CORPORATE ED REFORM
CURMUDGUCATION: OH: Opt Out Under Attack
CURMUDGUCATION: OH: Opt Out Under Attack:OH: Opt Out Under AttackWord came from a high-ranking official through Facebook today that somebody is gunning for those mean old Ohio Opt Outers.The vehicle is Ohio House Bill 420, a bill "to amend sections 3302.01 and 3302.03 of the Revised Code to prohibit the Department of Education from including students who 'opt-out' of state assessments in calc
Kindergarten teacher: Don’t blame us if your kids are overworked. It isn’t our fault. - The Washington Post
Kindergarten teacher: Don’t blame us if your kids are overworked. It isn’t our fault. - The Washington Post: Kindergarten teacher: Don’t blame us if your kids are overworked. It isn’t our fault.I published a post the other day titled, “Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignment,” by a mother of three, Cara Paiuk, who wrote:I just can’t imagine prioritizing homework with m
“My daughter will not be taking the “state mandated” NEW SAT on March 2nd 2016.” - Wait What?
“My daughter will not be taking the “state mandated” NEW SAT on March 2nd 2016.” - Wait What?:“My daughter will not be taking the “state mandated” NEW SAT on March 2nd 2016.”According to a new “state mandate,” approximately 40,000 Connecticut high school juniors will not be attending their classes on March, 2, 2016. Instead they will be taking another “Common Core aligned” standardized test – thi
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Flint water disaster was preceded by takeover of schools and local govt's
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Flint water disaster was preceded by takeover of schools and local govt's: Flint water disaster was preceded by takeover of schools and local govt'sIn Michigan, the idea of a government of, by, and for the people did not apply to poor black cities, and when residents were robbed of the ability to govern themselves, they suffered. In Flint, it meant they got poisoned.
The Washington Teacher: DC Public Schools Imposes Longer School Year in Some Schools Without Stakeholders Input
The Washington Teacher: DC Public Schools Imposes Longer School Year in Some Schools Without Stakeholders Input: DC Public Schools Imposes Longer School Year in Some Schools Without Stakeholders InputBy: Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice PresidentStatements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its memb
“No Excuses” Charter School Dean Speaks #SCW – Cloaking Inequity
“No Excuses” Charter School Dean Speaks #SCW – Cloaking Inequity: “No Excuses” Charter School Dean Speaks #SCW The former dean of students at a New Orleans charter school urges teachers and staff at No Excuses schools to ask some hard questions about the model’s social and emotional costs…Dear You:You were selected to teach at your school because of your intelligence, spunk, tenacity, vigor and, m
LAUSD board told charters attracting more federal dollars than magnets - LA School Report
LAUSD board told charters attracting more federal dollars than magnets - LA School Report: LAUSD board told charters attracting more federal dollars than magnetsFor all the successful magnet schools in LA Unified and elsewhere, they are not attracting as much federal support as charter schools.That was a stark message from the district’s federal lobbyist, who told a district board committee this w
Obama and the Charter School Sugar Daddies | Black Agenda Report
Obama and the Charter School Sugar Daddies | Black Agenda Report:Obama and the Charter School Sugar DaddiesA Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen FordAs hedge funds spin their financial webs to spur charter school expansion and President Obama bullies states to lift caps on charters, "right-wing foundations are attempting to swallow whole the entire school district of Washington, DC." F
Report on the Stability of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) “Value-Added” Estimates | VAMboozled!
