Big Education Ape: Sep 3, 2020

Thursday, September 3, 2020

American Federation of Teachers Re-elects President Randi Weingarten | Black Star News

AFT RE-ELECTS PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN

The 1.7-million-member American Federation of Teachers announced the results of its biennial officer elections Tuesday, with delegates to the union’s convention voting overwhelmingly to re-elect President Randi Weingarten, elect Fedrick Ingram as secretary-treasurer and elect Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus to her first full term.

The ballots were cast by mail and counted over the last several weeks.

The election marks the seventh term for Weingarten, who taught social studies and civics at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Ingram, the outgoing president of the Florida Education Association, is a former Miami-Dade teacher of the year, music educator and band director. He assumes the secretary-treasurer role vacated by Lorretta Johnson’s retirement.

DeJesus, a United Federation of Teachers vice president, early childhood educator and reading specialist, was elected to a full term after serving in the position since July of 2019, when the AFT executive council voted her into office to carry out the remainder of a term.

Weingarten said:

“I am so honored to represent this country’s educators, healthcare professionals and public employees alongside Evelyn De Jesus and Fed Ingram. This is a moment without precedent, as the country faces a pandemic, an economic crisis and a long overdue reckoning with racism. It is the union movement that is built to confront these crises, and because of our members’ work and activism, we will pave the way toward opportunity, equality, justice and creating a better life for all Americans. I am humbled by the task in front of us, and I know that Evy, Fed and I will give it everything we’ve got.

“In this moment of crisis, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to save our democracy, as imperfect as it is, and to fight for a more perfect union—one that provides freedom and justice for all; invests in our public schools and universities; protects working people, people of color and other marginalized communities; looks after the planet; and provides affordable and accessible healthcare to all.

“That’s who we are as a union. We care, we fight, we show up and we vote. Together, we can accomplish things that would be impossible on our own.”

Ingram said:

“I am truly humbled to start my next chapter in education with this proud and powerful union, alongside Randi, Evelyn and 1.7 million of the strongest people out there. And let me tell you: We need that strength, because it is not enough to say that we are at a critical point. We passed critical a long time ago. The version of democracy and justice being forced on too many of our communities is neither democratic nor just, and together, we have to organize toward a better tomorrow. Together, if we stare this in the face and we don’t flinch, we can move our human consciousness to a better place. I know the AFT, and the AFT doesn’t flinch. I am so honored to be a part of this union. We care, we fight, we show up, and we vote. And we when fight, we win.”

DeJesus said:

“For a Puertorriqueña who grew up in the Lower East Side of New York, to be standing here alongside my sister and friend Randi Weingarten and my brother Fed Ingram—well, I only wish my mother, who passed away this year, could have been here to witness this moment. We all know what our country needs right now. We need a leader to bring the country together and to beat this virus. We need a strong union movement that will fight for our students, our patients, our families and our communities, and prioritize people over profits. Everything we care about, everyone we care about, is on the table, so we need to stay united and speak with one voice as we fight for a better future. I’m here for you, and I will always have your backs. Thank you for entrusting me to care, fight, show up and vote alongside you.”

Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten

American Federation of Teachers Re-elects President Randi Weingarten | Black Star News

Groups Jockey for COVID-19 Vax 'High Priority' Status | MedPage Today

Groups Jockey for COVID-19 Vax 'High Priority' Status

Advocates had their say at NASEM public comment hearing

The wide swath of groups receiving the highest priority for any potential COVID-19 vaccine should expand to include particular races and ethnicities, as well as certain occupations, advocates told the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) on Wednesday.

In addition to race/ethnicity, experts advocated for priority vaccine access for a larger population of older people, other healthcare workers beyond the medical setting, such as pharmacists and dentists, and public service workers.

On Tuesday, NASEM released part of their draft recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine allocation, comprised of a four-phase approach that placed "high-risk workers in healthcare facilities" and "first responders" at the top of the list, followed by people with comorbidities and underlying conditions, and older adults living in "congregate or overcrowded settings."

It did not, however, specifically prioritize particular sociodemographic groups such as Black Americans -- in whom COVID-19 has been especially deadly -- because committee members believed their risk comes primarily from higher rates of comorbidities, which the prioritization scheme already addresses.

NASEM then allowed experts and advocates from different industries to have their say at a public comment hearing.

Committee co-chair Helene Gayle, MD, laid out the primary goal of the recommendations: to maximize societal benefit by reducing morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19.

