CURMUDGUCATION: Tofu Schools : Tofu Schools The repeated claim is that charters and choice are necessary in order for students to have options and to be able to select from many different educational programs, which makes me wonder-- are public schools made out of tofu or some other featureless, uniform substance. When you slice a public school, do you uncover the same bland surface, the same unv
State Board Approves California School Dashboard - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Board of Education Approves Final Elements of the New Groundbreaking Accountability System, the California School Dashboard SACRAMENTO—The State Board of Education (SBE) today took the final steps in approving a landmark Accountability and Improvement System that will provide a wealth of new information to
SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data - Living in Dialogue : SPED Shenanigans Highlight Trouble with NOLA Charter Data By John Thompson. There are so many reasons why anyone interested in public education should read Marta Jewson’s latest expose of the high profile New Orleans SciTech Academy’s shenanigans when providing – and not providing – special education services. Reader
Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick – People's World : Teachers unions try to derail DeVos, Trump’s education pick Saying Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan millionaire, hates public schools and teachers, the nation’s two big teachers unions launched a campaign to stop the Senate from confirming her to head the federal Education Depar
Education Words to Know Ahead of the DeVos Hearing - The Atlantic : The DeVos Hearings: A Crib Sheet Prepare to hear “school choice” a lot. Here’s what it actually means. The Trump administration could bring to the fore some education terms that have been largely overlooked in recent years as it moves to dramatically change the way students learn in the United States. And officials and advocacy g
The Elephant in the Room – Fairness | VAMboozled! : The Elephant in the Room – Fairness While VAMs have many issues pertaining, fundamentally, to their levels of reliability, validity, and bias, they are wholeheartedly unfair. This is one thing that is so very important but so rarely discussed when those external to VAM-based metrics and metrics use are debating, mainly the benefits of VAMs. Issu
New board takes reins at Detroit schools : New board takes reins at Detroit schools Detroit — A new era officially began Wednesday for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Seven new school board members took an oath to serve the state’s largest school district’s children before an auditorium of parents, students, faculty and community members. It is the first elected body in seven years
State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests | EdSource : State board chooses new way of measuring school progress on tests After hours of discussion, the State Board of Education on Wednesday settled two much debated issues that will enable state officials to move ahead this year with the state’s new school accountability system. One decision creates a different way to measu
One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle - NonDoc : One-size-fits-all accountability creates destructive cycle A quote from Daniel Webster appears on the side of Harding Charter Prep's building Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2016. (Josh McBee) T he OKCPS board deserves great praise for conducting a roundtable discussion of charter schools in a retreat Monday that was open to the public. Th
Randi Weingarten doesn't share Jeb Bush embrace of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary - SaintPetersBlog : Randi Weingarten doesn’t share Jeb Bush embrace of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary Though education was rarely discussed by Donald Trump on the campaign trail, at the top of his list of priorities was to spend $20 million on school choice, which would come from “reprioritizing federal doll
Parental Discrimination Lawsuits on the Rise - The Atlantic : The Revolt of Working Parents Mothers—and some fathers—are increasingly suing employers for discriminating against working parents. They are succeeding. “There is no way you can be a good mother while achieving what I aspire." “Let’s face it. It’s a man’s world. The woman always stays home with the child.” “It’s hard to do this job wit
Will Betsy DeVos Restart The ‘Education Wars’? : Will Betsy DeVos Restart The ‘Education Wars’? Education, which was hardly ever mentioned in the recent presidential election, has suddenly been thrust to the frontline in the increasingly heated conflict over President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet appointees. The reason for that turn of events is his choice of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of
The Long Shadow of Poverty and School Segregation by Income | janresseger : The Long Shadow of Poverty and School Segregation by Income \ One of the serious problems posed by the likely Trump administration’s policy on public education is that it sidesteps entirely the deeply troubling challenges on the ground for children and their teachers. While the only education idea being mentioned by the n
Conflicts of DeVos – Center for American Progress : Conflicts of DeVos Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos, and a Pay-to-Play Nomination Billionaire activist Betsy DeVos and her family have given a massive $4 million to the Republicans who will decide whether to confirm her as Trump’s secretary of education, according to a new analysis by the authors. DeVos’ hearing begins this Wednesday, and her family ha
Friends - Please Do What You Can To Support Wait, What? - Wait What? : Friends – Please Do What You Can To Support Wait, What? Now, more than ever, truth-tellers are needed for as George Orwell so wisely observed, “In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” For six years, Wait, What? has been dedicated to educating, persuading, engaging and mobilizing readers about
Jersey Jazzman: Will NJDOE Turn Charter School Teachers Into Indentured Servants? : Will NJDOE Turn Charter School Teachers Into Indentured Servants? Last week, the New Jersey state Board of Education held hearings on regulatory changes for the state's charter schools. Probably the most significant -- and most controversial -- of the Christie administration's proposed revisions were changes to th
DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today - Network For Public Education : DeVos hearing delayed: Call the HELP committee members today Thousands of calls have been made to senators’ offices, and over 95,000 emails have been sent by Network for Public Education members since the DeVos nomination. The DeVos hearing was delayed until the 17th. In order for senators to make truly
Why the Office of Government Ethics Needs Weeks to Investigate Betsy DeVos | deutsch29 : Why the Office of Government Ethics Needs Weeks to Investigate Betsy DeVos I do not often agree with the New York Times (NYT) editorial opinions on education. However, even they are worried about the financial entanglements of Michigan billionaire and US ed secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos. An excerpt from the
CURMUDGUCATION: Bad Management : Bad Management I have a theory that one of the major problems in America today is just plain bad management. I have watched it trash companies on the smaller, more local scale here, and periodically we get to watch large American corporations go down in flames. For instance, consider retail giant Sears. Business Insider has published a blistering look inside the o
My Child, Your Child, Everyone's Child (Five Years An Actual Father) | The Jose Vilson : My Child, Your Child, Everyone’s Child (Five Years An Actual Father) Five years ago, my son was on his way to us. We hailed him as a Three Kings’ Day (01/06) gift, the bookend to an otherwise brutal winter. We waited 41 weeks and counting to no avail as he refused to leave his mothers’ natural cocoon. The hos
Why We Need Independent Media | Seattle Education : Why We Need Independent Media Posted with permission from TurningPointNews.org. About the author: Elizabeth Hanson M. Ed. Is a college instructor from Seattle Washington and co-founder of turningpointnews.org. She is also a co-author of the book, “Weapons of Mass Deception, The War against our public schools.” https://weaponsofmassdeception.org/
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/11/17 Featured Post Real Democrats Form Congressional Caucus To Support Public Education | The Huffington Post Betsy DeVos: Dangerous for Students and the Promise of Public
