- California Teachers Association: CTA Votes to Support Re-election of Tom Torlakson as State Schools Chief and Jerry Brown for GovernorContact: Claudia Briggs at 916-352-1550 or Mike Myslinski at 650-552-5324Recommendations also made in constitutional and legislative racesThe top governing body of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association has voted to support State Superintendent of Publ

Should Integration Be a Goal of DC Public Schools?: Read Sam Chaltain’s Books Something’s Happening Here . . .In the span of a few weeks, all of DC seems to be abuzz with the prospect that our elected officials may actually try to ensure greater racial and socioeconomic equity in the city’s public schools — apple carts be damned. First, there was the Op-Ed two colleagues and I published in the Was

The Teacher Commitment That Cannot Be Evaluated With Tests | The Nation: The Teacher Commitment That Cannot Be Evaluated With TestsJohn Nichols on February 5, 2014 - 2:53 PM ETShareA fourth grade teacher and her intern, left, work with students at Samuel Mason School in Boston. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)Teachers, parents and students are pushing back against high-stakes testing, over-testing and th

Show Us the Subsidized Jobs | Good Jobs First: Show Us the Subsidized JobsSHOW US THE SUBSIDIZED JOBS: An Evaluation of State Government Online Disclosure of Economic Development Subsidy Awards and OutcomesBy Philip Mattera, Thomas Cafcas, Leigh McIlvaine, Kasia Tarczynska, Elizabeth Bird and Greg LeRoyGood Jobs FirstJanuary 2014Press releaseFull reportExecutive summaryTable of links to state disc

Jersey Jazzman: Local Control: In New Jersey, It's Not For "Them"Bob Braun breaks an amazing story, once again showing Newark's public schools administration is out of control:A parent leader who criticized the “One Newark” plan pushed by state school superintendent Cami Anderson was arrested yesterday  on charges he assaulted a central office administrator. Daryn Martin, president of th

Going Dark … but not out of the light: Going Dark … but not out of the lightby EDWARDBERGER on FEBRUARY 5, 2014When one writes in light, the expression “going dark” has real meaning. Since early 2012, I have been in the light, sorting through and sharing thousands and thousands of blogs, Tweets, FB sites, and correspondence from educators and those who believe the future of America requires free p

So just who is Tiffany Hardrick? And why did she leave New Orleans? | Bob Braun's Ledger: So just who is Tiffany Hardrick? And why did she leave New Orleans?Tiffany HardrickDaryn Martin, the leader of the parent-teacher organization at Ivy Hill School, may go to jail because of a criminal complaint filed by Tiffany Hardrick, an assistant superintendent of schools in Newark who co-founded a New Orl

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning: Where are going?Some updates:- according to the AL webpage, as of yesterday, 1,637 eligibility letters were sent (out of a possible 4024).  So if you were looking for one, it may be in the mail.  They started mailing them out on Jan. 31st.  Scores and eligibility decisions are NOT available by phone or e-mail.  - testing is continuing thru early

Substitute teachers accuse PPS of illegal threats | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports, Traffic Weather and Breaking News - Portland, Oregon: Substitute teachers accuse PPS of illegal threatsBy Dan Cassuto, KATU News Published: Feb 4, 2014 at 12:14 PM PST Last Updated: Feb 4, 2014 at 8:53 PM PST269 CommentsPrintEmailRay Amling, chairman of the substitute teacher committee of P

The Gates Foundation's Imaginary World of School Reform Collides with Reality - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: The Gates Foundation's Imaginary World of School Reform Collides with RealityBy Anthony Cody on February 5, 2014 12:19 PMGuest post by John Thompson.The Gates Foundation's Director of Education, College Ready, Vicki Phillips, describes what she admits is the ideal implementa

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: State Controller wants to post public school salariesController seeks pay data from all California public schools State Controller John Chiang has asked every public school district in the state to provide salary and benefit information for all employees and elected officials so that it can

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Anonymous LA school employees turn to Facebook to spotlight needed repairsEducation HeadlinesWednesday, February 5, 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.San Joaquin suspension up; question is, by how much?

