Monday, May 12, 2014

5-12-14 Education Opportunity Network

5/13/2014 – Who Betrayed Brown?

May 13, 2014 Subscribe THIS WEEK: Scale Pre-K Legislation … Teaching Grit Is Wrong … Digital Reading Harms Comprehension … Pisa Harms Education … Deep Learning TOP STORY Who Betrayed The Legacy Of Brown V. Board? By Jeff Bryant “60 years after Brown v. Board, what passes for advancements in civil rights is often grand gestures of ‘progress’ … that amount to empty symbolism, while more direct ha

by Jeff Bryant / 59min

YESTERDAY

Who Betrayed The Legacy Of Brown V. Board?

So this one’s personal for me. The day they bused the poor kids to my school was the first time I’d ever come face to face with children my age who were so poor they weren’t properly clothed. It was the first time – in a society where I saw separate water fountains for blacks and whites, and the black maid who helped my mom around the house explained to us she wasn’t allowed to use the dressing ro

2 by Jeff Bryant / 1d

MAY 07

5/7/2014 – Charter Schools Fail

May 7, 2014 Subscribe THIS WEEK: US Teachers Lack Diversity … Scary Common Core Cut Scores… Common Core vs. Real Issues … Funding For Higher Ed Not Recovering … Young Workers Face Tough Climb TOP STORY Charter Schools Fail: New Reports Call Their ‘Magic’ Into Question By Jeff Bryant “In today’s climate of trumped up political truisms … the supposed necessity of charter schools is just the lates

10 by Jeff Bryant / 5d hide // save

Charter Schools Fail: New Reports Call Their ‘Magic’ Into Question

When members of the U.S. House of Representatives consider, beginning today, a bill to incentivize the expansion of charter schools, you can expect there to be a lot of heat but not very much light in their discussion of the need for more of these institutions. The bipartisan bill, HR 10, is “likely to pass,” according to the experienced observers at Education Week. And “amid lots of cross-aisle f

200+ by Jeff Bryant / 5d

5-12-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

UFT Contract: MORE Talks Business While Unity Goes Into Hiding

Since the Unity slugs aren't willing to hold a conversation about the contract, MORE is going to do so. Which would you rather attend? A one-way filibuster at a Unity/UFT sponsored borough meeting - while your school is getting a visitor from the UFT who will also filibuster in your school while leaving a few minutes for you to ask questions - or a MORE event?Really, you should check out some of t

by ed notes online / 2h

5-11-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: UFT Contract: Secretaries Ask MORE for Help After Mulgrew Ignores PleasMulgrew being handed requestsDear Mr. Scott,The secretaries of the UFT have been working under a 1979 contract. Some of the secretaries put together an outline of requests to up date our duties, title and protections against out of license employees being put in our positions. They have not opened up the test o

by mike simpson / 7h

Mother Crusader: A Look Inside What $2M DFER Dollars Is Buying In Newark

Mother Crusader: A Look Inside What $2M DFER Dollars Is Buying In Newark:

A Look Inside What $2M DFER Dollars Is Buying In Newark

As I detailed last week, Democrats for Education Reform(DFER) spawn Education Reform Now (ERN) dumped over 2 million dollars into the Super PAC called Newark First to defeat unabashed public education supporter, Ras Baraka.

I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of bang ERN is getting for their $2 million bucks, so let's look at how the money is being spent.

In the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) filings expenses are broken down as either 'Support Jeffries' or 'Oppose Baraka'. So here is a breakdown of the expenditures of the Newark First Super PAC, between April 1 and May 5.

It is no surprise that almost one-quarter of the money went to opposing Baraka, and that the vast majority of the money has gone to incessant TV ads. What did come as a bit of a surprise was that over $300,000 has been spent thus far on "field services."

All of the entries for "field services" are paid out to "Block by Block". Their website states they provide "safety, cleaning, hospitality and outreach solutions for Downtown Improvement Districts".

Block by Block does indeed have a presence in Newark.

Newark Downtown District
Block by Block is pleased to once again be working with the Newark Downtown District to be part of the great things happening in downtown Newark. Block by Block will be providing the organization, structure, and support toMother Crusader: A Look Inside What $2M DFER Dollars Is Buying In Newark:

Good teaching, poor test scores: Doubt cast on grading teachers by student performance - The Washington Post

Good teaching, poor test scores: Doubt cast on grading teachers by student performance - The Washington Post:

Good teaching, poor test scores: Doubt cast on grading teachers by student performance

In the first large-scale analysis of new systems that evaluate teachers based partly on student test scores, two researchers found little or no correlation between quality teaching and the appraisals teachers received.

