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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Charters School Networks and Shady Political Dealings: The Camden, N. J. Story - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Charters School Networks and Shady Political Dealings: The Camden, N. J. Story - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:



Charters School Networks and Shady Political Dealings: The Camden, N. J. Story

Guest post by Julia Sass Rubin.
Last week, while many of us were busy making plans for the summer, something much more sinister was happening in the halls of the State Capital in Trenton, N. J..
At 11 p.m., on Tuesday, June 24th, legislation was discussed and voted on by the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, without all the legislators understanding what they were approving.  "We didn't have the bills in advance," complained one of the Senators, "I didn't know what the hell the bills were." This legislation was then quickly pushed through the full New Jersey Senate and Assembly.
The legislation revised a 2012 law known as Urban Hope in order to enable two charter chains - Mastery and Uncommon Schools - to claim a large share of Camden's public education dollars.  The charters' efforts had been imperiled by the grassroots group Save Our Schools NJ, which had sent a series of letters in May to New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe.  The letters detailed how the two charter chains and the Camden state-appointed Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard were violating various aspects of the Urban Hope law in their efforts to open new renaissance charter schools in Camden next fall.  The violations included using temporary facilities instead of building new schools; failing to provide key information required by the application; and not giving Camden residents the opportunity to review and comment on their applications.
Rather than stopping their illegal activities in response to the letters, the Mastery and Uncommon charter chains and the Camden Superintendent turned to their friends in the legislature to "fix" the problem by amending the Urban Hope legislation so that what had been illegal could now be legal. 
Mastery and Uncommon also retroactively provided some of the information that had been missing from their renaissance charter applications, although they still did not make this information Charters School Networks and Shady Political Dealings: The Camden, N. J. Story - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Teacher Gag Orders and Mass Graves for Contagious Pigs | Reclaim Reform

Teacher Gag Orders and Mass Graves for Contagious Pigs | Reclaim Reform:



Teacher Gag Orders and Mass Graves for Contagious Pigs

How are teacher gag orders and the mass graves of pigs with contagious, deadly viruses related?
gag teacher2In 2014 America, the land of free speech for corporations, teachers are not allowed to tell the truth about Common Core State Standards, the destructive consequences for children forced to take rigged high-stakes tests, the insanity of teacher evaluations from tests taken by students they never had in classes they never taught, the defects in test questions that are seriously flawed or inappropriate for grade levels, the abuses suffered by denying the needs of special needs children, and all of the other things being done in the name of legislatively inflicted corporate education reform.
Gag orders for teachers and the destruction of due process before a teacher can be fired are the battles being waged in the attacks on public education and its teachers. If they don’t keep their mouths shut, teachers can and are crushed – fired and discredited in a manner that ends their careers in education. Why? For telling the truth and exposing what is behind corporate education reform. Crushed.
Read HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.
pig burialsIn 2014 America, the land of the free for corporations, people are criminally punished when they photograph and/or expose the death of 100,000 pigs a week in Iowa, North Carolina, Kansas and elsewhere who have deadly viruses [even to humans] and are Teacher Gag Orders and Mass Graves for Contagious Pigs | Reclaim Reform:

