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Saturday, December 7, 2019

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POSTS THIS WEEK 12/7/19

It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!

by Mike Simpson / 59min
It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead! With No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards, some adults have been led to believe that four- and five-year-old children should read by the end of kindergarten. Preschoolers are pushed to be ready for formal reading instruction by the time they enter kindergarten. This is
Mitchell Robinson: The Kids Are Alright… | Eclectablog

by Mike Simpson / 1h
The Kids Are Alright… | Eclectablog The Kids Are Alright… Way back in September–which feels like 10 years when measured in teacher years–I shared my disappointment with my sophomore foundations class that so many of them no longer understood references to the classic teen coming of age movies of the 1980s, like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Snippets from these fi
Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections | Schott Foundation for Public Education

by Mike Simpson / 1h
Achieving Justice for All Should Command Philanthropy's Attention in 2020 Elections The heightened urgency to protect our democracy from outside interference in the 2020 election is getting a lot of media and political attention these days, but there’s a far more urgent need that is vital for philanthropy to foster and finance: ensuring that our democracy evolves toward greater justice. We must
Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1h
Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes Social scientists have repeatedly documented the close correlation between child poverty and academic achievement. You don’t have to be a social scientist to look at any graph that displays both test scores and family income: the kids from the richest families are at the top, and the kids from the poorest family are at th
Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine - Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | Black News

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Inglewood Unified School District: The Canary in the Coal Mine According to the California Education Code, all California school districts will have to submit a first interim budget report by December 15. This report compares the school district’s ongoing fiscal condition to what was projected in the budget they submitted in July. The report includes the latest student enrollment and attendance
Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. CTU President Jesse Sharkey. – Mike AND Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. CTU President Jesse Sharkey. – Fred Klonsky FRED: HITTING LEFT WITH THE KLONSKY BROTHERS. CTU PRESIDENT JESSE SHARKEY Back from a holiday break with my family in Brooklyn, Hitting Left was back on the air live with a podcast now available. As I left New York, hundreds of students from the most elite public schools in the city we continuing their weekly Mond
Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives | Archive | tulsaworld.com

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Tulsa World editorial: Destructive public school laws disguised as education initiatives Like a reappearing Trojan Horse, legislative proposals destructive to public schools have crept into the Capitol disguised as education initiatives. Don’t fall for new marketing or labels. These bad ideas expand vouchers and what amount to vouchers — all for the benefit of private and sectarian schools. No m
Chaz's School Daze: Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally

by Mike Simpson / 3h
Common Core Is Rapidly Losing Favor Nationally Back in 2010, administrators, politicians, and education reform organizations set up a working group to come up with common national education standards that would allow the Federal Deportment of Education to compare one state with another and compete with other countries. The Obama administration, led by his basketball playing buddy Arnie Duncan co
CURMUDGUCATION: MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief

by Mike Simpson / 3h
MI: Governor Whitmer Files Private School-Whomping Brief Back in 2016, the Michigan legislature, always on the lookout for a way to send public tax dollars into private pockets, passed Section 388.1752b , a little amendment to the School Aid act that required the state to reimburse private schools for any money they spent "complying with health, safety, or welfare requirement mandated by a law o
Pearl Clutching Over PISA | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 3h
Pearl Clutching Over PISA The latest PISA scores have been released and edu-pundits are clutching their pearls because “our scores are terrible.” Yet hardly anyone has mentioned that, just like in the past, the scores in the US are lower than many others in the OECD because the US has a high rate of child poverty. I wrote about this after the last release of PISA scores … The problem that DeVos
Catch Up With Newblackman (In Exile)

by Mike Simpson / 4h
NewBlackMan (in Exile) Urban Migration is Surging. Can Smart Cities Meet the Challenge? by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h 'Globally we are adding about 3 million people to urban areas each week. Over the course of the year, this number can be equated to roughly 50 Chicagos. This influx of people could make everyday life in urban areas more chaotic than ever. We will need a new playbook for how cities ca
THIS WEEK Education Research Report

by Mike Simpson / 4h
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report School Health Profiles Report by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 46min Full Report Related article The School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a system of surveys assessing school health policies and practices in states, large urban school districts, and territories. Profiles surveys are conducted biennially by education and health agencies among m
This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 4h
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues by Larry Ferlazzo / 47min Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be int
KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 4h
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Pre-order NOW Marc Tucker: The Relationship Between Child Poverty and Education Outcomes by dianeravitch / now Social scienti

