School offers ‘incentives’ to get kids to take Common Core standardized test - The Washington Post : School offers ‘incentives’ to get kids to take Common Core standardized test We’ve seen in years past pep rallies, parties, raffles and other sorts of enticements — which some might call bribes — for students before they take high-stakes standardized tests. In spring 2016, for example, Washington
CURMUDGUCATION: Why School Choice Is Not A Thing : Why School Choice Is Not A Thing The promise, the dream of school choice is a system in which every family can choose from a wide range of schools, selecting the one that best fits their own child. If we would just break the public school "monopoly," the reasoning goes, even poor families would have the same wide range of choices available to upp
California Schools Join Sanctuary Movement To Protect Students From Deportation - BuzzFeed News : California Schools Join Sanctuary Movement To Protect Students From Deportation Two school districts in California are launching campaigns to help protect undocumented students and their families from deportation. Two California school districts are moving forward with plans to make their campuses sa
Gusty winds today in Chicago. Strike fever is in the air. | Fred Klonsky : Gusty winds today in Chicago. Strike fever is in the air. The educators at Aspira announced plan to strike on March 17 if a # faircontract not reached before! We are getting 50 mile an hour wind gusts in Chicago today. The sky is blue. The air is clear. And strike talk is all in the air. If a deal isn’t worked out my March
Private vo-tech schools can offer students dubious value : Private vo-tech schools can offer students dubious value W hat thought comes to mind when someone tells you they went to Harvard? How about the University of Oklahoma? Or Oklahoma State University? Or the University of Central Oklahoma? What about Vatterott College? If the latter causes your mind to go blank or makes you feel like there i
A Tale of Two Betsy DeVoses - The Atlantic : A Tale of Two Betsy DeVoses The generous Grand Rapids resident and the tone-deaf Trump official GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Residents of this western Michigan town are having trouble reconciling the Betsy DeVos they know with the Betsy DeVos who serves as President Donald Trump’s controversial education secretary. The former is widely seen as pragmatic and gen
The White Choice – Have You Heard : The White Choice The push for school vouchers is spreading across the South, even as the legacy of private schools as *segregation academies* lives on… Today begins our school choice tour, reader, and judging from the speed with which various choice choices are popping up across the land, the tour will be of some duration. We’re starting in Arkansas, because it
Michelle Rhee: ‘It’s going to be really hard going forward’ with school reform in the Trump era - The Washington Post : Michelle Rhee: ‘It’s going to be really hard going forward’ with school reform in the Trump era What does Michelle Rhee think today about the corporate school reform movement that she helped pioneer a decade ago? Here’s a pointed interview with her, by Jennifer Berkshire and Jac
Dutch Treat: Detsy DeVos and the Christian Schools Movement - LA Progressive : Dutch Treat: Detsy DeVos and the Christian Schools Movement Betsy DeVos, then Elizabeth Dee Prince, from her 1975 Holland Christian High School yearbook. “She played percussion in the symphony, instruments such as snare and tenor drums, cymbals, wood blocks, triangle and chimes. Betsy was also a member of the Ski and G
Tri-City ghosts: School vouchers raise the possibility of diverting money into abusive faith communities : Tri-City ghosts: School vouchers raise the possibility of diverting money into abusive faith communities T he November election may prove to be a pivotal moment for the school-choice movement. President Donald Trump selected Betsy DeVos, a longtime supporter of school vouchers, as his secret
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Just TRY to Catch Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all GAO Report: U.S. Schools Are Resegregating, Kentucky About to Abandon Successful Program by dianeravitch / 36min This article was written a year ago, but there is no doubt that the trend lines towards resegregation are only getting worse. Just this
School district employees’ involvement in charter application raises questions of conflict of interest | The Lens : School district employees’ involvement in charter application raises questions of conflict of interest Four Orleans Parish School Board employees who work in the office that manages its five direct-run schools are involved in a bid by an independent nonprofit to turn them into chart
Betsy DeVos’s Education Agenda Can Be Overturned. This City Shows How. | The Nation : Betsy DeVos’s Education Agenda Can Be Overturned. This City Shows How. What Philadelphia’s fight against market-driven school“reform” can teach us about resisting attacks on public education. L ast month, with the help of a tie-breaker vote, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos squeaked through one of the most humili
Why Are Some Curriculars "Extra"? | Blue Cereal Education : Why Are Some Curriculars "Extra"? It’s difficult to question things we don’t realize we assume. For example, few of us ponder why we easily trust our family doctor to diagnose pretty much ANY part of our body, internal or external, except our mouth. Our mouth, it seems, is so darned complicated and unique compared to, say, our aortic val
