Legislative Data Sheets - CalSTRS.com:  Legislative Data SheetsSnapshots of CalSTRS members and benefit recipients sorted by Senate and Assembly districts.CalSTRS membership includes California public school educators from prekindergarten through community college.What’s My District?Search tool provided by the California State Legislature to find your Assembly and Senate districtsSenate DistrictsD

There’s a Train A Coming | Parents Across America: There’s a Train A Coming This opinion piece was shared with us by PAA Florida Affiliate leader Lourdes Pérez Ramírez. She writes, “Here’s an opinion piece that Rick Roach, the only school board member who has had the guts to take a standardized test and failed, and who also has the guts to sternly oppose these high-stake tests, sent me.”There’s a

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On the Wolverine: On the WolverineHeading for Detroit on the Wolverine for the NDSG meeting. I love trains. A ticket to Motown -- $28 each way. Plus I got free upgrade from previous trips. I can't drive it for that and the travel time is about the same. Wish we had high-speed rail with a Chicago hub. I'd hardly ever fly.Detroit power outage. A metaphor?Power Struggle

What were guinea pigs doing at the State House? (a newsletter from Providence Student Union) | The IDEA Blog: What were guinea pigs doing at the State House? (a newsletter from Providence Student Union)Posted by Shawn Strader on Feb 11, 2014 - 09:58 AMProvidence Student Union never ceases to amaze me... In my opinion they are some of the most intoxicating change-makers to follow, and so I love any

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why NY Principals Founder Carol Burris sees the Ball/Zeldin Bill in the NY State Legislature as a Step Forward:: Why NY Principals Founder Carol Burris sees the Ball/Zeldin Bill in the NY State Legislature as a Step Forward:It is the closest thing to a true moratorium that I have seen and it will strike a huge blow against standardized testing and evaluating teachers by tes

Abandoning Children’s Privacy – redqueeninla: Abandoning Children’s PrivacyWritten by redqueeninla in Education The time has come for my youngster to confront immanent militaristic ipad “deployment” and all this implies for privacy and responsibility, coercion and choice, for mother and for child.LAUSD’s district IT spokesman concedes upon questioning, that privacy concerns revert almost immediate

H.Res.476: Strongly supporting the restoration and protection of State authority and flexibility in establishing... OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.Res. 476: Strongly supporting the restoration and protection of State authority and flexibility in establishing and defining challenging student academic standards and assessments, and strongly denouncing the President's coercion of States into adopti

We need real answers from the US Department of Education! - The Action Network: We need real answers from the US Department of Education!Gregory Smith, Director, FOIA Service CenterIntegrity in Education recently launched an investigative campaign focused on the US Department of Education. Recognizing how many top staffers have direct ties to corporate front groups, we want to understand the full

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Math Adoption Committee WorkI attended the Math Adoption Committee meeting a week ago.  I stayed about 2 hours (out of a daylong meeting).  I didn't have high hopes at the beginning as the meeting seemed disorganized and slow to start.  The meeting was monitored by staffers Anna Box and Shauna Heath. They first went over the discussion from the Boar

A Tale of Two States: Equity Outperforms Inequity | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity: A Tale of Two States: Equity Outperforms InequityPosted on: Thursday February 13th, 2014New York and New Jersey sit just on opposite sides of the Hudson River, but the two states are much further apart when it comes to investing in children and education. Arepor

Insights on Building School Morale — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGInsights on Building School MoraleFebruary 13, 2014 by Klea ScharbergTeacher morale matters. So how can schools improve it? The February 2014 issue ofEducational Leadership explores why schools must become happier places for educators and how they can make it happen. Articles in this issue discuss both the reality that

Penetrating the Smokescreen | Taking Note: Penetrating the Smokescreenby JOHN MERROW on 25. APR, 2013 in 2013 BLOGS, 2013 DC, CHEATING, MICHELLE RHEEA great deal has happened since “Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error” appeared in this space two weeks ago.DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson testified under oath that she learned of Sandy Sanford’s long-buried memo from my blog this past January. My sou

@ THE CHALK FACE: King Corn: Common Core SyrupI read an article by Alice Crites about the influence of big business (corn and sugar) on the food policies and productions. I was astounded at how, within the first minute of reading about how BIG BUSINESS manipulates legislation and public perception in food production, I was able to see how that system of corruption […]3 by educationalchemy / 7min 2

Controversial Education Maven Michelle Rhee Riles Up MinnesotaControversial education expert Michelle Rhee, founder of Students First and former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system, brought her combative education reform rhetoric to Minnesota last week, drawing a vocal protest from opponents and challenging state educators to alter teacher seniority systems that Rhee said contr

