Saturday, November 14, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/14/15



CORPORATE ED REFORM







NYC Public School Parents: My frustrating Thursday: DOE's evasions and the Mayor's refusal to reduce class size or admit that he ever said that he would
NYC Public School Parents: My frustrating Thursday: DOE's evasions and the Mayor's refusal to reduce class size or admit that he ever said that he would: My frustrating Thursday: DOE's evasions and the Mayor's refusal to reduce class size or admit that he ever said that he wouldMe asking the Mayor about class size  in Jackson Heights on Thursday night.For other accounts, see reports of the Mayor's
Graduating Early “A Stupid Idea”? | deutsch29
Graduating Early “A Stupid Idea”? | deutsch29: Graduating Early “A Stupid Idea”?A LynchpinIn December 2010, at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in Washington, DC, former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s test-centric education reforms were featured in the form of ALEC model legislation called the “A-plus Literacy Act,” an omnibus document that includes school and district letter
4LAKids - Pop Quiz: WHAT’S WRONG WITH L.A. UNIFIED’S LEADERSHIP? Answer: JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Pop Quiz: WHAT’S WRONG WITH L.A. UNIFIED’S LEADERSHIP? Answer: JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING: Pop Quiz: WHAT’S WRONG WITH L.A. UNIFIED’S LEADERSHIP? Answer: JUST ABOUT EVERYTHINGSTEVE LOPEZ  |  L.A. TIMES COLUMNIST | HTTP://LAT.MS/1H2YLODTeachers and children rally at Stevenson Middle School in East Los Angeles against a proposal, spearheaded by the Broad Found
CURMUDGUCATION: NCTQ New Report on Teacher Evaluation
CURMUDGUCATION: NCTQ New Report on Teacher Evaluation: NCTQ New Report on Teacher EvaluationIt's a big report, over a hundred pages, and I've read it so you don't have to. But that doesn't mean you don't have your work cut out for you here on this blog. Let's get going. Who are these people? The National Council on Teacher Quality's continued presence in the education world is one of the great mys
4LAKids - ELI BROAD’S COVER LETTER TO HIS CHARTER PLAN: “a landmark Opportunity” to achieve 50% charter market-share.”
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ELI BROAD’S COVER LETTER TO HIS CHARTER PLAN: Explaining “a landmark Opportunity” and how+why “Los Angeles is already well-positioned to achieve 50% charter market-share.”: ELI BROAD’S COVER LETTER TO HIS CHARTER PLAN:Explaining “a landmark Opportunity” and how+why “Los Angeles is already well-positioned to achieve 50% charter market-share.”
Hello Connecticut?  Ah, our Fiscal House is on Fire - Wait What?
Hello Connecticut?  Ah, our Fiscal House is on Fire - Wait What?: Hello Connecticut?  Ah, our Fiscal House is on FireIn “Fiscal flood warning: Nothing but red ink forecast in CT,” the CT Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf reports;Nonpartisan fiscal analysts issued projections Friday that Connecticut, already coping with a significant budget shortfall in the current year, is facing a far worse problem just ove
Naming of Margaret Spellings as UNC system president called ‘a disturbing new low’ - The Washington Post
Naming of Margaret Spellings as UNC system president called ‘a disturbing new low’ - The Washington Post: Naming of Margaret Spellings as UNC system president called ‘a disturbing new low’In recent years the University of North Carolina system — long considered one of the best in the country — has sustained massive budget cuts by the state legislature as well as efforts to force some academics to
CA educators push back against unregulated charter schools that threaten students’ futures « Education Votes
CA educators push back against unregulated charter schools that threaten students’ futures « Education Votes: CA educators push back against unregulated charter schools that threaten students’ futuresTAKE ACTION ›Tell lawmakers it’s time for tougher standards and more oversight and accountability for charter schools. CLICK HERE ›It’s not unusual for parents to see educators when dropping off their
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Testing Stutter Steps
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Testing Stutter Steps: PA: Testing Stutter StepsPennsylvania may or may not be close to getting a budget, or a temporary budget patch, or a deal to at least pay schools while the full budget continues to circle the drain. The new changes about every three or four hours.But word comes out of Harrisburg that the budget talks also include discussion-- again-- of the use of the Key
Your School Shapes How You Think About Inequality : NPR Ed : NPR
Your School Shapes How You Think About Inequality : NPR Ed : NPR: Your School Shapes How You Think About InequalityAsk yourself this question: Were you aware of inequality growing up?Your answer may depend in part on where you went to high school. Students at racially diverse schools, particularly black and Hispanic students, are more tuned in to injustice than students going to school mostly with
Judge: Phila. schools should heed seniority, hire counselors
