THE WAY WE DO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT The Whole Child Newsletter - November 1, 2012

The Whole Child Newsletter - November 1, 2012:

THE WAY WE DO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT Every school has a culture. Some are positive, while others are toxic; many are somewhere in between. A school's culture affects the lives of everyone in the building. Educators working in a positive school culture(PDF) experience collegiality, trust, and tangible support as leaders and peers, creating an environment where there are high expectations, involvement in decision making, and open communication. Students entering a positive school culture feel safe, engaged, and connected and see school as a place where they can learn and contribute to the world around them. We get used to our environments—our culture—and say, "This is how we do things here" and "This is the way it has always been." Author and founding director of the Harvard Principals' Center Roland S. Barth writes in Educational Leadership that "a school's culture can work for or against improvement and reform. Some schools are populated by teachers and administrators who are reformers, others by educators who are gifted and talented at subverting reform. And many school cultures are indifferent to reform." So, how do we assess our schools' cultures and change them to support improvement? Whole child partner organization Character Education Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Molly McCloskey]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 ... more »

Jane Watson Writes Charters Not NeededSave Our Schools

Jane Watson Writes Charters Not NeededSave Our Schools:

Jane Watson Writes Charters Not Needed

by Server

Jane Watson, Save Our Schools Information Coordinator Writes

Charters Are Not Needed.
As published in the Yakima Herald-Republic Charters not needed November 1, 2012
To the editor — Thank you for the Oct. 24 article and editorial concerning charter schools.
Parents and older students do have a variety of school choices, including private schools, public school, home schooling, computer school, EPIC Headstart, Oakridge Montessori, etc. There is a Migrant Education Center in Sunnyside.
All of these choices have not improved public education. Using our taxpayers’ money for another choice of charter schools won’t improve public education, either. Invest in the system we have.
Looking at our five local public school districts, we have seen new school construction keeping up with the times, including Stanton Academy. We have top-notch teachers and programs already in place for a variety of instructional needs, including individual or small groups tutoring from the teachers and summer schools.
Our public schools have been addressing concerns and have seen improvements in the last three years without a new system of buildings, teachers and boards. If you have a concern or need, visit your local public school and be surprised at the excellence and concern for your child — our children.

Must See Video: Romney Walking Out of an Interview in Iowa « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Must See Video: Romney Walking Out of an Interview in Iowa « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Must See Video: Romney Walking Out of an Interview in Iowa

Filed under: Mitt — millerlf @ 5:21 pm 

Observe Romney  walking out of a radio interview in Iowa in 2007 because of questions about Mormonism, the Second Coming and abortion.

He apparently did not know he was being videotaped.

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Fairly Unified on the Education Front Against I-1240

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Fairly Unified on the Education Front Against I-1240:

Fairly Unified on the Education Front Against I-1240

by Melissa Westbrook

The No On I-1240 campaign has released an open letter rejecting I-1240.  The people listed represent those from 260 school districts across Washington State.  That's nearly 90% of the school districts in the state. 

“The open letter shows that opposition to I-1240 is not bound by geography or income,” said Michael DeBell, Seattle School Board President. “It’s a bad plan for every student and parent in Washington, and that’s why so many people who have looked into I-1240 have come out against it.”

I was just at the Superintendent's State of the District event (more on that later) and there was a press conference downstairs at Perkins Coie with the Superintendent, President DeBell, our SPS labor leaders and other Board directors.  They all had a unified message - I-1240 is wrong for our state and our districts.

 President DeBell stressed that the timing for this discussion about charters is wrong until the McCleary decision is fully vetted and a plan rolled out for our EXISTING schools.  Indeed this has been the message from day one from both NO campaigns - we need to fully fund our existing schools before any new school system comes into being. 

Preen for America | EduShyster

Preen for America | EduShyster:

Preen for America

by edushyster2012

I dedicate this post to my Premium Club readers who simply aren’t excellent enough to Teach for America.

