Superintendent merry-go-round yields fat severances - chicagotribune.com

Superintendent merry-go-round yields fat severances - chicagotribune.com:

Superintendent merry-go-round yields fat severances

Tribune investigation finds school districts usually pay hefty parting gifts to leaders who leave early, even if they leave under a cloud

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Stanley Fields at a school board meeting in June. (Benjamin Chernivsky for the Tribune)

By Diane Rado and Duaa EldeibTribune reporters

4:01 p.m. CDT, July 16, 2011

Stanley Fields resigned after just a year as superintendent of a suburban Cook County school district where he was put on leave, faced with firing and ultimately required to apologize to the community. Still, he walked away with a $100,000 severance payment.

He also had prematurely left his prior job, at a Lake County high school district, cashing out $30,426 in unused vacation. The school

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg And CEO Dennis Walcott Do Not Want Students To Learn What Their Constitutional Rights Are - ParentAdvocates.org

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org:

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg And CEO Dennis Walcott Do Not Want Students To Learn What Their Constitutional Rights Are
...so they can deny these rights.In 2003 Michael Cardozo asked parent activists to contact the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. about the removal of the New York City Board of Education and the election of school board members, replaced by appointments to a non-functional group called the Panel For Educational Policy. I called the DOJ, told them I was a parent of four children in the public school system and didnt want my vote taken away. I asked the DOJ to not approve of this. DOJ attorney Mr. Joseph Rich never got back to me. Betsy Combier

Dennis Walcott

Many years ago I wrote about the denial of rights in New York City:Editorial: The New York City Department of Education is a Sham and Mike Bloomberg is the Flim-Flam Man

I've kept this article on the homepage of this website, at the

About Those Atlanta NAEP Scores Beverly Hall Said Were So Good | Scathing Purple Musings

About Those Atlanta NAEP Scores Beverly Hall Said Were So Good | Scathing Purple Musings:

About Those Atlanta NAEP Scores Beverly Hall Said Were So Good

by Bob Sikes

Even during the aftermath of the Atlanta cheating scandal, APS’s former superintendent Beverly Hall continued to defend the district’s academic record. Not so fast says Binghamton University Professor Lawrence C. Stedman:

The Atlanta Public Schools system has been rocked by a series of reports documenting widespread cheating on the Georgia state tests. Its reputation, and that of its leaders, has come into question. In response, former superintendent Hall asserts that, despite any cheating, the city’s students made “real and dramatic” progress during her tenure and cites the district’s trends on NAEP as part of her evidence (Hall, 2011). In this report, I analyze Atlanta’s performance on NAEP during the 2000s to assess this contention. I use diverse indicators: district trends, national comparisons, grade equivalents, and percentages of students achieving proficiency. My preliminary

Do schools need a state-wide student computer system? | Uppity Wisconsin

Do schools need a state-wide student computer system? | Uppity Wisconsin:

Do schools need a state-wide student computer system?

by Sen. Kathleen Vinehout

Did Joey show up to school today? What grade did Britney receive in third grade English? Did the Larson Family pay the towel fee? Does Mrs. Rendell cover metrics in her math class?

Some in Wisconsin are making plans for a state-wide student information system set for implementation next year. The plan is to have every school in the state use the same web-based system. A single private company will be awarded a five year contract.

Most of the cost for operating the system will be shouldered by cash strapped schools.

The private vendor will be paid by fees assessed on each school district. The annual cost of maintaining the system has not yet been determined; estimates run between eight and twenty-two million a year. Fifteen million

Peg with Pen: United Opt Out National: Action for week of Sept 4, 2011 - Petition Writing

Peg with Pen: United Opt Out National: Action for week of Sept 4, 2011 - Petition Writing:

Peg with Pen

A blog about the truth. Today, it's important for all of us to find our own way to share the truth. Mainstream media and the billionaires will not silence our voices.

United Opt Out National: Action for week of Sept 4, 2011 - Petition Writing

by Peggy

Good morning everyone! Our action for this week is petition writing. We would like a petition for each state which allows the people in your state to declare that they will opt out of high stakes testing. Remember that there are multiple ways to opt out.

Of course, the slam dunk is opting out of the state test. However, we can also opt out by changing the narrative as we talk to neighbors, politicians, and civic organizations. We can opt out by making our opinion know in creative ways – bumper stickers, t-shirts, community art projects. We can opt out by breaking the cycle – questioning, challenging and meeting with groups. We can opt out by sharing alternatives – sharing research showing what works (fairtest.org, susanohanian.org), collaborating with public school classrooms that support our beliefs successfully, and more.