YESTERDAY

Demand Reform to Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law – Before It’s Too Late | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 21h
Demand Reform to Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law – Before It’s Too Late If no one answers a question, was it even asked? Way back on August 24, 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) quietly posted a little notice on the PA Bulletin Website asking for public comment on the state’s charter school law. This is not exactly a high traffic site. It’s a state-run page that includes pro
CURMUDGUCATION: White Flight, Without The Actual Flight

by Mike Simpson / 23h
White Flight, Without The Actual Flight We can talk about lots of complicated economic and sociological forces that have fed the problems of school segregation in this country, but the root causes are pretty simple–historically, we have a whole lot of white folks who don’t want their children to go to school with the children of black folks, and they have been creative about finding ways to avoi
"Flexible" | Blue Cereal Education

by Mike Simpson / 1d
"Flexible" The Offer Several years ago, I was asked by a major edu-organization for whom I did some work to lead a week-long training in Jordan. Like, the country. In the Middle East. Far away. The workshop was for no less than the King’s Academy – a prestigious boarding school founded and regularly visited by, you know... the KING. Like, of Jordan. The country. In the Middle East. Far Away. Of
Mississippi Miracle or Mirage?: 2019 NAEP Reading Scores Prompt Questions, Not Answers | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Mississippi Miracle or Mirage?: 2019 NAEP Reading Scores Prompt Questions, Not Answers There is a disturbing contradiction in the predicted jubilant response to Mississippi’s outlier 4th-grade results from the 2019 NAEP reading test . That contradiction can be found in a new article by Emily Hanford , using Mississippi to recycle her brand, a call for the “science of reading.” This is a great de
Why Sue Desmond-Hellmann leaving as the CEO of the Gates Foundation matters - Vox

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The Gates Foundation has enormous impact. Its CEO leaving could have an enormous impact, too. Sue Desmond-Hellmann has helped Bill Gates spend $5 billion a year. The leaders who call the shots at major philanthropies are some of the most powerful people in the world that you’ve never heard of. And one at the tippy-top of that list is stepping down in a rare changing of the guard at the Gates Fou
Poverty Won’t Be Solved By Committee: Education For Liberation, Less Data More Freire – Wrench in the Gears

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Poverty Won’t Be Solved By Committee: Education For Liberation, Less Data More Freire The video below is public testimony I gave to the Jobs and Education Subcommittee of Philadelphia City Council’s Special Committee on Poverty Reduction and Prevention on Thursday December 5, 2019 at Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School in North Philadelphia. It is my belief that this committee was
Broad Center to move from L.A. to Yale along with $100-million gift - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Broad Center to move from L.A. to Yale along with $100-million gift The Broad Center, which has attracted praise and suspicion for its training of school district leaders, will move from Los Angeles to Yale University, along with a $100-million gift provided by founder Eli Broad, the center announced Thursday. The donation is the largest ever for the Yale School of Management and will help fund
Teacher Platforms (Ben Williamson) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Teacher Platforms (Ben Williamson) “ Ben Williamson is a Chancellor’s Fellow at the Centre for Research in Digital Education and the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh. His research traces the connections between educational policy, digital technologies, and practices in schools and universities. He is the author of Big Data in Education: The digital future of learning, p
John Thompson: The New Wave of “ #MisNAEPery ” Heading Towards Oklahoma and Other States | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d
John Thompson: The New Wave of “MisNAEPery” Heading Towards Oklahoma and Other States | Diane Ravitch's blog John Thompson: The New Wave of “MisNAEPery” Heading Towards Oklahoma and Other States John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, writes here about the use and misuse of NAEP scores to advance disruption in the schools. A new wave of “misnaepery” is heading towards Oklahoma a
Massachusetts Addresses School Funding Inequity by Adding $1.5 Billion Per Year for Public Schools | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Massachusetts Addresses School Funding Inequity by Adding $1.5 Billion Per Year for Public Schools The eternal question in state school funding is how much is enough. Two days before Thanksgiving, Massachusetts addressed this question directly when Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed the new school funding bill sent to him by the state’s Democratic-majority legislature. State legislatur
Eli Broad Pays $100M to Move His Ed-Reform-Producing “Broad Center” from LA to Yale | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Eli Broad Pays $100M to Move His Ed-Reform-Producing “Broad Center” from LA to Yale Eli Broad is one of the chief billionaires pushing education reform. In 2017, Broad “inserted himself” in the Los Angeles School Board race via the largest contribution to an individual candidate– $100K. Two years earlier, in 2015, Broad was caught planning an “initiative” to put half of LA’s students in charter
CURMUDGUCATION: My Toddlers Can't Read

by Mike Simpson / 1d
My Toddlers Can't Read Here at the Curmudgucation Institute, the Board of Directors has taken a great interest in the printed word. We have, for instance, entered the Me Do It phase for one of our most beloved tomes ( Little Excavator, by Anna Dewdney). I am no longer allowed to read that book to the Board, but must hold it open while a Board member recites the text. We can do then same thing fo
Governor Cuomo versus the Children, Parents and Teachers of the State of New York: Will the Funding Formula Inequities Be Addressed? | Ed In The Apple

