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Saturday, October 5, 2019

TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 10/5/19 #REDFORED

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POSTS THIS WEEK 10/5/19



False and Diversionary Charter School Dichotomies | Dissident Voice

False and Diversionary Charter School Dichotomies There is no shortage of articles, books, reports, blogs, and websites that continually detail the perpetually scandalous and troubled nature of charter schools. Not a day goes by without a report on some sort of infamy, fraud, mismanagement, corruption, or failure in the unaccountable charter school sector. But even articles and reports that are
Tennessee: Gov. Lee Packs State Charter Commission with Charter Zealots | Diane Ravitch's blog

Tennessee: Gov. Lee Packs State Charter Commission with Charter Zealots Governor Bill Lee Hayes public schools, even though most children in Tennessee attend them. He packed the new State Charter School Commission with people who love to hand public money to private corporations to operate schools that choose their students and operate without accountability. Tennessee is opening the state treas
School Principals I Have Known | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

School Principals I Have Known Although I have never served as a principal, I have been a student under three elementary and secondary school principals and worked for six high school principals as a teacher. As a district superintendent, I supervised and evaluated nearly 35 elementary and secondary school principals. Since the 1980s, as part of school-based research studies I have completed, I
What Should Teachers Do About E-Cigarettes at School? - Teacher Habits

What Should Teachers Do About E-Cigarettes at School? E-cigarette prospects have been around for a while, usually as a means for people to quit smoking. But over the past few years, they’ve become somewhat of a trend within youth culture . Teenagers and those who are barely legal have begun vaping tobacco ad nauseum. Some argue this is a good alternative to smoking, but many of these kids never
Greater Test Scores Often Mean Less Authentic Learning | gadflyonthewallblog

Greater Test Scores Often Mean Less Authentic Learning The main goal of schooling is no longer learning. It is test scores . Raising them. Measuring growth. Determining what each score means in terms of future instruction, opportunities, class placement, special education services, funding incentives and punishments, and judging the effectiveness of individual teachers, administrators, buildings
NYC Educator: Oversized Music Classes

Oversized Music Classes Last week I went to a class size grievance hearing. There was good news and bad news. The good news is the new process seems to have much improved things. It appears involving the superintendents in the process is a good idea. They tell the principals, their subordinates, to fix the problems and a whole lot of them seem to be doing it. In our school, for example, the only
Charging a terrified 10-year-old girl as a criminal is a very bad look for state attorney Dennis Ward | The Edvocate Blog

Charging a terrified 10-year-old girl as a criminal is a very bad look for state attorney Dennis Ward What the hell is going on? As a parent, I feel very comfortable using this exact wording to ask this question. In the aftermath of the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, we must ask ourselves just how far we will let fear push us. The MSD Safety Act means police and armed staff are in o
Seattle Schools Community Forum: What Tracy and Her Pals Think of You and This Blog

What Tracy and Her Pals Think of You and This Blog I say this so much but many people do NOT read for content; rather, they pick out bits that suit their personal narrative and think they understand a topic or what others are saying. I told someone out of state recently about the blog. He said, "So, do you post once a week or so?" That's hilarious. I normally post five times a week, sometimes tw
It’s Not a Flash Drive: Vaping News Teachers and Parents Can Use | deutsch29

It’s Not a Flash Drive: Vaping News Teachers and Parents Can Use I began my teaching career in 1991. When I think about my contemporary classroom experience and consider my professional world decades ago, I find myself often thinking, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Case in point: Vaping. Twenty-eight years ago, I never would have imagined that my classroom responsibilities would include activ
The 2020 California Teachers of the Year - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2020 California Teachers of the Year SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today named five extraordinary educators as the 2020 California Teachers of the Year. Thurmond, who began his career as a social services worker, said he is pleased to honor five outstanding and talented teachers who have made a great impact in the
THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Rewarding teamwork is key to improving primary children's spelling by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d Pupils do better in spelling tests if teachers reward them for team - rather than individual - performance, according to new findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Psychology . The study, based on 1,000 primary students,
This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

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 All My “Annual” Best List Collections – Look For 2019’s “Best Of Year” Lists Soon! by Larry Ferlazzo / 30min TeroVesalainen / Pixabay As regular readers know, among my 2100 “Best” lists are thir
KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all

