Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/24/15


CORPORATE ED REFORM





Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teacher/Substitute Shortage a Strain in Washington State
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Teacher/Substitute Shortage a Strain in Washington State: "Teacher/Substitute Shortage a Strain in Washington StateOSPI has released their survey and its subsequent findings about teacher shortages in Washington State.The surveyThe findings.From the survey:This survey was distributed on November 11, 2015, to public school principals in Washington by the Associ
Privateers and Profiteers in Our Schools - Living in Dialogue
Privateers and Profiteers in Our Schools - Living in Dialogue: Privateers and Profiteers in Our SchoolsBy Anthony Cody.I was recently invited to speak at a conference in another state. Since I could not make it there in person, I recorded my thoughts on this video.Here is the text of my remarks:Privateers and Profiteers: How and Why are they Undermining Public Education?As we near the end of the O
ESEA Deal Opens (Trap?) Door for Use of Noncognitive Measures in Accountability - Politics K-12 - Education Week
ESEA Deal Opens (Trap?) Door for Use of Noncognitive Measures in Accountability - Politics K-12 - Education Week: Cross-posted from the Rules for Engagement blogBy Evie BladBoosters of school climate, student engagement, and social-emotional learning should be closely watching the debate over replacing the federal No Child Left Behind law with a shiny, new version of the Elementary and Secondary E
National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Report on States’ Teacher Evaluation Systemshing | VAMboozled!
National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Report on States’ Teacher Evaluation Systemshing | VAMboozled!: National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Report on States’ Teacher Evaluation SystemshingThe controversial National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) — created by the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, funded (in part) by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and “part of a coalit
Teaching Vacancies and Difficult-to-Staff Teaching Positions in Public Schools
Teaching Vacancies and Difficult-to-Staff Teaching Positions in Public Schools: Teaching Vacancies and Difficult-to-Staff Teaching Positions in Public SchoolsThis Statistics in Brief describes the percentages of public schools that reported that they had teaching vacancies and subject areas with difficult-to-staff teaching positions in the 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2007–08, and 2011–12 school years.Down
How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expert - The Washington Post
How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expert - The Washington Post: How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expertNancy Carlsson-Paige is an early childhood development expert who has been at the forefront of the debate on how best to educate — and not educate — the youngest students. She is a professor emerita of educat
The Big Sleazy: All-Charter “Achievement Districts”
Charter Chains: Eager to Turn SC Kids into Cash Cows.  : The Big Sleazy:All-Charter “Achievement Districts”After battling shamelessly for 20 years, SC policymakers are under court-order to do“something” for our poorest students.Momentum is building to turn SC kids over to parasitic charter chains as part of a statewide “ACHIEVEMENT DISTRICT”, like the one in New Orleans.Once you:CLOSE neighborhood
Teacher Evaluations Fall Off The Education ‘Reform’ Agenda
11/24/2015 – Teacher Evaluations Fall Off The Education ‘Reform’ Agenda: Teacher Evaluations Fall Off The Education ‘Reform’ AgendaTHIS WEEK: Opt Outs Hit Half Million … Teachers Need Affordable Housing … NCLB For Higher Ed … High School Student Activism … States Take Over EducationTOP STORYTeacher Evaluations Fall Off The Education ‘Reform’ AgendaBy Jeff Bryant“Democratic presidential candidate H
Book Review: A Teacher’s Tale by John Thompson
Book Review: A Teacher’s Tale by John Thompson: Book Review: A Teacher’s Tale by John ThompsonEvery so often, I will pick up a book that illuminates my own experiences, opens my eyes to the truth behind those events, and often helps me put a name to whatever I have been muddling through on my own. Oklahoma City educator John Thompson has written one such book.Prior to downloading the Kindle versio
CURMUDGUCATION: MA: How To Gut a School District
CURMUDGUCATION: MA: How To Gut a School District: MA: How To Gut a School DistrictBack in April of 2014, Jim Peyser was managing director of the NewSchools Venture Fund, a group set up to support "venture philanthropy" in the charter school world with grant-funneling, consulting, lobbying, etc. Think of them as bag men and enforcers for hedge funders interested in making a charter school
New York Superintendents call for an end to evaluating teachers on standardized test results - Wait What?
