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Friday, April 8, 2011

Richard Whitmire’s account of Michelle Rhee’s schools tenure - The Washington Post

Richard Whitmire’s account of Michelle Rhee’s schools tenure - The Washington Post

Richard Whitmire’s account of Michelle Rhee’s schools tenure

By Diane Ravitch, Friday, April 8, 1:45 PM

The most chilling episode in Richard Whitmire’s biography of Michelle Rhee occurs near the end, when Rhee says to a PBS camera crew, “I’m going to fire somebody in a little while. Do you want to see that?” Of course they did, and they taped the chancellor of the District of Columbia public schools firing a principal. The victim’s face was not shown, but the episode revealed a woman who relishes humiliating those who have the misfortune to work for her.

3

‘The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation's Worst School District,’ by Richard Whitmire (Jossey-Bass. 270 pp. $24.95)

“The Bee Eater” is a worshipful portrait of Rhee, who is best known for the Time magazine cover in which she is portrayed broom in hand, ready to sweep clean the filthy stables of the school system. And sweep she did, as nearly half the district’s teaching staff and a third of its principals resigned, retired or were fired during he

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New Report Charter School Performance in Pennsylvania CREDO

CREDO

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Koch Break PM News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org
Milwaukee Labor Press: Imagine what 7,500 surprise votes should tell us April 8, 2011- On Thursday, April 7, in the required statewide canvas of election results, the Milwaukee County election clerk reported 7,500 more votes discovered in West Allis for JoAnne Kloppenburg, giving her an insurmountable lead in the race ...
Biz Times Daily: State Government Accountability Board to inspect Waukesha votes *April 8, 2011-* Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB), announced today he is dispatching staff to inspect and review the election night procedures in Waukesha County, where the outcome of ...
ProtectOurElections.org Calls for DoJ Investigation into Vote Count Irregularities in Waukesha County, WI For Immediate Release: ProtectOurElections.org Calls for Department of Justice Investigation into Vote Count Irregularities in Waukesha County, Wisconsin WASHINGTON, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a stunning development Thursday, 14,315 ...
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Jersey Jazzman: Christie's Lying Education Statistics - Part II

Jersey Jazzman: Christie's Lying Education Statistics - Part II

Christie's Lying Education Statistics - Part II

I'm going to be at this a while, but it needs to be done. Here's the next deceptive use of statistics from Christie's education "reform" plan (pdf):

New Jersey Paid The 4th Highest Teacher Salaries In The Nation For ’08-’09, 17% Higher Than The National Average.
The average full-time teacher salary in New Jersey was $63,051 for 2008-2009.
The National Estimated Average Teachers Salary was $53,910 for 2008-2009.
That would sound terrible, if it weren't for the fact tha
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Pet “Grieves”: What good teachers worry about « Failing Schools

Pet “Grieves”: What good teachers worry about « Failing Schools

Pet “Grieves”: What good teachers worry about

APRIL 8, 2011
by Sabrina

One of my all-time least favorite school reform questions is “If you’re a good teacher, what do you have to worry about?” Without fail, when I or anyone else mentions our discomfort with getting rid of due process, or with weakening unions, etc., someone always asks this question. I understand that not everyone has experience working within school systems (especially unethical ones), and so it seems illogical that reforms intended to improve accountability, etc. should bother those of us who have done nothing wrong.

But the “nothing to hide, nothing to fear” myth is just as false in education as it is in other

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan Criticizes Scott Walker on Teacher Unions - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Criticizes Scott Walker on Teacher Unions - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Criticizes Scott Walker on Teacher Unions

Apr. 8 2011 - 3:38 pm | 18 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments

I get the feeling that Arne Duncan and President Obama are initiating some sort of shift in policy toward education reform. Obama recently made remarks casting doubt on the usefulness of high-stakes testing. Now Duncan has sharply rebuked the anti-teacher efforts underway in Wisconsin:

“What was stunning to me is where folks are showing vision and courage and being forward-minded, we support those efforts,” Duncan said at the Education Writers Association conference in New Orleans. “For him to go in that direction after the leadership that the union had shown simply made no sense to me. It was

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Education chief Duncan cites 'lack of courage' in DPS | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Education chief Duncan cites 'lack of courage' in DPS | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Education chief Duncan cites 'lack of courage' in DPS

Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News

New Orleans— U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said today he is searching for a solution to turn around Detroit Public Schools after what he called two years of failed leadership.