Please use the resources here at our website (www.unitedoptout.com) to assist you in writing your petition – a quick petition can be written by looking at the link for the parent flyer and the link called “what does it mean to opt out.” And of course you can include specific information for your state to support parents who are directly planning to opt out of the state test. We will post sample petitions here on our facebook page docs asap. Let us know if you need help!

There are multiple ways to opt out. Declare that we are doing it. Start your petition today and post the link here once it is written. It’s possible that we might get doubles or triples for states, so claim your petition now by letting us know you plan to write one at our facebook group site OPT OUT OF THE STATE TEST: The National Movement. Thanks everyone!!! Share your petition – spread the word – opt out!!!!

Here is the link for beginning your petition.

SignOn.org Beta

www.signon.org

Your title should be very brief, like a newspaper headline, but it should also communicate as specifically as possible what your petition is about.

Schools Matter: Initial thoughts on Duffy's duplicity

Schools Matter: Initial thoughts on Duffy's duplicity:

Initial thoughts on Duffy's duplicity

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

Duffy has not kept the faith. He has sold his soul. He is prepared to betray untold numbers of teachers for his own personal gain, while helping to destroy an institution that is vital to maintaining a democratic government, and that institution Is public education. — UTLA member in response to Duffy announcement


That bastion of reaction otherwise known as the Los Angeles Times announced last week that former United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) president A.J. Duffy was jumping on the privatization bandwagon. At his charter school, ex-UTLA head would target tenure was followed up by a nasty mean spirited editorial by the plutocrats' lapdogs at the Times entitled A.J. Duffy, education reformer? Before the former article was published, I was contacted by Howard Blume (one of the only somewhat honest writers at the Times, the other being Teresa Watanabe). He

Lisa Nielsen: Back to School Doesn't Have to Mean Back to Tests

Lisa Nielsen: Back to School Doesn't Have to Mean Back to Tests:

Lisa Nielsen

The Innovative Educator Blog

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Back to School Doesn't Have to Mean Back to Tests

Cross posted at The Innovative Educator Blog andCooperative Catalyst.

Social media has become a mobilizing force in bringing together students, educators, and parents who are frustrated with the data-driven, standardized, one-size-fits all learning taking place in publicly funded schools today. Many of these groups have popped up with members joining and uniting against a system designed to reduce children to nothing more than standardized, easily measurable data to appear on a future chart that can bolster the ratings and egos of policy makers and business leaders. Despite the fact that many educational leaders, educators, parents, and students know this is wrong, parents like Gretchen Herrera are being forced to engage in practices that hurt children with threats of school closures and students being left behind or kicked out for failure to comply.

One of the biggest movements gaining momentum is opting out of state testing, with social media sites being created in the form of Facebook groups, Facebook pages, and Yahoo groups, which are connecting parents, educators, and students who are frustrated with forced government schooling

Heart & Soul - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post

Heart & Soul - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post:

Heart & Soul

Discussions are taking place online that get at the core of the struggle to reclaim and reinvigorate the heart and soul of public education. Please read the following three short threads and consider how you can contribute to a new, common understanding of where we are headed as educators:

Thread 1: A discussion around Finland hiring teachers from the top 10% of its university graduates to teach in public education.

Link “Academic, security worries at Dunbar.”

Dunbar Senior High School is becoming an important test of reform efforts under an interim D.C. schools chancellor and a new incoming city administration. Concerns are rising about the school’s management, academic performance and security.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/12/14/GR2010121408292.html?sid=ST2010121500057

Colleague 1 This is an old story. So the kids progressed from throwing algebra textbooks to sexting and doing unspeakable things with technology. The care and feeding of kids in inner city situations is not something that can be met by boot camp teaching.

Colleague 2 Yes I knew you had some years in DC. I understand all this, and I appreciate

The Interactive, Technology-Rich Classroom of the 21st Century and Scores That Stay Low- ParentAdvocates.org

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org:

The Interactive, Technology-Rich Classroom of the 21st Century and Scores That Stay Low
Since 2005, scores in reading and math have stagnated in Kyrene, Arizona, even as statewide scores have risen. To be sure, test scores can go up or down for many reasons. But to many education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning.

September 3, 2011
In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores
By MATT RICHTEL, NY TIMES

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Amy Furman, a seventh-grade English teacher here, roams among 31 students sitting at their desks or in clumps on the floor. They’re studying Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” — but not in any traditional way.

In this technology-centric classroom, students are bent over laptops, some blogging or building Facebook pages from the perspective of Shakespeare’s characters. One student compiles a song list from the Internet, picking a tune by the rapper Kanye West to express the emotions of Shakespeare’s lovelorn Silvius.