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Vergara trial resumes today with more ‘expert’ testimonyBeatiz Vergara, the lead plaintiff The Vergara v California trial continues this morning, with Dan Goldhaber, an expert in education policy at the University of Washington, continuing his testimony after the court took a day off yesterday Following h

Have you heard?: Jeff Santos & Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig on Revolution Radio Network | Cloaking Inequity: Have you heard?: Jeff Santos & Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig on Revolution Radio NetworkTake a listen to our live radio conversation from Tuesday 2/11/14 about vouchers, charters, testing and accountability.Part 1 of the conversation: https://soundcloud.com/revolution-radio-network/jeff-sa

House Democrats to Duncan: States are backsliding on help for low achievers - The Washington Post: House Democrats to Duncan: States are backsliding on help for low achieversJ. Scott Applewhite/AP - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.By Lyndsey Layton, Published: February 12 E-mail the writerHouse Democratic leaders are worried t

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: California leads nation in new charter schools and studentsEducation HeadlinesThursday, February 13, 2014FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.Monterey Peninsula USD working through its math problemStudents are

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-13-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Who Are the Education Entrepreneurs?Well, of course, there re scores of education entrepreneurs, the men and women who dream up lever was to make profits from the field of public education. They

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Who Are the Education Entrepreneurs?Well, of course, there re scores of education entrepreneurs, the men and women who dream up lever was to make profits from the field of public education. They have start-ups, they have real-estate investment trusts, they create companies to build data systems, they operate for-profit charter chai

Wait What?: Malloy majors in fiction at press conference touting commitment to higher education.“I am not talking about what happened in the past. I am talking about what needs to happen in the future.  (Governor Dannel Malloy 2-12-14) The CT News Junkie headline reads “Commits To Higher Ed, Hopes Future Governors Will Too.” Governor Malloy held at press conference at Manchester Community College

The Answer Sheet: At least 44 school shootings since Newtown — new analysisThere have been at least 44 school shootings on K-12 or college campuses in 24 states — an average of more than three a month — since the deadly 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., according to a new analysis. Twenty-eight people have died and 37 have been injured. Twenty children […]    1 by Vale

Schools Matter: Another Former KIPP Teacher Steps ForwardPosted at Edushyster:A former KIPP teacher in New Orleans finds her voiceI was never much of a champion [reference to Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov's exhausting checklist that serves as a bible for TFA and KIPP], to be honest. KIPP defines a successful teacher as someone who keeps children quiet, teaches children how to answer each quest

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Israel Denies Medical TreatmentIsrael denied about 50 permits for entry. The Gazans trying to enter were seeking medical care and were denied because the paperwork said "State of Palestine" at the top of the paper. Those with cases considered urgent were allowed entry, the other 50 so were denied. The letters were returned and told to be resubmitted in the pro

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “Love English” Awards Are A Great Place To Find Useful ESL/ELL WebsitesMacmillan Publishers annually sponsor a “Love English” award contest for websites and blogs emphasizing support for English Language Learners. I view these kids of contests as not particularly important in terms of who wins, and much more useful as a way

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: I am a UIC alum. What UIC gave me I didn’t get from the pretty buildings. Support the faculty and staff. #UICStrike.by Fred Klonsky / 1h Eden Martin. Pension questions from the one percent.Chris Rock explains the difference between being rich and being wealthy. Shaq is rich, but the white man who sign

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “The Power Of Parents” Is A Good New Report From Ed SourceThe Power Of Parents: Research underscores the impact of parent involvement in schools is a new accessible report from Ed Source (done in collaboration with New America Media. It provides a well-written summary of a fair amount of parent involvement research, and is

Ed Notes Online: Carol Burris Calls For Accountability at the Top for Common Core Mess...the Regents are “rolling back” what they never did in the first place..... Like Lucy holding the football for poor Charlie Brown, the Regents and Commissioner King have repeatedly set up parents and educators.... Carol Burris  Why do you think the Regents and King and Cuomo are doing this dance? To confuse, ob

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Costs of Trying to Game the Systems of the Educational Deformers: For Better or For Worse, For Richer, For "Richerer," In Sickness And In Health?Since 2007, the Bloomberg administration evaluated N.Y.C. schools by assigning single A-F grades.  Due to this junk science, schools were closed, teachers turned into vagrant ATRs and communities split apart. Me

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Understanding Privilege (Slack) and Poverty (Scarcity) in a Snow StormThe snow started in South Carolina on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, and when I woke up Thursday, February 13, the snow continued, laying down a powdery blanket on the ice crust formed with several interv