The study, published Tuesday in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association, is the latest in a growing body of research that has cast doubt on whether it is possible for states to use empirical data in identifying good and bad teachers.

“The concern is that these state tests and these measures of evaluating teachers don’t really seem to be associated with the things we think of as defining good teaching,” said Morgan S. Polikoff, an assistant professor of education at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. He worked on the analysis with Andrew C. Porter, dean and professor of education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

The number of states using teacher-evaluation systems based in part on student test scores has surged during the past five years. Many states and school districts are using the evaluation systems to make personnel decisions about hirings, firings and compensation.

The rapid adoption has been propelled by the Obama administration, which made the teacher-evaluation systems a requirement for any state that wanted to compete for Race to the Top grant money or receive a waiver from the most onerous demands of No Child Left Behind, the 2002 federal education law.

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia require student achievement to be a “significant” or the “most significant” factor in teacher evaluations. Just 10 states do not require student test scores to be used in teacher evaluations.

Most states are using “value-added models” — or VAMs — which are statistical algorithms designed to figure out how much teachers contribute to their students’ learning, holding constant factors such as demographics.

Polikoff and Porter analyzed a subsample of 327 fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and English-language-arts teachers across six school districts in New York, Dallas, Denver, Good teaching, poor test scores: Doubt cast on grading teachers by student performance - The Washington Post:

Nite Cap 5-12-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

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 CAP

Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water?By Nancy Flanagan on May 12, 2014 5:48 PMOK. The headline was designed to lure readers. But the question remains: Has practice-based teacher leadership come a long way in the last decade--or has the concept become c

by mike simpson / 0min

Chester Finn Is At It Again | Truth in American Education

Chester Finn Is At It Again | Truth in American Education: Chester Finn Is At It AgainFiled in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on May 12, 2014 • 0 Comments4Chester Finn writing at Fordham Institute’s blogcritiques Peggy Noonan’s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal.Finn writes:But she’s not right to offer absolutely no alternative—unless, of course, she’s content with American

by mike simpson / 5min

5-12-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: Edutopia Serves Up Grits (With Maple Syrup)If you have been looking for ways to grittify your classroom, edutopia has you covered with a new addition to its "Research Made Relevant" series (and while I guess I understand what their point is, but I have mixed feelings because nobody is out there explaining how to make water wet-- if the research is relevant, why would we h

by mike simpson / 1h

Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunity | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunity | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunityBy Gordon Lafer May 10, 2014 Sixty years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. The ruling rejected the concept of se

by mike simpson / 1h

America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program - Salon.com

America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program - Salon.com: America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty programHere's what's behind the claim that education is the panacea to inequality -- and why it has the answer all wrong Arne Duncan (Credit: AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)If you’ve followed the education reform debate in this country, the Fin

by mike simpson / 3h

5-12-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: WSJ Story on RttT OutcomesThere was a story in the Wall Street Journal on May 3 about Race to the Top grants that casts them in a rather dim light. A number of grant winners did not actually move forward with the promised reforms and a number of the reforms did not actually provide any positive outcomes.Surprise, surprise, surprise.A lot of this might be just the u

by mike simpson / 4h

5-12-14 The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education

Not Worried About the EOG — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGNot Worried About the EOGMay 12, 2014 by Steven WeberAcross the United States, students have started test prep. Students march through test packet after test packet with the goal of increasing test scores on a standardized test. In North Carolina, all elementary schools administer the End-of-Grade (EOG) Test. The test is a stan

by mike simpson / 4h

5-12-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): In LAT, community groups press LAUSD to help high-need studentsMore than 40 education and community groups signed a full-page ad that ran in today’s Los Angeles Times, urging the LA Unified school board to provide more support for high needs students in the up-coming budget. The ad appears a day before a

by mike simpson / 4h

Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled - NY Daily News

Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled - NY Daily News: Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveledAt the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, the school board in July met without informing parents and voted to hire a new business manager ... who happened to be a