The class, and the Kyrene School District as a whole, offer what some see as a utopian vision of education’s future. Classrooms are decked out with laptops, big interactive

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - But Will Secretary Duncan Listen To Her?

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - But Will Secretary Duncan Listen To Her?:

But Will Secretary Duncan Listen To Her?

by Larry Ferlazzo

The New York Times has published a major article on technology use in schools titled In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores.

I’ll be adding it to The Best Research Available On The Use Of Technology In Schools, but I wanted to highlight what I thought was the most interesting part of the article:

Karen Cator, director of the office of educational technology in the United States Department of Education, said standardized test scores were an inadequate measure of the value of technology in schools. Ms. Cator, a former executive at Apple Computer, said that better measurement tools were needed but, in the meantime, schools knew what students needed.

“In places where we’ve had a large implementing of technology and scores are flat, I see that as great,” she said.

“Hot Spot” Interview — Report From Chile

by Larry Ferlazzo

I recently began a new regular interview series. There are always lots of “hot spots” around the world — places where there are natural disasters, political upheavals, etc. And English teachers can be found in most of those places. If you are an EFL/ESL teacher in one of those areas, please let me know.

Today, Thomas Baker from Chile has agreed to answer a few questions. As the PBS New Hour reported two days ago, Student Education Reform Protests Rock Chile, so this is a particularly timely interview.

Can you tell us what and where you teach, what made you decide on a teaching career, and what brought you to Chile?

My mother and my brother taught me to read when I was four years old. By the time I was five, I knew the multiplication tables backwards and forwards. When I entered first grade my teacher, Mrs. Johnson, discovere

Schools Matter: Georgia Superintendent Acknowledgement Signals Immient End of NCLB Nightmare

Schools Matter: Georgia Superintendent Acknowledgement Signals Immient End of NCLB Nightmare:

Georgia Superintendent Acknowledgement Signals Immient End of NCLB Nightmare

by Jim Horn

The students, parent, teachers, principals, and now the superintendents are coming after you, Eli, Bill, and Arne, and the self-serving fools, charlatans, delusional racists, and edu-pirates of Wall Street. There will be no spider hole you can hide in from the judgment of history.

Posted by Maureen Downey at Get Schooled, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution education blog. ht to Bob Schaeffer:

By Jim Arnold

We’ve done it now. Eleven years we had to educate the public, to register our protests and do everything in our power to warn people what was coming, and we blew it. We knew the moment

Why Students Drop Out + BoostUp.org

Why Students Drop Out + BoostUp.org:

Why Students Drop Out

When students leave school, it’s usually not a decision they made overnight. Typically it’s a process that happens over time. Learn how students get off track, how you can recognize the warning signs, and what you can do to help.

• +Dropout Reasons
• +Warning Signs
• +Why Get Involved?

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Dropout Reasons

There’s no single reason.

Students drop out of school for a number of different reasons—and it’s typically a combination of many issues. Here are some of the top reasons students give for leaving school:

• Classes aren’t interesting
• Parents/family/adults have low expectations
• Poor attendance
• Failing in school
• Family responsibilities (work, caring for siblings, etc.)
• Becoming a parent
• Too much freedom

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Warning Signs

What to watch for. There are specific factors to watch for in students who are likely to drop out of school. If you see one or more of these signs, get involved! You can give these students the Boost they need to stay in school.

• They don’t feel challenged in school.
• They don’t feel high educational expectations from either their family or school.
• They believe their parents are too controlling and they want to rebel.
• They have trouble with schoolwork or feel like they are not as smart as other students.
• They have drug, alcohol or mental health problems.
• They regularly miss school or are frequently tardy.
• They struggle with problems at home, including physical or verbal abuse.
• They feel like they don’t fit in or have friends at school.
• Their peers or siblings have dropped out of school.
• They have poor learning conditions at school—such as overcrowding, high levels of violence and excessive absenteeism.

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Why Get Involved?

Watch the President’s challenge to parents, teachers, students, and friends.

Everyone can make a difference.

It’s simple. The more you get involved in a student’s education, the more likely he or she is to succeed. Test scores, attitude and behavior, even the likelihood of graduation and a college education—they’re all greatly affected by your involvement.

The goal is to show students that their education is important. Regardless of your level of education, there are simple things you can do to help. Make sure they wake up on time for school every single day. Reward effort and achievement. Show interest in their classes. No matter what you do, the most important thing is to show students that someone cares and is invested in their education.