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 Tom Ultican: The Failure of Privatization in New Orleans by dianeravitch / 7min New Orleans is supposed to be t

YESTERDAY

CURMUDGUCATION: A Teacher's Final Lesson

A Teacher's Final Lesson If you live in western Pennsylvania, you may already know the story of Ashley Kuzma. If you don't, I'd like to share it with you. Kuzma was born in Beaver County, PA, and graduated from Freedom Area High School in 2005. She attended Pitt where she earned a Bachelor's in History and Poli Sci, and Edinboro University, where she earned a Master's in Education and a teaching
How America Killed Play—and What We Can Do to Bring it Back | STACK

How America Killed Play—and What We Can Do to Bring it Back In our last piece from our interview with play expert Dr. Peter Gray, we outlined the five criteria of play . For an activity to truly be considered play, it must: Be self-chosen and self-directed Be done for its own sake and not an outside reward Have some sort of rules/structure Have an element of imagination Be conducted in an alert
Parents' Complaint: Nick Melvoin's Lips Weren't Sealed | Capital & Main

Parents’ Complaint: Nick Melvoin’s Lips Weren’t Sealed Did a Los Angeles school board member leak confidential information to charter school lobbyists? An ethics heat advisory in effect for Los Angeles Unified school board member Nick Melvoin got considerably hotter last week after a group of “concerned” district moms and public school supporters signed letters requesting formal investigations i
California: A Charter Chain So Awful That the Charter Lobby Expelled It | Diane Ravitch's blog

California: A Charter Chain So Awful That the Charter Lobby Expelled It Inspire Charter Schools does not inspire confidence in its academics, its finances, or its integrity. Inspire makes money by getting state money to underwrite home schooling, with state-subsidized field trips and lots of folderol. Things got so bad that the Inspire chain was kicked out by the California Charter Schools Assoc
What Can We Learn From Betsy DeVos' School Visits? Explore Our Interactive Map - Politics K-12 - Education Week

What Can We Learn From Betsy DeVos' School Visits? Explore Our Interactive Map Updated. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos often attracts a cloud of attention when she visits a school. At the very beginning of her tenure, she was met with protesters , angered by her support of policies like private school vouchers, who tried to bar her from entering a Washington, D.C., middle school. When s
Presidential candidates focus on gun violence, school safety at policy forum - Education Votes

Presidential candidates focus on gun violence, school safety at policy forum Any political candidate would agree that students and educators deserve better than to live in fear of a shooting at their school. But what do the 2020 presidential candidates actually plan to do about the issue of rampant gun violence in America? Nine presidential candidates got on stage to answer that question at a fo
It’s Time to Erase Harmful, Recycled Education Policy!

It’s Time to Erase Harmful, Recycled Education Policy! Serious education issues in public schools are recycled because the ulterior motive of some is to end public education. Research is repeatedly ignored. Why are school administrators clueless? How is it that legislators repeatedly recreate policy we know is harmful for students? Each heading contains a link to proof. End Retention. Research i
What Does Educational Opportunity Mean? | janresseger

What Does Educational Opportunity Mean? Mike Rose, the education writer and professor of education at UCLA, has spent a good part of his life examining the meaning of educational opportunity. In Why School? (2009 and expanded in 2014), Rose considers how students experience opportunity at school: “I’m especially interested in what opportunity feels like. Discussions of opportunity are often abst
Chicago teachers vote to authorize strike amid contentious contract talks - The Washington Post

Chicago teachers vote to strike Oct. 17 if contentious contract talks are not settled Chicago teachers have voted to strike Oct. 17 if contentious contract negotiations with city officials are not resolved, affecting some 300,000 public school students in the nation’s third-largest district. School support staff and park district workers — who are represented by a different union — also set Oct.
The Cost Of The Dalio Deal Was Too High | Real Learning CT

The Cost Of The Dalio Deal Was Too High Everyone would agree: If we are doing good, we welcome others knowing about it. Why, then, does the Dalio Foundation make it a condition of giving a $hundred million to Connecticut’s schools that its decisions be kept secret? Everyone would agree: Taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent. Why, then, does the Dalio Foundation require t
Bill Phillis: Beware Privatizers Running for Local School Boards! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bill Phillis: Beware Privatizers Running for Local School Boards! Bill Phillis, founder of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, warns that privatizers run for local school boards, as they have in Atlanta and other cities. Teach for America has a special outfit called “Leadership for Educational Equity,” which trains its recruits to go into politics and helps to fund thei

