Rev. William Barber at the Schott Gala talks about the history of racism & education thru a personal lens 5/11/17 on Vimeo : Rev. William Barber at the Schott Gala talks about the history of racism & education thru a personal lens Rev. William Barber at the Schott Gala talks about the history of racism & education thru a personal lens 5/11/17 from Class Size Matters on Vimeo . Rev. William Barber
Schools Matter: Privatizer Nick Melvoin wants Betsy DeVos style policies for Los Angeles : Privatizer Nick Melvoin wants Betsy DeVos style policies for Los Angeles "Melvoin’s people are not ordinary constituents passing daily through LAUSD’s school house doors. These are an extremely rarefied set of LA’s ruling class, the managers and not the workers of this great city." — Sara Roos Nick Melvoin
School Choice?: Julian & Jitu vs. Petrilli & Shayne @ #EdSummit17 – Cloaking Inequity : School Choice?: Julian & Jitu vs. Petrilli & Shayne @ #EdSummit17 Fasten your seat belts because the #TruthTrain is about to roll into A Better Chicago #EdSummit17 conversation. A Better Chicago, a foundation that seeks to “empower high performing nonprofits that are dramatically improving educational opportun
Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care Video - ABC News : Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care You are single greatest threat to my family ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos Transcript for Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care In March. You'd hold us. That you practically broke her arm. Patting yourself
CURMUDGUCATION : Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION Progressive: The Trouble with Ranking Schools 1 by Peter Greene / 4h For a while now I've been a "Progressive Fellow in Education" (which is different from being, say, a charming fellow in the low brass section) and I write regularly for them as part of a group of twelve education writers. If you aren't reading the Fellows regularly, you should be. An
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Catch Diane Ravitch's blog If You Can A site to discuss better education for all Thomas Ultican: Shakespeare and the “Ocean God” 2 by dianeravitch / 25min Thomas Ultican teaches physics and mathematics to high school students in San Diego. In this post, he describes a wonderful day at the home of one of the nation’s greatest ocea
Education Activists Craft Viral Videos - Living in Dialogue : Education Activists Craft Viral Videos By Anthony Cody. Short, punchy films with a message have become one of the most powerful ways the movement to resist high stakes tests has spread the word. You might have seen parents from New York speaking from the heart about their experience, about what has driven them to resist and opt out of
Who Are the Out-of-Town Billionaires Trying to Defeat Steve Zimmer? - LA Progressive : Who Are the Out-of-Town Billionaires Trying to Defeat Steve Zimmer? S ome of America’s most powerful corporate plutocrats want to take over the Los Angeles school system but Steve Zimmer, a former teacher and feisty school board member, is in their way. So they’ve hired Nick Melvoin to get rid of him. No, he’s
The L.A. school board race: Brutal, expensive and important - LA Times : The L.A. school board race: Brutal, expensive and important he four people vying for two pivotal seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education agree on at least two things: The campaign has been brutal, and there’s a lot at stake. The nastiness leading up to the May 16 runoff election has been generated by independent campaign
Fifteen weeks of Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Thanks to all our guests. More to come. | Fred Klonsky : Fifteen weeks of Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Thanks to all our guests. More to come. Thanks to all our guests and listeners who have joined us over the past fifteen weeks of Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers on http://www.lumpenradio.com 105.5FM and live streaming eve
The good — and bad — news about how some states want to evaluate schools in post-NCLB era - The Washington Post : The good — and bad — news about how some states want to evaluate schools in post-NCLB era The U.S. Education Department just announced that plans submitted by 16 states and the District of Columbia showing how they will comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act — the successo
Walton Family Foundation Is Looking for a “Director of People” | deutsch29 : Walton Family Foundation Is Looking for a “Director of People” The Walton Family Foundation (WFF) has created a new HR (human resources) position: Director of People. This person is supposed to be trained in HR and have experience in HR “some experience in international HR preferred”), but to go beyond HR and be a “peopl
