Pass / Fail : Beyond Props 30 & 38: Education ballot measures you need to know about before voting | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : Beyond Props 30 & 38: Education ballot measures you need to know about before voting | 89.3 KPCC:

Beyond Props 30 & 38: Education ballot measures you need to know about before voting

by By Vanessa Romo

Credit: Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
This week Gov. Jerry Brown launched a media blitz supporting Proposition 30.  If we can glean anything from the commercial breaks between the wall-to-wall coverage of Hurricane Sandy, Molly Munger has also stepped up her TV ad campaign for Prop 38. But  a lot of other ballot measures that could have a big impact on education may glide under your radar screen.
Let’s get to them.
In Los Angeles County, 15 bond measures seek to benefit local schools. Districts are asking voters’ approval to borrow from $18 million to $385 million to repair leaky roofs, make seismic retrofits, modernize science labs, and construct new buildings.  For the most part the districts with the greatest need aren't asking for the most money. It’s the opposite. The smaller the bond the more modest (and sometimes dire) the improvements seem to be. Um…asbestos removal?
Two ballot measures aim to renovate community colleges. El Camino and Cerritos Colleges want to raise $350 million for facility upgrades.
All these initiatives assure voters that bond money will be spent only in their districts and only on specific 

Education Week: Outside Cash Floods New Orleans Board Race

Education Week: Outside Cash Floods New Orleans Board Race:

Outside Cash Floods New Orleans Board Race

By Lesli A. Maxwell

 
“We need volunteers, we need your donations and we need you to tell everyone you know in District 3 to vote for Karran Harper Royal,” she said to rounds of applause during her speech. Harper Royal’s campaign web site can be found at www.karran4kids.com.

In New Orleans, where 80 percent of students attend charter schools that are not overseen by an elected board, the race for a local school board seat has become the latest battleground over how to govern public schools in a city whose education landscape has been radically transformed in the seven years since Hurricane Katrina struck.

The campaign for District 3 of the Orleans Parish school board—a panel that directly operates just six traditional public schools and oversees 12 charter schools—features local lawyer Brett Bonin , a one-term incumbent who is running for re-election against two challengers, Sarah Newell Usdin , one of the city's most visible charter school supporters, and Karran Harper Royal , a public school parent and long time advocate for students in special education.

Though five other school board seats are also up for grabs on Nov. 6, the contest in 

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Best Questions: School Culture

October 26, 2012 by Molly McCloskey

We live in a parallel universe. Here at ASCD, we are committed to ensuring that each child, in each school and in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. And one of the things we know for sure is that for that to happen for kids, the adults around them must also be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That parallel need is particularly striking this month as we consider the best questions about school culture.

Culture—school, community, workplace, political, and so on—is a direct reflection of adult behaviors. Where adults bully, children will bully. Where adults cheat, children will cheat. Where adults feel and act helpless, children will feel and act helpless. Where adults are motivated to work hard, children will work hard. Where adults are supported by supervisors and colleagues, neighbors and friends, children will be supported. It's exactly that simple and exactly that complex.

From the Indicators of a Whole Child Approach

• Healthy: Our school addresses the health and well-being of each staff member.
• Safe: Our school teaches, models, and provides opportunities to practice 

Leading and Changing School Culture

by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Download Podcast Now [Right-Click to Save]
Michael Fullan wrote about the principal's role in leading sustainable cultural change in schools (and school districts) in the May 2002 issue of Educational Leadership saying,

"An organization cannot flourish—at least, not for long—on the actions of the top leader alone. Schools and districts need many leaders at many levels. Learning in context helps produce such leaders. Further, for leaders to be able to deal with complex problems, they need many years of experience and professional development on the job. To a certain extent, a school leader's effectiveness in creating a culture of sustained change will be determined by the leaders he or she leaves behind."

Students are a part of the school community and can play powerful roles as leaders in a positive school culture. In cultivating students as leaders, schools provide opportunities for personal engagement; skill development for

Building School Culture: A Tale of Two Cities

by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Academics are important in any school, but some school leaders say the idea of school culture is perhaps just as important. In this video, a reporter visited schools in Detroit and New Orleans to see what school culture is all about.


Popout
In 2010, Michigan Radio's "Rebuilding Detroit Schools: A Tale of Two Cities" took a look at educational challenges in Detroit and reform strategies being used in New Orleans. Reporters Jennifer Guerra and Sarah Hulett spent weeks looking at the two school systems and talking with students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and experts. Learn more at http://twocities.michiganradio.org.