OCT 03

CURMUDGUCATION: Bad Administrator Field Guide

Bad Administrator Field Guide Is there a lousier job in the world than that of a school administrator. For the past twenty years, it has been all of the responsibility and none of the power. Yet a building principal (and to some extent a superintendent) have enormous control over a teacher's workplace-- how miserable is it, how safe is it, and how hard is it for teachers to do the job they signe
NCES Releases School Choice in the United States Report | Cloaking Inequity

NCES RELEASES SCHOOL CHOICE IN THE UNITED STATES REPORT A new report the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) “finds that charter school and public school students have the same academic performance in testing conducted at the fourth- and eighth-grade level.” (See Charter School and Public School Students Have Same Academic Performance, Report Finds )
Kochland: Inside the Koch’s Vision for Public Education – Have You Heard

Kochland: Inside the Koch’s Vision for Public Education In the latest episode of Have You Heard, we talk to Christopher Leonard about his bestselling new book, Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America. Leonard spent seven years delving deep into the rise and reach of Koch Industries. He gained an inside perspective into how the Kochs see the world —and why r
Metaphors for School Change | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Metaphors for School Change For a quarter-century, I have taught graduate students, teachers, principals, superintendents, and school board members about the complexity of the word “change.” The embrace of planned change (one can substitute “reform,” “progress” or “improvement”) as an unvarnished good, particularly in public schools, is understandable in the U.S. The idea of change in of itself
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Heads Up, Parent on Drugs That May Be Circulating

Heads Up, Parent on Drugs That May Be Circulating From Facebook: Make sure your kids know not to take Rx pills not prescribed to them (no matter the circumstances). I'm an addiction researcher at the UW and we are seeing some deaths among teenagers in King County taking fake Rx pills that are actually fentanyl. From Public Health Insider: Ongoing monitoring by Public Health — Seattle & King Coun
Peter Greene: Betsy DeVos Gets Kellyanne Conway to Help Push a $5B Voucher Program | deutsch29

Peter Greene: Betsy DeVos Gets Kellyanne Conway to Help Push a $5B Voucher Program Peter Greene is a retired Pennsylvania teacher who contributes education-related articles to Forbes magazine. I find his writing style both informative and engaging. Today, I share with my readers excerpts from Greene’s October 02, 2019, piece, entitled, “Betsy DeVos Enlists the Help of Kelyanne Conway and America
Public Comments for New World Languages Framework - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Public Comment Period Open for New World Languages Framework SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced today that the draft of the 2020 World Languages Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is now open for review and public comment, an important step for California to lead the way for comprehensive wo
New Orleans Education is Inefficient Expensive and Sad | tultican

New Orleans Education is Inefficient Expensive and Sad By Thomas Ultican 10/2/2019 New Orleans’s public schools were targeted by the destroy-public-education (DPE) movement even before hurricane Katrina struck. Today, they are the national example of a privatized school system. DPE operatives like Neerav Kingsland, the former chief executive of New Schools for New Orleans and Managing Director o
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Two Videos of Note

Two Videos of Note The first is this one from NE Dad: SPS in 2019 is where satire and reality meet https://youtu.be/64PKoAiWhjE?t=103 Again I gently say - public schools cannot be all things, even for children. Just trying to provide SEL to all children is huge but when you have the number of students in our schools who are either in a low-income household and/or have experienced trauma in their
The confessions of Karen Lewis | Bleader

The confessions of Karen Lewis Karen Lewis was in a confessional mood at her appearance last night at the Hideout—at least she confessed to having a nice word or two to say about her old adversary Mayor Rahm. This is understandable, since she was sitting on the stage with Jen Sabella and Erika Wozniak, hosts of the Girl Talk , the monthly talk show at the Hideout that manages to get guests to op

OCT 02

Betsy DeVos Enlists Help Of Kellyanne Conway And American Enterprise Institute To Sell $5 Billion School Choice Program

Betsy DeVos Enlists Help Of Kellyanne Conway And American Enterprise Institute To Sell $5 Billion School Choice Program On Tuesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway sat down with Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute to make one more pitch for DeVos’s Education Freedom Scholarships. The program seems unlikely to succeed on the federal level. W
More than 30,000 children under age 10 have been arrested in the US since 2013: FBI - ABC News

