Teaching Writing Remotely in a Time of Crisis – radical eyes for equity

Teaching Writing Remotely in a Time of Crisis – radical eyes for equity

Teaching Writing Remotely in a Time of Crisis

My students and I are in our last couple weeks of remote learning and teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As I have examined, the transition for me was facilitated by many of my philosophical/theoretical commitments and practices—most of which are non-traditional and tend to cause tension in traditional circumstances.

At the root of these commitments, I think, is that I am essentially a teacher of writing. Therefore, I am prone to creating classroom experiences around workshop formats, open-ended discussions, and text-based examinations that are seeking goals beyond simply summarizing or analyzing the texts for meaning.

Most of my teaching career—almost two decades each at the high school and higher education levels—has involved teaching writing to students who are not trying to become writers. My writing instruction is primarily grounded in fostering the power of writing as that is valued within academic and scholarly contexts.

Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

One of my best assignments, I think, is that I ask my first-year writing students to interview faculty at my university about how they conduct CONTINUE READING: Teaching Writing Remotely in a Time of Crisis – radical eyes for equity

Over a million California students still lack access to remote learning | CalMatters

Over a million California students still lack access to remote learning | CalMatters

Over a million California students still lack access to remote learning

More than a month since officials closed schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, California officials said a two-week blitz led by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom has brought in 70,000 computers and other devices that will be distributed to needy students this week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has stressed the importance of distance learning and education multiple times during the past month — even talking about helping his own children with school work. Today he focused attention on his administration’s efforts to secure donations from tech giants such as Google and Apple, garnering tens of thousands of computers and internet connections to children in need.

“For class to be in session, it is imperative that California addresses the inequities in access to computers, technology tools and connectivity to ensure that online learning can in fact reach all of California’s children,” Newsom said. 

In addition, in Sacramento, the city is converting seven transit buses into super hotspots. Google is to begin establishing the first of 100,000 previously pledged hotspots during the first week of May. Already, Apple has distributed 10,000 IPads to 800 school districts and Google has given out 4,000 laptops.

Yet, even with all of  the new devices going out in the coming weeks, it’s unclear if all of these efforts will really make a dent in the gap — highlighted by the pandemic — between those who have digital access and those who do not. 

Siebel Newsom said one in five California children does not have connectivity or a device to access remote learning. Based on 2018-19 enrollment data, that means roughly 1.2 million children in California lack access. 

“We all know that education is fundamental to opportunity and our mission will not end until every child has what they need to continue learning,” she said.

Previously, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said that the state is trying to get 150,000 devices in the hands of students who don’t have one.

This is especially critical for low-income students and students of color, Siebel Newsom said, referring to a recent study that showed 50% of low-income parents and 42% of parents of color “are worried about distance learning because they don’t have a personal device at home.”

Newsom also indicated the state will spend $30 million to connect more households that need it.  Most of those funds, $25 million, will come from the California Teleconnect Fund and will be CONTINUE READING: Over a million California students still lack access to remote learning | CalMatters

Sacramento City Unified may have budget cuts from coronavirus | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento City Unified may have budget cuts from coronavirus | The Sacramento Bee

Coronavirus crisis may mean more cuts to Sacramento school district’s already battered budget

The Sacramento County Office of Education delivered another negative certification to Sacramento City Unified School District’s revised budget, after the district also gave itself a negative certification, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic may result in more revenue shortfalls that could require state budget reductions.

“In light of the recent situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertainty of how this will affect the economy, state revenues, and state funding, state budget cuts may be coming as soon as the 2020-2021 budget year,” read a letter sent to the district on Wednesday from county superintendent David Gordon. “Now more than ever, it is imperative that the district and its bargaining partners work together to agree on resolving the $27 million budget shortfall, and insure fiscal solvency by building reserves and eliminating deficit spending.”

It’s unclear how school districts across California will be affected by potential state budget reductions, but Sacramento City Unified’s $27 million budget gap could grow significantly.

County school officials concurred with the negative certification of the district’s second interim report, because the district will fall short by $14.2 million in 2021-2022, leaving the district with a $2 million negative balance.

School districts are required to have a minimum reserve two years in advance, including the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The report said that without further budget restrictions, the district will have a negative balance of $19.5 million in November 2021.

While the district identified more than $31 million in prospective budget reductions, it will need to negotiate with its labor partners to make such changes.

Gordon called the lack of progress in negotiations “crippling.”