Diane in the Evening 10-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Happy Halloween 

Vouchers in Chile: Greater Inequality

by dianerav

Valerie Strauss has a good post by Michael Pons about vouchers in Chile. The main effect seems to have widened the divide between rich and poor.
One correction I would offer to Pons. The testing and accountability framework for federal policy (No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top)  is no better than the voucher approach (Romney). In fact, the testing and accountability framework sets the stage for vouchers by the following scenario:
1) set an impossible goal of 100% proficiency or every child must raise his/her scores every year to the extent 

Rhee and Her Superstar Teacher

by dianerav

This is a golden oldie. Imagine reading something written long, long ago, like three whole years.
This was written by G.F. Brandenburg, retired DC teacher. His blog is skeptical of Rhee and her misguided fixes. Here he questions the claims of Jason Kamras, who was named US Teacher of the Year in 2005 and became a favorite of Michelle Rhee. He designed Rhee’s IMPACT system, which has thus far produced no test score gains and is still under construction.

A Good School in North Carolina

by dianerav

This parent is very happy with the public schools her children attend. She says the teachers are dedicated and terrific.
My kids attend NC public schools. I hate the standardized test prep every year and the stress it puts my kids under, but I love their school. They have fantastic teachers, take eight or nine field trips every year, and begin dissection in science in third grade. They have opportunities I couldn’t offer them if I homeschooled. I volunteer in their classrooms and I know what the teachers put into their work and what they do without due to budget cuts. I know there’s a lot of junk and politics for teachers to deal with, but it doesn’t go unnoticed. There are good schools out there.

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-31-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Good Advice about How to Survive Reform Damage by dianerav In response to the post from North Carolina teacher Kris Neilsen on why he quit, this teacher has good advice on how to survive the deluge of mean-spirited policies now raining down on students, teachers, and schools. My suggestion: Hang in there until this house of cards collapses, as it will. *As a twenty-year veteran of public education (secondary ELA) I found many of my fears and frustrations in this letter. I could well have written it myself,... more »

UPDATE: Daily Kos: FEMA and "morality"

Daily Kos: FEMA and "morality":

FEMA and "morality"

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Mitt Romney is now trying to walk away from his statement to John King that to add additional funds to FEMA was "immoral" because it increased the deficit.
1. Most states and local government CANNOT run a deficit - while they can sell bonds, the interest and repayment of those bonds have to be within in a balanced budget.  And in many cases they most go to a referendum to have the authority to burden the government with the bond debt.  That means they lack the resources to respond to emergencies.
2.  While all governments COULD have emergency funds set aside for the inevitable crises, often it is simply not enough.  Some catastrophes are simply too large -be they terrorist attacks like Sept. 11, 2001, hurricanes, earthquakes.
3.  Many crises cross state boundaries - it is far better to have one point that can move immediately to coordinate, especially since many of the resources that need to be applied are federal.
4.  To insist on cutting other government services to pay for emergencies is itself immoral.   It would be the same

Augusta Thomas - 90 years old and still an activist

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

a Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees, who produced the video below
who attended kindergarten with Martin Luther King Jr.
who was a civil rights activist
watch
pass on
Popout

Jersey Jazzman: Why Shouldn't Teachers Fight For Their Interests?

Jersey Jazzman: Why Shouldn't Teachers Fight For Their Interests?:

Why Shouldn't Teachers Fight For Their Interests?

by Duke

Michael Petrilli, head frat boy at the Fordham Institute's blog, Flypaper, decided that this headline for a recent post was in good taste:

What’s more powerful than Hurricane Sandy? Hurricane Randi!

Randi being, of course, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten. Yeah, I'm finding that so super funny, especially after waiting two hours in line for a can of gas...

The post goes on to take a gratuitous swipe at Diane Ravitch for daring to point out that there is no correlation between union strength and student achievement. Petrilli's post is based on a new report from Fordham, funded by the reformy folks at Democrats For Education Reform, that "ranks" union strength around the country.