More than 30,000 children under age 10 have been arrested in the US since 2013: FBI The recent arrests of two 6-year-old students in Orlando, which prompted outrage and the firing of the officer who restrained one child's hands with flex cuffs, mirrors a persistent problem confronting law enforcement and schools with thousands of children arrested annually and treated like "mini-adults," experts
It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Media Literacy Week Is October 21st – 25th – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Media Literacy Week is From October 21st to the 25th. You might be interested in: The Best Tools & Lessons For Teaching Information Literacy – Help Me Find
Betsy DeVos calls federal school vouchers ‘the conservative answer to what ails American education’ -- and says, incorrectly, that they won’t cost the government any money - The Washington Post

Betsy DeVos calls $5 billion school tax credit plan ‘the conservative answer to what ails American education’ -- and says, incorrectly, that it won’t cost the government money Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway participated in same event. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, appearing Tuesday at a D.C. think tank with presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, called her $5 billion federal tax credit plan t
DeVos' security detail cost $6.24M during the past year - POLITICO

DeVos' security detail cost $6.24M during the past year Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ security detail is projected to cost $7.87 million from now through the end of September 2020, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service told POLITICO today. The Marshals Service said the final cost of protecting DeVos in fiscal 2019, which ended Monday, was $6.24 million. That’s down from $6.79 million i
Navigating Racist Triggers: The Unsettling Impact of Current Events on the Immigrant Experience | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Navigating Racist Triggers: The Unsettling Impact of Current Events on the Immigrant Experience As Donald Trump continues to fuel white nationalism with his recent tirade against four members of Congress who are all women of color, the essence of what it means to be American is in a seismic shift. The values of the constitution, the leadership elected to uphold it, and the American people are in
LAUSD earmarks $5.5 million to ease sharing between charter and public schools - Los Angeles Times

Can charter and public schools share space without fights? LAUSD’s $5.5-million solution Five schools, including three charters, share the Westchester High School campus, making for a potential headache when it comes to drop-off and pick-up, serving food and using the library and athletic fields. A plan unanimously approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles Board of Education won’t fix all the logistic
CURMUDGUCATION: The 14,752nd Real Promise Of School Choice

The 14,752nd Real Promise Of School Choice AEI hosted a pep rally for the DeVos $5 million scholarship tax credi t, and afterwards, Rick Hess put up the latest entry in AEI's 60 second that "reminds" us of the "real promise" of charters and choice: AEI Education @AEIeducation Thank you to @ BetsyDeVosED , @ KellyannePolls , and state decision makers for a great conversation about Education Freed
Rahm’s and Arne’s Legacies Continue to Damage Chicago Public Schools, Especially in Black Neighborhoods | janresseger

Rahm’s and Arne’s Legacies Continue to Damage Chicago Public Schools, Especially in Black Neighborhoods Corporate school reform was launched in Chicago back in 2004 in the form of a glittery new promise named Renaissance 2010 . By 2010, the school district said, it would close so-called “failing” public schools and replace them with one hundred new schools. Many of the new schools would be chart
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Things That Make You Go, Hmmm

Things That Make You Go, Hmmm How come Superintendent Juneau demoted Principal Emily Butler Ginolfi out of Washington Middle School and made it clear that EGB would be an assistant principal at lower pay and then reversed that by appointing EGB to Licton Springs K-8? How principals get so much grace and autonomy in their jobs is Reason #501 to wonder about this district. The next person to compl
Trump administration sides with Catholic school that fired gay teacher - The Washington Post

Trump administration sides with Catholic school that fired gay teacher The Trump administration is backing a Roman Catholic archbishop in Indiana who pushed a Catholic school to fire a gay teacher, saying in a legal document that the First Amendment protects the church’s right to make such decisions. The Justice Department submitted a “statement of interest” on the side of the Archdiocese of Ind
IS TEACHING A CALLING OR A JOB? CAN IT BE A TEAM SPORT? | The Merrow Report

IS TEACHING A CALLING OR A JOB? CAN IT BE A TEAM SPORT? I begin with the negative, but I promise that–if you stick it out–you will encounter a vision of what teaching could be. The first question: is teaching a calling, a profession, or just another job? “So, are they quitting because they’re fed up with their heavy-handed union bosses?” The hostility of the question took me by surprise. I was e