Count The Money! (Think Of The Kids) – redqueeninla : Count The Money! (Think Of The Kids) Here’s today’s tally of the LAUSD district four school board race Direct Contributions To Candidates MELVOIN ZIMMER FAVOR TO $788,549 $594,389 Melvoin ︎ by 1/3 (33%) And here’s how to think of the independent expenditures : To date the grand total of independent expenditures and collected donations is: $9,8
Badass Teachers Association : High-Stakes Testing Is Coming: SO LEARN! By John C. Fager This is the elder President Bush (George H. W.) in 1991 who had gathered together 49 governors and some of the most powerful corporate CEOs to try to use fear as a way of motivating students and teachers to work harder and achieve more. They believed that students were lazy and unchallenged by the existing sta
Tax Cuts Are Theft. | gadflyonthewallblog : Tax Cuts Are Theft. Ben Franklin famously said that nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes. But in our modern age, that might have to be amended to read, “death and tax cuts.” These days, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can’t figure out how to govern without continually cutting taxes – and invariably the beneficiaries of such large
New Sacramento City schools chief outlines his course to pursue | The Sacramento Bee : New Sac City schools chief outlines his course to pursue As I embark on leading critical work for the students, staff and families of Sacramento City Unified School District, the responsibility reminds me of my own educational journey that brought me to this juncture. My journey started as a child working along
Freed from regulations by Trump administration, state education board unveils the 'California Way' - LA Times : Freed from regulations by Trump administration, state education board unveils the 'California Way' Patricia Rucker started tearing up, and the room fell silent. “I’ve been a member of this board for six years,” she said Wednesday at a meeting of the California State Board of Education.
Betsy DeVos was asked to address education reporters at their annual convention. She said no. - The Washington Post : Betsy DeVos was asked to address education reporters at their annual convention. She said no. Every U.S. education secretary has found time to address the Education Writers Association convention, and the organization was hoping that Betsy DeVos would agree to do the same thing at
Betsy DeVos is booed for a reason. Or two. Or three | Douglas Williams | Opinion | The Guardian : Betsy DeVos is booed for a reason. Or two. Or three The US secretary of education faced jeers when she spoke at Bethune-Cookman University. And rightly so T here are many reasons why one might jeer Betsy DeVos, the US education secretary. Perhaps you find her advocacy for guns in schools due to the e
School choice? Let's try good choices, Secretary DeVos : School choice, Secretary DeVos? Let's try good choices When graduating students at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida booed U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos earlier this week, she seemed genuinely dismayed, asking students to listen to her as they hoped she'd listen to them, urging them to strive for a "mind-set of grace." DeVos'
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Friendly Friday Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Gary Rubinstein: Rick Hess is the Reformer Who Thinks 1 by dianeravitch / 52min Gary Rubinstein read Rick Hess’s latest book, “Letters to a Young Education Reformer” and found much to admire, even though Gary is one of the most perceptive critics of w
Torlakson Announces Peak of Annual CAASPP Testing - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Peak of Annual CAASPP Testing SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that nearly 500,000 California students took California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) tests on Tuesday May 9, the highest number of st
Know-It-All School Reformers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Know-It-All School Reformers Listen to Michael Mann, a climatolgist at Penn State University who talked about the science behind global warming and rising sea levels. Any honest assessment of the science is going to recognize that there are things we understand pretty darn well and things that we sort of know. Bu
2 Celerity charter schools shut down by California board of education | 89.3 KPCC : 2 Celerity charter schools shut down by California board of education Two schools run by Celerity Educational Group — the Los Angeles charter school operator under federal investigation — are shutting down. The California State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to let the charters for the campuses expi
CURMUDGUCATION: NC: Millions More for Vouchers : NC: Millions More for Vouchers Just found this in the budget. Looks like the plan is to dramatically increase vouchers for private school over the next decade. pic.twitter.com/mTFUITob0u — Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) May 11, 2017 Jeff Jackson is a Democratic senator in North Carolina whose fifteen minutes came in 2015 when he was the only le
