What to believe? Greedy teachers, a successful budget director, a warped news account, threat of a shutdown | Reclaim Reform

What to believe? Greedy teachers, a successful budget director, a warped news account, threat of a shutdown | Reclaim Reform:

What to believe? Greedy teachers, a successful budget director, a warped news account, threat of a shutdown

Teacher pensions are bankrupting a state, the $30,000 per month budget consultant successfully saved the state, the legislature and governor still have no spending plan, the governor praised the consultant’s brilliant success, the consultant suddenly quits in triumph, the state faces a shut down by the governor for lack of budget funding – all in the same article in the Tribune.

This is not, unfortunately, a TV soap opera.

This what happens when corporate media propaganda disguises itself as news, as honest journalism.

This causes cognitive dissonance which causes stress and can lead to destructive behavior and damage to an individual’s mental health. On a mass delusional level, this can destroy a country’s ability to tell the difference between image and reality.

From the Chicago Tribune:
“(Illinois) Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “superstar” (Donna Arduin) $30,000-a-month budget consultant is leaving the administration as a stalemated state government continues without a spending plan…

Donna Arduin, who joined the Rauner team in early February, helped the 

What to believe? Greedy teachers, a successful budget director, a warped news account, threat of a shutdown | Reclaim Reform:

Louisiana Charters Are by Far the Worst According to 2011 8th-grade NAEP Anaysis | deutsch29

Louisiana Charters Are by Far the Worst According to 2011 8th-grade NAEP Anaysis | deutsch29:

Louisiana Charters Are by Far the Worst According to 2011 8th-grade NAEP Anaysis

One of the primary problems with Louisiana’s state-run, all-charter Recovery School District (RSD) is that the same state that is in control of data (and the official word on its data) is also committed to representing its state-run district in the best light.

For this reason, independent analysis of data on Louisiana’s schools is particularly valuable, especially when the researchers are able to procure data independently of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE).

Such is the case of an analysis of student-level eighth-grade 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data by two researchers from the University of Arizona, Francesca Lopez and Amy Olson. The Lopez-Olson analysis is featured in this Network for Public Education (NPE) policy brief. Specifically, Lopez and Olson compared traditional public schools to see what notable differences there might be between charters and traditional schools on eighth-grade 2011 NAEP outcomes.

Lopez and Olson’s analysis of charters versus traditional schools in Louisiana is particularly interesting since most charter schools in Louisiana are located in New Orleans, with RSD being the dominant district in New Orleans. In January 2011, Louisiana had 77 charter schools; 51 (66%) were located in New Orleans. Of these 51 New Orleans charters, 41 (80%) were state-run RSD charter schools. The remaining 10 were operated by the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB).

In order to make clearer comparisons between traditional public school students and Louisiana Charters Are by Far the Worst According to 2011 8th-grade NAEP Anaysis | deutsch29:

Chester-Upland can't pay its teachers -- but they're working anyway | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Chester-Upland can't pay its teachers -- but they're working anyway | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Chester-Upland can't pay its teachers -- but they're working anyway

Photo: Kimberly Paynter/WHYY

Teachers at Science and Discovery High School in Chester

Teachers union president Michele Paulick said she received some unwelcome news at the Chester Upland School District teacher convocation this week.

"Our superintendent, Gregory Shannon, read a letter from our receiver, Francis Barnes, that informed the teachers that there are no funds," said Paulick, who described feeling "shock, frustration and anger" at the news.

However, in a Thursday evening vote, the 200-member union decided unanimously to work without pay for as long as individual members are able, Paulick said. The Chester Upland School District educates about 3,500 students, with nearly the same number attending area charter schools.

"We arrived at the decision to continue working because we have to put our children first," she said. "It's not their fault we're in this situation."

Two factors put Chester Upland in an especially difficult position. The district, which has been designated fiscally distressed for more than 20 years, is carrying a $24 million budget deficit from the last school year. Thanks to Pennsylvania's ongoing budget gridlock, no money is flowing into the district from state coffers.

With no fund balance and no money coming in, officials said they won't be able to make payroll for the first week of school, which starts Wednesday.

The parent union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, is helping to raise funds to supplement teachers' loss of income. This is the second time in recent memory that Chester Upland teachers voted to work without pay. In 2012, the district ran out of operating funds in January and asked for an emergency infusion of cash from then Gov. Tom Corbett.