OCT 01

Unsweet Tea: On Tokenism, Whiteness, and the Promise of Culturally Relevant Teaching | radical eyes for equity

Unsweet Tea: On Tokenism, Whiteness, and the Promise of Culturally Relevant Teaching I stood as I have many times in front of the two tea dispensers at a chain sub sandwich shop. But this time, I was suddenly struck with the choice I always make—the “unsweet tea.” I was born, raised, and have lived my entire life in the Deep South. My mother made tea that would rival pancake syrup and trained my
4 Great Visual Teaching Tools for Science Teachers - Teacher Habits

4 Great Visual Teaching Tools for Science Teachers By Anica Oaks Employing just the right visual teaching tools can make a critical difference between science teachers bringing their material brilliantly to life before their students’ eyes and watching them grow frustrated and overwhelmed by the difficult concepts. Reluctant or struggling learnings may need to process information through a diffe
WARNING : TRY TO KEEP UP WITH DIANE AT YOUR OWN RISK: Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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 Rob Schofield: The War on Public Education in North Carolina by dianeravitch / 28min There was a time when Norh Carolina was widely seen as the most progressive stTe in the South. That time ended a
It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Diwali Takes Place Later This Month – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h bhuwanpurohit / Pixabay Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, will start on October 25 this year. It concludes on October 29th. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Diwal
California schools can no longer suspend K-8 students for using phones. Will this help or hurt learning? - Los Angeles Times

California schools can no longer suspend K-8 students for using phones. Will this help or hurt learning? In middle school, Anthony Avila would stand up in class, talk to friends when he wasn’t supposed to and sling his legs across a second chair. His disruptive behavior got him sent to the office a lot, where he would sit in silence, often stewing. In high school, Avila’s math teacher used anoth
More accountability needed before capital funding for charter schools

More accountability needed before capital funding for charter schools T he executive director of the Oklahoma State School Board Association, Shawn Himes , opened the first of the Sept. 11 House Common Education Committee’s interim studies on “Brick and Mortar Charter School Funding,” by explaining how Oklahoma is one of only four states that doesn’t fund capital expenses for its traditional pub
Catch Up With Newblackman (In Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile) GQ: DMX Breaks Down His Most Iconic Tracks by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h 'Rap legend DMX breaks down his most iconic tracks, including 'X Gon' Give it to Ya,' 'Ruff Ryder's Anthem,' 'What's My Name?,' 'Party Up (Up in Here),' and 'Where the Hood At?''-- GQ Angélique Kidjo Explains Celia Cruz's Rhythmic Singing Style by Mark Anthony Neal / 4h 'In the course of her career, Celia
Alert: Early Bird Registration Ends Today! - Network For Public Education

Alert: Early Bird Registration Ends Today! Don’t let the Early Bird fly away! Register now and take advantage of our Early Bird reduced rate by clicking here and then entering this code: NPEAction2020EB. Today is the last day for the special rate. After you sign up for the conference, be sure to register for a reduced rate room ($169) at our conference hotel. Our rooms will go fast! To reserve y
Louisiana Educator: BESE Takeover Effort Intensifies

BESE Takeover Effort Intensifies We predicted that as it got closer to election day, the out-of-state contributors who support the takeover of BESE would dump in massive amounts of contributions to LABI controlled candidates. We are now witnessing a massive advertising campaign financed primarily by out-of-state reformer groups that are acting in cooperation with the Louisiana Association of Bus
The California Charter School Association Purposefully Puts Students In Danger

The California Charter School Association Purposefully Puts Students In Danger Students are absolutely safer in a Field Act [school building] when an earthquake happens, no question about it. ” – Tom Duffy Coalition for Adequate School Housing Whenever legislative bodies attempt to force accountability on the charter school industry, the California Charter School Association (CCSA) cries “#KidsN
Jeff Bryant: Our Schools: Another School Leadership Disaster: Private Companies Work an Insider Game to Reap Lucrative Contracts | National Education Policy Center

Our Schools: Another School Leadership Disaster: Private Companies Work an Insider Game to Reap Lucrative Contracts | National Education Policy Center Our Schools: Another School Leadership Disaster: Private Companies Work an Insider Game to Reap Lucrative Contracts In July 2013, the education world was rocked when a breaking story by Chicago independent journalist Sarah Karp reported that distri
Misdirected Evaluation and Intimidation in Wake County, North Carolina | Truth in American Education