"We've always started with science and then asked the question of how do we look at ethics," said committee co-chair William Foege, MD. "This committee did it CONTINUE READING: Groups Jockey for COVID-19 Vax 'High Priority' Status | MedPage Today

Grantee Partner Spotlight: Southern Echo on the Frontlines of Census Advocacy | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Grantee Partner Spotlight: Southern Echo on the Frontlines of Census Advocacy

As the 2020 population numbers will shape how political power and over 800 million dollars will be shared in the U.S. over the next ten years, an accurate Census count is of monumental importance, especially to communities of color. Schott Grantee partner Southern Echo understands this and has engaged its volunteers to ensure that their community is counted in the 2020 census.

What does the Census have to do with public education? A lot. The Census determines where and how $14 billion in federal public education funds will be allocated. Through programs like Title I, the National School Lunch Program, Head Start, and special education grants, these are dollars that will decide whether a school stays open or closed, or if a district can hire school nurses and support staff.

Southern Echo works to empower African American, vulnerable, low-wealth and marginalized communities throughout Mississippi and the Southern Region with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to demand accountability and action for political, education, economic, and environmental, health, and criminal justice.

Southern Echo has concentrated a majority of its efforts on the 202 Census, making sure their communities are counted. “Our goal is for Mississippi to have a complete and accurate census count,” said Southern Echo Inc. Executive Director Rachel Mayes at a convening in Jackson, MS. As the Census deadline approaches, Southern Echo and its volunteers plan to ramp up their advocacy and organizing efforts in Mississippi.

The Census is not merely an instrument of accuracy: it ensures democracy and is a necessary step on the path toward equity and racial justice. Make sure you and your community are represented. Complete your 2020 Census here.

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Grantee Partner Spotlight: Southern Echo on the Frontlines of Census Advocacy | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Open letter to Biden and Harris: How to undo damage DeVos did to public education - The Washington Post

An open letter to Biden and Harris: 10 steps to undo the damage Betsy DeVos did to public education

If Joe Biden becomes president, you can expect an overhaul of U.S. education policy.

For nearly 3½ years, President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have made their top education priority — and pretty much their only one — the expansion of alternatives to traditional public school districts, the ones that enroll the vast majority of American students. They have repeatedly asked Congress to pass a $5 billion tax credit program that would ultimately allow students to use public funding for private and religious school tuition.

In some bit of irony, Trump and DeVos pushed the public schools that they have disparaged to open for the 2020-2021 school year, and at one point threatened to withhold federal funding from those that did not. (They didn’t have the power to withhold funding already approved by Congress.)

Biden, vice president under President Barack Obama and now the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), have both savaged the Trump-DeVos education agenda. And they have said they would try to make the education system more equitable for underserved students.

This post is an open letter to Biden and DeVos from Chris Reykdal, the Washington state superintendent of public instruction, offering 10 steps that Reykdal said would help set a foundation for a more equitable school system.

An Open Letter to the Biden-Harris Ticket:

Mr. Vice President and Senator Harris, there is so much at stake with this year’s presidential election, including the very foundation of our country’s democracy — the future of our public education system. Led by Betsy DeVos and fueled by years of education privateers, the U.S. Department of Education has been an utter failure in advancing student learning, racial equity and gender equity over the last four years. Under DeVos, the Education Department has jeopardized the financial future of too many young CONTINUE READING: Open letter to Biden and Harris: How to undo damage DeVos did to public education - The Washington Post

A Study of Charter Schools and Special Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Study of Charter Schools and Special Education

The National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education has released a study of charter schools and special education by doctoral candidate Katherine Parham at Teachers College, Columbia University.

From the dawn of the charter movement, the subject of charter schools and special education has generated significant controversy.

Albert Shanker cautioned in a Washington Post op-ed in 1994 that the freedom from state and local regulations sought for charter schools would mean control over admissions and thus exclusion of “difficult-to-educate students.” A decade later, Martin Carnoy and his co-authors documented in The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement (2005) that high-achieving charter middle schools enrolled far more students with strong academic records than neighboring public schools as well as far fewer English-language learners and students with special needs. Similarly, Gary Miron and his co-authors documented in a 2011 study of a major charter management organization (CMO) that it not only managed to screen out a disproportionate number of CONTINUE READING: A Study of Charter Schools and Special Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

How Covid-19 Froze School Reform (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

How Covid-19 Froze School Reform (Part 1)

Face-to-face schooling without minimal risk from getting infected with the coronavirus will be dicey until an approved vaccine shown to have high effectiveness and sufficient immunity is available to over 50 million students and nearly 4 million teachers.

