Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education?

Steven Singer is first out of the box with a review of the Democratic Presidential debate of last night.

President Obama set the tone for the evening (so far as education is concerned) by praising his administration for having reformed the nation’s schools.

It didn’t get any better.

The CNN anchors did not ask a single question about education.

Admittedly both Hillary Clinton and Sanders briefly brought it up when asked about other things.

Clinton said we need universal pre-kindergarten and good schools. However, she neglected to say what those good schools would look like.

It’s almost like saying nothing at all. EVERYONE wants good schools – Even dunderheads like Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump! But their ideas of good schools differ greatly from that of most parents, teachers and students. McCharter schools for the poor and Cadillac campuses for the rich isn’t exactly what real progressives have in mind.

And universal pre-k? Great! But that’s kind of the flavor of the month. Who really disagrees that we should help toddlers prepare for school? It’s like asking, “Who wants ice cream?” in a room full of little kids on a hot day. EVERYONE wants ice cream – even the kids who are lactose intolerant!

Sanders took a second in a diatribe about social services to mention the need to fund schools. However, he didn’t say a thing about equity or if that funding would have strings attached. President Obama talked about funding schools, too, when he was running for president in 2008. Once he got into office those education dollars came at the cost of accepting untested and developmentally inappropriate Common Core State Standards. And equity meant closing poor schools to save them.

Singer wondered whether education was off the table because the two big teachers’ unions had already endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration continues to run roughshod over Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog:

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate

None.

Null.

Nada.

That’s how many questions CNN anchors asked presidential hopefuls about America’s public schools at the first Democratic Debate.

Imagine if Anderson Cooper and company had been silent on Climate Change. The candidates would have brought it up anyway. Bernie Sanders actually did talk about the threat to the environment when asked a question about national defense.

Imagine if moderators had no questions about gun violence. Candidates competed with each other to demonstrate which took a stronger stance against the National Rifle Association.

Imagine if no one asked about finance reform. On that stage each candidate tried to position his or herself as the new sheriff of Wall Street.

But when it comes to one of the most important issues of the day – our children’s struggling schools – the media apparently thought it was of no interest to the viewing public.

Admittedly both Hillary Clinton and Sanders briefly brought it up when asked about Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog:

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29:

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores

On October 12, 2015, the following email from Louisiana superintendent John White was forwarded to district superintendents, accompanied with 12 files detailing raw-score-to-scale-score conversions for the tests given to Louisiana students in spring 2015 in grades 3 through 8 in ELA and math:

Attached please find charts for converting raw scores to scale scores for 2015 grade 3-8 English and math state assessments.

These are the same conversion tables as will be used in other states where these forms are active. Scale scores and cut scores derived from these conversions will be comparable with those in other states, provided that BESE approves comparable cut scores.

John

The question of whether the tests Louisiana students took are exactly the same test that all PARCC states have taken, as White is quoted saying in a September 29, 2015, article in The Lens, is not settled by the fact that in The Lens article, White implies that all PARCC states used “the same form”–

Students across Louisiana “took the exact same form as did kids across the country,” White said. “Same questions. Same order. Nothing different.” [Emphasis added.]

–but in the email excerpt above, White includes a disclaimer about the scale scores applying “in other states where these forms are active.”

To date, White has offered the public no formal documentation to substantiate his Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29:

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic:

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It

'Down In The Valley' glorifies Sacramento's Mayor, an alleged sex abuser

By Max Rivlin-Nadler

On Monday, ESPN postponed its new 30 for 30 documentary Down In The Valley, a recounting of the years-long fight by the city of Sacramento to keep its NBA team from moving to a different city, a fight led by its mayor, the former NBA star Kevin Johnson, that had been set to air on October 20. But when I asked for a screener of the new Kevin Johnson film from ESPN, I was corrected by a spokesperson, who told me it was not, as early critics had leveled, a heroic depiction of the efforts of the city’s now-embattled mayor, but rather told the story of “the power of sports to inspire a city and revitalize a struggling community.”

Last Friday, ESPN pulled the media screener of the documentary, citing piracy concerns. But before it was pulled, I was able to see the film in its entirety. And despite the best efforts of ESPN’s PR apparatus to try to convince the media otherwise, the film goes well beyond portraying Kevin Johnson in a positive light. Down In The Valley amounts to a 77-minute political advertisement for Johnson, a man who in 1995 paid a 15-year-old over $230,000 to keep quiet after she alleged that he had sexually abused her.

Johnson’s more recent exploits, some as mayor, include intentionallybankrupting a historic black mayor’s conference, flagrant misuse of federal funds, and the installation within his city hall of paid staff members of an aggressively pro-charter school organization, who often failed to disclose their other employer. These revelations, as well as his long history of alleged sexual abuse, have been brought to the nation’s attention by the veteran sportswriter Dave McKenna, who has been meticulously detailing the dealings of Johnson for Deadspin. But even before that, thanks to thedogged reporting of the Sacramento Bee, a paper Johnson has battled withrecently, ESPN had to be well aware that the protagonist of its film was not ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic:

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White"

A series of events and panel discussions on the history of African Americans and schooling in Philadelphia are taking place this month, including a conference this Thursday through Saturday On "The Institute for Colored Youth and the Ongoing Struggle for Education."