Ohio’s Notorious E-Charters Evade Regulation: ECOT Saga Drags On and On and On | janresseger : Ohio’s Notorious E-Charters Evade Regulation: ECOT Saga Drags On and On and On Ohio’s biggest charter school, the notorious e-school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), held a big rally in Columbus early this week . Rick Teeters, ECOT’s superintendent, told all the school’s teachers and studen
Jersey Jazzman: Attrition in Denver Charter Schools : Attrition in Denver Charter Schools Earlier this month David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote yet another column extolling the virtues of charter schools. I feel like a broken record when I say, once again, that education policy dilettantes like Leonhardt don't seem to understand that it requires more than a few studies showing a few char
Torlakson Opposes Potential Federal Medicaid Cuts - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Opposes Potential Federal Medicaid Cuts for School-based Health Services SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today said he sent two U.S. Senators a letter announcing his opposition to changes that could endanger funding for school-based health se
Brown’s May budget adds more money for schools and child care, but mixed bag for higher ed | EdSource : Brown's May budget adds more money for schools and child care, but mixed bag for higher ed Rosier-than-expected budget revenues have prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to restore some cuts projected in January – most notably to child care – and to send over $1 billion in additional funding to schools th
“Creative” Charter School Finance: Orange County School of Arts…In Duarte (San Gabriel Valley)? : “Creative” Charter School Finance: Orange County School of Arts…In Duarte (San Gabriel Valley)? By Elena de la Cuevas The expansion of the Orange County School of the Arts (OSCA) to a sister site in the San Gabriel Valley has led to an complicated mix of charter and public monies. Rebuffed in San Die
5/11/2017 – What Is The Purpose Of School Choice? : 5/11/2017 – What Is The Purpose Of School Choice? THIS WEEK: White School Secession … School Funding Fights Loom … Problems With Choice … Choice Fails … College Inequity TOP STORY What Is The Purpose Of School Choice? By Jeff Bryant “Many proponents of school choice contend the purpose of school choice was never about generating better results.
Beware the “Gig Economy” version of education | Eclectablog : Beware the “Gig Economy” version of education Gig Economy Graphic | by Senator Mark Warner A recent blog post by Morna McDermott at Educationalchemy.com connects the dots between the recent surge in popularity of the new “Gig Economy” and unsavory influences from the usual suspects in the corporate education reform agenda, ALEC and Pea
You Can’t Pick Great Teachers from a Tree. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing : You Can’t Pick Great Teachers from a Tree. As the experts assess the needs of the educational system and come up with “the solutions”, one solution that displays very little thought is the “great teacher” solution. The people who operate the Department of Education in New York City, (a department “recognized” for it
Secretive Foundation’s Blueprint for Spreading Right-Wing Ideology : Documents Reveal a Powerful, Secretive Foundation’s Blueprint for Spreading Right-Wing Ideology, State by State Meet the Bradley Foundation, giving the Koch brothers a run for their money. This post originally appeared at Alternet . The billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch get a lot of press coverage about their vas
Why Student Disrespect Shouldn't Bother You - Teacher Habits : Why Student Disrespect Shouldn’t Bother You I once had a student throw a water bottle at me while shouting something that rhymed with “stuck glue.” I’ve had more than one flash me the middle finger while my back was turned. There have been countless eye rolls in response to what I thought were reasonable requests. If you’re a teacher,
Nick Melvoin’s School Board Candidacy Is Controlled By Wealthy, “Special” Interests – redqueeninla : Nick Melvoin’s School Board Candidacy Is Controlled By Wealthy, “Special” Interests When parents pretend astroturf is genuine It’s amazing to see the talking points issuing from 4 th LAUSD board district (LAUSD4) candidate Nick Melvoin’s boosters coming from multiple directions, in persistent wave
Dear Mr. Civil War Scholar-in-Chief | SocialistWorker.org : Dear Mr. Civil War Scholar-in-Chief Dearest Mr. President of the United States of America : Did you receive my last letter about Frederick Douglass ? Somehow your response never made it to me. Sad. I know you're busy. At first, I thought you would have plenty of time on your hands--for golf, letter-writing, etc. But now, I'm realizing th
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: B-CU students turn their backs on DeVos : B-CU students turn their backs on DeVos Less than a week after Pres. Trump threatened to cut off funds for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), his ed secretary, Betsy DeVos was invited to Bethune-Cookman to deliver the commencement speech. At her side, hoping to run interference, was Trump cheerleader and "
