Thursday, February 10, 2011

Modern School: California to Modify Parent Trigger Law (Maybe)

California to Modify Parent Trigger Law (Maybe)

Trigger Happy Ed Pirate (by Alberto+Cerriteno)

In its first meeting with the new Gov. Brown-appointed majority, the California Board of Education moved to restrict the Parent Trigger law that allows parents to shut down a low-performing schools, fire its teachers and reopen as a private charter school. Board of Ed officials said that the law, as written, was too vague and would be difficult to enforce, thus requiring “cleanup” legislation.

While Parent Trigger cheerleaders are saying that the move is an attempt to derail the law, the Board of Education is merely attempting to fine-tune the law, not do away with it. They did not even take any concrete actions on the law, but simply set up a working group to study it. They say they want to continue supporting parental choice, which sounds like a capitulation to proponents of the parent trigger law, as well as vouchers, charter schools and other anti-education schemes.

solidaridad: We Demand Democratically Run Public Schools for Echo Parque

We Demand Democratically Run Public Schools for Echo Parque

Support public schools and want to keep Camino Nuevo out of Echo Parque? Sign this petition, and if you live in LAUSD district 5, write in candidate Scott Folsom! Together we can stem the tide of school privatization.grab this widget | start a petition | by Care2

Restore Tax Fairness to California

California has long relied on mostly short-term solutions to our budget problems, which has done us no long-term favors. The health of California's public schools depends on stable tax revenues. It is time to demand action to restore fairness to the system and make sure everyone is paying their fair share. Learn more athttp://www.cta.org/taxfairness

Education Reform Now debuts anti-seniority television ads | GothamSchools

Education Reform Now debuts anti-seniority television ads

by Anna Phillips

Popout

Education Reform Now — the advocacy organization now chaired by former Chancellor Joel Klein — unveiled a TV spot today that shows relatively senior teachers arguing against seniority.

The ad’s debut corresponds with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s escalating campaign against the “last-in, first-out” law that requires the city to lay off teachers according to their seniority. It shows three city teachers with

My stalker and his alma mater. « Fred Klonsky's blog

My stalker and his alma mater.

by Fred Klonsky

When I read that my stalker was an alum of Hope College in western Michigan I was not surprised.

Ben Velderman of the Education Action Group is filing a FOIA request with my school district to find out what I have been saying on school email.

Sample of my work email:

Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 8:50 AM
To: Frederick Klonsky
Subject: Thank you!
Thank you so much for your help today with my policy project! I looked up the

Shanker Blog » Unions = Jobs

Unions = Jobs

by Randall Garton

America needs stronger unions… This piquant idea recently occurred to a New York Times business writer as he contemplated the economic question of the day: Where are all the jobs? It’s the question on everyone’s minds. Most economic reports indicate that the economy—at least the corporate profit and Wall Street side of it—is recovering slowly. Profits are soaring and U.S. GDP is up, but job creation remains sluggish, at best.

So what do unions have to do with it? Before exploring that issue, let’s review why job creation—or it’s lack—is worrying people who are paid to worry about the economy. According to a recent National Journal article, “The Great Recession wiped out what amounts to every U.S. job created in the 21st Century. But even if the recession had never happened the United States would have entered 2010 with 15 million fewer jobs than

Camden teacher speaks out

NJEA member and Camden special education teacher Sharon Long talks about how she and other school staff are helping students in these challenging times and why the "Opportunity Scholarship Act" is wrong for New Jersey.

Michelle Rhee on vouchers, social promotion and putting kids first | Get Schooled

Michelle Rhee on vouchers, social promotion and putting kids first

2:58 pm February 10, 2011, by Maureen Downey

Michelle Rhee

Former DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee appealed to both ends of the political spectrum today in her visit to the Georgia Capitol, touting vouchers to provide low-income children with options beyond failing neighborhood schools and a strong federal Department of Education to hold schools accountable.