“The point we tried to make over in the letters the last 6 to 12 months is that all of this requires cooperation and collaboration,” Gordon told The Sacramento Bee on Friday.

Often at the center of its budget negotiations is the district’s health care benefits, which Gordon said are more generous than the industry standard and could be a source of budget reductions

“Our district was already facing significant budget challenges before the unprecedented health crisis that we find ourselves grappling with now,” read a statement from Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. “That is why – even during this difficult time – we’re asking our labor partners to sit with us at the table to continue negotiations on the high costs of our employee benefits. We know our challenges won’t go away without compromise – even in the face of a crisis.”

The Sacramento City Teachers Association was critical of the district, but also criticized SCOE for “looking away” when Aguilar received a $34,000 pay increase — an amount the district said included health and pension costs.

“SCUSD continues to demonstrate fiscal mismanagement, and SCOE continues to demonstrate an absence of oversight,” read a union statement to The Bee. “The SCOE letter says nothing new.”

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Sacramento City Unified may have budget cuts from coronavirus | The Sacramento Bee

CURMUDGUCATION: The Road Out

CURMUDGUCATION: The Road Out

The Road Out

Sometimes I use this blog as a sort of macro-- when I find myself engaged in the same pieces of the same argument, it just gets easier to try to hash it all out in one spot so that thereafter I can just point instead of typing it all out again. This isn't very much about education, it's not very carefully edited (in fact, I may well keep adding edits till I get it closer to what I really want--hey, I'm a blogger, not a journalist), and it's not short. You won't hurt my feelings if you just skip it.

My social media pages are overflowing with anger these days; I imagine yours are much the same, even if you only interact with people on your side of things. Worse even than the usual political sniping, I find it kind of disheartening and discouraging. It's as if we as a country, as a society, are emotionally unable to process, let alone cope with, the unfolding crisis. 

It's not that people just disagree--it's that the human tendency to assume that people on the other side are stupid and/or evil just seems to be out of control. It's not enough for my pro-open-back-up friends have to disagree with people who see a larger threat. They can't just say, "I think that model is wrong" or "This seems like a bad idea." Instead, it's characterizing people who are complying with safeguards as hysterical victims. Governors are fascist, trying to impose authoritarian regimes. Hospitals and medical authorities are cooking the books and faking the numbers because money and Big Pharma. 

Meanwhile, on the other side, people who want to re-open the economy are murderous bastards, money grubbing killers intent on lining their pockets with blood money.

And all of them talking about this situation is really, really simple and if you don't see it that way, CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: The Road Out

Leading public education advocates write open letter to Joe Biden - The Washington Post

Leading public education advocates write open letter to Joe Biden - The Washington Post

Leading public education advocates write open letter to Joe Biden: Your ‘statements encourage us’

During the Obama administration, public school advocates led by Diane Ravitch opposed the education agenda of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who had embraced standardized testing, charter schools and the Common Core State Standards as the way to improve America’s schools.

Ravitch, an education historian and research professor at New York University, became the titular leader of the grass-roots movement against the privatization of public education in 2010, when she published her best-selling book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” It detailed her conversion from a No Child Left Behind supporter to an opponent.

From 1991 to 1993, Ravitch served as assistant secretary of research and improvement in the Education Department under President George H.W. Bush. She was, too, an early supporter of No Child Left Behind, the chief education initiative of his son, President George W. Bush, which ushered in the high-stakes standardized-testing movement. But when she researched the effects of the measures, she saw that NCLB’s testing requirements had turned classrooms into test prep factories and forced schools to narrow the curriculum to focus on tested subjects.

She changed her long-held views about how to improve schools and for the last decade has been speaking and writing about education reform. She also co-founded and heads the nonprofit Network for Public Education, which links people and groups that advocate to improve public schools and fight school privatization.

Ravitch became a lightning rod for criticism by supporters of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, which made standardized tests more important than ever. But, at 81 years old, she is still writing and advocating for public schools. Her most recent book was published this year, “Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools.”

The Network for Public Education that she leads opposes charter schools — which are publicly funded by privately managed — seeing them as part of a movement to privatize public education. It published two reports last year about how the federal government wasted millions of dollars on a program aimed at expanding the charter sector. CONTINUE READING: Leading public education advocates write open letter to Joe Biden - The Washington Post

Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Prolonged school closures could be very costly for America’s students
Experts are especially worried about younger and lower-income kids.