Lawsuit: Rocketship under fire from four school boards in its home base, Santa Clara County, California | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Lawsuit: Rocketship under fire from four school boards in its home base, Santa Clara County, CaliforniaFiled under: Rocketship — millerlf @ 10:28 am The “miracle” English language-only charter management model (Rocketship), originating from San Jose

Ravitch unloads on school ‘deform’ - The Washington Post: Ravitch unloads on school ‘deform’By Lyndsey Layton, Wednesday, February 5, 8:36 AM E-mail the writerDiane Ravitch, the education historian who has led a de facto national movement against current education policies — including standardized testing, charter schools, vouchers and teacher evaluations tied to student test scores — said Tuesday

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Anonymous L.A. School Employees Turn To Facebook To Spotlight Needed RepairsAnnie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1cQSzTk   Repairs Not iPads/Facebook | A photo posted on a Facebook group called "repairs not iPads." February 4th, 2014, 6:30am  ::  Los Angeles Unified School District staff have taken to Facebook to put a spotl

The Student-Led Backlash Against New Orleans's Charter Schools - Meredith Simons - The Atlantic: The Student-Led Backlash Against New Orleans's Charter SchoolsLate last year, students at several of the city's high-performing charters staged large-scale protests. Why?Bill Haber/AP PhotoCollegiate Academies is seen by many as the crown jewel of the New Orleans charter school system, which is itself

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-5-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Eclectablog: Michigan’s EAA Used Failed Technology for Neediest KidsEclectablog reports that the children in the so-called (and misnamed) Education Achievement Authority were used as guinea pigs

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Eclectablog: Michigan’s EAA Used Failed Technology for Neediest KidsEclectablog reports that the children in the so-called (and misnamed) Education Achievement Authority were used as guinea pigs for experimental technology.  Eclectablog writes: “In the course of reporting on the tragic situation in Michigan’s Education Achievement

Ed Notes Online: The Battle for NYSUT: Iannuzzi was made in 2005 and unmade in 2014 - By the same peopleIt's like they just found any warm body to run for president of a 600,000 member union... NYSUT member on Karen Magee...it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for any one of NYSUT’s nearly half-million members to make a leadership run. Oh, except the endorsement of NYSUT’s dominant internal caucus has

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Important NY Times Article: “Can Marriage Cure Poverty?”As most people know, there is a common narrative suggesting that single-parent households can be a cause of many problems affecting children — in and out of school. I wonder about that view, and have previously published The Best Articles Questioning The View That Sing

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Free Scott Reeder.You’re not going to believe this, but I am feeling a tinge of sympathy for Scott Reeder this morning. Democratic Party boss and Speaker of the Illinois House has banned him from the General Assembly’s press box. So has Democratic Senate President John Cullerton. They are claiming tha

Wait What?: Hello CT and Hartford officials… Is there anyone who will confront the lawbreakers?Are there any elected or appointed official in Connecticut who have the courage and conviction to actually ensure the laws of this state are equitably enforced? Student-athlete recruitment by interdistrict magnet schools such as Capital Prep Magnet Schools is illegal in Connecticut.  (For example, see Se

The Answer Sheet: Obama smacks Bill O’Reilly on school vouchersPresident Obama often says things about school reform that suggest he hasn’t read up on the effects of his policies, but he knew his stuff on vouchers cold during an interview with Bill O’Reilly, effectively smacking down the conservative commentator’s wishful thinking with the facts. The Obama administration has steadfastly opposed vo

Schools Matter: De Blasio: Not Just Another BullshitterIt has to feel like Spring in New York in the middle of a snowstorm:  a progressive mayor elected to serve the people that Wall Street predators and casino capitalists forgot.  From DNAInfo New York:". . . . De Blasio sparked a political showdown earlier this month by rejecting Cuomo's offer to provide $1.5 billion for universal pre-K acr

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Will Costs Crush Common Core?Perry Chiamamonte of FOX News reports that “states are learning the cost of Common Core is uncommonly high.” States will spend up to an estimated $10 billion up front, then as much as $800 million per year for the first seven years that the c