New York Superintendents call for an end to evaluating teachers on standardized test results - Wait What?: New York Superintendents call for an end to evaluating teachers on standardized test resultsLabeling children on the basis of unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory standardized tests is bad public policy.  Evaluating teachers on the scores their students get on those tests is equally wrong
New Push to Hire Male Teachers of Color - WSJ
New Push to Hire Male Teachers of Color - WSJ: New Push to Hire Male Teachers of ColorNew York City initiative aims to have teaching staff better reflect student populationNew York City is rolling out a $16.5 million initiative to recruit and retain nonwhite male teachers so that its teaching staff better reflects its student population.The effort, led by the city’s Young Men’s Initiative, a group
Arne Duncan Pinpoints Where Schools Fail - WSJ
Arne Duncan Pinpoints Where Schools Fail - WSJ: Arne Duncan Pinpoints Where Schools FailThe departing secretary of education says students aren’t getting the education the U.S. economy needs them to haveArne Duncan has been pushing the cause of education all his career. And as he prepares to step down as education secretary after seven years, he is asking CEOs to join him in the fight.In today’s g
Local School Councils Persist, Inject Democracy into Chicago Public Schools | janresseger
Local School Councils Persist, Inject Democracy into Chicago Public Schools | janresseger: Local School Councils Persist, Inject Democracy into Chicago Public SchoolsAfter today, this blog will take a short break for the rest of this holiday week and return on Monday, November 30.  Good wishes for Thanksgiving!In 1988, after the sudden death of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, the Illinois Legisla
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago teachers show strong, united, and ready to strike if needed
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago teachers show strong, united, and ready to strike if needed: Chicago teachers show strong, united, and ready to strike if neededWhat a great night! Thousands of Chicago teachers and community activists packed Grant Park last night in a show of strength and unity reminiscent of the days leading up to the 2012 teacher strike. Check out DNAInfo for best tweeted
US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country report - The Hechinger Report
US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country report - The Hechinger Report: US falls behind other nations in the global knowledge economy, says 46-country reportFewer Americans are going to preschool and college compared to other nationsThe United States continues to fall behind internationally in producing a college-educated workforce as other nations send more o
The Broken Chain of Student Data Security » Missouri Education Watchdog
The Broken Chain of Student Data Security » Missouri Education Watchdog: The Broken Chain of Student Data Security2015 was not a good year for student data privacy. Massive exposure on three levels has shown that no one is truly capable of protecting the data they gather on American students.Federal Student Data At Serious RiskAt a House hearing on Oversight and Government Reform held on 11-17-15,
Goodbye, No Child Left Behind : NPR Ed : NPR
Goodbye, No Child Left Behind : NPR Ed : NPR: Goodbye, No Child Left BehindAfter a long stalemate, a bipartisan team of congressional negotiators has agreed to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The law, currently known as No Child Left Behind, sends roughly $14 billion a year to schools that serve mostly low-income students.Here's what we know about the rough agreement. First, a
If we are to get Goldman Sachs out of ESEA, we will have to be the ones to do it. | Fred Klonsky
If we are to get Goldman Sachs out of ESEA, we will have to be the ones to do it. | Fred Klonsky: If we are to get Goldman Sachs out of ESEA, we will have to be the ones to do it.-Bev JohnsIf we are to remove/change Goldman Sachs Pay for Success in S. 1177, we have to do it.The National groups to which we belong have decided to do nothing.The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) general
My Best Resource for Historical Facts About American Education: LINK FIXED! | Diane Ravitch's blog
My Best Resource for Historical Facts About American Education: LINK FIXED! | Diane Ravitch's blog: My Best Resource for Historical Facts About American EducationWhen I was a young historian, back in the 1970s, I would occasionally search for a fact about American education in the nineteenth or early twentieth century to help me write an article or book. There was no Internet. I wasn’t sure which
A New ESEA: A Cheat Sheet on What the Deal Means for Teachers - Teacher Beat - Education Week
A New ESEA: A Cheat Sheet on What the Deal Means for Teachers - Teacher Beat - Education Week: A New ESEA: A Cheat Sheet on What the Deal Means for TeachersMy colleague Alyson Klein has been working double duty to bring you all the details on the bill that will replace the No Child Left Behind Act.(Quick refresher on how this works. Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions. To iron
Teachers Evaluating Teachers: Where PAR Programs Thrive - NEA Today