This year, the timing is worse, said Paulick. "We haven't had any paychecks coming in over the summer, so it was very difficult to budget" for the coming weeks.

News that the district is too broke to operate comes on the heels of another blow to the district's finances. Earlier this week, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Chad Kenney rejected several portions of a recovery plan that would have eliminated the district's existing fund deficit.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

Chester-Upland can't pay its teachers -- but they're working anyway | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

CCSS Follow Up System: More than Money Will Follow Your Students | commoncorediva

CCSS Follow Up System: More than Money Will Follow Your Students | commoncorediva:

CCSS Follow Up System: More than Money Will Follow Your Students

In fighting the War Against the Core, we’ve all met those warriors who are great at sending tips to areas of the “Common Core” overreach into our lives. From an educational standpoint, we’ve seen the CCSS Machine usurp our schools; from a privacy standpoint, we seen the CCSS Machine ruin it. The damage is far from new NOR is it over.

Here in NC, the “Common Follow Up System” has been in place since 1992! How is this part of the agenda that comes with “Common Core”? Keep reading, my followers and anti CCSS Warriors..

What is a “CFS”?

The purpose of a “Common Follow Up System” is: “The purpose of the Common Follow-up System (CFS) is to provide information on the educational and employment outcomes of participants in publicly supported educational, employment and training programsfor use in planning, policy-making, program evaluation, resource allocation and career planning.”

Do you see the CCSS/CTE footprints? I do. If you don’t, look at the emphasized words. Publicly supported education means schools or programs connected to them. That’s the CCSS portion. The employment and training is the Career Technical Education (CTE). The two are one in the same in that the CTE portion of the Common Core begins well before high school graduation.

Let’s dig deeper, shall we? The CFS (Common Follow Up System) was designed to be a unified effort to collect massive amounts of data. The data was supposedly to help all the agencies involved to plan better as well as to have better CCSS Follow Up System: More than Money Will Follow Your Students | commoncorediva:

Have charter schools left out some New Orleans students?

Have charter schools left out some New Orleans students?:

In reforming New Orleans, have charter schools left some students out?

JUDY WOODRUFF: That brings us, appropriately, to our look at what’s happened to New Orleans’ schools over the course of the past decade and the big changes that they have undergone.

It’s a story we have reported on closely throughout.

Tonight, John Tulenko of Education Week, which produces stories for the NewsHour, has our report.

JOHN TULENKO: As you can see, in parts of New Orleans, life seems to be getting back to normal 10 years after Katrina. But many folks are wondering about the public schools. For the last 10 years, they have been engaged in what some have called the most ambitious experiment ever in public education. And whether or not it’s working depends on whom you ask.

WOMAN: I do see improvement in the kids and in the schools.

JOHN TULENKO: Is it working?

MAN: No.

WOMAN: The charter system has done tremendously well for the local kids here.

WOMAN: It’s working for those who have their money, their hand in the cookie jar.

MAN: I think they are better than they were 10 years ago.

JOHN TULENKO: Ten years ago, New Orleans’ public schools were headed for rock bottom. Fewer than a third of eighth graders could pass a reading test. And corruption was so deep, the FBI had set up an office inside the school administration building.

Patrick Dobard, who oversees the schools today, remembers those days.

PATRICK DOBARD, Superintendent, Recovery School District: Orleans Parish School Board at that time, unfortunately, it was really academically and in some instances morally and financially bankrupt.

And then Katrina came. When you have a catastrophe like that, it is an opportunity to start anew, because a lot of the institutional barriers, both real and perceived, were literally and figuratively, unfortunately, washed away.

JOHN TULENKO: Seizing the moment, the state took control of the city’s failing schools. Pink slips were sent to all 5,000 teachers and the state set out to remake New Orleans as a city where nearly all the schools would be independently run charters. Local school officials were no longer in charge.

MAN: I will know you’re ready because your eyes will be just on me. Thank you so much.

JOHN TULENKO: Some charters split up the boys and girls. Others focused on the arts. Most introduced uniforms and strict rules, and all were to be held accountable for Have charter schools left out some New Orleans students?:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/28/15 #SaveDyett

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Holding Charter Schools Accountable | Center for Popular Democracy

Holding Charter Schools Accountable | Center for Popular Democracy: HOLDING CHARTER SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABLEAs the charter sector grows far faster than originally envisioned, the risks are high and growing, while the benefits are less clear.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

by mike simpson / 48min 

Art Show Captures the Wrenching Effects of Closing a School - The New York Times

Art Show Captures the Wrenching Effects of Closing a School - The New York Times: Art Show Captures the Wrenching Effects of Closing a SchoolThe show “reForm” commemorates the Fairhill School in North Philadelphia and represents the pain of losing 31 schools. Credit Jessica Kourkounis for The New York TimesPHILADELPHIA — A school may be made of bricks and mortar, but when one closes, the loss can

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In a bankrupt Pa. school district, teachers plan to work for free - The Washington Post

In a bankrupt Pa. school district, teachers plan to work for free - The Washington Post: In a bankrupt Pa. school district, teachers plan to work for freeEmployees of the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania will show up for work on the first day of school next Wednesday, but they don’t expect to get paid.The district, which has been struggling with financial and academic problems for de

by mike simpson / 1h 

Buyer’s remorse. NEA and edTPA. | Fred Klonsky

Buyer’s remorse. NEA and edTPA. | Fred Klonsky: Buyer’s remorse. NEA and edTPAIn our continuing discussion of the expansion of edTPA as a licensure process for teachers entering the profession, I reprinted the original supporting position of the National Education Association.The American Federation of Teachers position of opposition was also posted on this site.I then was blasted by a series of t

by mike simpson / 1h 

10 Years After Katrina, New Orleans’ All-Charter School System Has Proven a Failure - In These Times

10 Years After Katrina, New Orleans’ All-Charter School System Has Proven a Failure - In These Times: 10 Years After Katrina, New Orleans’ All-Charter School System Has Proven a FailureTest scores tell one story, and residents tell another. A three-month investigation by In These Times reveals the cracks in the education reform narrative.On Sept. 24, 2005, in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, a schoo

by mike simpson / 3h 

Poll: California voters back Prop. 30 extension in support of public schools | USC News

Poll: California voters back Prop. 30 extension in support of public schools | USC News: Poll: California voters back Prop. 30 extension in support of public schools As optimism about the state of California’s public schools continues to rise, a strong majority of California voters would back the reauthorization of Proposition 30 to channel additional money to public campuses, according to a new p

by mike simpson / 3h 

Katrina’s ‘Golden Opportunity’: 10 Years of Corporate Media Celebrating Disaster — FAIR

Katrina’s ‘Golden Opportunity’: 10 Years of Corporate Media Celebrating Disaster — FAIR: Katrina’s ‘Golden Opportunity’: 10 Years of Corporate Media Celebrating DisasterFinding the upside of Katrina are clockwise from top left: Arne Duncan, Katherine McQueary, David Brooks, Milton Friedman, Malcolm Gladwell, and Charles and David KochAmericans love, above all, a narrative. Preferably a moral one,

by mike simpson / 4h 

Louisiana Educator: Another Example of John White Withholding Vital Data: No Common Core Test Results Available for a Long Time

Louisiana Educator: Another Example of John White Withholding Vital Data: No Common Core Test Results Available for a Long Time: Another Example of John White Withholding Vital Data: No Common Core Test Results Available for a Long TimeThis relates to data needed by the members of the Curriculum Standards Review Committee to enable them to properly do their job of revising curriculum standards as

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Revised AP curriculum is racist to the core

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Revised AP curriculum is racist to the core: Revised AP curriculum is racist to the coreAccording to the revisions, "there was a debate among European leaders about how non-Europeans should be treated." Wow! What an interesting debate. I wonder who won?I just finished reading the "revised" AP U.S. History framework which is supposed to offer top h

by mike simpson / 5h 

NYC Public School Parents: Ghosts of NYC past return to haunt the news: the Rise and Fall of Amplify

NYC Public School Parents: Ghosts of NYC past return to haunt the news: the Rise and Fall of Amplify: Ghosts of NYC past return to haunt the news: the Rise and Fall of AmplifyMany ghosts from Tweed and NYC’s education past have re-appeared in the news the past few weeks, some of them popping up in unusual places. Former Chancellor Dennis Walcott, who succeeded Joel Klein and Cathy Black, was recen

by mike simpson / 5h 

Principal known as Emanuel critic reprimanded by mayor's school board - Chicago Tribune

Principal known as Emanuel critic reprimanded by mayor's school board - Chicago Tribune: Principal known as Emanuel critic reprimanded by mayor's school boardBlaine Elementary School Principal Troy LaRaviere, who this week excoriated Chicago Public Schools during a panel discussion on the district’s finances, was the target of a “warning resolution” that board members quietly approved Aug. 26, 201

by mike simpson / 6h 

I can certainly understand the desire to say I told you so. — Schoolhouse Voices — Medium