Duncan, speaking to journalists attending the national Education Writers Association conference in New Orleans, said DPS can leapfrog other districts by approaching its problems a different way. But he declined to provide details of any new plan he would recommend for Detroit.

"There has been a lack of leadership and a lack of courage in Detroit," Duncan said. "I look at what progress New Orleans has made in five years, and I say, why not Detroit?"

After the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans rebuilt its school district



From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110408/SCHOOLS/104080438/Education-chief-Duncan-cites--lack-of-courage--in-DPS#ixzz1IyI7FVVN
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School Cuts On The Way, Parents & Council say No Way! « EdVox

School Cuts On The Way, Parents & Council say No Way! « EdVox

School Cuts On The Way, Parents & Council say No Way!

by edvoxny
by Carlton Curry
Parents, City Council members as well as teacher, administrative and labor unions spoke up today against looming education cuts. This testimony below was presented today Friday, April 8th by Carlton Curry before the NY City Council, at the “Preliminary Budget Hearing on Education- Expense”

Carlton Curry is a resident of the Highbridge section of the Bronx. He has a child in PS 126 and is a a member of United Parents of Highbridge, President of President’s Council, First Chairperson of C-PAC (all in District 9) and the Coalition for Educational Justice.

I was in Albany on March 30th with hundreds of other parents when Governor Cuomo’s budget cut a half a billion dollars in funding for New York City schools and left out important measures such as extending the millionaire’s tax. This heartless decision hurts our children, hurts
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Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Corrupt Tuition Tax Credit Scheme

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Corrupt Tuition Tax Credit Scheme

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Corrupt Tuition Tax Credit Scheme

by KEVIN CAREY on APRIL 8, 2011

in UNCATEGORIZED

Since I’ve blogged about it before, it’s worth noting that, sadly but predictably, the United State Supreme Courtupheld the constitutionality of Arizona’s notoriously corruptprivate school tuition tax credit scheme on a technicality, holding that the plaintiffs objecting to the program–whereby people get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $500 for “donations” to private and in many cases religious schools which then provide an equivalent “scholarship” to a neighbor who then provides a reciprocal tax credit for an identical “scholarship” for the original donor’s kid, with “non-profit” middleman organizations founded by the very same legislators who passed the legislation in the first place raking off hundreds of thousands of

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YouTube - Rep. Speier on Planned Parenthood and a Government Shutdown

YouTube - Rep. Speier on Planned Parenthood and a Government Shutdown: ""
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Planned Parenthood: URGENT: Rep. Boehner is caving to extremists

Planned Parenthood: URGENT: Rep. Boehner is caving to extremists

URGENTEXTREMIST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WANT TO SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT

After months of budget negotiations, extreme anti-choice members of Congress are trying to force a shutdown of the federal government. This shutdown is not about disagreements over spending or taxes — it's about a single-minded vendetta against Planned Parenthood and a cruel determination to cut women off from reproductive health care.

We cannot let this vengeful, narrow-minded assault on Planned Parenthood and the people we serve continue. We urgently need your action right now. Add your name to the letter we are sending Representative Boehner and his extreme colleagues today. Fill out the form at right to take action.
Dear Representative Boehner and your extremist colleagues in Congress,

Your willingness to shut down the federal government and devastate the daily lives of millions of Americans because of your vendetta against Planned Parenthood is utterly despicable.

And it is absolutely clear that your actions have never been about reducing government spending. They have always been about your vendetta against Planned Parenthood. I know it; you know it; and so do millions of Americans. We stand together to stop you, and we will not back down.

We are teachers and students, mothers and fathers, Republicans and Democrats, lawyers, doctors, and manual laborers, women and men. We know that the health care Planned Parenthood provides to screen for cancer, test for HIV, prescribe birth control, and empower and educate women, men, and teens is essential. We are millions strong — and growing.