by mike simpson / 5h

The Race for the Future of Newark Public Schools

The Race for the Future of Newark Public Schools: The Race for the Future of Newark Public SchoolsMonday, 12 May 2014 09:22By Owen Davis, Truthout | News AnalysisNewark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka with Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, who endorsed his candidacy, at Essex Sports Cafe in Newark, N.J., May 7, 2014. (Photo: Christopher Gregory / The New York Times)The forces behind free-market education

by mike simpson / 5h

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-12-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS TWITTER PARTY THIS AFTERNOON: Parents are worth more than spare change! + smf’s 2¢received by e-mail -------- Original message -------- From: Families In Schools Date: 05/11/2014 5:04 PM (GMT-08:00) Subject: Reminder: Twitter Party 05/12 - Parents are worth more than spare change! You are invited J

by mike simpson / 6h

Telling the Truth About NAEP Scores | Taking Note

Telling the Truth About NAEP Scores | Taking Note: Telling the Truth About NAEP Scoresby JOHN MERROW on 12. MAY, 2014 in 2014 BLOGSWhen the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the 12th grade reading scores last week, the supporters of the status quo were hard pressed to come up with anything positive to say. Because reading scores have flat-lined, the best that the defender

by mike simpson / 7h

Morning Wink 5-12-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS5-12-14 LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Common Core Standards for Grades K-3 Are WrongA group of early childhood educators explain here why the Common Core is inappropriate for children in grades K-3. This statement is an excerpt from their joi

by mike simpson / 7h

5-12-14 LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Common Core Standards for Grades K-3 Are WrongA group of early childhood educators explain here why the Common Core is inappropriate for children in grades K-3. This statement is an excerpt from their joint publication “Defending the Early Years.” The first mistake of the Common Core is that it “maps backwards” from what

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 Wait What?

Wait What?: Meanwhile in Bridgeport… More state funds to Moales’ Kingdom Little Ones in Christ Inc.Late last week, two new articles about Reverend Kenneth Moales Jr, were posted here on Wait, What? Moales is the controversial Bridgeport political figure who serves as Mayor Bill Finch’s campaign treasurer, Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s cheerleader and was the titular head of the Paul Vallas “fan

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: 4 high school senior pranks that went wildYou’d think that after more than a dozen years in school, high school seniors would know what will get them into trouble and what won’t, but apparently some don’t. It’s senior prank season, and while some have been innocuous, others have led to arrests and suspensions, with one school seeing nearly 20 percent of the […]3 by Valerie Strau

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: On Voucher Expansion, “Floridians Will Pay For the Legislature’s Sins For Years”While the propaganda campaign is already underway by Step Up for Students to advance that narrative that more people are for voucher expansion than there really are, the editors of the Tampa

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs is on Mexico, Travel & “Articles”In my latest NY Times post for English Language Learners, learn about Mexico, words that are “articles,” and how students can create reports on what they would do if they could spend 36 hours in any country. A student interactive and links to models are i

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: It’s a union movement.In 2010 Karen Lewis was elected President of the Chicago Teachers Union. She headed the slate of candidates organized by the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE). The CORE slate won 60% of the vote in a crushing defeat for the old guard leadership. Micah Uetricht tells the st

by mike simpson / 8h

5-12-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Why Won't UFT Leadership Debate The Teachers Contract Agreement?It's not too difficult, really - if the agreement is so good, then the UFT leadership ought to send somebody out to debate the contract agreement at Francis Lewis High School this week.But apparently the UFT leadership are scared to do so, since they not only won't debate the contract, they won't even acknowledg

by mike simpson / 8h

The Toxic Culture of Education | Missouri Education Watchdog

The Toxic Culture of Education | Missouri Education Watchdog: The Toxic Culture of EducationinShareJoshua Katz is a high school math teacher in Orange County Florida. He gave a TEDx talk recently using the metaphor of the super villain archetype to describe the forces that have given us the toxic culture that currently exists in education. The super villain releases a doom onto the world that only

by mike simpson / 8h

How Organized Citizens Helped de Blasio Sieze Equity-Driven Public Education as Core Issue | janresseger

