OSI Rent-a-Cop Comes Calling on a Teacher - southbronxschool

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

OSI Rent-a-Cop Comes Calling on a Teacher

I have been transferred.

For those that recall, last year I spent my Rubber Room time at 4360 Broadway. Worse, I was held captive alone for over 6 months until I was allowed compatriots. I shared with the readers of this blog mycaptivity, my friends, and how I acclimated myself to the whims of my captors.

I am now at 1230 Zerega Ave in the Bronx where there not only 3 district offices but about a gazillion networks and other support staff as well. Better, I am no longer imprisoned alone. But the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same.

There are about a dozen or so prisoners there and each and everyone one of us are above 40 years of age. Most are male as well as people of color. What does this tell you? A lot!

Today was a normal day as usual in the Rubber Room. People were counting the hairs on their arms, counting the ceiling tiles, and other assorted time wasting activities when a network HR director came into the cell block with a nerdy looking white guy no older than 27 years old.

They were both standing in the door jam when they motioned for Tito Landrum. Tito looking confused got up out of his seat and walked towards them.

Looking at the nerdy white guy, I notice something out of place. Well, yes...besides the fact he was nerdy.

He was wearing a dress shirt and tie, but more intriguing was the stenographers note pad and pen he was carrying in his right hand. I smelled the stench of OSI (Office of Special Investigation) and bolted up from my seat.

I whisked myself out of my chair and went out into the hallway where Tito was being led away as a http://www.southbronxschool.com:

SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY'S IPAD SCANDAL- JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG - Perdaily.com

SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY'S IPAD SCANDAL- JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG - Perdaily.com:



SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY'S IPAD SCANDAL- JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

Given the present iPAD scandal that in reality is just the latest incarnation of a long list of corrupt practices at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), one can only hope that finally the curtain will be opened on illegal practices to expose a long history of enumerable improper actions taken by LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, administration, and his immediate predecessors Ramon Cortines, David Brewer, and Roy Romer. Hopefully, this will finally lead to an independent and in depth audit of both financial and pedagogic decisions they have taken with rather questionable legal motives. 

What follows in this article are just a few of these corrupt actions that such an independent investigative audit might be well advised to look into. Feel free in the comment section to augment this list. Maybe this latest iPad scandal with Pearson Education and Apple will final cause a light to be shined on Deasy and his predecessors' shenanigans, so that critically necessary and long overdue real reformation of endemically corrupt LAUSD can finally be implemented. It is not enough for Deasy to lose his job, if all that takes place is his replacement by another over paid public school privatization advocate, whose greatest loyalty is to Broad, Gates, Walton, and the other foundations seeking to privatize public education for profit and not the public school student, teachers, and their families. 

1. For every teacher at the top of the salary scale that LAUSD can force out by any means with fabricated charges, LAUSD will save approximately $60,000 in combined salary and benefits savings, when they hire a teacher fresh out of college on an emergency credential with no experience. Some of the ways this is accomplished are:

a. Fabricating false morals charge violations under California Education Code Section 44939, which has the immediate effect of eliminating a teachers right to the collective bargaining protections and remedies of grievance and arbitration. Everything LAUSD does is designed to force the teacher to quit, whatever they have to do to accomplish this.

 

b. both students and teachers are coached in making false statements- subornation of perjury- against the teacher in the case that the teacher's superiors are knowingly fabricating to justify this tenured teacher's removal.

c. Exculpatory evidence is ignored as "not relevant to the charges against [the teacher]."

d. Teacher due process is completely ignored in the removal process:

     - None of the charges against the teacher are verified and under oath as required by law, which would subject the person making them to perjury charges- a felony- if they were;

     - Legal limits as to how long a teacher can be kept out of teaching as defined by both the Collective Bargaining Agreement, state law- 60 days- and LAUSD's own Bulletin policy- 120 days- are completely ignored, so that teachers are often incarcerated at district offices or their homes for more than four years in a manner designed to create both mental and physical illness in an attempt SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY'S IPAD SCANDAL- JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG - Perdaily.com:

The Illusionist | Bob Braun's Ledger

The Illusionist | Bob Braun's Ledger:

The Illusionist

Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, a school board member, recrods data on empty buses on the first day of school

Cami Anderson, Chris Christie’s overseer of the Newark schools, spent a good part of the first day of school traveling to schools she knew would be orderly, stopping along the way to give impromptu news conferences in which she praised her “One Newark” plan. She apparently missed the scores of empty buses roaming the streets in search of children, the anxious parents still trying to find placement for their kids, and the complete lack of transportation for special education students. Cami was doing her illusionist’s trick.