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Three Excellent Articles From ASCD On Teacher MoraleThe new issue of ASCD Educational Leadership is on teacher morale, and I’m adding these three articles to The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions: Can’t Wait for Monday is by Rafe Esquith. Getting Beyond the Blame Ga

Is the Use of Untested Technologies in Classrooms Unethical?* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Is the Use of Untested Technologies in Classrooms Unethical?*In a recent Teachers College Record commentary, M.O. Thirunarayanan, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies in the College of Education at Florida International University, argues the following:When it comes to techn

Perdido Street School: Common Core, CCSS Tests, APPR, And InBloom Are A Package DealThe Cuomo administration yesterday:“Common Core is an issue about which there has been a lot of dialogue,” Cuomo spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said in a statement Tuesday that both affirms the standards and distances the administration from its rocky rollout. The proposed moratorium on its implementation is “premature

@ THE CHALK FACE: The Moratorium Miracle: Delaying PARCC Can Actually Help Save ItToday I read two articles regarding testing and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). After reading both, I am left with the same thought: The events detailed in both articles promote CCSS survival– and by extension– PARCC survival. The first is this press release regarding the Partnership for the Assessment of Rea

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com: Tech’s diversity problem Is apparent as early as high school…Claire Cain Miller in The New York Times… “In three states, not a single girl took the Advanced Placement exam in computer science last year. In eight states, no Hispanic students took it. And in 11 states, no black students took the test…” Read it. What

empathyeducates – Common Core: The Standard That Dares Not Speak Its Name: Common Core: The Standard That Dares Not Speak Its NameHouse K-12 Subcommittee Chairwoman Janet Adkins proposed deleting Common Core from Florida Statutes so all the state’s education standards will be under one name. File photo by John IarussiBy James Call| Originally Published at The Current. January 31, 2014It’s not as O

Shanker Blog » Opportunity To Churn: Teacher Assignments Within New York City Schools: Opportunity To Churn: Teacher Assignments Within New York City SchoolsPosted by Matthew Di Carlo on February 5, 2014Virtually all discussions of teacher turnover focuses on teachers leaving schools and/or the profession. However, a recent working paper by Allison Atteberry, Susanna Loeb and James Wyckoff, which

Walton group funds more charter schools in L.A. than elsewhere - latimes.com: Walton group funds more charter schools in L.A. than elsewhereComments3EmailShare49By Howard BlumeFebruary 5, 2014, 2:05 a.m.Los Angeles charter schools have been the largest recipients of funding from the foundation associated with the family that started Wal-Mart, according to figures released Wednesday.Since 1997, the

The Moratorium Miracle: Delaying PARCC Can Actually Help Save It | deutsch29: The Moratorium Miracle: Delaying PARCC Can Actually Help Save ItFebruary 4, 2014Today I read two articles regarding testing and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). After reading both, I am left with the same thought:The events detailed in both articles promote CCSS survival– and by extension– PARCC survival.The first

Newark parent leader arrested, jailed, after criticizing state plan to close schools. | Bob Braun's Ledger: Newark parent leader arrested, jailed, after criticizing state plan to close schools.Daryn Martin at the front door of Ivy Hill–now he has been arrestedA parent leader who criticized the “One Newark” plan pushed by state school superintendent Cami Anderson was arrested yesterday  on charges

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: Leaning Towards P.I.S.A.: Do the Ends Justify the Means?: Leaning Towards P.I.S.A.: Do the Ends Justify the Means?The P.I.S.A. exam, or Programme for Internationale Student Assessment was put together by the O.E.C.D. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in 1997.  The first tests were administered in 2000.  They test knowledge and its applications.  

