Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, June 12, 2015

MPS teachers protest against failing school takeover proposal | FOX6Now.com

MPS teachers protest against failing school takeover proposal | FOX6Now.com:

MPS teachers protest against failing school takeover proposal



MILWAUKEE — Teachers gathered Friday morning, June 12th to protest against a state proposal that could convert struggling Milwaukee Public Schools into charter or private schools. It’s happening at 82nd and Grantosa.
They’re against a republican-led proposal that would make 55 MPS schools the state grades as ‘failing to meet expectations” eligible for conversion.
This is after a rally Thursday night involving parents, teachers and clergy outside Hopkins-Lloyd School on the city’s north side. The faith-based group, Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), hosted Thursday’s protest.
The proposal would give the Milwaukee County Executive the authority to appoint a commissioner to oversee the lowest-performing schools.  That commissioner would operate independently from the school board with the power to assume control of up to five schools in the first year and directly manage them, or solicit offers from charter, private school operators.
“You can’t just try to take over a school and expect everything else to be better. You make everything else better and the schools will follow,” said Democratic State Representative, Mandela Barnes.
State Representative Mandela Barnes spoke at Thursday’s rally. His message: reform-minded republicans should focus on issues outside of schools, like poverty and crime that affect performance in central city classrooms.
“So many times when you look at education, people only look at test scores, they only look at the data but fail to look at the underlying issues and address them seriously,” said Mandela.
Darling says lawmakers can address poverty while reforming struggling schools. Those rallying against her plan say republicans should give those schools better resources as opposed to giving them to someone else.
This proposal has already passed the powerful joint finance committee, so as of now, it’s on the budget lawmakers will eventually vote on.
Representative Barnes says until that vote happens, he will push to amend the plan if not scrap it all together.MPS teachers protest against failing school takeover proposal | FOX6Now.com:

La. Education Legislation: Final Update of 2015 | deutsch29 #flipbese

La. Education Legislation: Final Update of 2015 | deutsch29:

La. Education Legislation: Final Update of 2015

LA state seal


On May 29, 2015, I wrote a post that was a Louisiana legislative update.
During the Louisiana legislative session, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT) issues a weekly legislative digest of education-related legislation. (Archived digests can be found here.)
In this post, I would like to offer some highlights from the June 12, 2015, LFT Digest, the final one for the session. I also add some other bill info at the end of this post.
I added links for each of the bills mentioned. The links include comprehensive information on each bill. (Note that this search engine allows one to track any bill nationwide: LegiScan Search Engine.)
Schools Get Last-minute $36 Million Bump
Just as he did two years ago, Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) found a way to increase funding for schools even after public education’s Minimum Foundation Program formula had been rejected.
As the session drew to a close, the Senate finally approved Rep. Edwards’HCR 231, which calls for an additional 1.375%, or $36 million, to be included in the budget for public education. It had been held up while waiting for the House to take a crucial vote on the controversial SAVE plan. (See more on SAVE plan below.)
Once the House approved the scheme that makes Gov. Bobby Jindal’s final budget appear to be revenue-neutral, the Senate voted unanimously to okay the resolution. Because the legislature is allowed to either accept or reject the MFP, but not change it, Rep. Edwards’ resolution calls for the additional money to be appropriated outside of the funding formula. However, it asks Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to recognize the additional funding and include it in the MFP to be adopted for the 2016-17 school year.
The additional funding increases the base student allocation from $3,961 to $4,051, and ensures that raises granted to classroom teachers last year will be continued this year.
Lawmakers Okay COLA; Jindal May Veto
Governor Bobby Jindal may poke state retirees in the eye one more time before following his presidential aspirations to Iowa, New Hampshire and 
La. Education Legislation: Final Update of 2015 | deutsch29:
FLIP THE 
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 
( BESE)


Big Education Ape: FLIP THE LOUISIANA BOARD OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ( BESE) http://bit.ly/1JKBCtL #flipbese


CCSA, California Charter Schools Association Board of Directors

CCSA, California Charter Schools Association Board of Directors:

CCSA, California Charter Schools Association Board of Directors





Made up of charter school and charter management organization leaders, as well as education advocates and representatives of charitable foundations, the Board of Directors broadly formulates CCSA's policy and activities.
Diane Tavenner
Board Chair (term ending 6/30/2016)
Carrie Walton Penner
Board Vice-Chair (term ending 6/30/2017)
Ana Ponce
Secretary (term ending 6/30/2015)
Christopher Nelson
Treasurer (term ending 6/30/2016)
Brian Bauer
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2015)
Judy Burton
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2017)
Cameron Curry
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2016)
Margaret Fortune
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2015)
Reed Hastings
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2015)
Gregory McGinity
Board Member (term ending 6/30/2017)
Jed Wallace
President and Chief Executive Officer for California Charter Schools Association
John Walton (In Memoriam)
Board Member


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/12/15



SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM





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Q&A: Helen Gym on Vision Zero, Council politics, and how the school funding debate ties into planning | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
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Arne Duncan’s False Promise To Forgive Debts At For-Profit Schools | PopularResistance.Org
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Data Smokescreen Covers Up Real Problems in Public Education
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Why a child poverty target is good education policy - First Focus
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Robert Reich Sounds Off On How America Has Failed Its Students
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Chris Christie Suggests College Students Should Sell Themselves To Investors To Pay Tuition
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Aiming to set the record straight about 'the Common Core lie' : News
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YESTERDAY

NEWS: Info on New Orleans Graduation Rates Pre-Katrina | deutsch29
NEWS: Info on New Orleans Graduation Rates Pre-Katrina | deutsch29: NEWS: Info on New Orleans Graduation Rates Pre-KatrinaToday I read a May 2014 post, Charter Schools’ Memory Hole, written by Adam Hubbard Johnson.His piece opens as follows:Pre-Katrina New Orleans graduation numbers are charter school advocates’ exhibit A for reform. One problem: The U.S. and Louisiana Departments of Education say
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/11/15
SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMNewark school leaders seeking indictment of teacher union leader | Bob Braun's LedgerNewark school leaders seeking indictment of teacher union leader | Bob Braun's Ledger: Newark school leaders seeking indictment of teacher union leaderNewark public school officials are seeking the indictment of a top officer of the Newark Teachers Union. They are charging John