“We’re doing great,” she said at East Side High School, blather matched only by state Education  Commissioner David Hespe’s obtuse, “She’s doing a good job.” Hespe’s fatuous praise for a woman he has privately let on he detests is right up there with George W. Bush’s “Heck of a job, Brownie,” as  black corpses floated in the post-Katrina wash in Louisiana.

Yesterday was an odd day. A day that could be anything anyone wanted to say it was. With more than 40,000 children going back–or not–to more than 40 schools, trying to get a handle on Anderson’s success or the success of the parental boycott was difficult, if not impossible. Indeed, the argument could be even made that the boycott was so successful that it created the illusion of making Cami look more successful. Imagine what would have happened to all those wayward buses if children actually showed up.

Anderson said it was “difficult to clean attendance numbers” on the first day of school and, lucky for her, she is right. But, let’s face it, Cami Anderson is a chronic liar–remember her denial that she sent out a letter warning about the criminal tendencies of Newark children? So, even if she showed up with an accounting of attendance certified by Pope Francis, I wouldn’t believe it.

Wilhelmina Holder, leader of the Secondary School Council, declared the boycott a “huge success” and said as many as 50 percent of children stayed away. I  believe her.

I do because these are some of the things I saw in the early morning hours of Thursday. I saw–scores of empty buses waiting in vain for students and then The Illusionist | Bob Braun's Ledger:

9-4-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Ravitch Warms to Tuckerism: Can Randi Be Far Ahead?

Posted September 4 at Schools Matter. I posted the other day on the new (old) Tuckerism that Joe Nocera was promoting (again) in the New York Times.   Obviously, Tucker’s THL (Testing Hysteria Lite) has resonated with the neolibs as a way to stave off the revolution against testing, while preserving its worst features and maintaining […]

1 by Jim Horn / 0min 

9-3-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Education Post: A Sorry Attempt to Repackage Privatization as “Conversation”There is a test-score-driven, privatizing war on public schools and on the teaching profession. It is no secret that those chiefly financing the war stand above the chaos they create via their “philanthropy.” In short, they use their billions in order to promote their own ideal of American education priva

by mike simpson / 4min 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Wanted:A Great Year! Teachers and Parents Working Toward the Same Goal!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Wanted:A Great Year! Teachers and Parents Working Toward the Same Goal!:

Wanted:A Great Year! Teachers and Parents Working Toward the Same Goal!

Every year, at the beginning of the school year, I send this form home. I ask my parents to fill it out in ther interest of learning what they want from their child's teacher. What can make this a great year for their child? I always get a handful back, read them, and try to be conscious of living up to reasonable requests throughout the school year.

A student returned her form to me today, it had been living in her bookbag for the past two days. I read it, and found that I really enjoyed reading this parent's insights on what she wants, from me, for her daughter.

One teacher who cares about G.'s educational needs and making sure all resources are applied.

The person must like love there (sic) job, and want all students to succeed. and must be willing to make sure every student under their instruction gets the best education offered. 

This teacher must know that all students learn at a different pace and should be patient, DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Wanted:A Great Year! Teachers and Parents Working Toward the Same Goal!:

Using Student Surveys to Evaluate Teachers |:

Using Student Surveys to Evaluate Teachers

 The technology section of The New York Times released an article yesterday called “Grading Teachers, With Data From Class.” It’s about using student-level survey data, or what students themselves have to say about the effectiveness of their teachers, to supplement (or perhaps trump) value-added and other test-based data when evaluating teacher effectiveness.

I recommend this article to you all in that it’s pretty much right on in terms of using “multiple measures” to measure pretty much anything educational these days, including teacher effectiveness. Likewise, such an approach aligns with the 2014 “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing” measurement standards recently released by the leading professional organizations in the area of educational measurement, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association (APA), and National Council on Measurement in Education(NCME).