Report on the Stability of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) “Value-Added” Estimates | VAMboozled!: Report on the Stability of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) “Value-Added” EstimatesThe Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) model, which is loosely defined by value-added model (VAM) purists as a VAM, uses students’ level(s) of past performance to determine students’ normative growth over time, as compare
U.S. Education Department threatens to sanction states over test opt-outs - The Washington Post
U.S. Education Department threatens to sanction states over test opt-outs - The Washington Post: U.S. Education Department threatens to sanction states over test opt-outsAnyone who thought that the U.S. Education Department’s power over states in regard to standardized testing was over because of the new K-12 education law passed in December should think again.The Every Student Succeeds Act was th
Libraries at the Crossroads | Pew Research Center
Libraries at the Crossroads | Pew Research Center: Libraries at the CrossroadsThe public is interested in new services and thinks libraries are important to communitiesAmerican libraries are buffeted by cross currents. Citizens believe that libraries are important community institutions and profess interest in libraries offering a range of new program possibilities. Yet, even as the public express
Sacramento News & Review - The return of Steinberg - Feature Story - Local Stories - January 28, 2016
Sacramento News & Review - The return of Steinberg - Feature Story - Local Stories - January 28, 2016:The return of SteinbergRespect, money, vision, likability—Darrell Steinberg’s candidacy has it all. But is the former state Senate pro tem really a lock to become Sacramento’s next mayor?Darrell Steinberg darts across a quiet Tahoe Park street toward a woman standing in her doorway. “You’ve go
CURMUDGUCATION: Power and Order
CURMUDGUCATION: Power and Order: Power and Order It's School Choice Week and all the usuals have to check in, and I've been trying to read the work of the more serious choice advocates. And that would have to include Andy Smarick.Smarick's entry at the Rordhma Institute blog is School Choice: The end of the beginning in which he would like to suggest that charter-choice systems are a done deal, an
We Know How To Prepare “High Quality” New Teachers | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing
We Know How To Prepare “High Quality” New Teachers | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing: We Know How To Prepare “High Quality” New Teachers“Having taught four decades, and having had the privilege of working with so many talented and experienced educators throughout those four decades, I can say, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that becoming a good teacher takes time. Nor only do you need time to de
Inviting Policy Ideas for Democracy Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week
Inviting Policy Ideas for Democracy Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Inviting Policy Ideas for Democracy SchoolsDeborah Meier continues her conversation with Harry Boyte. To read their full exchange, please visit here.Dear Harry and friends,Speaking of Bernie Sanders, I just read a persuasively friendly piece in Bloomberg Businessweek (Jan. 7, 2016)! The author, Joel Stein, ends hi
Christie: A fine sixth place showing everywhere | Bob Braun's Ledger
Christie: A fine sixth place showing everywhere | Bob Braun's Ledger: Christie: A fine sixth place showing everywhereWhat?The headline in The Star-Ledger after the last Republican presidential debate was “IT’S ON.” in nearly two-inch high, all-capital letter, headlines, followed–mercifully–not by an exclamation point but by a curious red dot. While the headline was, at best, ambiguous, the subhe
School Libraries Strive to Keep Pace with New Family Structures - NEA Today
School Libraries Strive to Keep Pace with New Family Structures - NEA Today: School Libraries Strive to Keep Pace with New Family Structures Some students at Beehive Elementary School in Kearns, Utah, come from families with a mother, a father and their biological children living together under one roof. Many will likely have a dog.Others belong to families comprised of two Dads or two Moms, or on
With A Brooklyn Accent: The Untold Story: How Immigrants Have Helped Revitalize Bronx Neighborhoods
With A Brooklyn Accent: The Untold Story: How Immigrants Have Helped Revitalize Bronx Neighborhoods: The Untold Story: How Immigrants Have Helped Revitalize Bronx NeighborhoodsMost Americans probably still think of the Bronx through metaphors of decline and decay, epitomized by the phrase, "the Bronx is Burning," but that phrase doesn't begin to describe what is happening in the borough