Already two school years in the U.S. have been seriously impacted (March 2020 through January 2021). Effective vaccines, at best, will be available to Americans sometime in 2021. Shaking out data on which of the many vaccines being developed work best and provide mid- to-long-term immunity will occur throughout the calendar year of 2021. In short, until there is scientifically determined confidence that particular vaccines immunize children and adults at least three school years will be shot.

In such a stretch of time, forget about school reform. What Americans want is a swift return to “normalcy” and a new definition of “success”: Not high test scores, rates of graduation or admission to college, no, “success” will be just opening simply schoolhouse doors and having teachers teaching lessons.

Whoa! What about the sudden and massive turn to remote instruction for K-12 CONTINUE READING: How Covid-19 Froze School Reform (Part 1) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

What Should Students Do with Text?: From Interpretation to Interrogation – radical eyes for equity

What Should Students Do with Text?: From Interpretation to Interrogation

Over the first week or so of my first-year writing seminars, I carefully explain to students that the course is not an English class, but a composition class.

Most students have experienced writing assignments primarily in English classes and often anchored to literary analysis (interpreting fiction and poetry grounded in New Criticism or “close reading” assumptions about analysis).

In our composition class, we explore many texts, but are mostly examining non-fiction and the essay form. A guiding structure I used with high school students (including those preparing to take Advanced Placement exams in literature) and continue to use in first-year writing is to ask the following questions when engaging with text:

What is the author saying or arguing?
How is the author making that case?
Why does it matter to the reader?

The transition I am addressing for composition courses is away from literary analysis, interpreting text, and toward reading like a writer, interrogating text (something my students encounter in John Warner’s The Writer’s Practice).

However that same transition should also occur in literary analysis since CONTINUE READING: What Should Students Do with Text?: From Interpretation to Interrogation – radical eyes for equity

CURMUDGUCATION: As Schools Reopen, Beware These Five Bad Management Approaches

As Schools Reopen, Beware These Five Bad Management Approaches

Not all schools are blessed with excellent management teams (a million teachers just rolled their eyes and said, “No kidding.”) But while schools can succeed in spite of bad management in the good times, in times of crisis, bad management can really derail the whole train. Trying to launch a school year during a pandemic with little to no help from state and federal governments will test every school district’s leadership team. Here are the management styles most likely to lead to disaster.

Just Hold Still And Maybe Nobody Will Notice

In some districts, the standard management response to a new crisis or controversial decision is to simply keep everything quiet and under wraps. In this management theory, the actual problem isn’t the real problem—the real problem is the public finding out about what’s going on and then saying things about it, in the news, on social media, or (worst of all) in phone calls to the administrator’s office.

We don’t have to imagine how this would look during current pandemic re-openings. In Paulding County, Georgia, the school district achieved sudden viral status for cramming mostly-not-masked students into crowded halls against CDC recommendations. Administration’s reaction? Clamping down on students for showing the world what is actually going on, and threatening any student (or, allegedly, teacher as well) who posts anything that portrays the school in a “negative light.”

Management that focuses on avoiding bad optics will be disastrous during this Covid-19 autumn. CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: As Schools Reopen, Beware These Five Bad Management Approaches

glen brown: Zoom’s Security Nightmare Just Got Worse: But Here’s the Reality by Kate O'Flaherty

Zoom’s Security Nightmare Just Got Worse: But Here’s the Reality by Kate O'Flaherty

“Zoom’s security nightmare just got worse after its recent announcement that end-to-end encryption would be for paid users only. But here’s the reality. Let’s face it—there aren’t many people who haven’t used Zoom over the past few months during the COVID-19 crisis.

“It’s no surprise that Zoom’s seen such a massive a surge in users, but with this rise, the video chat app has also become a target for Zoom bombers, privacy issues have come to the foreground, and security researchers have unveiled some pretty serious vulnerabilities.

“During this time, Zoom has become a bit like marmite: You either love it as it’s a great feature-rich service that is clearly trying to improve under huge strain—or you hate it because you think its security faults are intentional and unfixable. ‘Zoom is malware,’ some security industry experts say.

“It’s fair to say this situation has been a nightmare for Zoom. It’s come under pressure to stop Zoom bombers—a recent incident saw a church’s bible class hijacked by uninvited guests sharing child pornography—and now people are seriously angry after CEO Eric Yuan confirmed on its earnings call that end-to-end encryption will be for paid users only.