Outside money continues to pour into L.A. school board campaigns - LA Times : Outside money continues to pour into L.A. school board campaigns If the Los Angeles school board elections were a movie, then the nominee for best supporting actor might go to an individual who so far has received little attention: Reed Hastings. Based on documents reviewed by The Times, the co-founder of Netflix has co
Oakland schools pick superintendent amid budget mess - SFGate : Oakland schools pick superintendent amid budget mess After a national search, the Oakland school board picked a city native and longtime employee to serve as superintendent and steer the district through a budget crisis. Kyla Johnson-Trammel, now the district’s interim deputy superintendent, was selected from among dozens of applican
Betsy DeVos’ controversial statements on African-American colleges in the past : Betsy DeVos’ controversial statements on African-American colleges in the past Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was booed and repeatedly interrupted by students Wednesday during her commencement speech in Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black college in Daytona Beach, Florida. The hostile reception for D
New Orleans’ Charter School Transformation: the Very Definition of Injustice | janresseger : New Orleans’ Charter School Transformation: the Very Definition of Injustice When I look back, I can see that the year between September of 2005 and September of 2006 was when I realized deeply and in the most unforgettable way how powerful people can transform the systems we take for granted and in the p
You Can’t Keep a Bad Charter Down : You Can’t Keep a Bad Charter Down “ No question about @MagnoliaSchools academic superiority – questioning your reading skills. ” -Alex Johnson, VP LA County Board of Education “ Specifically, the CAASPP results in ELA and Math indicate that in both 2014-15 and 2015-16, 0% of the school’s English Learner (EL) population met or exceeded proficiency. ” – LA County
My review of ‘letters to a young education reformer’ | Gary Rubinstein's Blog : My review of ‘letters to a young education reformer’ I was eager to receive Rick Hess’s latest book ‘letters to a young education reformer.’ Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank . Hess is one of the few defenders of the reform movement w
Betsy DeVos Spoke at Bethune-Cookman Commencement. Audience Noise Was Constant; FL NAACP Issued a Formal Opposition Statement. | deutsch29 : Betsy DeVos Spoke at Bethune-Cookman Commencement. Audience Noise Was Constant; FL NAACP Issued a Formal Opposition Statement. I watched US ed sec Betsy DeVos’ 23-minute speech to Bethune-Cookman grads on May 10, 2017. The full video is below: I do not envy
I’m The Rubber And You’re The Glue – redqueeninla : I’m The Rubber And You’re The Glue …why do we let Nick Melvoin’s words bounce off him and stick to LAUSD’s world? Negative Ads Undermine Democracy Mostly, the fourth board district school board race has been one of incessant negativity and lies. Why do we permit this uncivilized behavior? I can tell you in walking my neighborhood I am met with d
Teacher Appreciation Week is a Pathetic Joke! | gadflyonthewallblog : Teacher Appreciation Week is a Pathetic Joke! It’s Teacher Appreciation Week , America! All over the country, millions of educators can look forward to a free burrito . Or maybe an Arby’s sandwich . Or a complimentary donut. Because we REALLY appreciate teachers here. What a pathetic joke! I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. I’ll
VWCS delegation attends AFT meeting « The VW independent : VWCS delegation attends AFT meeting I am not biased. Okay, maybe a little biased. Regardless of one’s political views, parents should understand the sheer pride of watching their child represent her community, her school, and herself before an entire room filled with representatives from the American Federation of Teachers. These AFT vice
To our wonderful school nurses: We need you more than ever! - Lily's Blackboard : To our wonderful school nurses: We need you more than ever! Some days, 15 minutes can seem like an eternity…and then there are 15 minutes in the life of Maggie Beall, school nurse at Dassa McKinley Elementary School . She wrote about those minutes on our website, in “A Nurse’s Tale.” As a recent day came to a close
CURMUDGUCATION: SAT Test Prep Is Back : SAT Test Prep Is Back You may recall that one of the awesome parts of David Coeman's shiny new SAT test was going to be how impervious it was to any kind of test prep . Coleman's singular vision (because in Coleman's world, he's the only one with a vision) was a new SAT that would fix inequality in America . Because being able to afford expensive test prep