Prolonged school closures associated with the coronavirus pandemic are likely to have a major and negative affect on children’s learning, according to a wide range of experts — leaving some students behind academically for years to come, and even leading to meaningful lost income over the course of their lifetimes.

Problems are likely to be especially concentrated in younger children and lower-income households, but not necessarily limited to them.

Yet this has been mostly absent from the national debate over social distancing, which has tended to focus narrowly on the idea of opening up “the economy” rather than the nation’s schools. Even states that have not issued full-scale stay-at-home orders have generally closed schools, and the Trump administration’s reopening plan envisions bringing back movie theaters before educational institutions.

That’s a blinkered approach. Schools, of course, should not reopen if it can’t be done safely. But when balancing the risks and rewards of different kinds of activities, the fact that prolonged school closures are likely doing real long-term harm to an entire cohort of American children deserves more emphasis.

Kids are missing a lot of school

Schools closed at different points in March in different states, but they are currently not operating anywhere in the country even in states that have made a big show of staying open for business during the pandemic. Twenty-eight states have formally canceled the entire rest of the 2019-2020 school year, with three more “recommending” closures through the end of the year and the rest — a list that includes blue states like New York and New Jersey as well as red ones like West Virginia and Wyoming — claim they’ll be reopening in May.

Virtually all of those states, however, have already postponed their initial plans to reopen, so CONTINUE READING: Closing schools for coronavirus could hinder kids’ development. Online learning won’t fill the gap. - Vox

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services

One of the biggest challenges for school districts across the country that are delivering distance learning to millions of students at home because of the covid-19 crisis is providing legally required services to students with disabilities.

Under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, school districts must offer all students an equitable education or they are not supposed to offer it to any of them. Not many school systems have come up with a way to extend online learning and other critical services to the 7 million children with disabilities across the country. And some districts, because they cannot provide special education services at home, aren’t offering online instruction to any student.

Now, there is tension between groups that advocate for these students — who each have an Individualized Education Program or IEP — and organizations that represent special education administrators. The advocates are demanding that school districts deliver education equitably, as the law requires, while administrators say they cannot do the same things they did when schools were open and need some flexibility.

For parents trying to replicate school for children with disabilities, a confounding task

Two groups of administrators — the Council of Administrators of Special Education and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education — jointly sent a letter to Congress asking for flexibility on IDEA timelines, such as when districts must respond to legal complaints or review a student’s IEP.

The letter (seen in full below) says in part:

Local education agencies (LEAs) are facing a great deal of compliance challenges which are taking our focus from educating children with disabilities and shifting focusing our effort on paperwork. Without flexibility, we will generate endless cycles of reporting about how COVID-19 caused money to be unspent, evaluations to be delayed, and services and supports that are in IEPs that are not able to be implemented. We are concerned about requesting numerous meetings and activities of families who are already experiencing many stresses and challenges. For this reason, we are asking for temporary and targeted flexibilities in implementing IDEA during this pandemic so that we can keep our focus on collaborating with parents and families and on providing appropriate services to students with disabilities. In no other situation in our organizations’ history can we find a time where we have asked for limited flexibilities in implementing the IDEA.

Advocates said they disagree.

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The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) wrote letters (see below) to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about special waivers from federal law regarding the education of students with disabilities.

Congress, in its recent $2 trillion economic stimulus package, known as the Cares Act, included a requirement that DeVos report back by late April on whether she needs congressional approval to provide school districts with waivers to IDEA during the pandemic. DeVos has not said publicly CONTINUE READING: Disability rights advocates urge Education Secretary DeVos to ensure special education students receive equal services - The Washington Post

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout”

Who better to review a book about the depredations of the fossil fuel industry than John Thompson, who lives in Oklahoma, where that industry controls the legislature? Thompson pointed out when he sent this review that the federal government spends ten times more to subsidize fossil fuels than it spends on education.

He writes:
Rachel Maddow’s Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest Most Destructive Industry on Earth is a case study in the “Resource Curse,” the social science concept explaining why petroleum produces corruption and poverty. It’s presented in Maddow’s inimitable style, providing a “guided tour of some of the landmarks, like Oklahoma, and Equatorial Guinea, and Russia.”

Maddow describes the oil and gas industry as “essentially a big casino” that “invites gangsterism, extortion, thuggery, and the sorts of folks who enjoy these hobbies.” Of course, those behaviors are more extreme in Equatorial Guinea and Russia, but American companies CONTINUE READING: John Thompson Reviews Rachel Maddow’s Book “Blowout” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day

I spent a few hours in my classroom today cleaning and packing up.