Rhee’s theme throughout her comments was the need to put students first. “We have been putting the system first for 30 years and look where that has gotten us,” she said.

And her new education organization — created she says to counter the influence of teacher unions, textbook publishers and other special interests focused on adult agendas – is called

Ben Velderman is stalking me. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Ben Velderman is stalking me.

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

by Fred Klonsky

I told you about this group called The Education Action Group. Their boy, Ben Velderman has filed an Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, demanding all my work emails.

That’s a picture of Ben.

Here’s Ben’s vitae:

Even though Ben’s teaching career lasted a brief two years, he accumulated a storehouse of experiences as the 7th and 8th grade classroom teacher for Zeeland Public Schools’ alternative program.

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): MYTHS AND REALITIES: A PUBLIC FORUM ON CHICAGO SCHOOL REFORM

MYTHS AND REALITIES: A PUBLIC FORUM ON CHICAGO SCHOOL REFORM

Tuesday, March 1, 2011
7:00-9:00pm
UIC Forum (725 W. Roosevelt St, Chicago, IL, 60607)

In the midst of campaigns and debates for the 2011 Chicago mayoral
election, we hear many proclamations and promises about what it means
to improve public schools. But how does each candidate compare to
what we know so far from research about the real problems and
solutions? In January 2011, dozens of education researchers from
throughout Chicagoland formed CReATE (Chicagoland Educational
Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education) and released a
fact sheet, titled, "Chicago School Reform: Myths, Realities, and New
Visions" (available online at http://createchicago.blogspot.com/). To
discuss this fact sheet, and to examine ways that it converges with
the work of community organizations, CReATE invites the people of
Chicago to join this Public Forum as we explore next steps in the
movement to improve public education.

Speakers include:
-Kevin Kumashiro, University of Illinois at Chicago (moderator)
-Leslie Bloom, Roosevelt University
-Sumi Cho, DePaul University
-Gregory Michie, Concordia University Chicago
-Isabel Nunez, Concordia University Chicago
-Therese Quinn, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
-William Watkins, University of Illinois at Chicago
-and more

With responses by:
-Jitu Brown, KOCO (Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization)
-Jackson Potter, CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators), Chicago
Teachers Union
-and others

This event is free and open to the public. For more information:
createchicago@gmail.com, and Facebook.

ASCD Inservice: Where Running Faster in the Wrong Direction Has Got Us

Where Running Faster in the Wrong Direction Has Got Us

Most dropout prevention programs do not address the profound flaws in the way conventional schools work. That's why, despite pouring millions, if not billions, of dollars into ending the dropout epidemic, 7,000 students drop out of school every day.

We can't afford to waste any more young minds. Policymakers and education leaders need to question whether higher standards, more rigorous courses, and tougher high-stakes tests actually prompt students to leave school.

I'm not alone—others in education echo this concern. The current strategy for school improvement is "too narrowly focused on an academic, classroom-based approach," write researchers in a recent report from the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Their report calls for a "broader vision on school reform" and urges the development of a

SRC: Who's who? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

SRC: Who's who?

by Paul Socolar on Feb 10 2011

Tags:

School Reform Commission

Commissioner David Girard-diCarlo, whoresigned from the School Reform Commission this week, held a seat on the SRC that was due to expire in January 2014, according to a recent memo from Erin O. Davis, SRC chief of staff. His seat is to be filled by Gov. Tom Corbett. In the meantime, the SRC will have only four members.

Chairman Robert Archie and Commissioner Johnny Irizarry were appointed by Mayor Nutter, and their terms expire January 2013. Gov. Rendell appointed Archie

Ravitch: Turnaround is a national failure

by Helen Gym

Turnaround is a failed measure that’s led to instability in schools and “massive demoralization” among teachers and school officials, said New York University professor and author Diane Ravitch Monday night in New York City.

Ravitch was the featured speaker along with a dynamic panel of parent activists from across the country in an event sponsored by Parents Across America to launch a new national network of parent leaders.