Lacking Fair Basic Aid Plan, Pennsylvania Continues to Starve Philly Schools | janresseger: Lacking Fair Basic Aid Plan, Pennsylvania Continues to Starve Philly SchoolsPosted on February 13, 2014 by janressegerThe tragedy in the School District of Philadelphia continues.  Here are some of the realities.  Last year after Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett cut $1.1 billion out of the state school bud

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com: The problem with school ‘choice’…Jessie B. Ramey, of the University of Pittsburgh at Alternet… “We don’t need more choices in public education. We need great public schools in every community, that any parent would be happy to send their children to, and that meet the needs of local families. We don’t really have

empathyeducates: “Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”Base Photograph; AP Photo | Wisconsin State Journal/John Hart By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published The Becoming Radical. February 12, 2014 “Work hard. Be nice.” is the tag-line of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools, schools that serve primarily (and often exclusively) high-p

Perdido Street School: Craig Allen: Worst Of The Snow To Come, No Time To "Play A Hero"Just heard Craig Allen on WCBS 880 that the worst of the storm is yet to come, we will be getting heavy bands of snow through late morning or early afternoon before the rain line finally hits the city.He actually said this is no time to play a hero just because a boss, like the NYC school system, wants

It pays to be a friend and neighbor of Chris Christie | Bob Braun's Ledger: It pays to be a friend and neighbor of Chris ChristieBrian Zychowski, flanked by Christie and CerfBrian Zychowski, the North Brunswick schools superintendent,  is considered a leading candidate to replace state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf who is leaving at the end of the month. Gov. Chris Christie has appointed

Shanker Blog » Recovering One Of The Midwest’s Best Ideas: Recovering One Of The Midwest’s Best IdeasPosted by Conor P. Williams on February 13, 2014Our guest author today is Dr. Conor P. Williams, a proud product of Michigan’s public schools, and currently a Senior Researcher in the New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative. Follow him on Twitter: @conorpwilliamsPresident Obama sent a v

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Guest Post – Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum II: Guest Post – Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum IIVicki Phillips is Director of Education, College Ready at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (a foundation that funds Bellwether).  In a guest post last month she discussed Common Core implementation and sparked a lively deb

Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) (CA Dept of Education): Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA)Authorizes the creation of an educational accountability system for California public schools. Its primary goal is to help schools improve and to measure the academic achievement of all students.PSAA Program InformationCalEdFacts PSAA SectionCalifornia Department of Education's information and

My notes on state gov't plans to close 5% of WI public schools every year A.K.A. Hearing on #AB379 #SB286 : blue cheddar: My notes on state gov’t plans to close 5% of WI public schools every year A.K.A. Hearing on #AB379 #SB286by blue cheddar • February 13, 2014WI Senate Education Committee meets today 10AM to take up the “accountability bill”. Then at 10:05AM it will conduct public hearings.Room

Sacramento News & Review - Whirled class - Bites - Opinions - February 13, 2014: Whirled classSacramento city schools keep losing students and funding as teacher-contract negotiations kick offBy Cosmo Garvin cosmog@newsreview.comThis article was published on 02.13.14.AdvertisementGov. Jerry Brown’s budget promises an increase in funding for the Sacramento City Unified School District, but dist

Nite Cap UPDATEUPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATECORPORATE ED REFORMWyoming House Rejects Common CoreThe Wyoming House passed HB 97 on a 47-13 vote.  This is significant because they are currently in an appropriations session.  Any non-appropriations bill needs a 2/3 majority vote in order to pass during these short 20-day sessions.This bill introduced by State Representative Tom Reeder (R-Casper) is, in

EdSource | Highlighting Strategies for Student Success: New EdSource Report Underscores Positive Impact of Parent Involvement in SchoolsA new EdSource report reviews compelling research showing that parent involvement in their children's school is associated with a range of positive outcomes for students.Parent Involvement in Schools Linked to Improved Academic Outcomes  A new EdSource report, The

Help the Badass Moms go to Austin! by Rousemary Vega - GoFundMe: Help the Badass Moms go to Austin! The women of Chicago's Badass Moms are going on the road! We are trying to get to the Network for Public Education conference in Austin on March 1-2 to hone our organizing skills and network with education justice activists from across the country. We would love your support with travel, meals and r

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 CAPSPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 2-3-14 #RealEdTalk #edreformBig Education Ape - Mid Day Banana BreakWhy Precisely Do Teachers Leave High Poverty Schools?Why Precisely Do Teachers Leave High Poverty Schools?. Recently, I participated in a 9 minute po