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Governor Cuomo versus the Children, Parents and Teachers of the State of New York: Will the Funding Formula Inequities Be Addressed? A couple of months ago I signed up to testify before the h earings on Foundation Aid , the New York State share of education funding; on Tuesday I trekked to 250 Broadway to listen and testify before the committee. My testimony: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1
The National Assessment of Educational PARALYSIS (NAEP) | The Merrow Report

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The National Assessment of Educational PARALYSIS (NAEP) “U.S. 15-year-olds made no significant progress on the Program for International Student Assessment, the results of which were released Tuesday . On a 1,000-point scale, students in 2018 earned on average 505 in reading, 478 in math, and 502 in science in 2018, statistically unchanged from when the tests were last given in 2015.” That’s how

DEC 05

Looking for a home? You’ve seen GreatSchools ratings. Here’s how they nudge families toward schools with fewer black and Hispanic students.

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Looking for a home? You’ve seen GreatSchools ratings. Here’s how they nudge families toward schools with fewer black and Hispanic students. What’s the right way to judge a school? Across the country, states and school districts have devised their own systems of letter grades and color-coded dashboards based on test scores and graduation rates. But arguably the most visible and influential school
Women and Power | Teacher in a strange land

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Women and Power At the very beginning of the 2020 Presidential primary, I sent $5, a one-time donation, to each of four candidates: Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand. I did this because I wanted to see all four of them on the debate stage, and the DNC was counting individual contributors. What this yielded was a veritable flood of emails asking for donations.
‘Flat-out corruption’: DeVos accused of scheming to stop next president from canceling student loan debt – Raw Story

by Mike Simpson / 2d
‘Flat-out corruption’: DeVos accused of scheming to stop next president from canceling student loan debt “Normally the rich are moderately more subtle about rigging the system in their favor. They’re scared.” Billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVos this week proposed handing over the federal government’s $1.5 trillion student loan portfolio to a “stand-alone government corporation,” a move o
Why Do Black Parents Have to File Lawsuits to Achieve Educational Justice?! - Philly's 7th Ward

by Mike Simpson / 2d
WHY DO BLACK PARENTS HAVE TO FILE LAWSUITS TO ACHIEVE EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE?! Upper Dublin , a district outside of Philadelphia, recently settled a discrimination case that was filed with the U.S. Department of Education by Black families and the Public Interest Law Center four years ago. One more reason why Secretary DeVos’s moves to dismantle the Civil Rights Office at the U.S. Department of Edu
Illinois Will Allow Prone, Supine Restraints on Children While Schools Learn to Phase Them Out — ProPublica

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Illinois Will Allow Prone, Supine Restraints on Children While Schools Learn to Phase Them Out The changes to a ban on restraints came after some schools said they could no longer serve children. ProPublica Illinois is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to get weekly updates about our work. This story is a collaboration between ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tri
Public Comment Open for CTE State Plan - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

by Mike Simpson / 2d
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Public Comment Period Open for State Plan to Strengthen Career and Technical Education SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced today that public comment is now open for the draft California Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) State Plan. The plan was developed by the California Department o
Kentucky: State Board of Education Meets, Omits Request to Fund Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Kentucky: State Board of Education Meets, Omits Request to Fund Charter Schools Kentucky’s outgoing Republican Governor Matt Bevin made clear that he wanted funding for charter schools, but he lost the recent election to Democrat Andy Beshear. The new governor made clear that one of his top priorities was supporting public schools. However, the State Board of Education and the State Commissioner
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » The PISA Illusion

by Mike Simpson / 2d
The PISA Illusion This article was originally published in the Washington Post on December 3rd 2019. It was adapted from part one of an article to appear in Journal of Educational Change . The longer version discusses three illusions PISA has created and relied on for its undeserved impact on global education: the illusion of excellence, the illusion of science, and the illusion of progress. PIS
Flip the Board: Denver and the Politics of School Reform – Have You Heard

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Flip the Board: Denver and the Politics of School Reform For more than a decade, Denver has been a model for a brand of school reform centered on closing low-performing schools, opening charter schools and rewarding teachers for boosting student test scores. But a diverse coalition of opponents says it’s time to put the brakes on that approach and showed its strength at the polls in November by
The best and worst education news of 2019 -- and one item hard to categorize - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 2d
The best and worst education news of 2019 -- and one item hard to categorize It has been an annual tradition on The Answer Sheet for veteran teacher Larry Ferlazzo to assess what he sees as the best and worst education news of the year and then make predictions about the coming year. Here is his installment on the news of 2019 (and his predictions for 2020 will be coming soon). Ferlazzo teaches
“The Odessey of Joshua”: A Student’s Story | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 2d
“The Odessey of Joshua”: A Student’s Story I teach senior English. I noticed that one of my students, an English language learner, was reluctant to complete complex written assignments. He appeared to throw up his hands as if to ask, “What is the use?” So, I asked him, “Will you write a paper about you? Will you tell me your story?” He thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Bel
CURMUDGUCATION: Buddy, Can You Spare A Ride (To The Charter School)?

