deep-dish pepperoni slices and napa salad and head to the lunch lady for checkout. That’s when tragedy
Ed. Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery…
Lyndsey Layton in The Washington Post… “The Education Department on Wednesday reversed a long-standing policy and will now allow public charter schools that receive federal grants to give admissions preference to low-income children, minorities and other disadvantaged students. The move is designed to try to preserve racial diversity in schools that are attractive to wealthier families. Schools w
A Push for French in New York Schools…
Kirk Semple in The New York Times… “In the fugue of tongues on New York’s streets, French has never been a dominant voice. And as surging numbers of Asian and Latino immigrants continue to tip the balance of foreign languages toward Chinese and Spanish, the idea of learning French, to some, may seem kind of quaint, even anachronistic. Yet in the city’s public school system, the French dual-languag
Boston – Three nonprofits to take over schools…
James Vaznis in The Boston Globe… “Massachusetts education officials who are poised to take over four schools in Boston, Holyoke, and New Bedford announced Wednesday that they have selected three nonprofits and a superintendent with records of boosting student achievement as receivers, under a first-of-a-kind experiment in the state. In Boston, the state is tapping two education nonprofits that al
Will Portland teachers vote to authorize a strike?
Nicole Dungca in The Oregonian… “Portland Association of Teachers leaders sent a message Wednesday night announcing a strike vote on Feb. 5. The walkout would be the first teachers strike in the history of Oregon’s largest district. Union leaders say members appear united. Those leaders referenced results from their “pre-strike assessment” last week, in which teachers at every school hold individu
Early Childhood Ed.: Lots of talk, not much action…
Laura Bornfreund and Conor Williams in The Atlantic… “Business leaders, law enforcement, retired military leaders, charitable foundations, and Nobel-winning economists—not to mention President Obama—support better preschool. Why hasn’t there been more progress?…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post Early Childhood Ed.: Lots of talk, not much action… appeared first on
Suspensions, expulsions fall in California public schools…
Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury News… “Suspensions and expulsions in California public schools fell dramatically in 2012-13, the result of schools’ deliberate efforts to seek alternate discipline and reduce racial disparities in punishment…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post Suspensions, expulsions fall in California public schools… appeared first on GoPubli
JAN 29
Michael Weston – The teacher tenure debate is a distraction…
Michael Weston is a teacher. He is also a candidate for the Hillsborough County School Board. Hillsborough County, FL (Tampa) is home to the 8th largest district in the country with 15,000 teachers and a $3 billion budget. The teacher tenure debate is a distraction… Michael Weston The entire teacher tenure debate is a distraction. All tenured teachers have is a continuing contract with right of d
‘American Child’s Education Bill of Rights’
Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post… “Calling modern school reform “catastrophically misguided and ineffective,” civil rights icon James Meredith is launching what he calls the American Child’s Education Bill of Rights, a 12-point declaration of obligations that he says the nation owes every public school child…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post ‘American Child
Certainly Mr. Gates can fix this by evaluating teachers…
Certainly Mr. Gates can fix this by evaluating teachers… These are the schools and children no one cares about.. FOX 13 News “Teachers explain math and science and mentor students, but on Tuesday at Gibbs High School, the best use of one teacher’s time was as a human barricade. She stood between two female students until several minutes of screaming and circling turned physical, the girls punching
Why some teachers may question ‘new’ education trends…
Katrina Schwartz at KQED… “Often frustration with the public education system is directed at teachers, even when they are following the standards and guidelines set out by the government. Everyone from politicians, to non-profits to parents tell teachers how to do their jobs better. So it’s no surprise that when the federal state education officials or school superintendents announce a new initiat
How Ohio public school ratings foster false comparisons…
From Policy Matters Ohio… “… We found that the majority of the highest-rated schools serve very different populations than the districts in which they are located, generally enrolling fewer children with disabilities and fewer economically disadvantaged students. Many of these schools have selective enrollment policies, offer smaller class sizes, require applications, or engage in other practices
Teachers oppose Va. bill challenging mainstream science…
Michael Alison Chandler and Michael Laris in The Washington Post… “Virginia science teachers are opposing a bill in the General Assembly they say would open classroom doors to lessons challenging evolution, global warming and other mainstream scientific views…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post Teachers oppose Va. bill challenging mainstream science… appeared first
Teachers union sues Denver Public Schools…
Zahira Torres and Kevin Simpson in The Denver Post “A class-action lawsuit filed by the Colorado Education Association on Wednesday challenges the state’s teacher effectiveness law, citing concerns with a provision that it says has allowed Denver Public Schools to edge out qualified teachers. The lawsuit follows months of wrangling between the school district and the teachers union over the ‘mutua
Michael Weston – Local! Local! Local!
Michael Weston is a teacher. He is also a candidate for the Hillsborough County School Board. Hillsborough County, FL (Tampa) is home to the 8th largest district in the country with 15,000 teachers and a $3 billion budget. Local! Local! Local! Michael Weston I would like to say that I am fearless, but tonight scared me. A candidate forum was held for a group of School Board candidates in my coun
Half of public school students nationwide are now low-income…
Michelle Chen at TruthOut… “Immigrants have long looked to public education as the pathway to prosperity, through schools that offer their kids a springboard to the American Dream. Yet many learn the hard way that the Dream can easily crumble into myth, as hopes of academic achievement are stifled by inequality, in school and at home. The math on schools and inequality betrays that myth. About hal
L.A. Unified unprepared for computerized state test…
Howard Blume in The Los Angeles Times… “The nation’s second-largest school district is woefully unprepared to administer new state standardized tests by computer, a survey of Los Angeles Unified schools has found. An internal district report, obtained by The Times through a California Public Records Act request, indicates that fewer than a third of Los Angeles schools said they were ready for this
NC schools worried about reading requirement…
Gary D. Robinson in The News and Observer… “Local school superintendents and legislators complained Tuesday about the execution of reading assessment standards third-graders must meet before getting promoted to the next grade, which are stressing out students and teachers alike. The state’s top educator sought to ease worries that most of the state’s 105,000 third-graders would have to attend read
Holding Duncan to a higher standard…
Jason Stanford in The News Virginian… “… Amid all this mediocrity comes Pearson, the company that makes millions on standardized testing contracts in Florida ($254 million), New York ($32 million), and Texas ($468 million), among many others. This month Pearson executives met with Barack Obama and Duncan at the White House to discuss ways to help low-income students get into college. I’ll match ev
Use public money for public schools…
Ron Fuhrer in The Anchorage Daily News… “The week of January 26 – February 1 is promoted as School Choice Week by organizations that advocate for the privatization of public education under the guise of giving every parent the opportunity to choose the right school for his/her child no matter social economic status. However, the tale of vouchers has been told repeatedly and the moral of the story
The Public School Where Prayer Is Everywhere
Andrew Cohen in The Atlantic… “A federal lawsuit filed last week in Louisiana contains some of the most startling allegations you will ever see against public school officials accused of unlawfully turning their school into a bastion of Christian belief. In western Louisiana’s Sabine Parish, one family alleges, teachers preach Creationism and mock the theory of evolution, routinely lead their stud
New GED fails to measure skills that matter most…
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/28/3898904/seed-school-of-miami-to-open-as.html#storylink=cpy James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries and Tim Kautz in The Seattle Times… “America’s largest high school is not a building but a test. The General Educational Development test is a seven-hour exam that allows high school dropouts to show they are equivalent to high school graduates. GED
SEED School of Miami to open as Florida’s first public boarding school…
David Smiley in The Miami Herald… “After years of behind-the-scenes efforts, Florida’s first ever public boarding school is coming to Miami-Dade County. The campus, on the edge of Indian Hammocks Park in Kendall, is envisioned as Miami-Dade’s version of the renowned SEED School in Washington D.C. — a free prep-school made famous in a 2010 documentary lauding charter schools called Waiting for Supe
Lessons for de Blasio in New Jersey’s Free Pre-K…
Javier C. Hernandez in The New York Times… “Officials across the country, including Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, are looking to efforts like those in New Jersey as they seek to broaden access to free, full-day prekindergarten. President Obama embraced the policy last year, and politicians in several states, including Maryland, Texas and Washington, are considering ambitious expansions. Though
NJ – Teachers sue over suspensions…
Peggy McGlone in The Star-Ledger… “Five Newark school principals suspended for speaking out against a controversial school reorganization plan filed a federal lawsuit today charging that their constitutional rights to free speech were violated. In addition, one school’s parent-teacher organization president joined the suit, saying the district’s refusal to allow him to enter his children’s school
JAN 28
Obama’s empty rhetoric on education…
Stephen Lurie in The Atlantic… “… His words for the nation have been well intentioned and popular, but the results, like at Dillon, have been incomplete or unsuccessful. In both the understanding of America’s educational needs, and the resulting approach to reform, the President’s educational rhetoric has been distinctly cosmetic…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post