Some of the benefits of using student surveys to help measure teacher effectiveness:

• Student-level data based on such surveys typically yield data that are of more formative use to teachers than most other data, including data generated via value-added models (VAMs) and many observational systems.
• These data represent students’ perceptions and opinions. This is important as these data come directly from students in teachers’ classrooms, and students are the most direct “consumers” of (in)effective teaching.
• In this article in particular, the survey instrument described is open-source. This is definitely of “added value;” rare is it that products are offered to big (and small) money districts, more or less, for free.
• This helps with current issues of fairness, or the lack thereof (whereas only about 30% of current PreK-12 teachers can be evaluated using students’ test scores). Using survey data can apply to really all teachers, if all teachers agree that the more generalized items pertain to them and the subject areas they teach (e.g., Using Student Surveys to Evaluate Teachers |:

Why has U.S. academic success dropped? The answer may be on the playground | Deseret News National

Why has U.S. academic success dropped? The answer may be on the playground | Deseret News National:



Why has U.S. academic success dropped? The answer may be on the playground

A fierce rash on the boy's flushed face was Tim Walker’s first clue his student was stressed.

“I need my 75 minutes of recess,” the fifth-grader demanded. He knew the American teacher was fresh off the boat, new to the Finnish education system, and was convinced he did not understand what the boy's body and mind needed.

For every 45 minutes in a Finnish classroom, students get a 15-minute break. Walker knew that, but he created longer blocks of class time than the kids were accustomed to, lumping several short breaks into one lengthier break later in the day. The 10-year-old thought he was getting stiffed.

“I was not actually depriving my kids of a minute of recess,” said Walker. “I was just taking longer teaching segments and then longer breaks. I thought I knew better.”

Walker was simply teaching how he had been trained in the U.S. He began his career at a public elementary school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. There, the school day was six hours long, and most teachers carved out just 15-20 minutes of recess per day, often tacked on after lunch. Instruction segments of 1½ or 2½ hours were normal.

Walker nodded to the youngster with the rash, then went home that night and revised the schedule, putting breaks at the end of each hour as the kids expected.

The difference in the classroom was immediate. No more zombies. Students returned from breaks with energy and better focus. They did more with less time. They enjoyed it more. Walker was a convert.

“Everybody needs breaks,” says Olga Jarrett, “and the brain research shows that neither children nor adults can maintain intense concentration for extended periods.”

A retired education professor at Georgia State University, Jarrett has become one of America’s most vocal advocates of more robust recess policies. For the past 20 years, she has been pushing against a tide of parental demands and federal policy that have prodded schools to dispense with anything that does not directly contribute to the bottom line of standardized tests — including recess.

In 1998, the New York Times quoted Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Benjamin O. Canada as saying, “We are intent on improving academic performance. You don’t do that by having kids hanging on the monkey bars.”

Au contraire, say Jarrett and her allies. And they have substantial evidence to back up their claim.

See also: The real reason you should give your kids a break during the day

Short breaks

Finns are dead serious about recess. Not only are the breaks required, but kids are required to go outside in all kinds of weather. Even in the deep Finnish winter, Walker said, unless the thermometer dips to an unholy level, elementary student kids are

Read more at http://national.deseretnews.com/article/2100/Why-has-US-academic-success-dropped-The-answer-may-be-on-the-playground.html#O0lkHR6Olapuo3Zb.99

Black Parallel School Board Meeting September 6, 2014 Saturday 10:00am open to the public

Home - Black Parallel School Board:

Black Parallel School Board Meeting

Home - Black Parallel School Board: 

September 6, 2014

Saturday 10:00am

Oak Park United Methodist Church

3600 Broadway

Sacramento, CA 95817

We call on all parents, community members and students to attend the meeting.

 The Black Parallel School Board’s Candidate Forum

(Free and open to the public)

Featuring only Candidates for Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education

Saturday, September 6, 2014

11:00am -1:00pm

Oak Park United Methodist Church

3600 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817

Please RSVP to:info@blackparallelschoolboard.com

For More Information (916) 484-3729

Home - Black Parallel School Board: 

Email: info@blackparallelschoolboard.com

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!

Home - Black Parallel School Board: 

New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott - SFGate

New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott - SFGate:



New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott

 NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Organizers of a boycott of Newark schools on the first day of classes Thursday claimed success, but the school superintendent said it didn't appear many parents kept their children home in protest of her new enrollment system that is the target of a federal civil rights complaint.