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Buddy, Can You Spare A Ride (To The Charter School)? Remember the days when charter school fans were bragging that they would do more with less? That chorus has been replaced by complaints of how unfair it is that they don't get as many tax dollars for their privately-owned businesses as the public school system gets, resulting in fun new ideas like Florida's notion that charters should be entit
NYC Public School Parents: Testimony on the need to fully fund and provide more accountability with the Foundation funds owed NYC so that class sizes are (finally) reduced

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Testimony on the need to fully fund and provide more accountability with the Foundation funds owed NYC so that class sizes are (finally) reduced Here is the testimony from Sarita Subramanian of the IBO which cites an Urban Institute study showing NY ranking second-to-last among 50 states because of how regressive its school funding is (including state and local.) Here is testimony from Michael M

DEC 04

Editorial: California can't track billions of education dollars

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Editorial: California can’t account for billions of education dollars Inexcusable that, six years after K-12 spending revamp, audit finds needy kids aren’t getting help they should It’s been six years since California lawmakers revamped the state funding formula for local schools. It was heralded by then-Gov. Jerry Brown as a way to simplify K-12 education spending and close the state’s achievem
PISA Scores Are Out. Ours Are Not Great. So What?

by Mike Simpson / 3d
PISA Scores Are Out. Ours Are Not Great. So What? It’s PISA Day, the day when the Programme for International Student Assessment scores are released by OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). This is traditionally followed by a great deal of hand-wringing. A typically glum assessment was written by Dana Goldstein for the New York Times this morning. “The performance of
The Lucrative Loophole That Charter Operators Exploit | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d
The Lucrative Loophole That Charter Operators Exploit This article about charter real estate dealings was written by Professors Preston Green III, Bruce Baker, and Derek W. Black. They argue that lax state laws allow charter operators to reap profits while maintaining an ostensibly “nonprofit” status. While critics charge that charter schools are siphoning money away from public schools, a more
Andre Perry: Support for the charter school movement in this election comes with a price

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Support for the charter school movement in this election comes with a price Support for charters in 2020 election comes with a price Black leaders must not sacrifice jobs, communities for false charter promises At a campaign rally in Atlanta for Sen. Elizabeth Warren , a day after the fifth presidential debate in November, dozens of charter school supporters interrupted Warren’s speech to protest
Does #MeToo Apply to Students in Charter Schools?

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Does #MeToo Apply to Students in Charter Schools? NVMI notes that allegations contained in the disclosable public records were unfounded and strongly denied by NVMI. Further, evidence indicated the social media account(s) of the former employee may have been hacked. Please be advised that publication of any of the information or photographs contained therein will be at your own risk and NVMI bea
PISA 2018 results - (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Publications - PISA PISA 2018 results The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained
DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? | A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? Library Journal: GREAT Review of SLAYING GOLIATH! by dianeravitch / 53min SLAYING GOLIATH will be published on January 21. Please consider giving a pre-order for Xmas to your friends. On that date, I will appear in conversation with Carol Burris to discuss the book and the issues it raises.
Education Research Report Today

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Education Research Report Declining Enrollment in Teacher Preparation Programs by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 17h Complete report The state of the teaching profession is an urgent topic for policymakers and the public, especially against the backdrop of increased teacher strikes and walkouts across the country in the past two years. 1 Teacher salaries are far too low, which has led many teachers to wo
Special Report: Getting Reading Right - Education Week

by Mike Simpson / 3d
SPECIAL REPORT: GETTING READING RIGHT What Teachers and Ed. Professors Know About Early Literacy Learning to read is arguably the most important academic experience students will have during their school years. But it’s not a given. The “nation’s report card” shows that just 35 percent of 4th graders are proficient readers. That’s despite decades of cognitive research clarifying exactly which sk
Education Department Could Do More For Student Loan Borrowers With Disabilities : NPR