I can certainly understand the desire to say I told you so. — Schoolhouse Voices — Medium: I can certainly understand the desire to say I told you so.I’ve said many of the same things Randi has before, too.There’s no doubt that we could have avoided our current situation regarding standardized tests with a different stance by the USDOE. Yet, as I tell my own children, and used to say when I was su

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Two sides to the Katrina recovery: one black, one white — separate and unequal | The Lens

Two sides to the Katrina recovery: one black, one white — separate and unequal | The Lens: Two sides to the Katrina recovery: one black, one white — separate and unequalNew Orleans and the regional economy are “embarking on a new path, benefitting from new infrastructure, investments, a more diverse set of [employment] clusters, and an entrepreneurship boom,” says a 10th anniversary report by The

by mike simpson / 6h 

Teacher wellness center at city school has goal to promote fitness, ease stress - Baltimore Sun

Teacher wellness center at city school has goal to promote fitness, ease stress - Baltimore Sun: Teacher wellness center at city school has goal to promote fitness, ease stresshttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-teacher-wellness-center-opened-20150827-premiumvideo.htmlLeft, Heather Hatfield, a FX Well personal trainer, watches as Matt Mutolo of Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School, demonstr

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ask About Videotaping in the Classroom

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ask About Videotaping in the Classroom: Ask About Videotaping in the ClassroomVia my student data privacy network of colleagues (via Student Privacy Matters), I have learned that there are teachers doing edTPA teacher certification training who are videotaping their work with students.  Some of the issues noted from my colleagues like Leonie Haimson:Molly, a NYC pa

by mike simpson / 7h 

A Perfect Storm: The Takeover of New Orleans Public Schools

New Orleans Education Equity Roundtable | Issues around equity in education in New Orleans: A Perfect Storm Part 1: 17 Days in NovemberA Perfect Storm: The Takeover of New Orleans Public Schools is the first in a series of short videos, that reveals the real story behind the creation of the nation’s first all charter school district. These videos are made possible with the support of  The Schott F

by mike simpson / 7h 

NEWS FLASH on SBAC:  Beware the cozy relationship between Malloy and the Education Reform Industry. - Wait What?

NEWS FLASH on SBAC:  Beware the cozy relationship between Malloy and the Education Reform Industry. - Wait What?: NEWS FLASH on SBAC:  Beware the cozy relationship between Malloy and the Education Reform Industry.Prior to the Malloy administration even announcing that they would be releasing the 2015 SBAC results today, the state’s two major corporate funded education reform lobby groups, ConnCAN

by mike simpson / 8h 

Students in New Orleans Speak Out | EduShyster

Students in New Orleans Speak Out | EduShyster: Students in New Orleans Speak OutStudents in New Orleans speak out, and ask some hard questions…Early Friday morning students arrived at their schools only to find that it was no regular morning. Pasted on the walls all around the schools were large black & white posters. But these were not your typical posters. These posters had facts, questions

by mike simpson / 8h 

CURMUDGUCATION: No, NYT, Common Core Is Not About Knowledge

CURMUDGUCATION: No, NYT, Common Core Is Not About Knowledge: No, NYT, Common Core Is Not About KnowledgeIn today's New York Times, Natalie Wexler offers an op-ed from some parallel universe in which Common Core and reformsterism are-- well, maybe Opposites Day is today and I missed the memo.She opens by arguing that the Big Standardized Test is not narrowing the curriculum, claiming that it's narr

by mike simpson / 8h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm to both Dyett hunger strikers and Little Black Pearl: "We don't need no stink'n public school in Bronzeville."