Adults cheating on tests…
An editorial from the Philadelphia Daily News… “It will take awhile before the book is closed on the investigation into test cheating in Philadelphia – and a sad book it will be. Last week, the district fired three principals for their role in rigging tests results. In all, district investigators identified 138 educators working in 27 schools, including three charter schools, as being involved in
Bad idea – Bill to offer an option to give vouchers…
Motoko Rich in The New York Times… “Senator Lamar Alexander, who served as secretary of education under President George Bush in the early 1990s, plans to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would give 11 million children from low-income families federal money to spend on any kind of schooling their parents choose, as long as it is in an accredited institution…” Read it. What do you think? Read and s
L.A. – Parents’ campaign leads to reforms…
Teresa Watanabe in The Los Angeles Times… “Rosa Estrada wanted some serious changes at her child’s Cudahy elementary school. She joined efforts last fall demanding new leadership amid complaints that the principal had failed to address campus bullying, boost academic performance or work collaboratively…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post L.A. – Parents’ campaign l
NJ – How the governor can help our schools…
Ani McHugh at NorthJersey.com… “One day after he vetoed a bill to study the implications of mandating full-day kindergarten across the state, Governor Christie said that New Jersey’s public schools are failing and in need of drastic, sweeping reforms — specifically, longer school days and an extended academic calendar. Many advocates of education “reform” push this issue as part a political, socia
Students won’t learn? Go visit their parents…
Jay Mathews in The Washington Post… “Caleb Rossiter once told his math students at H.D. Woodson High School in the District that they would not be allowed into his classroom without their homework. It didn’t work. ‘The kids learn early that there are no consequences for not doing homework or even class work in high-poverty schools, since they eventually pass without doing any,’ Rossiter said. This
LA Times – Protect good teachers, fire bad ones…
An editorial from the Los Angeles Times… “State laws that make it nearly impossible to fire even the worst teachers make for poor educational policy. The same is true of laws that require teacher layoffs to be decided on the basis of seniority, and that give principals only a year and a half to decide whether a new teacher deserves the extraordinary protections of tenure. It seems pretty obvious:
JAN 27
New York teachers turn on Common Core…
Stephanie Simon at Politico… “The board of the New York state teachers union this weekend unanimously withdrew its support for the Common Core standards as they have been implemented — a major blow for Common Core advocates who have been touting support from teachers as proof that the standards will succeed in classrooms nationwide…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The po
Louisiana public school pushing Christianity…
Andrew Cohen at The Daily Beast… “A Buddhist family sued Sabine Parish School Board for violating their right to religious freedom. The lawsuit contains a shocking list of religious indoctrination…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post Louisiana public school pushing Christianity… appeared first on GoPublicSchool.com.
Publically funded, teaching creationism…
Chris Kirk at Slate.com… “…A large, publicly funded charter school system in Texas is teaching creationism to its students, Zack Kopplin recently reported in Slate. Creationist teachers don’t even need to be sneaky about it—the Texas state science education standards, as well as recent laws in Louisiana and Tennessee, permit public school teachers to teach “alternatives” to evolution. Meanwhile, i
Ads lure NC teachers to Virginia…
From WRAL in Raleigh… “Low morale and no pay increases within the past five years have contributed to an increase in teachers leaving North Carolina schools. But Virginia wants them. The Western Virginia Public Education Consortium is advertising an upcoming two-day teacher recruitment fair in community newspapers across North Carolina. The classified ad announces vacancies in 17 Virginia school d
Students Matter active in California lawsuit…
Sharon Noguchi in The San Jose Mercury News… “On Monday that argument will get its day in court. In a potentially landmark case, a Silicon Valley-based group, Students Matter, is challenging the state’s tenure, dismissal and layoff laws for teachers. While the lawsuit is based on California’s constitutional protections, it has drawn attention across the country as interest has grown in upending ag
Texas public schools are teaching creationism…
Zack Kopplin at Slate.com… “When public-school students enrolled in Texas’ largest charter program open their biology workbooks, they will read that the fossil record is ‘sketchy.’ That evolution is ‘dogma’ and an ‘unproved theory’ with no experimental basis. They will be told that leading scientists dispute the mechanisms of evolution and the age of the Earth. These are all lies…” Read it. What d