Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

4-2-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:






Student Data Privacy for Washington State Public School Students
My big focus for the foreseeable future is student data privacy.   Data collection is the future of our nation and nowhere else is that more clear than public education. My goal is a student data privacy bill passed in the Washington State Legislature.  In a future thread, I will outline what SPS is doing versus what it should be doing but really, I don't have time to wait for the Board to wake up


Is There Money in Public Education? Yes, There Is
Do hedge funder managers and big investors like the Koch brothers and others invest just for the heck of it?  No, they want to make money and lots of it.  Public education is just that mother lode.From Education Week:It's already been a banner year for ed-tech startups, and we've only closed the first quarter.Ninety-nine startups in education have raised more than $500 million, a record in the pas

Seattle School Board Meeting Tonight
In advance of the Board meeting, I wanted to point out a couple of things, some of which Charlie and I have pointed out in the past.One, just to let you know, the speaker list is NOT full so you can call up and still get on. Two, staff has a bad habit of waiting until the very last minute - particularly on Intro items on capital issues - to fill in the blanks.  They like to leave "placeholder
Following Thru, NY State Ed Department Severs Ties to inBloom
And then there were none.inBloom, the student data cloud created via Gates Foundation dollars, started off with a roster of about nine states.  One by one they pulled out as states - via their legislatures - started asking more questions especially around notification of parents and student data security.  New York State had been the last one standing.But a recent report on Common Core by a group


Portables; Here to Stay (and Preschool, What about That?)
A hilarious article about portables in NYC by the NY Times.  We're not alone.But eight years later, Mr. Cosby, 46, is busier than ever as an all-around handyman for the seven timeworn trailers that house 283 students outside the crowded main school building.He has chased opossums, raccoons and turtles from the alleys around the corrugated metal structures, which were installed in the 1990s and now
New York State Parents Say No to Common Core Testing
From the blog, NYC Public School Parents:Will one teacher please copy the whole test and post it anonymously on the internet for all to see? We need to dismantle this by the best Edward Snowden means possible.  From Fox News, New York:Indelecato, a member of the parent group NYS Allies for Public Education, said she has been picking up her son at the beginning of the testing sessions and going to
4-1-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Odds and Ends - MeetingsI went to the Board meeting two weeks ago and a couple of Work Sessions/Committee meetings.   This thread is the Board meeting and Operations Ctm. meeting. Here are the highlights:Board MeetingThis was the one where the high school basketball teams were honored.  Very fun to be there (although the Garfield boys wanted to look