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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/8/15


SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM




Civil Rights and Community Groups Demand End to High Stakes Testing and Moratorium on Charter Schools | Seattle Education
Civil Rights and Community Groups Demand End to High Stakes Testing and Moratorium on Charter Schools | Seattle Education: Civil Rights and Community Groups Demand End to High Stakes Testing and Moratorium on Charter SchoolsThis letter was issued on July 7, 2015.“We respectfully disagree that the proliferation of high stakes assessments and top-down interventions are needed in order to improve our
50 Years Later: Jonathan Kozol’s "Death at an Early Age" - Living in Dialogue
50 Years Later: Jonathan Kozol’s "Death at an Early Age" - Living in Dialogue: 50 Years Later: Jonathan Kozol’s "Death at an Early Age" The 50th anniversary of Jonathan Kozol’s Death at an Early Age comes as we confront the horror of the Charleston, S.C. massacre and the epidemic of police killings of unarmed blacks. At a time like this, it is best to read Kozol’s masterpiece o
What should — and should not — be written into a new U.S. education law - The Washington Post
What should — and should not — be written into a new U.S. education law - The Washington Post: What should — and should not — be written into a new U.S. education lawBoth the U.S. House and Senate are now — eight years late — debating this week how to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known in its current form as No Child Left Behind. Signed into law in 2002, NCLB was supposed to
The case against school vouchers: Sen. Patty Murray takes a stand on Senate floor - The Washington Post
The case against school vouchers: Sen. Patty Murray takes a stand on Senate floor - The Washington Post: The case against school vouchers: Sen. Patty Murray takes a stand on Senate floorThe main focus of the current conversation on rewriting No Child Left Behind has been on whether or not annual standardized testing of students will be retained in a new bill. But there are other important issues t
Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? by Anthony Cody - Garn Press
Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? by Anthony Cody - Garn Press: Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? by Anthony CodyThis article originally appeared on Living In Dialogue | Anthony Cody | 2015(This essay is also included in Anthony Cody’s book, The Educator and the Oligarch.)By Anthony Cody.In the summer of 2012  I
4LAKids NTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO STOP THE PEARSON OCTOPUS
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO STOP THE PEARSON OCTOPUS: INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO STOP THE PEARSON OCTOPUS7/8/2015 2:57 pm EDT   ::  I am posting from Madrid, Spain where I am presenting a paper, Hacking Away at the Pearson Octopus, at the International Conference on Learning. The movement to stop the Pearson octopus' stranglehold on education is global.In
Journey 4 Justice Alliance Demands that ESEA Stop Test-and-Punish and Improve Urban Schools | janresseger
Journey 4 Justice Alliance Demands that ESEA Stop Test-and-Punish and Improve Urban Schools | janresseger: Journey 4 Justice Alliance Demands that ESEA Stop Test-and-Punish and Improve Urban SchoolsOn Monday, in the week when the Senate is taking up the reauthorization of the federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Journey for Justice Alliance sent a powerful
THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AS A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE by Joseph A. Ricciotti - Wait What?
THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AS A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE by Joseph A. Ricciotti - Wait What?: THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AS A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE by Joseph A. RicciottiEducation advocate and retired educator Joseph Ricciotti recently published this commentary piece on the BAT Blog website.Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is to be applauded for his recently announced presidential p
Jersey Jazzman: More Obnoxious Charter School Propaganda
Jersey Jazzman: More Obnoxious Charter School Propaganda: More Obnoxious Charter School PropagandaMake it stop! MAKE IT STOP!State Sen. Shirley Turner recently introduced legislation seeking a moratorium on expanding enrollment for New Jersey’s charter public schools. This legislation will rob educational opportunity from thousands of New Jersey’s children already in charter schools, and deny more
No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay - The Atlantic
No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay - The Atlantic: No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to StayNo Child Left Behind is really, really unpopular. Roughly three in 10 Americans think the George W. Bush-era federal education law has actually worsened the quality of education, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. The original law on
Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control | Capital New York
Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control | Capital New York: Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral controlGovernor Andrew Cuomo is not finished antagonizing Mayor Bill de Blasio on mayoral control of New York City's schools. Speaking Tuesday about de Blasio's recent criticism of the governor, Cuomo said the mayor will have to earn further extensions of mayoral control."Next year we can
The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle - The Daily Beast
The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle - The Daily Beast: The Great Common Core Textbook SwindleOnly one in eight Common Core-aligned textbooks actually meet Common Core standards—and none by textbook giants Pearson or Houghton Mifflin Harcourt—but they were repackaged and sold to public schools anyway, at taxpayers’ expense.Cheryl Schafer was a veteran math teacher by the time Common Core arrived
The False Promise of Core Knowledge | Nicholas Tampio
The False Promise of Core Knowledge | Nicholas Tampio: The False Promise of Core KnowledgeWhen I was in second grade, my friend Rebecca and I used to read books together. We would peruse classics such as C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, Charles Dickens's novels, and Paul de Kruif's Microbe Hunters, a history of the scientists who discovered vaccines. Rebecca and I were both public school
Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix | TheHill
Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix | TheHill: Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix"Republicans and Democrats have long agreed that the No Child Left Behind is broken and needs to be fixed, but the Senate didn't do anything about it for seven long years, missing its deadlines repeatedly," McConnell said from the Senate floor, referring to Re
Teachers union opposes BROADIE Metro schools chief finalist
Teachers union: Reference opposes Metro schools chief finalist: Teachers union: Reference opposes Metro schools chief finalistAt least one of the references listed by a controversial candidate for Metro Nashville Public Schools director wouldn't actually recommend the candidate, which should raise another red flag about the candidate, says the local teachers unions.The Metro Nashville Education As
Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania | news.sys-con.com
Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania | news.sys-con.com: Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in PennsylvaniaWASHINGTON, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) issued the following statement on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map - The Washington Post
Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map - The Washington Post: Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one mapAnyone who cares about the plight of poor children in America should take a look at a new interactive map, below, put together by the new nonprofit EdBuild.The map shows Census Bureau poverty rates in each of the nation’s nearly 14,000 school districts nationwide. T
Tell Congress: No to School Vouchers! Protect Public Education in ESEA Reauthorization
CFI Office of Public Policy | Center for Inquiry: Tell Congress: No to School Vouchers! Protect Public Education in ESEA ReauthorizationThis week both the House and Senate are debating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). We expect that there will be attempts, in both chambers, to amend ESEA to include private and religious school voucher schemes.This means your taxpayer dollars coul
Holding Charter Schools Accountable | Center for Popular Democracy