Nite Cap 7-5-14 #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




National Teacher of the Year: We Are the ‘Decisive Elements’ in Student Lives | NEA Today
National Teacher of the Year: We Are the ‘Decisive Elements’ in Student Lives | NEA Today: National Teacher of the Year: We Are the ‘Decisive Elements’ in Student LivesJuly 5, 2014 by twalker  Filed under Featured News, Top StoriesBy Tim WalkerEducators are the “decisive element” in the lives of millions of students who face daunting challenges every day, Sean McComb, the 2014 National Teacher of
"Race to the Top" Program Costs Schools
"Race to the Top" Program Costs Schools: "Race to the Top" Program Costs SchoolsBUFFALO, NY - When the federal government created the Race to the Top program five years ago, the program generated excitement in schools nationwide.In New York, school districts would get federal money to help implement the state's Regents Reform Agenda, which includes the Common Core.But, five yea
7-5-14 Saturday Matinée Special "Corporate ED Reform: Away Goes Trouble Down The Drain?" News Breakout
Saturday Matinée Special "Corporate ED Reform: Away Goes Trouble Down The Drain?" News BreakoutNEA RA. Delegates to Arne: Make Like A Tree and LeaveNEA RA. Delegates to Arne: Make Like A Tree and Leaveby mike simpson / 16h Governor Perry and Lackey Cigarroa Trying to Fire Powers | Cloaking InequityGovernor Perry and Lackey Cigarroa Trying to Fire Powers | Cloaking Inequity: Governor Perr
Governor Perry and Lackey Cigarroa Trying to Fire Powers | Cloaking Inequity
Governor Perry and Lackey Cigarroa Trying to Fire Powers | Cloaking Inequity: Governor Perry and Lackey Cigarroa Trying to Fire PowersAggie Governor Rick Perry can’t resist trying to meddle in the academic affairs of UT-Austin. Will Republican and Democratic Longhorns stand up to him yet again? Governor Rick Perry and lackey UT-System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa asked for UT-Austin President
Choosing Democracy: Let Teachers Teach, Stop Toxic Testing
Choosing Democracy: Let Teachers Teach, Stop Toxic Testing: Let Teachers Teach, Stop Toxic Testingby Félix PérezBy one estimate, nearly one-third of school time is now spent preparing students to take standardized tests, administering the tests and reviewing the test results. Educators increasingly are saying, “Enough is enough!”TAKE ACTION ›Join the national campaign to put the focus of public ed
2014 ESP of the Year Paula Monroe Honored at RA | NEA Today
2014 ESP of the Year Paula Monroe Honored at RA | NEA Today: 2014 ESP of the Year Paula Monroe Honored at RAJuly 5, 2014 by twalker  Filed under Education Support ProfessionalsBy Brenda ÁlvarezPaula Monroe is unequivocally an Education Support Professional (ESP), a high school secretary in Redlands, Calif. It is a title she immediately says upon meeting new people or speaking to an audience. A des
Newark: It’s time to decide to fight or to surrender. | Bob Braun's Ledger
Newark: It’s time to decide to fight or to surrender. | Bob Braun's Ledger: Newark: It’s time to decide to fight or to surrender.Ras Baraka–time to chooseNewark’s leadership and its people face an extraordinary challenge in the next few weeks. They either will collapse in the face of Chris Christie’s wily plan to divide the opposition and save his phony reputation as an educational “reformer” in t
WagTheDog | Every Picture Tells A Story
WagTheDog | Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. ~ Rumi: WagTheDog Every Picture Tells A StoryThe Common Core “promises” to prepare our students for the 21st century but fails to deliver on this promise when the standards claim that students will learn more from close reading text rather than skyping or tweeting with a historian
Geaux Teacher!: Charter Industry Self Destructing
Geaux Teacher!: Charter Industry Self Destructing: Charter Industry Self DestructingThe Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will be considering the approval and extension of charters in the next couple months.  It would serve them well to do their research before quietly complying with Supt. White's (or his replacement's)  recommendations.  The public will certainly do our
Maybe Bill Gates Can’t Ever Fix Education by Daniel Luzer | College Guide | The Washington Monthly
Maybe Bill Gates Can’t Ever Fix Education by Daniel Luzer | College Guide | The Washington Monthly: Maybe Bill Gates Can’t Ever Fix EducationBy Daniel LuzerFacebookTwitterDiggRedditStumbleUponDeliciousBill Gates has given some $28 billion, though the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to help fix the world’s problems. He’s tackled global poverty, agricultural development, disaster relief, and co
2nd Banana 7-5-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post #EDchat #EDreform #RealEdTalk #p2
BIG EDUCATION APE 2ND BANANARECAP OF LAST WEEK'S BEST POST Firing Bad Teachers: A Superintendent and a Teacher's Union Official Debate - Conor Friedersdorf - The AtlanticFiring Bad Teachers: A Superintendent and a Teacher's Union Official Debate - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic: Firing Bad Teachers: A Superintendent and a Teacher's Union Official DebateCan due process for educators coexist with
Morning Wink 7-5-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSTechnology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom PracticeTechnology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Technology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson)Journalist  Gail Robinson wrote this piece for the Hechinger R
Technology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Technology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Technology Use in Special Education Classrooms (Gail Robinson)Journalist  Gail Robinson wrote this piece for the Hechinger Reporton June 5, 2014  Eleven-year-old Matthew Votto sits at an iPad, his teacher at his elbow. She holds up a small laminated picture of a $20 bill.“What mone
Check out my new Common Core Video. I think this will add some clarity to the situation in Louisiana. . .or at least make fun of the people behind the “muddying of the narrative” | Crazy Crawfish's Blog
Check out my new Common Core Video. I think this will add some clarity to the situation in Louisiana. . .or at least make fun of the people behind the “muddying of the narrative” | Crazy Crawfish's Blog: Jason France for BESE District 6 http://bit.ly/TJUT7HCrazy Crawfish's BlogZesty Louisiana Education PoliticsCheck out my new Common Core Video. I think this will add some clarity to the situation
Despite a Handshake and a Promise, Still NO Gates Foundation REPLY to #EducatingGatesRally Demands | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates
Despite a Handshake and a Promise, Still NO Gates Foundation REPLY to #EducatingGatesRally Demands | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates: Despite a Handshake and a Promise, Still NO Gates Foundation REPLY to #EducatingGatesRally DemandsPosted on July 5, 2014by Teachers'LettersToBillGatesPhoto Courtesy of Alex Garland Photography, used with permission.Dear Bill and Melinda,In the summer of 2011 the see
Stephen Krashen Blog 7-5-14
SKrashen:Invest in libraries, not intensive phonics.Sent to the Australian, July 3, 2014Those supporting a "direct instruction" heavy phonics-based approach to teaching reading ("Pyne eyes national Direct Instruction rollout," July 2), might be interested in what the research says about this method: Direct instruction children do very well on tests of "decoding" (pron
7-5-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letters to the BATS
With A Brooklyn Accent:National Pattern of Decline in Percentage of Black TeachersNational Pattern of Decline in Percentage of Black TeachersJune 29, 2014 at 1:20pm From the late 1990's to todayChicago44% to 19%Oakland30% to 18%Berkeley 12.3%  to 6.5%Los Angeles14.5% to  10%San Francisco8.3% to 4.6%Please continue to gather this informationFor New Orleans, NY, Detroit, DC, Newark, Philadelphiaby M
7-5-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Ed News Round-up Jammin' All Week
Jersey Jazzman:Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All WeekHey Professor: There IS a War On TeachersSpeaking for myself, one of the most frustrating things about being a teacher is when non-teachers in positions of influence tell me that my profession isn't really being targeted -- it's all just in my head, silly!Take the intellectual godfather of reforminess, Eric Hanushek, speaking here of the Vergara decisi
7-5-14 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION:Curmudgucation WeekMeet the New NEA PresidentsIn election results that surprised nobody anywhere, NEA delegates crowned heir apparent Lily Eskelson Garcia the new presidents of NEA.Liana Heitin reported on the election for EdWeek, and... well... I'm excited? Bemused? Worried about Garcia's susceptibility to cognitive dissonance."I believe Secretary Duncan is sincere..."&qu
7-5-14 NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education
NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:NPE News Briefsfrom The Network for Public EducationSerial School Privatizer ‘Chainsaw Paul’ Vallas Eyes Illinois Lt. Governor Gig | AlternetThere are  many things upon which elite corporate Democrats are in complete agreement with elite corporate Republicans. Often enough they are far more important to the way we live our lives than the cult
7-5-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Encourage Student Passions with Genius HourFounded on an innovation championed by businesses like FedEx and Google, "the genius hour" sets aside school time (at least an hour, every week) for students to work on something they are passionate about. This video outlines some basic tenets of implementing &quo
7-5-14 This Week in 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):To our readers: Happy 4th of July3 by Jamie Alter Lynto... / 20h MORNING READ: Tuck throws a punch at TorlacksonChallenger to CA schools chief  blasts handling of Inglewood Unified takeover Marshall Tuck, the man who hopes to unseat Tom Torlakson as state superintendent of public instruction on Wednesday d
Why many Democrats have turned against teachers unions - The Washington Post
Why many Democrats have turned against teachers unions - The Washington Post: Why many Democrats have turned against teachers unionsBY VALERIE STRAUSS July 5 at 4:00 AM  Randi Weingarten (AFT)For years now it’s been clear that Democrats have splintered over the issue of corporate school reform. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have been leaders of the movement to transform publi
All Week @ The Answer Sheet 7-5-14
The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetWhy many Democrats have turned against teachers unionsFor years now it’s been clear that Democrats have splintered over the issue of corporate school reform. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have been leaders of the movement to transform public schools through standardized-test-based “accountability” and the expansion of charter school
7-5-14 Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership Society All Week
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog:Schooling in the Ownership SocietyMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Schooling in the Ownership SocietyCharter hustlers banned in N.J., welcomed with open arms in FloridaGallon, Kemp and Kelly in 2010 court hearing where they are banned from operating charters in N.J.Former Plainfield superintendent and current charter school hustler Steve Gallon III's company, Tri-Star Leaders
7-5-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy
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7-5-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumSeattle School Board Meeting UpdatesShockingly, I neither attended nor watched the School Board meeting.  But I did hear about it from other sources so here is some of what went on (plus some input from a careful reading of agenda items on the docket).   Apparently it was a love fest for Banda and some tension on the Board.  Here's the
7-5-14 Ed Notes Online Week
Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineMoaning Mona Vergara Copycat Suit Is Also An Attack on Parents and Students Facing Bully PrincipalsParent activists are rightfully outraged at Mona Davids' claims that  "the NYCPU, is the leading independent voice of New York City public school students and their parents."In fact the very idea of an attack on tenure is an attack on parents and students as
7-5-14 Fred All Week 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.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherNEA RA. Delegates to Arne: Leave.A New Business Item critical of Arne Duncan has been brought to the RA for a number of years. In 2010 we passed a New Business Item, 13 Things We Hate About Arne Duncan. At the 2011 and 2012 no con
6-28-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekWhy Teacher Tenure Is NOT The Problem In EducationFrom Dale Hansen:By concluding that the due process protections afforded to educators under tenure denied students "equal opportunity to achieve a quality education," Judge Treu seems to ignore that correlation does not prove causation.If tenure unfairly protects teachers, there should be a
7-5-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
THE BECOMING RADICALEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by What You Need To Know About Charter SchoolsParents, pundits and politicians, did you get what you expected? If you thought you would get the biggest bang for the buck by pouring taxpayer dollars into charter schools and devoting yourself to public school disinvestment might it be time for a reassessment
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-5-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT  From the tempestuous teapot: GALATZAN RAISES NEW CONCERNS ABOUT LAUSD UNIFIED BOND COMMITTEE + smf’s 0¢by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1lXDyDT Posted on July 3, 2014 10:55 am  ::   For the second time in recent weeks, Tamar Galatzan has turned a critical eye toward LA Unified’s Bond Oversight
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 7-5-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF
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This Week's Education Research Report 7-5-14 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
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7-5-14 Schools Matter All Week
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All Week 7-5-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 7-5-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
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YESTERDAY

The Same Principal, The Same Middle School, A Different Teacher southbronxschool.
http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Same Principal, The Same Middle School, A Different TeacherThe hits just coming in about this principal at that middle school in Brooklyn.This is now the third "manifesto" The Crack Team has received from staff members. This principal reminds me of Bobby Pellit, Jason Sudekis' boss in "Horrible Bosses." This stuff just can't be made up.Next
NEA RA. Delegates to Arne: Make Like A Tree and Leave
NEA RA. Delegates to Arne: Make Like A Tree and Leave
A Close Look At Close Reading | WagTheDog
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SOCIAL PROMOTION- LAUSD'S PRIME MOVER FOR CONTINUED AND PREDICTABLE STUDENT FAILURE- DID THEY EVER REALLY WANT THESE KIDS TO LEARN? - Perdaily.com
SOCIAL PROMOTION- LAUSD'S PRIME MOVER FOR CONTINUED AND PREDICTABLE STUDENT FAILURE- DID THEY EVER REALLY WANT THESE KIDS TO LEARN? - Perdaily.com: SOCIAL PROMOTION- LAUSD'S PRIME MOVER FOR CONTINUED AND PREDICTABLE STUDENT FAILURE- DID THEY EVER REALLY WANT THESE KIDS TO LEARN? (Mensaje se repite en Español)I know teachers didn't create social promotion. They, like the students, are just victims
Nite Cap 7-4-14 #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 CAPHAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!7-4-14 Ed Notes OnlineEd Notes Online: Dissecting Moaning Mona DavidsMoaning Mona Davids has switched sides more times than a tennis ball.... and burned more bridges than the retreating German army..... Ed Notes Local 372 Presi