Cut Scores on Standardized Tests Are Arbitrary; Pearson’s GED Recalibration Proves It | janresseger
Cut Scores on Standardized Tests Are Arbitrary; Pearson’s GED Recalibration Proves It | janresseger: Cut Scores on Standardized Tests Are Arbitrary; Pearson’s GED Recalibration Proves ItIt is hard to remember that standardized test scores have no real, objective meaning. How easily we forget this truth.The standardized tests that are used to rate and rank public schools—the ones that became ubiqu
Seattle Schools Community Forum: McCleary? Anybody? It's Crickets at the Legislature
Seattle Schools Community Forum: McCleary? Anybody? It's Crickets at the Legislature: McCleary? Anybody? It's Crickets at the LegislatureWA GOP gut bipartisan education legislationRELEASE: Jan. 27, 2016 (this came via Senator John McCoy but I'm not sure of its origins)Senate Republicans gut bipartisan McCleary billOLYMPIA – A cornerstone bill to address Washington state’s education funding obliga
1/28/2016 – The School Choice We Have Vs. The Choice We Want
1/28/2016 – The School Choice We Have Vs. The Choice We Want: The School Choice We Have Vs. The Choice We WantThe School Choice We Have Vs. The Choice We WantBy Jeff Bryant“It’s that time of year when National School Choice Week is staged by – well, we really don’t know who – to elevate ‘education options,’ primarily, charter schools and vouchers, for K-12 students … But this year’s celebration of
Ed. Dept. Outlines ESSA Transition on Tutoring, School Choice, Teachers - Politics K-12 - Education Week
Ed. Dept. Outlines ESSA Transition on Tutoring, School Choice, Teachers - Politics K-12 - Education Week:Ed. Dept. Outlines ESSA Transition on Tutoring, School Choice, TeachersThe Every Student Succeeds Act may be an honest-to-goodness law, but it won't be fully in place until the 2017-18 school year, when we'll have a new president and secretary of education.Between now and then, the feds, states
As Scandals Plague Charter Schools, Calls for Oversight Grow - Yahoo News
As Scandals Plague Charter Schools, Calls for Oversight Grow - Yahoo News: As Scandals Plague Charter Schools, Calls for Oversight GrowAllegations of fiscal mismanagement at a now-defunct charter school in Kansas City. Questions in New Orleans about how taxpayer dollars are allocated and spent at charters. Sweetheart dealsamong charter officials in Rochester, New York, and charges that a flagship
From the People Who Brought You Walmart: $1 Billion for Charter Schools | The Range: Tucson Weekly
From the People Who Brought You Walmart: $1 Billion for Charter Schools | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch | Tucson Weekly: From the People Who Brought You Walmart: $1 Billion for Charter SchoolsIn honor of School Choice Week (yes, that's really a thing), I'll be writing a few posts about charter schools. Today' post: The Walton Family Foundation plans to spend $1 billion on charter s
When winners are losers: Private school vouchers in Louisiana | Brookings Institution
When winners are losers: Private school vouchers in Louisiana | Brookings Institution: When winners are losers: Private school vouchers in LouisianaThis month’s Powerball winners collected $1.6 billion, but not all lotteries turn out well for winners. In Louisiana, students who won a lottery for tuition scholarships to private schools wound up with worse academic performance than their peers who w
Tough-Minded Federal Accountability Is Dead: What Will the States Do Now? - Top Performers - Education Week
Tough-Minded Federal Accountability Is Dead: What Will the States Do Now? - Top Performers - Education Week: Tough-Minded Federal Accountability Is Dead: What Will the States Do Now?The age of federally driven school accountability is now dead. Only traces of the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind legislation, the Obama administration's signature education program Race to the Top and the
How School Fundraising by Affluent Parents Can Increase Public-School Inequality - The Atlantic
How School Fundraising by Affluent Parents Can Increase Public-School Inequality - The Atlantic: How Rich Parents Can Exacerbate School InequalityFundraising efforts often give their kids an academic edge.I’m a card-carrying member of three parent school associations. I write the weekly newsletter for the special-education parents’ group and help organize social events for disabled kids. But my in
Court weighs potential overhaul of California school financing - SFGate