Ravitch, who has risen to significant prominence in the last year in the wake of her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, remained a sharp critic of current education reform fads, including turnaround which is a major focus of the Ackerman administration.

The Answer Sheet - Missing the point on Rhee

Missing the point on Rhee

Enough oxygen has been sucked out of the air about whether former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee really raised student test scores through the roof when she taught briefly at a Baltimore school. I still find more telling her admission that she taped her students' mouths shut when she didn’t know what else to do to keep them quiet. (This really happened and it would be a career killer for anybody but Rhee.) The real issue is what she and her supporters say she accomplished but didn’t in D.C. public schools when she was chancellor for about 3 1/2 years before quitting in October when her biggest supporter, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, was ousted from office. A myth has grown up around Rhee and her D.C. tenure that essentially has her swooping in like an avenging angel ridding the place of bad teachers and setting the troubled school system on

Diane Ravitch: Keynote address for Parents Across America’s February 7th event (VIDEO) | Democratic Education: A community-based approach to life and learning

Diane Ravitch: Keynote address for Parents Across America’s February 7th event (VIDEO)

2011 FEBRUARY 10

tags: Diane Ravitch, Education Reform, Parents Across America,Public Education

by Democratic Education

Parents Across America, a new nationwide organization of parents opposing education deform, held its inaugural event in New York City on February 7, 2011 with Diane Ravitch as the keynote speaker. Here, Diane covers the entire range of education reform efforts. What do you think of the talk?

Diane Ravitch (picture from Boston.com)

Diane Ravitch is a historian of education at New York University. She is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

She has written many books and articles about American education, including: The Death and Life of the Great American School System (Basic Books, 2010), Left

Modern School: Poor Little Charter Schools—How to Profit in Poorly Funded California?

Failing Schools or Failing Society? *The following is a reposting of a reposting, so I’m a little ashamed to be doing it (but what the hell, it’s a pretty good letter and deserves a read). * *I’d like to point out that I don’t share the author’s opinion that Obama doesn’t get it. He ...

Poor Little Charter Schools—How to Profit in Poorly Funded California? John Fensterwald notes that while one in every six charter schools is in California, most would be much more profitable if they operated in other states that fund education more liberally than liberal California. (See the study Location, Location, ...

D.C. Teachers’ Late Win Against Rhee *The following is a reposting from Mike Klonsky’s blog. * *D.C. public schools are being saddled with a $7.5 million settlement for the first 75 teachers Michelle Rhee fired during her reign of terror AND they must be offered their jobs back. Perhaps ...

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AP COVERAGE CHALLENGE
6:40 PM:
WaPo identifies the top AP scoring states, with MD leading -- having more than others and highest number of black students passing exams. Is it instruction or the gene pool? Knowing what that means and its impact on college completion are vital points the public should know.
Missing The Point On Vouchers
1/6
11:41 AM:

Attack of NJ Gov's voucher program based solely on financial considerations. No mention that kids pay highest price for lousy education. No talk about how to re-distribute current public school $s to target quality instruction. >
Ready-Or-Not After Graduation
2/6
9:23 AM:

New York students who graduate high school aren't all college or career-ready according to exam scores. Let's talk about what's being done to prepare students for next steps -- article neglects discussing school quality. >
Sizeable Achievement In Tiny State
3/6
11:20 AM:

Three schools use different methods to lift proficiency scores and decrease number of students scoring at bottom. Techniques reported could serve as model for other struggling schools, but bigger picture missing- unknown how state's >
NY High Schoolers Get Virtual - Sort of
3/6
11:11 AM:

Watertown High School is developing some online components in class, in an effort to increase proficiency with technology for both teacher and student. Proponents say it gives control over learning. But is the problem really not >
Reform Bill = Better Teachers?
6/6
7:55 AM:

Teacher dismissal based on "ineffectiveness," parent trigger and charters hiring based solely on mutual consent introduced in MD Senate. Quality scores in initial debate.

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