Holding Charter Schools Accountable | Center for Popular Democracy: Why Are Charters Exempt from Meaningful Oversight?Charter enrollment has doubled three times since 2000. Today, there are an estimated 6,400 charter schools in the U.S. enrolling over 2.5 million students.[i] While charter schools were originally envisioned as small-scale, innovation incubators that encouraged risk-taking—and were

YESTERDAY

Back To School: Congress Takes Up Controversial Education Bill - Bloomberg Politics
Back To School: Congress Takes Up Controversial Education Bill - Bloomberg Politics: Back To School: Congress Takes Up Controversial Education BillSenate, House debate changes in key piece of George W. Bush's domestic legacy.The U.S. House will try again this week to pass a Republican rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law, with party leaders seeking to gain support from conservative me
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education: The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education"In the long run, NGOs are accountable to their funders, not to the people they work among. They're what botanists would call an indicator species. It's almost as though the greater the devastation caused by neoliberalism
Unions Love This New Version of No Child Left Behind
Unions Love This New Version of No Child Left Behind: Unions Love This New Version of No Child Left Behind. That Should Worry Conservatives.The Senate has begun floor consideration of a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).This congress has the opportunity to consider conservative policy reforms that would genuinely re
Secretary Duncan flip on parental involvement a real flop | WagTheDog
Secretary Duncan flip on parental involvement a real flop | WagTheDog: Secretary Duncan flip on parental involvement a real flopAccording to the Educational Testing Service web site, ETS isthe world’s largest private educational testing and measurement organization, ETS develops, administers or scores more than 50 million tests annually in more than 180 countries at more than 9,000 locations inter
Al Franken: What Congress must do for LGBT kids - CNN.com
Al Franken: What Congress must do for LGBT kids - CNN.com: What Congress must do for LGBT kidsStory highlightsAl Franken, Randi Weingarten: Many LGBT students live in fear of harassment, abuse. Current civil laws don't protect LGBT youthThey say Congress must include Student Non-Discrimination Act in overhaul of No Child Left Behind ActAl Franken represents Minnesota in the U.S Senate and is a mem
Michigan governor outlines plan to dissolve Detroit public school system - World Socialist Web Site
Michigan governor outlines plan to dissolve Detroit public school system - World Socialist Web Site: Michigan governor outlines plan to dissolve Detroit public school systemMichigan’s Republican governor Rick Snyder has called for breaking up the Detroit Public School system. The plan is modeled on the Obama administration’s forced bankruptcy and restructuring of General Motors, which created a “b
Sacramento city documents detail Kevin Johnson’s involvement in black mayors’ group | The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento city documents detail Kevin Johnson’s involvement in black mayors’ group | The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento city documents detail Kevin Johnson’s involvement in black mayors’ groupThe city of Sacramento released more than 6,100 emails and more than a dozen documents Tuesday detailing Mayor Kevin Johnson’s past involvement in the embattled National Conference of Black Mayors.The involvemen
Obama Admin Says It Won’t Support Senate ESEA Draft; Higher Ed Wants Those “Higher Standards” | deutsch29
Obama Admin Says It Won’t Support Senate ESEA Draft; Higher Ed Wants Those “Higher Standards” | deutsch29: Obama Admin Says It Won’t Support Senate ESEA Draft; Higher Ed Wants Those “Higher Standards”There is a lot of info in this post. I could not capture it all in the title. All quotes are from Politico’s Morning Education for July 07, 2015, which has much more to it than I highlight in this pos
Thompson: Remembering The Full Horror of "Death at an Early Age"
This Week In Education: Thompson: Remembering The Full Horror of "Death at an Early Age": Thompson: Remembering The Full Horror of "Death at an Early Age"Thanks to Alexander and NPR's Claudio Sanchez for reminding us of the 50th anniversary of the firing of Jonathan Kozol for "curriculum deviation."Everyone should (re)read this book. Rather than immediately using it t
GUEST: A gifted city teacher says Cerf must never come to Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger
GUEST: A gifted city teacher says Cerf must never come to Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger: GUEST: A gifted city teacher says Cerf must never come to NewarkBy JONATHAN ALSTONChris Cerf Must Not Become the Next Superintendent of Newark’s Public Schools: He has Already Exploited Us Enough(Editor’s Note: Mr. Alston calls this the “polite” version of his incomparable analysis of what is going on in the New
Marriage ruling may boost school climate for LGBT families and students | EdSource