“At first, this sounds insane. Why make the gold standard of encryption—which means no one can access your meetings or chats, even Zoom or law enforcement—only available to those who pay? Why can people get this for free on Apple’s FaceTime, and Signal, but not on Zoom?

Delving deeper into Zoom’s end-to-end encryption decision

“But actually, if you delve deeper, Zoom’s reasoning behind this is clearer. First, you lose a lot of functionality if you make Zoom CONTINUE READING: glen brown: Zoom’s Security Nightmare Just Got Worse: But Here’s the Reality by Kate O'Flaherty

Mind the Gap: Why It’s Time to Stop Talking about the Achievement Gap – Have You Heard

Mind the Gap: Why It’s Time to Stop Talking about the Achievement Gap

The achievement gap has driven education reform for the past twenty years. Guest David Stevens says it’s time to stop talking about the achievement gap and focus instead on the “headwinds” and “tailwinds” that hold some students back while pushing others along. With the pandemic exacerbating the inequality between students, Stevens’ alternative approach, what he calls the Academic Support Index, has never been more relevant. You’ll be inspired and encouraged, and you’ll understand exactly why Stevens is the winner of the 2020 Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest.

Complete transcript of the episode is here. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon or donate on PayPal.

Jennifer and Jack’s forthcoming book A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School, is now available for preorder!

Have You Heard · #96 Mind the Gap: Why It’s Time to Stop Talking about the Achievement Gap

Mind the Gap: Why It’s Time to Stop Talking about the Achievement Gap – Have You Heard

NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall September 2, 2020

UFT Town Hall September 2, 2020

by special guest Mindy Rosier-Rayburn

UFT President Michael Mulgrew: This is the largest Town Hall we've ever done. This is a very good thing. People are getting on, wanting to hear all this information leading up to Tuesday. Thank you all for being here.

I want to start by thanking you for all we've been through since March. We made a promise back in April at our first Town Hall. We won't go back until it's safe. What was needed included PPE, face shields, ventilation, deep cleaning, ionization machines, etc, all need to be in place. We wanted an agreed upon procedure for entry, food, etc, and everything had to be worked out. We needed a mandated testing program and all was looked at by independent medical professionals.

Yesterday, over 2800 people heard the plan and approved. It became so personal for us as a union. We were hit so hard. Reading names who passed away on exec calls, every weak. Dealing with the craziness that included Spring break which still needs to be dealt with. Remote teaching needed to be worked out. We made it through the school year. NYC was doing better than everybody else. In April we made a pact that we would need certain things to make reopening work and we wanted to plan back then. Nothing in May. Started talking in June to start the process of getting all the equipment and supplies. We got the list together. In July the Mayor gave the green light to get started. We said this would be tough. The Mayor said we didn't need an agreement just go to school. He didn't think we would go back at him. All those interviews, he was posturing. He didn't take us seriously. We expected to be listened to when there's a problem. We will not be used as a political pawns. Again in July, there was no agreement about going in and nothing was going on. The plans were only fine for places where there were no outbreaks. Was not appropriate at all for NYC.

Then we started to have school based meetings about what a strike might look like.

We agreed to sit down and we were there to represent you all. Conversation was clear. We both want to open the schools.
This has to be real. We needed everything in our plan. This is a legal document we can go to court with. No grievances. This is a check and balance. This is something to CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall September 2, 2020

Alfie Kohn: The Pandemic Pivot: Turning Temporary Changes into Lasting Reform | National Education Policy Center

Alfie Kohn: The Pandemic Pivot: Turning Temporary Changes into Lasting Reform

You know you really should walk or bike more often, but the car is just so darned convenient. Then one day it breaks down and the replacement part won’t be available for quite awhile. The fates have conspired to get you some much-needed exercise while also reducing your carbon footprint! But what happens when the repair can finally be made? Will this serendipitous carfree interlude become a permanent change, or will you once again be driving everywhere?

Here’s the analogous choice that educators will soon face: Amid all the awfulness, the pandemic has yielded a few accidental benefits, such as the suspension of state exams, college admissions tests, and conventional grading. But will we cement these changes into place for the long haul?

That outcome is far from certain because of a fundamental truth: What people do matters less than the reasons they do it. That applies to individual behaviors: Kids, for example, are much less likely to act generously over time if they had been rewarded earlier for helping. It also applies to social policies: If, say, early-childhood education is justified primarily as an economic “investment,” then our commitment to it will prove fragile. Thus, it won’t be easy to pivot to a deeper rationale for eliminating something that we stopped doing only while — and because — regular schooling is on hiatus.