The ICY, founded in Philadelphia in 1837, is now Cheyney University.

"Education in Black and White" is billed as a "citywide festival" and is part of the "hidden history" project of the Moonstone Arts Center, an arts education organization with a focus on the history of the African American community in Philadelphia.

Events will be held at Local 1199C of the Hospital Workers Union; the Writing Project at the University of Pennsylvania, the African American History Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, and branches of the Free Library.

Partners also include the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (which still exists), WURD, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. 

On Thursday, a panel on the founding of the Institute for Colored Youth will feature local writers Dan Biddle and Murray Dubin, who wrote Tasting Freedom: Octavius V. Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America. Catto was one of the early graduates of ICY who was a key civil rights leader fighting for African American voting rights and was murdered at age 32. 

History professors Judith Giesberg, Linda M. Perkins, and Kabria Bumgartner will discuss the women of the ICY, including Fannie Jackson Coppin and Charlotte Forten. Coppin, the Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political:

Kids Not Cuts Gets Political

Editor's Note: the Board apparently wrote back and seemingly was not happy with the input from the delegation.  I will post when I receive.  Also, I note that Rep. Reuven Carlyle, Speaker Frank Chopp, Rep. Brady Walkinshaw and Senator Jamie Pedersen did not sign this letter. Pedersen and Carlyle are SPS parents.

Washington State Legislature 

Sherry Carr, President
Seattle School District Board of Directors MS 11-010
PO Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165 
Re: Staff Reassignments 

Dear Board President Carr, 


It has been our privilege work in partnership with you and to advocate on behalf of Seattle Public School students in Olympia. Many of us have students in Seattle Public Schools, and each of us cares deeply about providing all of our children with an excellent education. We recognize the extremely difficult position the District is in and appreciate the steps staff have already taken to minimize impacts to students as you seek to maximize resources consistent with enrollment. We are writing today, however, to express our concern about the disruption caused across the district by teacher reassignments, and we are asking that you consider postponing those teacher reassignments to allow the District to work with the community in order to craft a plan to keep staff at their currently assigned schools. 

In 2012 the State Supreme Court ruled that our state was not meeting its paramount duty of fully funding basic education. Since the original ruling, the state increased K-12 education funding for important elements of basic education such as student transportation, K-3 class size reduction, materials and supplies, and all-day kindergarten. The members of this delegation have been Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political:

And How Many Cookies to Save Teachers at 25+ Schools?

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.:

The Passion of St. Arne

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will step down at the end of this year, and President Obama has announced that he will be replaced by former New York Commissioner of Education Dr. John King, Jr. as the acting Secretary of Education through the remainder of the administration.  Praising his often embattled Secretary of Education, President Obama said, ““He’s done more to bring our educational system, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the 21st century than anyone else….America will be better off for what he has done.”

We’ll leave that judgement to history.

As is often the case when prominent Washington figures prepare to ride off into the sunset (or out of town under cover of darkness depending on your point of view) it is time for “legacy punditry” to kick into overdrive and attempt to place Secretary Duncan in history.  Most of it is premature.  Quite a lot of it is insipid. And much of it just cannot resist creating a “balanced” narrative whether it is honest or not, which is where, Secretary Arne Duncan, Martyr of the Intransigent Teacher Unions comes into play.  Michael Grunwald of Politico.com wrote just such a piece last week, explaining the the choice of John King signals that President Obama has no intention of backing off any controversial reforms and strongly emphasizing union opposition to both Secretary Duncan and his chosen successor:

Duncan has been the public face of those differences; the National Education Association called for his resignation, while the American Federation of Teachers put him on an “improvement plan” like the ones school reformers have endorsed for incompetent teachers. He is leaving with U.S. graduation rates at an all-time high and dropout rates at an all-time low, but there has 

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/13/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

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Sacramento Democratic Party leader: Mayor Kevin Johnson should ‘step aside’ | The Sacramento Bee

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Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty, tearfully apologizes to students - Chicago Tribune

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Budget Disputes in Pennsylvania’s Legislature Could Force Public Schools to Shut Down - The Atlantic

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Shadow of Paul Vallas hangs over Chicago’s Corporate Education Reform Industry scandal - Wait What?

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Russ on Reading: Teacher Autonomy, Accountability and Baseball

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Top 10 Education Questions for the 2015 Las Vegas #DemDebate @CNN @DonLemon | Cloaking Inequity

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Ex-head of Chicago public schools to plead guilty in bribery case

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In Final PBS Broadcast, John Merrow Interviews New York City’s Controversial Eva Moskowitz | janresseger

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Education takes center stage in Philadelphia mayoral debate | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

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Bill Gates, with a net worth of about $78 billion, according to Forbes, Can Buy ANYTHING

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Kevin Johnson sexual assault allegations: Sacramento mayor faces questions.

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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/12/15

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