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Why Student Loan Borrowers With Disabilities Aren't Getting The Help They Deserve Denise had no idea her student loans could be erased. In 2007, a truck rear-ended her car. The accident ravaged her legs and back, and the pain made it impossible for her to work. "I have basically been in pain — chronic pain — every day," says Denise, who asked that NPR not use her full name to protect her privacy
One A3 charter school defendant pleads guilty to conspiracy - The San Diego Union-Tribune

by Mike Simpson / 3d
One A3 charter school defendant pleads guilty to conspiracy Prosecutors alleged that defendant Troy Kukahiko bought names of students to falsely enroll them in an A3 charter school By KRISTEN TAKETA One of 11 people indicted for the alleged A3 charter school scheme has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. The defendant, Troy Kukahiko from Hawaii, is now scheduled to be se
Yong Zhao: How PISA Created the Illusion of Education Quality and Marketed It to the World | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Yong Zhao: How PISA Created the Illusion of Education Quality and Marketed It to the World Yong Zhao, the brilliant education analyst, writes here about the great PISA illusion. If you have not read any of Zhao’s books, do so now. If you have not heard him speak, google him or invite him to your next big conference. He is insightful, provocative, thoughtful, absolutely delightful! He is a master
NYC Educator: Bloomberg Reaches Out to Educators

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Bloomberg Reaches Out to Educators Hi it's me again, your old pal Mayor Mike. I have a special message for you all. You remember all those things I did and said to you guys? Well, I'm sorry. There. I said it. Do I need to say it again? Don't you believe me? Anyhoo, I'm a little upset that the guy in the White House, you know who, the one I won't name in my ad, has decided to boycott Bloomberg Ne
Choosing Democracy: Teachers Union- Community Forum

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Choosing Democracy: Teachers Union- Community Forum Choosing Democracy: Teachers Union- Community Forum
Mike Klonsky's Blog: Buttigieg's white blindspot on school deseg

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Buttigieg's white blindspot on school deseg “I have to confess that I was slow to realize ― I worked for years under the illusion that our schools in my city were integrated because they had to be because of a court order,” the Democratic presidential candidate said at a North Carolina talk with the Poor People’s Campaign. . -- Mayor Pete Buttigieg There's no need for me to beat up on Pete Butti

DEC 03

Ruben Alonzo — Carpetbagging Galaxy-Brained Founder Of Excelencia Charter Academy In Boyle Heights — Michael Kohlhaas dot org

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Ruben Alonzo — Carpetbagging Galaxy-Brained Founder Of Excelencia Charter Academy In Boyle Heights Ruben Alonzo — Carpetbagging Galaxy-Brained Founder Of Excelencia Charter Academy In Boyle Heights RUBEN ALONZO — CARPETBAGGING GALAXY-BRAINED FOUNDER OF EXCELENCIA CHARTER ACADEMY IN BOYLE HEIGHTS — CO-LOCATED ON THE CAMPUS OF SUNRISE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — SURVEILLED, STALKED, AND PHOTOGRAPHED ANTI-C
Learning Disabilities and Inclusion: Abandoned Commitment

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Learning Disabilities and Inclusion: Abandoned Commitment Parents around the country are angry, claiming that their children who have learning disabilities, namely dyslexia, are not being served in public schools. The question here is why aren’t public schools serving students with learning disabilities? Isn’t it the law? Many parents expect inclusion in general education classes, although some
Top Democratic Presidential Candidates Coming To Pittsburgh For Public Education Forum – CBS Pittsburgh

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Top Democratic Presidential Candidates Coming To Pittsburgh For Public Education Forum PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Seven of the leading Democratic candidates for President of the United States will be in Pittsburgh on December 14. Sources tell KDKA, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer will be the candidates in attendance. A coalition
Chris Whittle Tries a Splashy Comeback | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Chris Whittle Tries a Splashy Comeback Chris Whittle is the Uber entrepreneur of for-profit education. Back in the 1990s, he launched the Edison Project, assuming that George H.W. Bush would be re-elected and would get a voucher plan through Congress. That didn’t happen, so Edison sought contracts to run low-performing schools. Lots of push back from districts and parents. The share price plumme
Report: PTA Fundraising May Contribute to School Inequities