After a cursory look, I can confidently report that this study is rather silly. The love these people have for ordinal numbers is, frankly, bizarre: when they're not ranking states and countries, or cheering the ranking of teachers, 

School Funding Part I: State Policies and Structural Inequities | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

School Funding Part I: State Policies and Structural Inequities | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

School Funding Part I: State Policies and Structural Inequities

by Tarsi Dunlop

Election Day is just around the corner, and as voters go to the polls to cast their ballots, in many states, they vote on more than just candidates. Most voters will have several ballot referendums to vote ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ on, and the consequences of those decisions influence policy. Take as one example the recent vote on gay marriage in the state of North Carolina. It is no different with ballot referendums on public school funding. This fall, five states have some such type of ballot initiative, the largest number in two decades: Arizona, Missouri, South Dakota, Oregon and California. Whether extra revenue is approved or not will have a tremendous effect on each state’s public schools. In this respect, voter turnout and participation is crucial.
read more

Sacramento Superintendent to Thomas Friedman: You Are Wrong « Diane Ravitch's blog

Sacramento Superintendent to Thomas Friedman: You Are Wrong « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Sacramento Superintendent to Thomas Friedman: You Are Wrong

by dianerav

Jonathan Raymond, superintendent of the Sacramento City school district, has some lessons for New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.
Friedman recently raved about the success of Race to the Top, claiming that it was preparing students for the high-skill jobs of the new economy.
Raymond says this is wrong. Race to the Top is divisive and subjects schools to derision.
It is top-down, heavy-handed and undermines the collaboration needed to make genuine improvement.
States that promise to comply with Duncan’s heavy handed mandates are “winners” while those making progress without Duncan’s script are losers.
He adds:
Meanwhile, school districts that are making real, tangible strides to increase student learning are left behind in this “race.” In Sacramento City Unified, we are turning around seven low-performing schools (called Priority Schools) through research-proven strategies for raising student achievement. Six of the seven schools have shown dramatic increases in student achievement and dramatic improvements in school culture and climate. 

John Thompson: Will School Reform Degenerate Into Privatization?

John Thompson: Will School Reform Degenerate Into Privatization?:

Will School Reform Degenerate Into Privatization?

John Thompson

Award-winning historian and inner-city teacher

http://openforwardthinking.blogspot.com

After linking to a chart by Paul Thomas which illustrates the "insanity" of school "reform," Diane Ravitch explains her conclusion that the goal of today's attempts to restructure education is not school improvement, but privatization. So, Ravitch no longer uses the word "reformer," and instead uses the word "privatizer."

My initial reaction was that Ravitch is too harsh. Most "reformers" who I know, whether they came from Teach for America, charter schools or a business background, want to help poor children of color and, like me, they have no contact with behind-the-scenes true believers in market-driven policies. But reading Thomas' post and James Cersonsky's American Prospect article, I worry that Ravitch, once again, may be prescient.

Thomas provides the conventional list of problems that undermine educational opportunities for poor children of color, such as disproportionately inexperienced and uncertified teachers, public schools increasingly segregated by race and socioeconomic status, and three decades of standards-based testing and accountability to close the test-based achievement gap.

Then, he lists "reform" solutions -- inexperienced and uncertified TFA recruits, segregated charter 

Great news! State says deceased students can opt out of testing! Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Great news! State says deceased students can opt out of testing!:

Great news! State says deceased students can opt out of testing!

by admin

I have been doing some research on testing in Illinois and Chicago in preparation for the strategy session and forum on Friday, and came across this chart from the Illinois State Board of Education which lists “reasons for not testing.”
And you’ll be glad to know that among the reasons is the following:
Deceased: Student was deceased prior to the start of the time of testing or died during the time of testing and had not started testing.
Wonder what the policy is if the student died while taking a test?
Anyway, other reasons for not testing include:
In Jail/Locked Facility: Student was in jail or in a locked facility during the time of testing (their explanation, 

NYC Public School Parents: Why we made the film AUGUST TO JUNE; to be shown on Nov. 13 at BNS

NYC Public School Parents: Why we made the film AUGUST TO JUNE; to be shown on Nov. 13 at BNS:

Why we made the film AUGUST TO JUNE; to be shown on Nov. 13 at BNS

The documentary AUGUST TO JUNE will have a screening at the Brooklyn New School, 610 Henry St, Brooklyn, on November 13, at 6:30pm; $5 admission. There will also be free childcare and pizza. RSVP for childcare: lfeather@panix.com The film will also screen in Manhattan on November 19, at 7pm at the 14^th Street Y, 344 East 14th St (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), adults $10, children $5.  Below is a post by one of the filmmakers, Amy Valens, about why she made this movie. 

When my husband and I set out to film my last year of teaching, 2005-2006, we weren’t sure who the audience for our film would be, but we knew I was teaching in a fast disappearing world: a public school which refused to  twist itself into pretzels to meet No Child Left Behind.  We figured we would capture the natural unfolding of a school year, when the intent of all involved was for actual children in the classroom to inform what and how one teaches.

Our rural California Open Classroom school with 90 plus students was founded by parents in 1971, including one who got elected to the school board to pursue the idea of giving parents a say about how their children were educated.  Over forty years later our school board still listens to parents.  When parents in several of the district’s programs opted their children out of high stakes testing, the district studied their reasons, and decided to support them, even if it meant jeopardized federal funding.   

We have been traveling with the film “AUGUST TO JUNE: Bringing Life to School” for over a year now, and I have a much clearer idea of who the film attracts.  Schools of education are interested in the movie as an example to use with student teachers.  Teachers come for nostalgic reasons and leave the film with tears in their eyes because their classrooms no longer resemble mine.  Others who entered the teaching profession assuming they would “teach the whole child” are now looking for hope that it might still be the case somewhere.  But many of the people who come to see the film are parents who know something needs to change, but are not sure what another way would look like.  

I find myself most engaged with those parents.  For many the film is a 90-minute “aha!”  They come out no longer “wondering if…”   Now it’s: “Where do we start?”  While each situation is different, they are the most influential single constituency who could make change happen.  For every teacher there are 20-150 families whose lives are affected by the dumbing down of public education to filling in multiple choice bubbles. 

Talking with friends and giving feedback to teachers and administrators is the very important “think local” part of what those parents can do.  Then their voices need to be amplified by interacting with larger groups, like Parents Across America or Class Size Matters.  I list many more on our website.

AUGUST TO JUNE will be shown at Brooklyn New School on November 13, at 6:30 pm., and at the 14^th Street Y on November 19^th at 7 pm.  I look forward to meeting parents and talking further about next steps.  More information about the screening and the film can be found at www.augusttojune.com  

-          Amy Valens, filmmaker and retired teacher, Lagunitas School District, CA

UPDATE: TRS Executive Director Ingram was taken to task at the October board meeting.Ten minute drawing. Thriller. « Fred Klonsky

Ten minute drawing. Thriller. « Fred Klonsky:

TRS Executive Director Ingram was taken to task at the October board meeting.

by Fred Klonsky

On two occasions in the past year Richard Ingram, the Executive Director of the Illinois Retirement System, has spoken out on issues that did not fall within his pay grade.
Ingram’s job is essentially to run the system in a way that serves the interests of people like me, members of the retirement system who depend of the promises made when I was first hired 30 years ago.
Most recently Ingram seemed to call on the legislature to cut COLA benefits. Many members were outraged, as Ingram’s public pronouncements seemed more like those coming form the Civic Committee and Ty Fahner than from someone who is charged with protecting member benefits.

Ten minute drawing. Thriller.

by Fred Klonsky

Hurricane Sandy, Climate Change and Presidential Politics: 2016 Starts Now « Student Activism

Hurricane Sandy, Climate Change and Presidential Politics: 2016 Starts Now « Student Activism:

Hurricane Sandy, Climate Change and Presidential Politics: 2016 Starts Now

by Angus Johnston

When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, same-sex marriage was a loser. Whatever his own views, he knew supporting marriage equality would hurt him in the general election, and wouldn’t help him in the primaries. And so he — like Hillary Clinton, and like every previous serious contender for either party’s presidential nomination — declined to do so.
With Obama’s victory in 2008 the Democratic calculus changed. Presidential hopefuls knew that Obama would be the nominee in 2012, and set their eyes on 2016. And it didn’t take a psychic to see that given long-term polling trends no Democrat could win the party nomination in 2016 without supporting marriage equality.
And so the party’s most ambitious politicians, particularly those outside the Obama administration, started getting their ducks in a row. Both New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Maryland governor Martin O’Malley made marriage equality a priority during their current terms of office, with Cuomo presiding over the passage of a 

What makes #Edcamp popular with teachers? « My Island View

What makes Edcamp popular with teachers? « My Island View:

What makes Edcamp popular with teachers?

by tomwhitby

During the weekend, I attended my fourth #EdcampNYC. I have attended or participated in about a dozen Edcamps nationwide. I think that puts me in a solid position to make a few considered observations on the subject. In the interest of full disclosure, SmartBrief and SmartBlog on Education have supported the Edcamp Foundation during the past year.

The Edcamp movement has been around for a few years. It is a widely known professional-development format that was spawned from social media educator connections. Most connected educators are familiar with it, but most educators are not connected — hence a need for explanation and definition. I know that the model is based on BarCamp in Philadelphia. I have no idea about BarCamp. I know the image I have in my head, but that has nothing to do with education.
I am familiar with the unconference aspect, which is the driving organizing premise of Edcamp. There is no set schedule of sessions provided to participants as they arrive at the venue. There is usually a breakfast spread and 

Wis. judge overturns gov's education powers - CBS News

Wis. judge overturns gov's education powers - CBS News:

Wis. judge overturns gov's education powers

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Ooh  No!

MADISON, Wis. — A portion of state law that gives the governor the power to approve or block new education rules and policies is unconstitutional, a Madison judge ruled Tuesday.

Dane County Circuit Judge Amy Smith said the statutes give the governor more power over schools than the superintendent of public instruction, a violation of the Wisconsin Constitution. The ruling restores Superintendent Tony Evers' ability to design policies affecting everything from teacher licensing requirements to voucher schools without going through Republican Gov. Scott Walker's office.

It also marks another legal setback for Walker and Republican legislators. Two other Madison judges already have blocked a GOP-authored law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls and a third has overturned a major chunk of Walker's signature legislation stripping most public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

The governor's office is appealing all those decisions and Walker's spokesman Cullen Werwie promised the administration would appeal Smith's ruling, too.

"We're confident we'll win on appeal," Werwie said.

Evers, meanwhile, issued a terse statement saying he was pleased with Smith's finding.

"I have been consistent in my opposition to this legislation

Jersey Jazzman: Sandy Blew Away Christie's Sense of Irony

Jersey Jazzman: Sandy Blew Away Christie's Sense of Irony:

Sandy Blew Away Christie's Sense of Irony

by Duke

Governor Chris Christie tweeted the following during Sandy, with no apparent sense of irony:

Governor Christie ‏@GovChristie

Commissioner Cerf is strongly encouraging all superintendents and charter schools across the state to cancel school tomorrow.

Governor Christie ‏@GovChristie  

We respect that decisions need to be made at local level, but it's most important 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, October 31, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fate of ex-school site awaits board's guidance

The future of the former Peralta Junior High site is still unknown as the Orange Unified School District's Board of Education decides what to do amid uproar from neighbors who don't want the campus converted into apartments.

Sweetwater defendant fronts homecoming parade

National School District Superintendent Chris Oram was invited to grand marshal Sweetwater High School’s homecoming parade, but it was instead a criminal defendant school board member who waved from the red Mustang convertible on Friday night. School board president Pearl Quiñones, running for re-election, is one of two school board members charged by the District Attorney's Office with accepting bribes and failing to report meals, theater tickets and other gifts received from contractors while awarding millions of dollars in bond money to those contractors.

Student journalist questions ad sales for credit

A course requirement that called for students to earn grades on commission — by selling ads or subscriptions for the school newspaper — has raised concern among some student journalists and parents at Mt. Carmel High School.

Exit interview is now a graduation requirement

In an effort to better prepare them for life after high school, the Murrieta Valley Unified School District is now requiring students to complete a senior exit interview before they graduate from high school.

Women file $30 million claims against Moraga school district over sex abuse scandal

Two women have filed claims against the Moraga School District and three former district administrators, saying the employees' repeated inaction regarding abuse allegations against a former teacher allowed that teacher to molest the pair over four school years in the 1990s.

Fensterwald: San Jose Unified, teachers reach breakthrough evaluation, pay plan

The superintendent of San Jose Unified and leaders of the district’s teachers union have agreed on an innovative evaluation and compensation system that, if implemented, would be significantly different from any in California.

If taxes fail, Republicans say they can help avoid cuts to schools

Republican leaders in the California Legislature are already planning their next steps if voters reject Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike plan next week. In a Tuesday letter to school leaders, the Republicans said they want to work with Democrats to prevent nearly $6 billion in cuts if the taxes are voted down.

Walters: What to do if Proposition 30 fails?

As the political odds turn against Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure, political insiders are turning their attention, however reluctantly, to the fallout should, indeed, voters reject the sales and income tax hike on Tuesday.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

New charter school proposed in Yreka

Hope Charter School would hold classes three days a week from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for instruction on the core subjects – mathematics and language arts.

One class nullifies Westside School's API scores

An eastern Coachella Valley elementary school’s entire student body, composed of nearly 600 children, saw its standardized test scores thrown out this year after a third-grade teacher helped at least some of the kids in her class correct their answers, state documents show.

Natomas charter school one of six opening this year in Sacramento area

Leroy Greene Academy in Natomas was among 109 charter schools that opened in California this school year, pushing the number to more than 1,000 charters, according to the California Charter Schools Association.