The hardships a government shutdown will create are unacceptable, and we implore you to stop.


Sincerely,

,
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KOCH BREAK News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org
Think Progress: Wisconsin Republican County Clerk Claims She Misplaced 7,500 Votes For Justice Prosser, Her Former Boss *April 8, 2011-* Last night, Republican Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus rocked Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election by claiming that she had suddenly found 14,315 lost votes in the most conservative county in the state. If these newly discovered ...
Kathy Nickolaus Press Conference 4/7/2011 *(Note the way her voice begins to tremble at around 3:00)* WATCH ON HUFF PO:
Huffington Post: Wisconsin Election Surprise: David Prosser Gains 7,500 Votes After 'Human Error' In Waukesha County *April 7, 2011-* In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, the Waukesha County clerk announced that the vote total announced for Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court race had been mistaken -- and that the corrected numbers changed the outcome of the ...
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The Future of Teaching: Great Teachers Still Need Apply | The Jose Vilson

The Future of Teaching: Great Teachers Still Need Apply | The Jose Vilson

The Future of Teaching: Great Teachers Still Need Apply

by Jose

Excerpt:

Transformative pedagogy is so critical to the 21st century that we can no longer accept that we the teachers are the epicenter of all things educational. However, the one thing we can accept responsibility for is teaching students how to learn. The rigors of our most growing fields demand that we push students to learn those skills even when we have no idea what’s on the horizon. For content teachers and generalists, it means very similar things in that, no matter what the content is, there’s a certain set of skills that every student must use irrespective of whether they’re doing it

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LAX OVERSIGHT OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION RAISES DOUBTS ABOUT EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAX OVERSIGHT OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION RAISES DOUBTS ABOUT EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
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Modern School: CTC Backlog Does Not Mean More Monsters in the Classroom

Modern School: CTC Backlog Does Not Mean More Monsters in the Classroom

CTC Backlog Does Not Mean More Monsters in the Classroom

by Michael Dunn

Monsters in the Classroom (Image by epSos.de)
Today’s LA Times, had an article about the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and its backlog of investigations of teacher misconduct. According to the Times article, teachers who have been accused of showing pornography to children, kissing a student, or sexual harassment have not been investigated in a timely manner. The CTC had a backlog of
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We are one. « Fred Klonsky's blog

We are one. « Fred Klonsky's blog

We are one.

by Fred Klonsky


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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: New soccer charter is all about playing ball with the mayor

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: New soccer charter is all about playing ball with the mayor

New soccer charter is all about playing ball with the mayor

by Mike Klonsky
Itzel Gonzalez, 8, and other students on Wednesday attend the United Neighborhood Organization's announcement of starting a soccer charter school. (Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune / April 6, 2011)
In Chicago, charter schools are the new coin of the realm. Mayors can now hand them out to various city fiefdoms, they way he used to hand out everything from school principal jobs to trucking and maintenance contracts. Alderman and community organization heads who play ball now control the most charters. No unions mean that a Daley/Emanuel favorites like Danny Solis in the 25th Ward, who along with Juan Rangel runs the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) can control hundreds of school jobs and contracts. That means he
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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits New Orleans | NOLA.com

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits New Orleans | NOLA.com

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits New Orleans

Published: Friday, April 08, 2011, 11:44 AM Updated: Friday, April 08, 2011, 11:57 AM
Cindy Chang, The Times-Picayune By Cindy Chang, The Times-Picayune

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan began his visit to New Orleans today with a panel discussion about the $28 million "Investing in Innovation" grant that will be used to turn around failing schools in the city.
Arne DuncanDrew Angerer / The Associated PressEducation Secretary Arne Duncan is pictured here last July in Washington D.C.
"I continue to be in awe of the sense of urgency, the sense of commitment, the entire community getting behind the schools," Duncan said of New Orleans.
Reform in the city, where nearly three-quarters of the schools have become independently run charters since Hurricane Katrina, is occurring at a "pace not seen elsewhere in the country," he said.
After the panel, which took place at KIPP Believe school on South Carrollton Avenue, Duncan is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the Education Writers Association conference. He is expected to speak about President Obama's plan for


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