Judge: Phila. schools should heed seniority, hire counselors: Judge: Phila. schools should heed seniority, hire counselorsThe Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has won another round in its battle with the School District over seniority and counselor staffing levels.A Common Pleas Court judge denied the district's request to overturn an arbitrator's finding that the district violated the union co
Will President Obama's Education Reformers Own Up to Their Failures? - Living in Dialogue
Will President Obama's Education Reformers Own Up to Their Failures? - Living in Dialogue: Will President Obama's Education Reformers Own Up to Their Failures? By John Thompson.Perhaps because I’m an incorrigible supporter of President Obama on almost every non-education issue, I grasped at straws hoping that his and Arne Duncan’s staffing of the Education Department with former Gates Foundation t
Schools Matter: AERA Concludes the Facts Are Factual about VAM
Schools Matter: AERA Concludes the Facts Are Factual about VAM: AERA Concludes the Facts Are Factual about VAMThe American Education Research Association (AERA) can be counted on to remain irrelevant to research discussions of great social significance.  Not surprisingly, AERA's shrinking membership numbers havecoincided with the org's steady drift into the arms of education reform schoolers and t
Philosophers vs. Welders: Can’t We Have Both? - Education Writers Association
Philosophers vs. Welders: Can’t We Have Both? - Education Writers Association: Philosophers vs. Welders: Can’t We Have Both?There was plenty of levity on Twitter in the wake of Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s declaration that “we need more welders, less philosophers.”(This English major would have preferred he said “fewer” welders, by the way.)Consider this inspired mashup from Pro
School board chief: How to fix the mess we’ve made in Florida’s public schools - The Washington Post
School board chief: How to fix the mess we’ve made in Florida’s public schools - The Washington Post: School board chief: How to fix the mess we’ve made in Florida’s public schoolsIn September Florida’s school superintendents issued a public attack on the state’s accountability system that uses standardized test scores to measure students, teachers and schools, saying that they “have lost confiden
The Anti-Bullying Policies That Are Actually Working - The Atlantic
The Anti-Bullying Policies That Are Actually Working - The Atlantic: What’s the Recipe for an Effective Anti-Bullying Policy?Lots of states have passed legislation targeting this problem, but it can be hard to get kids to take the efforts seriously.At her Moraga, California, junior high school, Rachel Jackson was a safe-school ambassador (SSA), part of a program that trains student volunteers to i
Our Child Is a Girl | An Anonymous Mom
Our Child Is a Girl | An Anonymous Mom: Our Child Is a GirlThe ACLU of Illinois represents the family of a female student denied access to the locker room at her high school because she is transgender. Recently the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found that the school was violating the girl's federally protected rights. The family has not spoken publicly about this case, seek
Educators hear from advocate decrying school privatization - The Daily Nonpareil - Council Bluffs, Iowa: Local News
Educators hear from advocate decrying school privatization - The Daily Nonpareil - Council Bluffs, Iowa: Local News: Educators hear from advocate decrying school privatizationAmerica’s public school system is under assault.That’s the message public education advocate Diane Ravitch brought to the Council Bluffs-Omaha area as a guest speaker presented by the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Consortium
Locascio: Cage-busting and feeding the calves —- Teachers as decision-makers - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Guest-columnists
Locascio: Cage-busting and feeding the calves —- Teachers as decision-makers - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Guest-columnists: Locascio: Cage-busting and feeding the calves —- Teachers as decision-makersThere’s an old adage that you can’t make a calf grow by weighing it. Teachers can’t make young minds grow by continually testing them, either. In such cases, excessive focus on measurement can come at t
The Legal Case Unions Fear They Cannot Win - WSJ
The Legal Case Unions Fear They Cannot Win - WSJ: The Legal Case Unions Fear They Cannot WinCan government workers be forced to pay fees to unions? The Supreme Court seems inclined to say no.It has been a difficult five years for government-employee unions, and the Supreme Court appears poised to strike another blow. During the current term, the justices will hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers

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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/13/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMTom Torlakson Announces 2014-15 CAHSEE Results - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education)Tom Torlakson Announces 2014-15 CAHSEE Results - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Release of 2014-15 California High School Exit Exam ResultsSACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that the California High Schoo