In some ways, the experience felt normal, the same end-of-year routine that I have been doing for years– except that it is April and our governor officially declared that students will not be returning to school buildings for the remainder of the school year.

Being in my classroom again put me in mind of my students, particularly one student, Terimiyia.

The week before our school closed, my students presented their own poetry, and Terimiyia wrote and read her poem, entitled, “Favorite Time of Day,” about her experience in my class.

I’m smiling even now, thinking about it, just like I smiled when Terimiyia first read it to me and her classmates.

I asked Terimiyia if she would give me permission to publish her poem on my CONTINUE READING: Terimiyia’s Favorite Time of Day | deutsch29

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election!

I’m excited to announce that a powerful coalition of educators has come together to launch the “Schools Seattle Deserves” (SSD) slate of candidates in the Seattle Education Association union election that begins on Tuesday, April 21 and ends on April 30th.

I fully endorse this slate of candidates and urge all members of the SEA to vote in the election for these visionary education leaders. SSD is running on a three pillar platform that includes: Racial equity, fully-funded public schools, and the empowerment of members (see an outline of each of these issues in the press release below).

The SSD is holding an important press conference via Zoom on Tuesday, April 21st 2020 at 4:00 PM Pacific Time that I encourage everyone to join and hear directly from the members of the slate themselves (more details on joining the press conference below).

This coalition is made up of candidates from the Social Equity Educators (SEE, the organization that I have organized with for a long time), Ethnic Studies Advisory Group, Racial Equity Teams, Black Lives Matter at School Advisory Board, Bargaining for the Common Good, Sound Housing Alliance and SEA members from Building Leadership Teams across the District.

Three social justice warriors that I have worked with for a long time are running for the officer positions, along with a powerful group of educators running for positions on the executive board. Jon Greenberg is running for president of the SEA, Vallerie Fisher is running for treasurer, and Marquita Prinzing for CONTINUE READING: The “Schools Seattle Deserves” slate launches campaign for the Seattle Education Association union election! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

Well, of all the stupid reasons to re-open schools before summer comes, this offering from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has to be among the worst:

One reason Baker said he wants to see schools reopen before the end of the school year would be so students could take tests to determine how far behind they fell due to the pandemic.

Baker has been an ed reformster since he was elected in 2014, complete with ties to the charter industry and threw his own weight behind the ill-fated, dark-money-financed initiative to raise the charter cap.

So it's not exactly a shock to find him advocating for this idea, which is, I should repeat, really dumb.

This guy has a really bad idea.

The governor says he wants teachers and students to know where they stand in May so that--well, study hard over the summer, or prep form the fall, or something. It's a dumb idea.

First, you drag in a bunch of students who haven't been inside school for a weeks and weeks, try to get them re-acclimated, and then plop them down in front of a standardized test that has few-or-no stakes for them.

The test only covers a couple of subjects, and they haven't prepped for it. And when I talk about test prep, I don't mean pre-coaching the answers. That's only one kind of test prep, and a pretty rare kind at that. Test prep is about teaching students the testing language, format and techniques. For CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: MA: Governor Offers Terrible Reason To Re-open Schools

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs
Frequently asked questions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus and accountability.

Expand All | Collapse All

Did the California Department of Education (CDE) receive a federal waiver from the Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) assessment and accountability requirements for the 2019–2020 school year?

Will districts and charter schools be required to upload local indicator data for the 2020 California School Dashboard (Dashboard)?

Is there a public comment period for California's waiver request?

What impact will the waiver have on the 2020 Dashboard?

What are options for calculating the 2021 Dashboard if the 2020 Dashboard is not produced?

Will the CDE identify new districts and charter schools for differentiated assistance?

Will the CDE identify new schools for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI)?

Will districts be required to submit California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) end-of-year data?

Are there any state indicators that will be impacted on the 2021 Dashboard due to the suspension of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in spring of 2020?

International Baccalaureate (IB) testing is also canceled. How will this impact CCI placement determinations in the 2021 Dashboard?

This is the first year that Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools must renew their DASS status. Part 2 of the DASS application is due on August 15, 2020. Will an extension be provided?

Questions: Data Reporting Office | dro@cde.ca.gov | 916-327-0219 

COVID-19 Accountability FAQs - California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education)