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm to both Dyett hunger strikers and Little Black Pearl: "We don't need no stink'n public school in Bronzeville.": Rahm to both Dyett hunger strikers and Little Black Pearl: "We don't need no stink'n public school in Bronzeville."Rahm, Clark, Claypool & JacksonRahm Emanuel, cynical bastard that he is, never intended to put a school back in D

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Christopher Cerf is a liar and a con-man who wants to divide Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger

Christopher Cerf is a liar and a con-man who wants to divide Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger: Christopher Cerf is a liar and a con-man who wants to divide NewarkOf all the lies, half-truths, canards and other deceptions the new state boss of Newark schools dumped on the people of Newark at his first public appearance Tuesday, to me, this was the most repugnant: He said that, to comply with seniority r

by mike simpson / 8h 

Jersey Jazzman: Karen Lewis on Carly Fiorina: "That's a Lie"

Jersey Jazzman: Karen Lewis on Carly Fiorina: "That's a Lie": Karen Lewis on Carly Fiorina: "That's a Lie"Carly Fiorina was one of the six Republicans to participate in Campbell Brown's education summit (which was really nothing more than a teachers union-bashing fest). As I pointed out, Fiorina was stunningly ill-informed and incoherent on education policy.But that flies in th

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Stay Positive and Pace Yourself: A Survival Guide for First-Year Teachers - NEA Today

Stay Positive and Pace Yourself: A Survival Guide for First-Year Teachers - NEA Today: Stay Positive and Pace Yourself: A Survival Guide for First-Year TeachersThe 2015-16 school year will be my second year in the classroom. I am looking forward to the start of school with far less trepidation than I did a year ago. My first year in the classroom was hard – there’s no way around it. But I survived

by mike simpson / 8h 

Watch Poverty in School Districts Escalate Before Your Very Eyes - CityLab

This Map From EdBuild Shows Increasing Rates of School District Poverty Since the Recession - CityLab: Watch Poverty in School Districts Escalate Before Your Very EyesSince the recession, more children than ever are living in impoverished school districts.For parents with multiple kids under one roof, being poor has a compounding effect. That’s why in America, children make up 23 percent of the po

by mike simpson / 8h 

#FightForDyett -- What Real Organizing Looks Like: Parents Stage Hunger Strike at Dyett High School | Black Agenda Report

#FightForDyett -- What Real Organizing Looks Like: South Side Chicago Parents Stage Hunger Strike at Dyett High School | Black Agenda Report: #FightForDyett -- What Real Organizing Looks Like: South Side Chicago Parents Stage Hunger Strike at Dyett High Schoolby the Real News NetworkCall Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel's office at 312-744-3300. Tell him the whole world is watching, he can give the pare

by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

#FightForDyett A Group Of Chicago Residents Are Starving Themselves To Save A School

A Group Of Chicago Residents Are Starving Themselves To Save A School: A Group Of Chicago Residents Are Starving Themselves To Save A SchoolA dozen protestors have been on a hunger strike since August 17A group of Chicago residents finished the 11th day of a hunger strike Thursday in an attempt to move the Chicago School Board to make a decision over the fate of a local school, Dyett High School. 

by mike simpson / 18h 

New Orleans Recovery School District, ACT Outcomes, and Falling Through the Cracks | deutsch29

New Orleans Recovery School District, ACT Outcomes, and Falling Through the Cracks | deutsch29: New Orleans Recovery School District, ACT Outcomes, and Falling Through the CracksThis post includes information on Louisiana’s Class of 2015 ACT scoring outcomes and is chiefly focused upon the Recovery School District (RSD) in New Orleans. It is as much a post about who in RSD is taking as it is about

by mike simpson / 18h hide  //  save

Controversial psychologist found working at special ed schools | EdSource

Controversial psychologist found working at special ed schools | EdSource: CONTROVERSIAL PSYCHOLOGIST FOUND WORKING AT SPECIAL ED SCHOOLSHe is among the nation’s leading believers in “aversive therapy,” in which students with behavior disorders are pinched, deprived of food and shocked with electricity to control their behavior. For more than 30 years, state attorneys general, U.S. congressmenand

by mike simpson / 18h 

'Every Kid Is Money' New Orleans Post-Katrina Charter Schools Foster Unhelpful Competition - US News

New Orleans Post-Katrina Charter Schools Foster Unhelpful Competition - US News: 'Every Kid Is Money'Principals see dollar signs instead of students in New Orleans' post-Katrina charter schools.This week commemorates a grim anniversary. Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It wiped out the entire public school system and cleared the way for what has become the nation's first fu

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/27/15 #SaveDyett

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMWith Market Rates Unaffordable, Oakland Turns To Building Teacher-Only Affordable Housing | ThinkProgressWith Market Rates Unaffordable, Oakland Turns To Building Teacher-Only Affordable Housing | ThinkProgress: With Market Rates Unaffordable, Oakland Turns To Building Teacher-Only Affordable HousingWhen the Oakland school year began Monday, the city’s public sc

by mike simpson / 23h