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Report: PTA Fundraising May Contribute to NYC School Inequities Some parent teacher associations are raking in big bucks, while hundreds of others collect nothing at all. New York City’s Education Department has for the first time compiled and released data on the financial standing of PTAs around the city. City Councilman Mark Treyger, a former teacher who wrote the legislation requiring the re
How San Diego Unified Blew Up Its ‘Balanced’ Budget - Voice of San Diego

by Mike Simpson / 4d
How San Diego Unified Blew Up Its ‘Balanced’ Budget It turns out those across-the-board 3.7 percent raises for San Diego Unified’s 10,500 employees created a big new structural deficit – adding $45 million in annual operating costs for next year. The dark cloud that loomed over San Diego Unified’s operating budget in the last few years had largely cleared. District leaders this summer touted the
The wealth gap and segregation in the U.S. grows. So does the gap in PISA scores. Don’t tell me there is no correlation. – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 4d
THE WEALTH GAP AND SEGREGATION IN THE U.S. GROWS. SO DOES THE GAP IN PISA SCORES. DON’T TELL ME THERE IS NO CORRELATION. The results are in and two decades of corporate school reform gets poor growth scores. Common Core, Race to the top, Every Student Succeeds. Some of the reforms had national and state teacher union support. I recall being told by AFT and NEA leaders that Every Student Succeeds
Addressing the Roots of Classroom Behavior Problems + Why Districts Are Reluctant To Let Even Struggling Teachers Go - Teacher Habits

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Addressing the Roots of Classroom Behavior Problems - Teacher Habits Addressing the Roots of Classroom Behavior Problems By Frankie Wallace In a 2019 report, based on a survey from 1,900 elementary school teachers, 25% of the teachers reported that they witness children in their classrooms throwing tantrums or having other behavioral issues a few times each week. Behavioral issues in the classroo
Dana Goldstein: ‘It Just Isn’t Working’: Test Scores Cast Doubt on U.S. Education Efforts - The New York Times

by Mike Simpson / 4d
‘It Just Isn’t Working’: Test Scores Cast Doubt on U.S. Education Efforts - The New York Times ‘It Just Isn’t Working’: Test Scores Cast Doubt on U.S. Education Efforts An international exam shows that American 15-year-olds are stagnant in reading and math even though the country has spent billions to close gaps with the rest of the world. The performance of American teenagers in reading and math
Indiana: Karen Francisco on Shady Charter Real Estate Deals | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Indiana: Karen Francisco on Shady Charter Real Estate Deals Indiana legislators have rewritten state laws to favor privatization of public assets. If a public school is considered unutilized, a charter operator can claim it for only $1. When the West Lafayette school district sued to challenge the law, a judge sided with the legislators. Give the public school away to a private operator, even th
How the Other Half Learns: A Review (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 4d
How the Other Half Learns: A Review (Part 3) Robert Pondiscio’s book is about Success Academies, a highly praised and critiqued charter school network in New York City. Once connected to those urban schools called “No Excuses’–a term that founder Eva Moskowitz hates (p.52), How the Other Half Learns enters the highly-charged arena of fiery reform rhetoric over publicly-funded urban charter schoo
Wealthy White Elites Attacking Little Rock School District | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Wealthy White Elites Attacking Little Rock School District By Thomas Ultican 12/2/2019 In an apparent reaction to the 2014 school board election, new Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson and the state of Arkansas assumed stewardship of Little Rock School District (LRSD). A law passed January 28, 2015 authorizing the takeover requires the state to give control back to Little Rock voters by January,
Back to the Future of Reading Instruction: 1990s Edition | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Back to the Future of Reading Instruction: 1990s Edition The year is 1997 and the topic, of course, is improving a failing education system in the U.S. Linda Darling-Hammond explains in the Preface [1]: This follow-up report, Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality Teaching , seeks to gauge the nation’s progress toward the goal of high-quality teaching in every classroom in every community
As usual in DC … | GFBrandenburg's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
As usual in DC … … we don’t have a sane schools policy. Witness: Valerie Jablow’s post today. Safe Passage To Nowhere by Valerie Jablow While I was writing this blog post, on the November 25 DC council hearing on safe passage, a DC public school student who was shot during school hours died and DCPS announced the closure of an alternative high school whose students had poor attendance, quite pos

DEC 02

'Can I get a ride?' Removing an obstacle for families using school choice | TheHill

by Mike Simpson / 4d
'Can I get a ride?' Removing an obstacle for families using school choice Some critics of school choice say that because not all families can take advantage of it to the same degree, it ought to be cut back. They are correct about this: Some families can’t make the most out of their available school choice options because they have trouble transporting their children to school. The solution to t
2019 Medley #22 | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 5d
2019 Medley #22 RESPECT FOR TEACHERS Are Teachers Allowed to Think for Themselves? Teaching isn’t, as some legislators apparently think, professional babysitting. Teachers don’t just “tell” students what they need to know, and students don’t just “remember” everything. Teaching a class of children — whether they are 6 years old, or 16 — is not easy. To do it well takes training, experience, supp
More Kids on Medicaid to Get Health Care in School | The Pew Charitable Trusts

by Mike Simpson / 5d
More Kids on Medicaid to Get Health Care in School A mountain of evidence proves it: Good health translates to better student performance. Children who have high blood pressure or are obese perform worse academically than others. Children with asthma miss far more school . Students who have healthy diets, who are physically active, who abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs, get better grades .
Texas Is Taking Over Houston’s Schools, Prompting Charges of Racism - The New York Times