Misdirected Evaluation and Intimidation in Wake County, North Carolina n this post, I am going to attempt to address a number of issues related to the situation in Wake County, NC where the school district adopted the Mathematics Vision Project (MVP). The three main issues I hope to address have to do with the evaluation of the implementation of the Mathematics Vision Project (MVP), MVP’s lawsui

SEP 30

Talk Out of School WBAI Radio

WBAI Radio Archives Talk Out of School WBAI Radio Tune in this Wednesday when I Talk Out of School with Jessica Levin from Public Schools Public Funds Project & Katherine Dunn from the Southern Poverty Law Center. We will be talking about Betsy De Los, vouchers & school privatization. Wed, Oct 2, 2019 10:00 AM est on WBAI 99.5 fm & online at www.wbai.org If you can't make it at that time it will
See how closely Ohio school report card grades trend with district income - cleveland.com

See how closely Ohio school report card grades trend with district income CLEVELAND, Ohio - The latest set of Ohio school report cards not only provided a scorecard for each district statewide - they once again drove home the point that wealthier districts do better on such reports. For example, incomes in the "A" districts were three times higher than those in the "F" districts, and the child p
CURMUDGUCATION: Are School Vouchers A Path To Religious Freedom?

Are School Vouchers A Path To Religious Freedom? Let me make a confession-- I am not at all unsympathetic to many Libertarian beliefs. I am wary of government involvement in many arenas, and the bigger the government, the warier I am. Additionally, I know some Libertarians personally, and they are perfectly nice human beings. But when you start turning general Libby philosophical notions into sp
Andrea Gabor: The Demand for A New Kind of Civics | Diane Ravitch's blog

Andrea Gabor: The Demand for A New Kind of Civics Andrea Gabor wrote this article for Bloomberg News. Andrea Gabor, a former editor at Business Week and U.S. News & World Report, is the Bloomberg chair of business journalism at Baruch College of the City University of New York and the author of “After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform.” The College Board, which a
Quit Using “Alignment” Referring to Children and Tests!

Quit Using “Alignment” Referring to Children and Tests! Alignment refers to a car’s wheels pointing in the right direction, or an orthodontist correcting a child or adult’s dental occlusion. Alignment is rigid. It’s right or wrong. Yet alignment has been used for years to describe how students learn in school. Children are not machine parts that need adjustment. What if consideration was given t
Fight over charter schools heading to Florida Supreme Court - South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Fight over charter schools heading to Florida Supreme Court Nine county school boards, including Broward County, are going to the Florida Supreme Court in a battle about the constitutionality of a controversial 2017 law that sought to bolster charter schools. The school boards filed a notice Friday that is an initial step in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case. The move came after the 1
Shawgi Tell: Florida: Terminate Public Funds for Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Florida: Terminate Public Funds for Charter Schools | Dissident Voice Florida: Terminate Public Funds for Charter Schools Nearly 10 county school boards in Florida recently took collective action to pursue a case against privately-operated-owned charter schools in the Florida Supreme Court. These public school systems that serve tens of thousands of students oppose the dreaded HB 7069 legislation
John Thompson: Can Online Learning Survive the Profiteers and Frauds? | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: Can Online Learning Survive the Profiteers and Frauds? John Thompson is a historians and recently retired teacher in Oklahoma. For more than two decades I’ve mourned the loss of opportunities for online instruction to augment and enhance student learning, as opposed enabling a Social Darwinian competition where charters attack traditional public schools. Educators seeking meaningf
Innovation Ohio Report: Ohio Budget Eases Oversight of Charter Schools and Provides Windfall for Ohio School Vouchers | janresseger

Innovation Ohio Report: Ohio Budget Eases Oversight of Charter Schools and Provides Windfall for Ohio School Vouchers In the 2020-2021 biennial Ohio budget signed into law in July, lawmakers quietly embedded the radical expansion of school privatization. Rewards for charter schools and tuition voucher expansion are written into the budget in a lots of little ways, however, which means that, duri
Why Can’t All of Education Look Like This? (Greg Toppo) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Why Can’t All of Education Look Like This? (Greg Toppo) From time to time, readers say “Enough, Larry, about the ubiquity and longevity of age-graded schools and their rules and rhythms or the ‘grammar of schooling.’ ” A few say it is too pessimistic about school reform and plays down efforts to alter the dominant age-graded organization. Sure, I get defensive and reply that I am a realistic, no
Education Reform Now: Manufacturing Grass Roots Support for La. BESE Candidates Castille and Orange-Jones | deutsch29