Democrats: Stop Flirting With The School Vouchers Scam! - The Zero Hour - The Ring of Fire Network : Democrats: Stop Flirting With The School Vouchers Scam! – The Zero Hour While the healthcare debacle is the big story of the week, it isn’t the only story. Richard Eskow, host of The Zero Hour, is joined by Senior Fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, Jeff Bryant, to talk about Education Se
John Lennon- Nobody Told Me - YouTube : Strange Days Indeed John Lennon- Nobody Told Me Everybody's talking and no one says a word Everybody's making love and no one really cares There's nazis in the bathroom just below the stairs. Always something happening and nothing going on There's always something happening cooking and nothing in the pot They're starving back in China so finish what you got
CURMUDGUCATION: HUD, Carson and Choice : HUD, Carson and Choice Slate's Henry Grabar has a great piece today about Ben Carson and his clueless already-disproven theories about low-income housing. The piece is worth a full read on its own, and it has nothing to do with education-- except that it is yet another lesson in how a market actually works, with huge implications for the kind of choice sys
Black Girls Are Twice as Likely to Be Suspended, In Every State | Education News | US News : Black Girls Are Twice as Likely to Be Suspended, In Every State And it’s not because of more frequent or serious misbehavior, researchers say. Black female students are more than twice as likely to be suspended as their white counterparts. (TERRY VINE/GETTY IMAGES) Black girls are more than twice as likel
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Reign of Error DeVos Style Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all New York City: “My Neighbors Warned Me About the Neighborhood School. We Chose It Anyway.” 1 by dianeravitch / 11min This is a very interesting account by Mia Simring, a rabbi in New York City, about her family decision to choose a school f
Californians must support all students | EdSource : Californians must support all students In this new era of local control, a teacher’s role in school improvement is changing. Educator-driven school improvement works because what teachers do is an art as much as it is a science, and it is a lot more than a test score. The best teachers understand their students’ strengths and weaknesses, and ada
Betsy DeVos likens education technology to “a thousand flowers” that have yet to bloom - The Hechinger Report : Betsy DeVos likens education technology to “a thousand flowers” that have yet to bloom Education secretary praises technology and pans government interference in the classroom in speech to techies at `Davos by the Desert?’ ALT LAKE CITY – A well-heeled crowd of venture capitalists, inve
'I've Seen Firsthand All That Teachers Do': Q&A with Todd Parr, Author of 'Teachers Rock!' - NEA Today : ‘I’ve Seen Firsthand All That Teachers Do’: Q&A with Todd Parr, Author of ‘Teachers Rock!’ With messages of acceptance, kindness and love, Todd Parr’s books — like It’s OK to Be Different and the I Love You Book — are timely and timeless and have long been the favorites of kids everywhere. NEA
Second largest school district in U.S. moves to protect undocumented immigrants from federal agents - The Washington Post : Second largest school district in U.S. moves to protect undocumented immigrants from federal agents In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 file photo, Lordes Reboyoso, right, yells at a rally outside of City Hall in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) The Los Angeles Unified
Education Law Prof Blog : Water Gun Expulsion Another Reminder of Why Schools Must Rethink Discipline “Laney” Nichols’ school recently expelled her for an entire year. Her crime—having a water gun on campus. One of her male friends brought the water gun to school, but handed it off to Nichols at some point. Nichols carried it in her backpack before eventually leaving it in the backseat of her car
House Trumpcare Bill Guts Medicaid Funding Used by Public Schools to Pay for Special Education | janresseger : House Trumpcare Bill Guts Medicaid Funding Used by Public Schools to Pay for Special Education President Donald Trump and members of the House of Representatives celebrated after the House passed the new Trumpcare bill last Thursday. But there is much in the new law not to celebrate, inc
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: Boldly Trampling Public Education : DeVos: Boldly Trampling Public Education Today Secretary of Privatization Education Betsy DeVos delivered some remarks at the annual Arizona State University + Global Silicon Valley Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's a fun gathering of technocrats with all sorts of profitable forward-thinking solutions to education's challenges (as they
Mental Health - Counseling/Student Support (CA Dept of Education) : Mental Health Provides strategies, resources, and training in psychological and mental health issues, including coping with tragedy, crisis intervention and prevention,