CURMUDGUCATION: 8 Reasons To Opt Out : 8 Reasons To Opt Out Depending on your state, it is that time again-- time to waste students' school time on the Big Standardized Test. Whether it's the PARCC or the SBA or whatever mutant offspring of the testing industry that your state prefers, it's headed your way like a hungry wildebeast. Maybe you have opted your child out in the past. Maybe you've tho
Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes | News, Sports, Jobs - Journal News : Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes MARTINSBURG — The president of the American Federation of Teachers criticized Jefferson County School District’s’ use of online advanced placement classes at the district high schools, claiming the courses do not provide students the
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice : It's Int'l Women's Day and Chicago charter school teachers are finding their voice Marines Martinez from Chicago ACTS Local 4343 tells media that ASPIRA charter teachers are willing to go on strike to “take a stand for our students and our larger communities.” BREAD & ROSES...It's I
Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders | EdSource : Turf battle developing over who can test California’s 11th-graders California is quickly becoming a national battleground over the franchise fo r testing hi gh school juniors. The College Board, producer of the SAT college admissions test, wants in, while state officials, defenders of the state’s current test provider
When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges - The Hechinger Report : When using data to predict outcomes, consider the ethical dilemmas, new report urges Researchers say colleges need to take care in how they use predictive analytics Colleges and universities that use sophisticated data systems to analyze and guide students must be careful to avoid ethical
‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’ - The Washington Post : ‘As a teacher and a woman, I don’t like this one bit’ Following the success of women’s marches around the country and overseas after the inauguration of President Trump, the organizers called for a new protest, “A Day Without a Woman,” on March 8, on which, as its title proclaims, women are being called to stay home and
These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’ - ProPublica : These For-Profit Schools Are ‘Like a Prison’ Camelot Education takes the students that public schools have given up on. But some current and former students say its discipline goes too far. This story was co-published with Slate. Teenagers at Paramount Academy sometimes came home with mysterious injuries. An alternative school for sixth-
Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse - The New York Times : Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse In January, New York City’s schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, sent a letter home to students’ families, reassuring them that the city was not keeping records of their immigration status and that immigration agents would not be roaming schools unfettered.
Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests - LA Times : Runoffs appear likely in two of three pivotal L.A. school board contests Millions of dollars have poured into races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education this year in contests that could for the first time shift the balance of power in the nation’s second-largest school district in favor of fast growth
The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate : The Embedding of AP in American High Schools: The Debate Questions about whether America’s high schools should drop Advanced Placement (AP) classes, created a debate on social media. The fact that AP is driven by an outside money-making nonprofit, sometimes bothered parents and teachers, but not enough to end AP. Or, it did not seem to ma
What Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains | janresseger : What Do Standardized Test Scores Really Measure? David Berliner Explains David Berliner has been teaching about education policy and writing books on education and school psychology for decades. The best known for readers outside colleges of education are The Manufactured Crisis and 50 Myths and Lies that Thr
Choosing Democracy: Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens : Sacramento City Unified Declares Schools Safe Havens Community leaders pledge support for the district’s efforts to inform every student and their families of the legal rights of the undocumented by distributing tens of thousands of ‘know your rights’ fliers at all schools, coordinating with community organizations to prov
Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice! | gadflyonthewallblog : Koch Bros Funded Publication Criticizes – ME – on School Choice! You know you’ve made it when the Koch Brothers are funding a critique of your work. Most of the time I just toil in obscurity. I sit behind my computer furiously pounding away at the keys sending my little blog entries out onto the Interwebs nev
Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery | Chalkbeat : Detroit lawsuit stops just short of accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery A new lawsuit all but accuses U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of bribery for her role in influencing Detroit schools legislation last year. The suit, filed this month by the former Detroit school board an
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/7/17 Featured Post The 'Day Without A Woman' Strike Is Closing Schools Around The Country | The Huffington Post A Day Without Women action shows the importance of teachers in public schools | Seattle Education by mike simpson / 9min A Day Without
