Connecticut: Jumoke Academy Steered over $1 Million to Executive’s Husband
Jumoke Academy, once the star charter school of Governor Malloy and State Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor, paid over $1 million to the husband of an executive for renovations, according to the Hartford Courant. “HARTFORD — The Jumoke Academy charter school organization, now facing a state probe into allegations of nepotism, directed more than a million dollars in construction work to the h
Ohio: Does Public Property Belong to Public or to Charter Organization?
This note of alarm comes from Denis Smith, a retired consultant in the Ohio Department of Education’s charter school office: On Tuesday, September 23, the Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments in the notorious White Hat Management case, where the boards of 10 charter schools operated by White Hat Management have sued the operator to assert their right to control the physical assets of the sch
Ken Futernick: What California Needs Most After Vergara
Ken Futernick, a wise educator who has written about the improvement of the teaching profession for many years, has a brilliant article in the Los Angeles Times about “grand bargain” post-Vergara. Futernick testified for the state in the Vergara trial. He has long understood that schools in urban districts with low scores often have poor working conditions, inadequate resources, and high teacher t
Washington State Should Not Lose Its NCLB Waiver
In 2001, Congress passed a law called No Child Left Behind. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush in January 2002. It is the worst federal education legislation ever passed. It required that 100% of children in grades 3-8 must be proficient by 2014 or their schools are failing and subject to harsh sanctions. In no nation in the world are 100% of children proficient. This is an impossi
Laura H. Chapman: More on the Corruption of Education by Econometric Language
Laura H. Chapman gives more examples of the distortion and corruption of education practice amd policy by econometric language. Students are performing on grade level if their scores on a standardized test are at or above the median on a percentile scale (1-99). On a large-scale test, a score at or near the 50th percentile (the median) will usually classify a student as proficient in the skills an
Laura H. Chapman: When Economic Language Corrupts Educational Practice
Many years ago, I first heard the term “semantic infiltration.” It was used to refer to the way that words, when used often enough, can become reality, even when we don’t agree with the “reality.” LauraChapman describes the way that technocratic language has corrupted education by inserting its language into the ways we think about children and learning. She writes: An economic concept of growth a
The First Day of School on an Island in Maine
A friend who moved to Maine sent me this lovely post about the first day of school at the two-room Ashley Bryan school, where children from two neighboring islands join to form a tiny school. It is an exciting day for everyone, children, parents, and community members. Even Ashley Bryan, Maine artist, was there to greet the children. “It has become a tradition for parents and townspeople to gather
Yong Zhao: Why Marc Tucker Is Wrong: The Case Against High-Stakes Testing
Marc Tucker recently published a position paper arguing that our current system of test-based accountability, testing every student every year in grades 3-8, has failed and that we need a new approach. His approach, as Anthony Cody argued, would test at transition points but would still have high stakes and would test more subjects. Tucker wrote a post criticizing Cody and me and arguing that high
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 9-20-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGPeter Goodman Predicts that Vergara East Will Be Tossed OutPeter Goodman, long-time observer of Néw York politics, predicts that local and state politics will play a large role in the anti-tenure case that was recently filed in Staten Island. Why Staten Island? It was chosen because it is the most conservative borough in