Education Reform Now: Manufacturing Grass Roots Support for La. BESE Candidates Castille and Orange-Jones DC/New-York-based Education Reform Now (ERN) is a 501c3 nonprofit associated with Democrats for Education Reform (DFER). Both are led by Shavar Jeffries (see here and here ). ERN advertises itself as “a national think tank and advocacy organization.” The “advocacy” comes from an associated 5
Juliot, A Letter | The Jose Vilson

JULIOT, A LETTER To my father, It was one of the last times we ever had an extensive conversation. You had the news radio on blast in your car. Tim Hardaway had just revealed his homophobia to the country and the first words of wisdom you shared were “… it’s not that he thought it; it’s that he said it aloud.” You went on to dig deeper into the caverns of bigotry before I abruptly asked you how

SEP 29

Exactly how corrupt is Ron DeSantis? By the numbers - YouTube

Exactly how corrupt is Ron DeSantis? By the numbers enrique baloyra This week Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reminded us why he’s still sleaziest politician in the Sunshine State. And that’s quite the achievement, considering we’ve elected Rick “Don’t-Say-Climate-Change” Scott to statewide office three times. Exactly how corrupt is Ron DeSantis? By the numbers - YouTube
Randi Weingarten on America's education crisis

Teacher union leader Randi Weingarten on America's education crisis: 'Teachers are now first responders to everything' As president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its 1.7 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates across the country — only after years of leading the New York City teachers’ union and of being a high school educator herself — Randi Weingarten knows a thi
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Devestating Video on School Safety

Devestating Video on School Safety Watch this frightening, stunning video created by Sandy Hook Promise, an anti-violence nonprofit founded by the parents of victims of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. Is this what we want for our kids when they are at school? The ad reflects a grim reality for the network of survivors from the more than 228,000 students who have experienced a school shooting s
The Hijacking of Special Education - Carl J. Petersen - Medium

The Hijacking of Special Education “ All qualified persons with disabilities within the jurisdiction of a school district are entitled to a free appropriate public education. ” - U. S. Department of Education Chanda Smith was a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) student with special education needs who fell through cracks in the system. In 1993, lawyers from the ACLU filed a class-actio
CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition (9/29) ICYMI: Show Weekend Edition Last weekend was a family wedding in State College, so I did not get this weekly digest done. This weekend I open the local production of The Music Man that I'm directing, so things are a little busy at this house. But I'm still collecting a few good reads for you to read (if you haven't already). Remember to share. Li
Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bob Shepherd: The Decline of Education Publishing Bob Shepherd, polymath, wrote this: When I started to work in educational publishing, many years ago, there were some two hundred or so companies dividing up the textbook market in the United States and about twenty with significant market share. Now there are four. Four. Over the decades, there has been considerable consolidation of the industry
Education Insider for September 29, 2019 - Education Votes

Education Insider for September 29, 2019 Don’t use funds appropriated for public schools to build Trump’s wall NEA retired member James Kellar called President Trump’s plan to build a border wall with money appropriated for public schools on military bases “unconscionable” at a press briefing organized by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Kellar spent 3
Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. | HuffPost

Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Promising To Raise Teacher Pay. Teachers Are Skeptical. A raise would be great. But is it realistic? Philadelphia public school teacher Kathryn Sundeen would love a raise. Last year, she spent about $3,000 out of pocket on her students, helping to pay for their supplies and fees associated with the debate team she coaches. But when she hears the Democrats r
Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think | gadflyonthewallblog

Teachers Are More Stressed Out Than You Probably Think When I was just a new teacher, I remember my doctor asking me if I had a high stress job. I said that I taught middle school, as if that answered his question. But he took it to mean that I had it easy. After all – as he put it – I just played with children all day Now after 16 years in the classroom and a series of chronic medical condition

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Top Post This Week 9/28/19 #Redfored

Big Education Ape TOP POST THIS WEEK 9/28/19 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