Court weighs potential overhaul of California school financing - SFGate: Court weighs potential overhaul of California school financingPhoto: Associated PressThe First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco hinted Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, that it was considering a potentially historic judicial intervention in California’s woeful school finance system — a ruling that it violates students’ cons
Fact-checking Trump’s new anti-Common Core video - The Washington Post
Fact-checking Trump’s new anti-Common Core video - The Washington Post: Fact-checking Trump’s new anti-Common Core videoI will end common core. It's a disaster.https://t.co/d83XYrqZ3m#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 pic.twitter.com/r0Sc6zm80I— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2016In the race for the GOP presidential nomination, Donald Trump has said little about education except to
The Global Search for Education: Our Top 12 Global Teacher Blogs - Remembering Joe Bower and His Love of Learning
The Global Search for Education: Our Top 12 Global Teacher Blogs - Remembering Joe Bower and His Love of Learning: The Global Search for Education: Our Top 12 Global Teacher Blogs - Remembering Joe Bower and His Love of Learning Remembering Joe Bower 1978 - 2016We miss our Top 12 Global Blogger Joe Bower very much. Joe, a progressive and gifted educator from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada recently died
YESTERDAY
How to end segregation in New York City’s gifted and talented program - The Hechinger Report
How to end segregation in New York City’s gifted and talented program - The Hechinger Report: How to end segregation in New York City’s gifted and talented programThe problems with premises and politicsch of the discussion surrounding New York City’s school segregation problem has focused not on serious policy moves involving school integration* for the nation’s largest district but rather on maxi
California lawsuit appeal pursues claim of inadequate education funding | EdSource
California lawsuit appeal pursues claim of inadequate education funding | EdSource: California lawsuit appeal pursues claim of inadequate education fundingStudents, parents and school officials stand at a podium to talk about their lawsuit.CREDIT: CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATIONPlaintiffs in the Robles-Wong v. State of California lawsuit announce the case at a press conference in Sacramento o
Mother of Autistic Child on “Got to Go List” Publicly Confronts Eva Moskowitz | deutsch29
Mother of Autistic Child on “Got to Go List” Publicly Confronts Eva Moskowitz | deutsch29: Mother of Autistic Child on “Got to Go List” Publicly Confronts Eva MoskowitzOn Friday January 22, 2016, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted the 131st City Law Breakfast. The event speaker was the highly controversial Success Academies (SA) CEO, Eva Moskowitz.The video for the even
CURMUDGUCATION: CATO, Choice and Freedom
CURMUDGUCATION: CATO, Choice and Freedom: CATO, Choice and FreedomIt's School Choice Week, one more faux celebration created as a hook on which to hang a hundred press releases.School Choice Week does indeed launch a thousand events and commentaries, and plenty of them are not very serious puff pieces by not very serious people. But some choice supporters are reasonably thoughtful people, and thei
Design of a Decade: Moments From 10 Years Of Writing | The Jose Vilson
Design of a Decade: Moments From 10 Years Of Writing | The Jose Vilson: Design of a Decade: Moments From 10 Years Of WritingPeople forget that, ten years ago, the idea of blogging aloud made no sense to the average reader. The mainstream media had the stranglehold on public opinion, and trying to get an op-ed into any space requires a lot of know-how and a little know-who. Teachers were always tal
What Chicago Schools Need and Deserve – Troy LaRaviere's blog
What Chicago Schools Need and Deserve – Troy LaRaviere's blog: WHAT CHICAGO SCHOOLS NEED AND DESERVE Absurd ProposalLast week, I listened to reports of a State attempt to takeover Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and pave the way for bankruptcy proceedings, the way one might listen to a report of UFOs spotted over Lake Michigan. “Is this a joke?” I thought to myself.While the Board of Education and C
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/27/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMLegislator proposes new credentials for dance, theater teachers | 89.3 KPCCLegislator proposes new credentials for dance, theater teachers | 89.3 KPCC: Legislator proposes new credentials for dance, theater teachersIn an effort to increase the number of public schools offering theater and dance classes and to lure more dance and theater professionals to teaching, Santa Monica-ar