Teachers Evaluating Teachers: Where PAR Programs Thrive - NEA Today: Teachers Evaluating Teachers: Where PAR Programs ThriveIf there is one thing that staunch union members and steadfast school district officials agree on, it’s this: Recruitment and retention of good teachers is key to operating successful schools. The Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program is proof.Kathy Castle is president of
More Proof That American Teachers Are Underpaid And Deserve More Respect
More Proof That American Teachers Are Underpaid And Deserve More Respect: More Proof That American Teachers Are Underpaid And Deserve More RespectJust another reason to appreciate these superheroes. Here's one more indication that American teachers work really, really hard -- and don't make nearly enough. An analysis released Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lo
The Global Search for Education: Bring on the Change | Shanghai Daily
The Global Search for Education: Bring on the Change | Shanghai Daily: The Global Search for Education: Bring on the Change“We have to keep remembering our purpose. In education it is to grow people and to help society evolve.” — Peter SengeAT the IB Heads World Conference in The Hague, I talked to Peter Senge, the renowned expert on systems, business management and learning, and senior lecturer a
California’s Support for K-12 Education Ranks Low by Almost Any Measure - California Budget & Policy Center
Education - California Budget & Policy Center: California’s Support for K-12 Education Ranks Low by Almost Any MeasureThis fact sheet shows that California K-12 spending lags the nation using nearly any measure of school funding. California ranks 42nd among all states and the District Columbia in K-12 spending per student, based on a new Budget Center analysis that adjusts the most recent spen
Study analyzes NAEP, Common Core math alignment | eSchool News | eSchool News
Study analyzes NAEP, Common Core math alignment | eSchool News | eSchool News: Study analyzes NAEP, Common Core math alignmentPanel urges addition of more math content to NAEP math framework upon next revisionA new study of the math alignment between the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), adopted by most states, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the longtime barometer of

YESTERDAY

Choking students out of school is never acceptable - The Hechinger Report
Choking students out of school is never acceptable - The Hechinger Report: Choking students out of school is never acceptableBrutality does not teach accountability, on camera or offW ORLEANS — Only people who believe that children are uneducable or not even children would slam, choke, jail and expel their non-compliance. When you believe all children can learn, you search for lessons that incite
Admissions Quota Proposed in Brooklyn School Rezoning - The New York Times
Admissions Quota Proposed in Brooklyn School Rezoning - The New York Times: Admissions Quota Proposed in Brooklyn School RezoningResponding to concerns that a plan to redraw two Brooklyn school zoneswould fill an elementary school with affluent white children that currently serves mostly low-income minority children, Education Department staff members said on Monday that students receiving free or
Alabama Teacher of the Year Resigns: The Backstory, Part I | deutsch29
Alabama Teacher of the Year Resigns: The Backstory, Part I | deutsch29: Alabama Teacher of the Year Resigns: The Backstory, Part IAnn Marie CorgillOn November 20, 2015, I drove from southern Louisiana to central Alabama in order to extensively interview Ann Marie Corgill, the 2014-15 Alabama Teacher of the Year who abruptly resigned on October 30, 2015.The interview lasted over four hours. I decid
Happy Thanksgiving | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn
Happy Thanksgiving | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn: Happy Thanksgiving“A lot of people thought it was fiction and this is all real stuff. I had visited my friends during the Thanksgiving break, Ray and Alice, who lived in this abandoned church. They were teachers at a high school I went to just down the road in the little town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.And a friend of mine and I decided to help t
In exchange for local flexibility, accountability plans will require work | EdSource
In exchange for local flexibility, accountability plans will require work | EdSource: In exchange for local flexibility, accountability plans will require workI have a thought for school district staff, board members and others characterizing the process for developing Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) as too time-consuming, tedious and cumbersome.Quit your belly-aching!Districts and othe
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/23/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMTruth For America: New alum testimonials about @TeachForAmerica | Cloaking InequityTruth For America: New alum testimonials about @TeachForAmerica | Cloaking Inequity: Truth For America: New alum testimonials about @TeachForAmericaI received this open letter to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) from a Teach For America alum. She was assigned to teach special educat