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Texas Is Taking Over Houston’s Schools, Prompting Charges of Racism A takeover of the state’s largest school district has led to lawsuits and accusations that minority voters are being ignored. At the center of it are a majority-black high school and a member of the Class of 1961. HOUSTON — Harold V. Dutton Jr. was proud to have walked the same high school halls that Barbara Jordan , the first b
The Amazing Activism of the Grassroots Network of NPE Action | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
The Amazing Activism of the Grassroots Network of NPE Action NPE Action is fortunate to have the leadership and energy of Marla Kilfoyle, former national director of BATS. She has developed connections with dozens of organizations fighting to protect and improve public schools. Read her latest report here. The report includes a call to action to protect student privacy. The deadline for taking a
CURMUDGUCATION: Noblesse Oblige And the End of Public Education

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Noblesse Oblige And the End of Public Education Maybe you don't usually get around to reading David Dawkins, the Forbes staff member whose beat is billionaires. But back in October he ran an interview that should send a familiar chill through those of us who follow the great education disruption debates. Dawkins talked to Josef Stadler, the head of Ultra High Net Worst at UBS (the big Swiss bank
Jennifer Hall Lee: Why I Volunteer at My Local Public School | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Jennifer Hall Lee: Why I Volunteer at My Local Public School Jennifer Hall Lee lives in Pasadena, California. Her child is now enrolled in the high school, but Lee continues to volunteer and raise money for the middle school, where she is needed. In a note to me, she said that 45% of the students in Pasadena are attending private schools, charter schools, or home schooled. The public schools are
A Harlem School That Former Students Say Is Run Like ‘A Cult’ Faces New Scrutiny | HuffPost

by Mike Simpson / 5d
A Harlem School That Former Students Say Is Run Like ‘A Cult’ Faces New Scrutiny A HuffPost investigation has uncovered more disturbing allegations out of a New York City private school. Now, the New York City Department of Education says it’s investigating. NEW YORK — Five years ago when Kaiya showed up for the first day of senior year at Atlah High School in the Harlem neighborhood of New York
Stop Ignoring the Innovation That Happens in Traditional Public Schools - Education Week

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Stop Ignoring the Innovation That Happens in Traditional Public Schools Schools across the United States are leading change from within. Why don't we know more about them? When students at Childersburg Middle School head to the library, there's far more to do than read a book. Two summers ago, their teachers divided the space into a cozy reading area and the "GRID," a hands-on engineering lab wh
“Almost all of the diversity of our youths was in a single school district,” says Pete Buttigieg. “I was slow to realize.” – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 5d
“ALMOST ALL OF THE DIVERSITY OF OUR YOUTHS WAS IN A SINGLE SCHOOL DISTRICT,” SAYS PETE BUTTIGIEG. “I WAS SLOW TO REALIZE.” Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg told Reverend William Barber that he didn’t notice South Bend’s public schools were segregated. Buttigieg is the mayor of South Bend. “I have to confess that I was slow to realize — I worked for years under the illusion that o
With A Brooklyn Accent: Coming To Terms With Our History of White Supremacist Violence

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Coming To Terms With Our History of White Supremacist Violence If you know our history, our present reality shouldn't surprise you. Nearly 4 decades after slavery ended, the nation was the site of the creation of a system of color caste, reinforced by acts terror and intimidation that ranged from night riding and lynching to pogroms and massacres. Most of this white supremacist violence never ma
Help Send Have You Heard on the Road in 2020 – Have You Heard

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Help Send Have You Heard on the Road in 2020 Education will play a major role in key 2020 election contests and yet the media keeps missing the story, or worse, getting it wrong. Have You Heard wants to do something about that. We have an ambitious list of destinations we want to travel to in the months ahead. With your help we can hit the road and shine a light on stories like these: According
Boston: Falling Enrollment Forces Charter Chain to Retrench | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Boston: Falling Enrollment Forces Charter Chain to Retrench The celebrated Boston charter City on a Hill is closing one of its schools and imposing budget cuts at another due to falling enrollments. Once a shining star in the Boston charter school world, City on a Hill Charter School is facing a massive financial crisis, prompting trustees on Monday to enact a series of dramatic budget cuts: It
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Voucher Bill Still A Threat

by Mike Simpson / 5d
PA: Voucher Bill Still A Threat Pennsylvania House Speaker and Betsy DeVos fanboy Mike Turzai has suffered a momentary setback in his drive to use Harrisburg schools as a launching pad for a PA voucher program, but he reportedly has not given up. HB 1800 targets the ailing school district at a point where it has only recently been placed in financial receivership under the control of a state-app
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Thanks and Best Wishes