Low-performing charter given green light to expand :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: FEBRUARY 05, 2014Low-performing charter given green light to expandby Tom Chorneau(Calif.) Following through with a promise to hold underperforming charters to the same accountability standards as other schools, the California Charter Schools Association has

Charter Expansion in Durham, NC Separates Children into Winners and Losers | janresseger: Charter Expansion in Durham, NC Separates Children into Winners and LosersPosted on February 5, 2014 by janressegerFrom Durham, North Carolina comes the story of the destabilization of an urban public school system by rapid expansion of charter schools.  Ned Barnett, the editorial page editor of the Durham Ne

Grading As an Opportunity to Encourage Students - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Grading As an Opportunity to Encourage StudentsBy Nancy Flanagan on February 5, 2014 8:51 AMEarly in my teaching career, I had a conversation with a veteran math teacher, about grading. I greatly admired this teacher, a "mom"-type educator who spent hours and hours in voluntary after-sch

Sacramento area school districts resist push for smaller class sizes - Education - The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento area school districts resist push for smaller class sizesBy Diana Lambertdlambert@sacbee.comPublished: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 - 12:00 amRandall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.comKindergarten teacher Peggy Watson handles 32 pupils in her class at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School in Sacramento

United Opt Out National: UNITED OPT OUT MARCH 28TH – 30TH SPRING ACTION FLIERPrint and share widely!DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO PARENTS: DO NOT SIGN THIS DISTRICT OPT OUT/REFUSAL FORMDouglas County Parents, There are many reasons not to sign this form, but foremost, we recommend not signing it should you choose to take legal action.  Stay strong. And let us know if we can help. Please remember, we will …MO

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Newark at the boiling point. Cami Anderson is their Michelle Rhee: Newark at the boiling point. Cami Anderson is their Michelle RheeMayoral candidate Ras Baraka, standing outside Weequahic High School in Newark, attacks Cami Anderson's "One Newark" plan. (Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)Cami Anderson is Newark's Michelle Rhee. She's brought the city to the

Not Everyone Is Able to Tweet and Post Who They Really Are | Connected Principals: Not Everyone Is Able to Tweet and Post Who They Really Areby Chris Wejr • February 5, 2014 • 0 CommentsThere is often much discussion around the separation of our professional and personal lives on social media.  Some districts strongly encourage this separation while others encourage the blending of both.  I have b

solidaridad: A Critical Look at Common Core with Dr. Stephen Krashen, hosted by UTLA Bilingual Education Committee  A Critical Look at Common Core with Dr. Stephen Krashen by Robert D. SkeelsUTLA Bilingual Education CommitteeDr. Stephen Krashen Professor Emeritus University of Southern California A Critical Look at Common CoreWhat does it mean for our children? What are the implications for Englis

New York legislators ready to put Common Core Standards and student data collecting on hold | Seattle Education: New York legislators ready to put Common Core Standards and student data collecting on holdThis just in:The leaders of both houses of the New York State legislature have called for a two year moratorium on the Common Core. The Governor has also expressed concern with the implementation.

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "Those Teachers Just Want a Day Off!": Are Teachers Ever "Off"?: "Those Teachers Just Want a Day Off!": Are Teachers Ever "Off"?"Those teachers just want a day off!"She didn't know I was a teacher.She laughed it off when my husband and I told her. "Well, I guess I better watch what I say about teachers then,

Wish we could show this in every classroom. Great lesson that... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Wish we could show this in every classroom. Great lesson that disability does not define a person. COMMENT(1) 0 5 7 12Previous PostsTaking a musical cue from the cold weather, educators close school with a songFebruary 4, 2014Too late to stop Common Core in Georgia? February 4, 2014Cobb school chief resi

Pressure Mounting to Halt Evaluations Tied to Common Core - WNYC: Pressure Mounting to Halt Evaluations Tied to Common CoreTuesday, February 04, 2014 - 06:18 PMBy BETH FERTIGSharePrintEmailBoard of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, left, and Education Commissioner John King release 2013 state test scores. (Beth Fertig)Legislative leaders are calling for a two-year break before the state uses its ne

Choosing Democracy: Education Bill of Rights - James Meredith: Education Bill of Rights - James MeredithJames Meredith.by Valerie Straus. The Answer Sheet.  Washington PostCalling 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

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 CAP2-4-14 Truth in American Education Common CoreTruth in American Education: Numerous Common Core Bills Filed in New Hampshire HouseThere have been several Common Core bills filed in the New Hampshire House that have been assigned to the House Educ