Of course, much of what the shutdown has done to education has been far from desirable. It would be worrisome if we continued to lean on online instruction — an all-too-plausible CONTINUE READING: Alfie Kohn: The Pandemic Pivot: Turning Temporary Changes into Lasting Reform | National Education Policy Center

Mandatory Quarantines Should Not Bleed Teacher Sick Leave. | deutsch29

Mandatory Quarantines Should Not Bleed Teacher Sick Leave.

As teachers across the nation return to school in person amid the coronavirus pandemic, personal safety and safety of others are on our minds. We don’t want to contract the virus. We also don’t want to spread the virus, especially to vulnerable populations, including aging family members.

But there is another looming concern: What will happen to my accrued sick leave if I am required to quarantine more than once due to being exposed to someone (i.e., a student or a fellow faculty member) with COVID-19?

Our district is following the CDC guideline of 14 days of quarantine from last day of known exposure, regardless of receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. A 14-day quarantine entails missing 10 days of school.

According to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the first two-week quarantine period is paid by the employer and does not involve tapping into the employee’s accrued vacation or medical/sick leave. For subsequent COVID-19-related quarantine periods, the employee is eligible to be paid two-thirds of regular rate of pay and can substitute accrued vacation, medical or sick leave in place of this two-thirds-pay option. The Act does not specifically allow for such substitution beyond a second, two-week quarantine period.

Important point before we proceed: This Act expires on December 31, 2020. That would almost surely be before less than half of the 2020-21 school year has CONTINUE READING: Mandatory Quarantines Should Not Bleed Teacher Sick Leave. | deutsch29

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Steve Suitts - Network For Public Education

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Steve Suitts

Start: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)

End: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 • 8:0 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)

The Network for Public Education invites you to join us for a video conference with NPE President Diane Ravitch. Diane's guest will be author and adjunct at the Institute for Liberal Arts of Emory University, Steve Suitts. Join Diane and Steve in conversation about Steve's new book, Overturning Brown: The Segregationist Legacy of the Modern School Choice Movement.

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Steve Suitts - Network For Public Education

2020 Medley #19 – Civics: A Subject Left Behind | Live Long and Prosper

2020 Medley #19 – Civics: A Subject Left Behind

Civics Education

AMERICAN CIVICS EDUCATION

Ask someone disappointed by the extreme political and social polarization in America today, and it’s possible that you’ll get a rant about how Civics isn’t being taught in our schools anymore.

Fewer hours are now required in traditional Civics subjects — government, history, law, economics, and geography — than in the past. Nearly 80% of states require only one semester of Civics classes (beyond History) for a student to graduate from high school.

Pundits on both the left and the right have their own ideas on how to teach Civics. What they do agree on, however, is that Civics education as it currently exists in the US is inadequate…so bad in fact that a lawsuit was filed in Rhode Island claiming that the Civics education was so poor it violated students’ constitutional rights.

As usual, however, the claims about the poor quality of Civics education is only part of the story. Schools are once again being called on to solve the problems created by outside forces such as the elimination of the “fairness doctrine” the CONTINUE READING: 2020 Medley #19 – Civics: A Subject Left Behind | Live Long and Prosper

TALES OF THE SERIAL GRIFTERS – Dad Gone Wild

TALES OF THE SERIAL GRIFTERS

“If I had followed my better judgment always, my life would have been a very dull one.”
― Edgar Rice Burroughs

“It takes just as much energy to be an asshole as it does to be kind.”
― LeVar Burton

The education world ain’t nothing if it ain’t a big old hamster wheel. People exit stage right only to re-enter stage left in a new costume. In the early part of this decade, the disruption movement was on the rise in Tennessee. But after a few initial success stories, the losses were beginning to mount. By the close of 2016 most of the controversial forces trying to disrupt public education scattered to the seven winds.

The end of 2014 brought signaled the beginning of the disinegration. First was the resignation of Kevin Huffman as Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education. Elliot Smally from the ASD left in 2015 for South Carolina and took former charter school administrator Taylor Fulcher with him. Ravi Gupta of RePublic Charter Schools headed back to NYC, 2 years later RePublic would settle a 2.2 million dollar lawsuit over “spam text messages” sent out during his tenure. Oprah’s favorite charter school guru Chris Barbic left in 2015 after failing in his promise to take the lowest-performing 5% of schools to the top 25% in 5 years. Yea, these weren’t the halcyon days predicted when the decade CONTINUE READING: TALES OF THE SERIAL GRIFTERS – Dad Gone Wild