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Thanks and Best Wishes “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh) “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” T.S. Eliot “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” Gandhi "Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding m
Dividing Fractions Directly and Other Things We Can't Unknow | The Jose Vilson

by Mike Simpson / 5d
DIVIDING FRACTIONS DIRECTLY AND OTHER THINGS WE CAN’T UNKNOW “Last year, we learned to keep-flip-change …” She sees my face wince, but proceeds anyways. “The way that goes is you keep the original fraction, change the division to multiplication, and then flip the second fraction.” “OK, but why does it work?” Shrug. “Who else learned it this way?” About three-fourths of the room raises their hand

DEC 01

Learning From The Historic Gains We Won In The Chicago Teachers Strike | PopularResistance.Org

by Mike Simpson / 6d
LEARNING FROM THE HISTORIC GAINS WE WON IN THE CHICAGO TEACHERS STRIKE As a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student from first grade through high school, and in my 17 years of teaching in the system, none of my schools ever had a full-time social worker or nurse every day of the week. In the first contract the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) secured in the era of legalized public sector bargaining, in
CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Deer Season Edition (12/1)

by Mike Simpson / 6d
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Deer Season Edition (12/1) ICYMI: Deer Season Edition (12/1) Yes, it may be Thanksgiving weekend where you are, but in my neck of the woods, schools are closed tomorrow for the first day of deer season. Don't knock it if you haven't eaten some excellent deer baloney. In the meantime, hre's some reading from the week School District's Computer Servers Hacked Sign of the time
Helen Ladd on the Negative Effects of Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Helen Ladd on the Negative Effects of Charter Schools Helen Ladd is one of our nation’s most distinguished economists. She has written extensively about education and poverty, as well as school choice. Dr. Ladd informed me that she has written scholarly articles about charter schools. I asked if she was willing to let me post them here. She said that they were on a website that was closed. Howev
CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Bigotry In The Classroom

by Mike Simpson / 6d
TX: Bigotry In The Classroom This is a troubling story, for several reasons. Georgia Clark was an English teacher in the Fort Worth Independent School District, a district with over 80% Hispanic student population. Clark sent a message to Donald Trump, asking him to do something about all the illegal [sic] immigrant students. Her request included charming lines like "anything you can do to remov
NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

by Mike Simpson / 6d
NewBlackMan (in Exile) A Nigger Un-Reconstructed: The Legacy of Richard Pryor by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h by Mark Anthony Neal | @NewBlackMan | NewBlackMan (in Exile) "Unreconstructed black men don't have the manners of their reconstructed 'Negro' brethren, who are always trying to put a 'civilized' face on their blackness, especially in the company of white folks." — -- Quincy Troupe "I think tha
DIANE RAVITCH: The New York Times Is Spreading Charter School Lies

by Mike Simpson / 6d
The New York Times Is Spreading Charter School Lies The New York Times Is Spreading Charter School Lies The New York Times is still fawning over them, but the charter school experiment has been an abject failure. People are clamoring for well-funded public schools, not billionaire pet projects. any people have written to me to complain about an article that appeared Wednesday on the front page of
Murmuration: Emma Bloomberg’s Obscure Nonprofit. | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Murmuration: Emma Bloomberg’s Obscure Nonprofit. Murmuration is an organization located on Wall Street in New York. Its obscure website offers no information about who is running the operation. However, Murmuration does advertise a “change-driving,” ed-reform mission: Murmuration transforms how political campaigns, advocates, and organizers identify, engage, and mobilize people and communities.
“How the Other Half Learns:” A Review (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 6d
“How the Other Half Learns:” A Review (Part 2) What happens inside classrooms remains beneath the notice of education policymakers and pundits. I have long believed that this indifference to curriculum and instruction is a significant impediment to progress . Robert Pondiscio, How the Other Half Learns , p. 10 Inside classrooms is where teachers, students, curriculum, and instruction gel into le

NOV 30

Public school champions fire back at New York Times' misleading charter school report - Arkansas Times

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Public school champions fire back at New York Times’ misleading charter school report Two public school champions have fired back at a remarkably one-sided New York Times article this week on a supposed backlash from black voters about Democratic presidential candidates’ criticism of charter schools. Most Democratic candidates have been critical of the billionaire-funded charter school movement


Top Posts This Week 11/30/19 #Redfored

by Mike Simpson / 7d
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 11/30/19 The real story of New Orleans and its charter schools - The Washington Post Bill Gates spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve teaching. New report says it was a 


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