How Organized Citizens Helped de Blasio Sieze Equity-Driven Public Education as Core Issue | janresseger: How Organized Citizens Helped de Blasio Sieze Equity-Driven Public Education as Core IssuePosted on May 12, 2014 by janressegerIn the spring 2014 issue of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform’s VUE (Voices in Urban Education Reform), Oona Chaterjee, associate director for New York City or

by mike simpson / 8h

The Importance of Criticizing Philanthropy - Benjamin Soskis - The Atlantic

The Importance of Criticizing Philanthropy - Benjamin Soskis - The Atlantic: The Importance of Criticizing PhilanthropyAn aggressive—even at times an antagonistic—engagement between the public and their benefactors shouldn’t be considered a mark of incivility. It should be considered a democratic imperative.Bill Gates during a 2003 visit to the Manhica Health Research Centre in Mozambique. (Reuter

by mike simpson / 8h

Michelle Rhee weighs in the education debate talks Common Core | Fox News Video

Key voice in the education debate talks Common Core | Fox News Video: Michelle Rhee weighs in the education debate talks Common Core | Fox News VideoWatch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

by mike simpson / 8h

The Trouble With Common Core - Peggy Noonan's Blog - WSJ

The Trouble With Common Core - Peggy Noonan's Blog - WSJ: The Trouble With Common CoreARTICLECOMMENTS (97)smallerLargerfacebooktwittergoogle pluslinked inEmailPrintGeorge Will made an incisive and spirited case against the Common Core on Tuesday’s “Special Report With Bret Baier. Earlier in the broadcast Michelle Rhee, whose efforts in education have earned her deserved admiration, was invited on

by mike simpson / 8h

NYC Educator: Tell Truth About Contract, Asks UFT

NYC Educator: Tell Truth About Contract, Asks UFT: Tell Truth About Contract, Asks UFTYesterday I got a slew of messages in my inbox encouraging me to get the truth out about the new contract. Apparently the NY Post has declared the UFT has declared war on education reform, and nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.For example, a few months ago G

by mike simpson / 8h

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLESPrincipal Troy LaRaviereSo when people ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of losing your job if you speak out?” this is my answer: I did not travel across an ocean and risk my life to defend American freedoms only to return and relinquish those freedoms to an elected official and his appointed board of education. -- Sun-TimesValerie Leonar

by mike simpson / 8h

YESTERDAY

Recruiting students for meals program pays off for East Side Union | EdSource Today

Recruiting students for meals program pays off for East Side Union | EdSource Today: Recruiting students for meals program pays off for East Side UnionMay 11th, 2014 | Add a Comment | By John FensterwaldWith millions of dollars in extra state funding at stake, the staff of the East Side Union High School District spent months recruiting low-income students to sign up for the federal school meals p

by mike simpson / 17h

Emeritus Professor Jack Hassard Reviews My Book | deutsch29

Emeritus Professor Jack Hassard Reviews My Book | deutsch29: Emeritus Professor Jack Hassard Reviews My BookMay 11, 2014I first read of Georgia State University Emeritus Professor Jack Hassard in connection to his work on the Gates funding of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).In my search of Gates’ CCSS spending, I examined spending specific to the keyword “Common Core” with one addition (For

by mike simpson / 19h

Charters, Public Schools and a Chasm Between - NYTimes.com

Charters, Public Schools and a Chasm Between - NYTimes.com: Charters, Public Schools and a Chasm BetweenWhen Neil J. McNeill Jr., principal of the Middle School for Art and Philosophy in Brooklyn, learned that fewer than 4 percent of his students had passed state exams in math last year, he was frustrated.It so happened that he shared a building with one of the top-performing schools in the Browns

by mike simpson / 19h

A Valuable Research Tool: The “Way Back Machine” | deutsch29

A Valuable Research Tool: The “Way Back Machine” | deutsch29: A Valuable Research Tool: The “Way Back Machine”May 11, 2014In exposing corporate reformers at their game, I have found that information sometimes “conveniently” disappears from websites once such information is publicized in a less-than-complimentary blog post.There is a way to view web pages that have been removed or otherwise altered

by mike simpson / 21h

Schooling in the Ownership Society: The great $660 billion public pension rip-off

Schooling in the Ownership Society: The great $660 billion public pension rip-off: The great $660 billion public pension rip-offEdward Siedle is president of Benchmark Financial Services and is a former investigator with the Security and Exchange Commission's Division of Investment Management. He writes in Sunday's New York Times:Nearly a quarter of all state and local public pension assets have d

by mike simpson / 21h

Nite Cap 5-11-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

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 CAP4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-11-144LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Duncan: “Achievement gaps among ethnic groups have not narrowed.”: NATIONAL REPORT CARD FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS SHOWS STAGNATION IN MATH+READING + smf

by mike simpson / 22h