Marriage ruling may boost school climate for LGBT families and students | EdSource: Marriage ruling may boost school climate for LGBT families and studentsWhen the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major civil rights decision on marriage in Loving v. Virginia in 1967, striking down a state law banning interracial marriage, Alameda Unified teacher Gene Kahane was a 3rd-grader in Richmond, California, and
CURMUDGUCATION: Jeb's Ed Backers Revealed
CURMUDGUCATION: Jeb's Ed Backers Revealed: Jeb's Ed Backers RevealedLong-time observers of the reformster scene are familiar with the Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE) the advocacy group that was, among other things, supposed to help Jeb Bush leverage his reformy career into a Presidential run.At various times they have promoted specious arguments for testing, tried to use aging demogra
Obama administration: Education bills lack accountability - Yahoo News
Obama administration: Education bills lack accountability - Yahoo News: Obama administration: Education bills lack accountabilityWASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Monday it cannot support either the Senate or the House versions of bills being considered this week to update the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law.Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Counc
Principal: Stop blaming Common Core for problems in public education - The Washington Post
Principal: Stop blaming Common Core for problems in public education - The Washington Post: Principal: Stop blaming Common Core for problems in public educationThis is the tenth in a continuing series of letters between two award-winning school principals, one who likes the Common Core State Standards and the other who doesn’t. The debate over the Common Core State Standards has become so polarize
Q&A: Post education reporter Lyndsey Layton pulls back the curtain on this week’s No Child Left Behind fight in Congress - The Washington Post
Q&A: Post education reporter Lyndsey Layton pulls back the curtain on this week’s No Child Left Behind fight in Congress - The Washington Post: Q&A: Post education reporter Lyndsey Layton pulls back the curtain on this week’s No Child Left Behind fight in CongressBoth the House and Senate will consider major education bills this week. Lyndsey Layton covers national education issues for The
'Every Child Achieves' Won't Fix The Fed-Ed Farce
'Every Child Achieves' Won't Fix The Fed-Ed Farce: ‘Every Child Achieves’ Won’t Fix The Fed-Ed FarceBills to rewrite No Child Left Behind put Republicans in a bad political position and expand the federal role in education.Tuesday, the House and Senate are scheduled to take up separate bills to replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB). While out here in the hinterlands normal people are calling for an
Charter Schools Are Not Required To Provide Bus Transportation to Students, Judge Rules | FlaglerLive | FlaglerLive
Charter Schools Are Not Required To Provide Bus Transportation to Students, Judge Rules | FlaglerLive | FlaglerLive: Charter Schools Are Not Required To Provide Bus Transportation to Students, Judge RulesPointing to choices made by parents, a state judge has ruled that a Southeast Florida school district cannot require a charter school to provide bus transportation to students.Administrative Law J
Battle Over Standardized Testing Exposes Deep Rifts in Education Reform Community | TakePart
Battle Over Standardized Testing Exposes Deep Rifts in Education Reform Community | TakePart: Battle Over Standardized Testing Exposes Deep Rifts in Education Reform CommunityOne faction says the high-stakes exams hurt children of color, while the other side believes they help the fight for civil rights.The words read like a familiar manifesto against standardized testing, condemning it as harmful
5 Key Principles to Guide Consideration of any ESEA Title I Formula Change | Center for American Progress
5 Key Principles to Guide Consideration of any ESEA Title I Formula Change | Center for American Progress: ESEA Reauthorization: 5 Key Principles to Guide Consideration of any ESEA Title I Formula ChangeLast year, the federal government spent more than $14 billion to help educate low-income students as part of Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA. For schools, pa
Warren Buffett gifts record $2.84 billion to Gates Foundation, other charities - World - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Warren Buffett gifts record $2.84 billion to Gates Foundation, other charities - World - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News: Warren Buffett gifts record $2.84 billion to Gates Foundation, other charitiesDonation mark Buffett's largest annual philanthropic contribution, increasing his total charitable giving to over $21.5 billion; 'Oracle of Omaha' has pledged to give away nearly all of his weal
Common Core Math Writer: “Too Busy with K-8″ to Adequately Develop High School Math Standards | deutsch29
Common Core Math Writer: “Too Busy with K-8″ to Adequately Develop High School Math Standards | deutsch29: Common Core Math Writer: “Too Busy with K-8″ to Adequately Develop High School Math StandardsOn July 06, 2015, Andrew Ujifusa of EdWeek posted a piece entitled, “Are Test Scores Proving Fears About Common-Core High School Math Correct?”In his post, Ujifusa writes about the Smarter Balanced As