Known as One Newark, the new system was designed to increase school choice and build more equity into school assignments. But many say it creates transportation headaches and doesn't result in their children attending better schools.

Neither side had the numbers Thursday on how many students boycotted on a day marked by both celebration and protest of education in New Jersey's largest school district, with 43,000 students.

School superintendent Cami Anderson, heralding improvements in some of the city's schools, said she didn't notice high levels of absenteeism in the half-dozen stops she made at schools as they opened.

Organizers said most boycotters kept their children at home but they expected more students would attend the so-called Freedom Schools, set up as makeshift alternatives and staffed by retired teachers, during the course of the boycott, expected to last at least until next week.

At Peshine Avenue School, some parents and caregivers dropping off students in the morning morning expressed frustration with the new system.

"I really wanted a different school for them," said Lydia Villars as she dropped off two grandsons and a niece. "Things are very bad right now."

The children used to attend a school within walking distance from their home, but Villars said she now has to drive them several miles to a school that was not one of her top choices.

Other caregivers told of taking multiple buses and having the children scattered at multiple schools.

"What she did to the school system is messed up," said Thelma Gordon, referring to Anderson, who greeted children at Peshine, where teal and silver balloons floated around school entrances.

Gordon said her three grandchildren were placed in three schools, including Peshine. On a typical morning, she said, she'll have to take three buses to get them to their classes.

Anderson said the problem is one of supply and demand. She said she understands that adults are upset when they cannot get their children into the city's best schools. Only about 20 schools out of 100 in the city are considered desirable, she said.

But, she said, One Newark is simpler than the old system, where some parents waited in long lines to try to get their children registered in the most desired schools. The new system asked families to give priorities for which New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott - SFGate:

America's Schools Could Be More Efficient If Teachers Were Paid Less: Report:

America's Schools Could Be More Efficient If Teachers Were Paid Less: Report

Posted: 09/04/2014 7:19 pm EDT Updated: 29 minutes ago

 When it comes to education, the United States isn't getting all the bang it could for its buck, according to a new report.

GEMS Education, an education consulting firm, released its "Efficiency Index" and an accompanying report on Thursday, ranking the return on investment for 30 different nations' education budgets. The index "treats the educational system as if it were a company which attempts to obtain an output," according to the report.

Researchers looked at costs for teachers and educational outcomes, but not at socioeconomic factors or differences between countries. The report was created with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the group behind the international standardized test called PISA. The report looked at 30 OECD countries, and the returns are based on PISA scores.

The United States ranked 19th out of the 30 countries, receiving an efficiency score of 72.66 percent. Finland, a perennial educational chart topper, came out at No. 1, with a score of 87.81 percent.

On the lower end were Indonesia at 51.13 percent, and Brazil at 24.45 percent.

"If you're inefficient, then by definition you could be seeing even greater outcomes than you possibly get -- children could be learning more without needing any more system inputs," said Andrew Still, one of the researchers who co-authored the report. "Or you could be achieving the same outcomes with a cut budget, which is very appealing to treasuries. The consequences are desirable either way."

The report said that in order to become more efficient, the U.S. would need to increase class sizes and reduce teacher salaries. But in an interview with The Huffington Post, Still cautioned against the U.S. against taking that advice literally.

"We're not saying that the U.S. should cut salaries or should increase class sizes in order to improve quality -- it doesn't make common sense," he said. "We're saying these are things which can change, these are things which drive outcomes. … You have to explore within a country's context what are you doing or what are you not doing that allows or does not allow you to recruit the highest-quality teachers or train them effectively."

The Efficiency Index considered 63 educational inputs, but found that only these two factors -- class size and teacher pay -- "have a demonstrable impact on education outcomes" in PISA scores, the report said. And while teacher pay is linked to outcomes, underpaying or overpaying teachers could undermine efficiency, the report noted. Paying teachers too little could prevent great teachers from entering the classroom, but paying them too much could encourage complacency and poor performance. (In the U.S., most experiments in "merit pay," paying teachers more for increasing student outcomes, have failed.)

The report comes amid a newly ignited wave of concern about teacher quality in the America's Schools Could Be More Efficient If Teachers Were Paid Less: Report: