LAUSD'S Ex-Superintendent Deprived of Victory Lap by Perdaily's Lenny Isenberg by Mark Hemphill - Perdaily.com

LAUSD'S Ex-Superintendent Deprived of Victory Lap by Perdaily's Lenny Isenberg by Mark Hemphill (LAUSD Ex-Superintendente Privados de Vuelta de la Victoria por Mark Hemphill) - Perdaily.com

LAUSD'S Ex-Superintendent Deprived of Victory Lap by Perdaily's Lenny Isenberg by Mark Hemphill (LAUSD Ex-Superintendente Privados de Vuelta de la Victoria por Mark Hemphill)

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

On Saturday, July 9th, my colleague, Lenny Isenberg, and I attended an event at the California Museum of African American History. The museum puts on a monthly program titled "Conversations." The focus is on local personalities of note in the Los Angeles area. This day's presentation featured the recently former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Ramon Cortines. Lenny and I arrived early to watch as Cortines made his way among longtime familiars within the small attendance

MOMocrats MOMoradio Spot, July 13 « Failing Schools

MOMocrats MOMoradio Spot, July 13 « Failing Schools

MOMocrats MOMoradio Spot, July 13

JULY 13, 2011

by Sabrina

I (Sabrina) did a BlogTalkRadio interview this morning with Cynematic & Donna of the MOMocrats! Topics discussed included the Jonah Edelman/Stand for Children controversy, Michelle Rhee-style reform vs. community-driven reform, and the Save Our Schools March. Do give it a listen, and be sure to check out the MOMocrats online, and K12 News Network as well.

Click here to listen.

Community Planning, Curricular Design « Cooperative Catalyst

Community Planning, Curricular Design « Cooperative Catalyst

Community Planning, Curricular Design

by mrsenorhill

This post is being cross-posted from the Disruption Department Blog as a continuing exercise of pushing the boundaries of learning in the city of St. Louis. Any comments are much appreciated!

A few conversations I had yesterday on the twitter led me to think about what role the Disruption Department could have in facilitating/mediating community conversations about what/where/why/when students are learning and who has major responsibility of “teaching” in urban schools.

I posed the question then, and I pose it again now, has there been successfulcollaboration through the curricular and social design process in any urban public schools?

And by that I don’t mean “input” or “review”.

I mean actually building the academic and social workings of the school through community collaboration.

The question itself underlies a mindset that unfortunately many schools consciously or unconsciously have: that families are liabilities.

I’ve heard too many times school faculty and staff blame parents for actively making decisions that set their children up for failure (and thereby not including their participation at times), while also blaming them for not doing enough.

Colonialist, elitist, and condescending attitudes towards families don’t solve the problem.

Maybe more perniciously, there are biases that aren’t exactly conscious. I have them. You have them. We

One firsthand account of how teachers could soon be observed | GothamSchools

One firsthand account of how teachers could soon be observed | GothamSchools

One firsthand account of how teachers could soon be observed

by Sarah Darville

The fight over the state’s new teacher evaluations has focused on the 40 percent to be based on student test scores. But the other 60 percent, based on subjective measures like principal observations, could be just as tough.

That’s according to one teacher reporting from a school piloting the city’s stricter guidelines for classroom observations.

Commenting in our Community section yesterday, a reader posting as HS Biology Teacher said that system “seems to be designed to make it extremely easy to rate any teacher ineffective if the principal wants to.”

The DOE has drafted a rubric for rating classroom observations, but it is very tough. To be rated

ALEC Exposed, And Archived, And Available! They Aim To Privatize Public Education!

ALEC Exposed, And Archived, And Available! They Aim To Privatize Public Education!

ALEC Exposed, And Archived, And Available! They Aim To Privatize Public Education!

Julie Underwood, Dean of UW-Madison School Of Education talks about the legislation that aims to privatize education, all of which have a new home at ALECexposed.org

Michelle Rhee says push to do away with public schools is wrong | jacksonville.com

Michelle Rhee says push to do away with public schools is wrong | jacksonville.com

Michelle Rhee says push to do away with public schools is wrong

Submitted by Mary Kelli Palka on July 13, 2011 - 5:25pmEduJax

Responding to a comment made to a New Jersey newspaper that public schools should go away, former Washington D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee said that's not so. She said public schools are here to stay, but will be stronger with reforms.

Rhee, CEO of StudentsFirst, blogged in part today:

It's understandable that some Americans are frustrated with our public school system. Public schools helped developed a talented workforce over the years, but the system has lost its way. Today, for too many students, it isn't working at all. Despite the billions we pour into it, public schools aren't delivering what we need in the 21st Century. American students score at the bottom of the pack in math and science when compared to their international peers. What's more,

Queens Teacher: Demand

Queens Teacher: Demand

Demand

by Queens Teacher

Demand

Discredited programs (Teachers College & Everyday Math) being used to create the DEMAND for test prep materiel$

Textbooks being thrown out to create the DEMAND for technology programs courtesy of Joel Klein

Veteran principals being pushed out in droves creating the DEMAND for incompetents coming from the Leadership Academy

Public schools being denied resources and being generally crappified to create the DEMAND for charter schools

Flawed policy on testing drives schools to cheat - CNN.com

Flawed policy on testing drives schools to cheat - CNN.com

Flawed policy on testing drives schools to cheat

By Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Special to CNN

July 13, 2011 5:09 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rev. Jesse Jackson says recent test altering practices has far-reaching causes, effects
• He says Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind measure student success by tests
• He says this unfairly targets teachers; good test grades don't always reflect good education
• Jackson: It encourages cheating; students, teachers ill-served by testing system

Editor's note: The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is president and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

(CNN) -- The recent disclosure of test altering practices across Atlanta's public school system has turned the spotlight on a national crisis. Instances of grade changing and test tampering have also been reported across the country in cities such as Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington.

These revelations shake the very framework of civil rights initiatives dating back to Brown v. Board of Education. The needed focus on closing the achievement gap for the poor and students of color is giving way to reliance on test scores and metrics that often have little bearing on educational achievement.

The Obama administration's approach to public education, which has placed a higher value on competition for dollars rather than the premium of competence, has caused many educators to seek

Open Campus, Open Network, Open Possibilities« Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Open Campus, Open Network, Open Possibilities

July 13th, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by Walter McKenzie, a lifelong learner, teacher, leader, and connector. A director of Constituent Services for ASCD, he served twenty-five years in public education as a classroom teacher, instructional technology coordinator, director of technology, and assistant superintendent for information services. He is internationally known for his work on multiple intelligences and technology, and has published various books and articles on the subject. Connect with McKenzie on the ASCD EDge® social network or by e-mail at wmckenzie@ascd.org.

It’s a bright, sunny Tuesday morning, and students are entering Roosevelt Elementary school with excitement and energy. No backpacks. No luggage on wheels. Just lunch bags and handheld devices.

As they enter the renovated 75-year old building, students find places to settle in. No homerooms. No morning announcements. Everyone busily logs in to the network system using their personal devices, indicating they are present for the day, reading school announcements, and reviewing their individual schedules for the day.

No bells. No hall passes. No tardy slips. The student body shifts and re-settles as small groups come together to work on their first project of the day. Original classroom walls have been taken out to create larger

The History and Politics of "Hecovery" - Dana Goldstein

The History and Politics of "Hecovery" - Dana Goldstein

The History and Politics of "Hecovery"

by Dana Goldstein

Over at Slate, Annie Lowery writes about the economic "hecovery:" Although male jobs accounted for the majority of layoffs during the depth of the recession, men have now pulled ahead in the recovery, gaining 768,000 jobs over the past year while women workers have lost 218,000 positions.

There's nothing new about the countercyclical nature of female employment. When the American economy lags, jobs in manufacturing and construction are the first to be cut, while the demand for service and caring-sector work continues, at least for a time, unabated--especially in the presence of government stimulus spending on education and health care. This pattern held true during the Depression; between 1930 and 1940, women's share of the

Jonah Edelman Reveals Corporate Education "Reform" at Work in Illinois - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Jonah Edelman Reveals Corporate Education "Reform" at Work in Illinois - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Jonah Edelman Reveals Corporate Education "Reform" at Work in Illinois

by Anthony Cody

When people like Diane Ravitch talk about the billionaires taking over education policy, they are sometimes dismissed as being alarmist, or even of promoting conspiracy theories. But a recent video details exactly how this has been happening, in the state of Illinois. The video released last week of Jonah Edelman describing how he and his group, Stand For Children, managed to maneuver education "reform" legislation is still reverberating through the education blog world.

It was reported by Substance News, who several months ago reported on how Stand For Children gathered more

Jersey JAZZMAN EXCLUSIVE!: Meet NJ's New Superintendents!

Jersey Jazzman: Meet NJ's New Superintendents!

Meet NJ's New Superintendents!

by Duke

JAZZMAN EXCLUSIVE!

Big news in the wake of the announcement that the superintendents of New Jersey's most "troubled" schools need not have educational experience:

Board Vice President Ilan Plawker said he is “very comfortable” with the new regulations, adding that he had no experience as an educator before serving on his local school board and now on the state board.

“These jobs require the administrative skills gained from having run a successful business,” Plawker said. “Our end goal is a business product – getting our kids

Calif. board OKs "parent trigger" giving parents school power - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Calif. board OKs rules giving parents school power - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Calif. board OKs rules giving parents school power

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By ADAM WEINTRAUB
Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, Jul. 13, 2011 - 12:28 pm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California State Board of Education has unanimously approved a new set of rules giving parents more power to force changes at poorly performing schools.

The regulations were approved Wednesday before a packed meeting room in Sacramento. Parents who had taken buses from across the state erupted in cheers.

The action isn't the final word, however. The proposed regulations will be put out for public comment for 15 days and could be challenged.

The so-called "parent trigger" rules have been controversial. A petition to convert a Compton

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/13/3767519/calif-board-oks-rules-giving-parents.html#ixzz1S18fuDSV

District 28 parents seek answers after elected to Community Education Councils, then kicked off

District 28 parents seek answers after elected to Community Education Councils, then kicked off

BY CLARE TRAPASSO
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Wednesday, July 13th 2011, 2:34 PM

Craig Warga/News

City Councilmember Karen Koslowitz will meet with Forest Hills mother Nancy Northrop and other parents, who were elected to Community Education Councils, then were kicked off.

RELATED NEWS

• Elementary question: Move 6th-graders?
• Plan for Maspeth HS temp quarters stirs anger
• LaGuardia Community College professor Lilianna Zulunova runs for Assembly seat
• $158M Forest Hills school project due next fall should help reduce overcrowding

Queens parents who were mysteriously booted by the city from local education groups aren't taking their dismissals lightly.

They are demanding answers about why the city told them they had been elected to their volunteer Community Education Councils - only to turn around this month and declare there had been a mistake.

Forest Hills mother Nancy Northrop, 53, plans to meet with City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) today to discuss the bungled May election. She was one of three parents in District 28 in central Queens who were kicked off the CEC.

"It's been frustrating," said Northrop, who ran for the council for the first time. "We have yet to receive an explanation

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2011/07/13/2011-07-13_district_28_parents_seek_answers_after_elected_to_community_education_councils_t.html#ixzz1S0xI2Sgn