Let’s face it: you and I are never going to be Teach for America material. But while we may not have the goods to join Wendy Kopp’s Kidz we can still experience their freshness and innovation vicariously: by watching the Real Housewives of Miami host a benefit for TFA on Bravo this week. No doubt you are wondering how in the world EduShyster could know such a thing…Reader: I fear that mine is a wasted life of debauchery and exceedingly low expectations.
But what if you want to associate yourself with the excellence of the TFA brand without besmirching thyself with 

IEA offers a deal on right-wing pizza. I wouldn’t order it in a million years. « Fred Klonsky

IEA offers a deal on right-wing pizza. I wouldn’t order it in a million years. « Fred Klonsky:

IEA offers a deal on right-wing pizza. I wouldn’t order it in a million years.

by Fred Klonsky

Papa John’s John Schnatter. 
I have some friends coming over tonight. It’s a book club.
Don’t laugh. All my friends at work predicted I would join a book club when I retired and I swore not. But I did. We get together every couple of months. It’s my pick this time. We were supposed to read Anthony Shadid’sHouse of Stone.
Shadid was the New York Times correspondent in the middle east. His reporting during the Arab Spring was outstanding. House of Stone is about his rebuilding the family home in Lebanon and about the history of his family and the region. It’s a good book worth reading. Shadid died from an asthma attack as he was trying to

Ten minute drawing. Bloomberg.

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

StudentsFirst PAC donates $500,000 to campaign against union-backed Proposal 2 | MLive.com

StudentsFirst PAC donates $500,000 to campaign against union-backed Proposal 2 | MLive.com:

StudentsFirst PAC donates $500,000 to campaign against union-backed Proposal 2

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – StudentsFirst.org’s political action committee has donated $500,000 to the campaign against the union-backed Proposal 2, with the organization’s leaders saying they want to preserve school reforms.

The proposal, also calledProtect Our Jobs and Protect Working Families, would enshrine collective bargaining in the state constitution, invalidating existing or future state or local laws that limit the ability to join unions.

Critics, including Attorney General Bill Schuette, said about 170 state laws would be affected.

StudentsFirst, an advocacy group based in Sacramento, Calif, “strongly supports collective bargaining for teachers,” but supports some of the limits on what unions could 

L.A. Unified applies for grant without teachers union - latimes.com

L.A. Unified applies for grant without teachers union - latimes.com:

L.A. Unified applies for grant without teachers union

The Los Angeles Unified School District has decided to submit an application for a high-profile federal grant without the participation of the teachers union.
Current federal rules for “Race to the Top” grants require a written commitment to the terms by the local teachers union. But United Teachers Los Angeles officials have steadfastly objected to the district's application, mostly because of the cost involved, they said.
L.A. Unified could qualify for up to $40 million. The funds are modest compared to the school system's multibillion-dollar annual budget, but officials said they could provide crucial services to students as well as additional jobs.
“I have instructed staff to submit an application with all required signatures except that of the teachers union,” said L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy in a statement Thursday. “I want to make the case that here in Los 

UPDATE: Diane in the Evening 11-1-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Who Is Thriving in the New World of New Orleans?

by dianerav

Into my mailbox came this link, which suggests there are some mighty big winners in the new education world of New Orleans.
Read it and gasp.
Advocates say that New Orleans is a national model. The documents here raise questions about who benefits from the avalanche of money poured into the city’s new way of doing business.

A Chinese Educator Shares His Wisdom about the Goals of Education

by dianerav

Yong Zhao is an amazing educator who knows why our current obsession with testing is bad for American society. He spoke recently in Michigan, where he explained why we should focus on creativity and innovation, not test scores. He also explained why we should not be awed by Shanghai’s high test scores, because the Chinese educators are not.
This article in the New York Times may be related: well-educated professionals are fleeing China to live where 

Indiana’s New School Report Cards Get an F

by dianerav

Two recent analyses show how convoluted and confusing Indiana’s school report cards are.
Matthew DiCarlo has been reviewing state grading systems and concludes that the one concocted in Indiana is the “probably the most rudimentary scoring system” he has seen. Like other school report cards, the Indiana marking system gives low grades to high-poverty schools and high-grades to low-poverty schools.
DiCarlo doesn’t say this but I will. Report cards weighted heavily by test scores, like this one, set up schools to 

In New Orleans, Students Lead the Way

by dianerav

Several student groups convened an open forum for candidates running for the local school board.
This gave students an opportunity to question candidates about where they stand on issues that affect students.
Only one candidate did not appear: Sarah Usdin, who confirmed that she would show but did not. Usdin is the ex-TFA executive director of New Schools for New Orleans. She has received more than $110,000 from generous out-of-state donors like Joel Klein, who sells technology for Rupert Murdoch, and assorted Wall Street hedge fund managers who are devoted to charters.
Key points that emerged from the forum:
-Unanimous opposition expressed by candidates regarding the RSD’s method for closing and chartering schools

Big Money Floods School Board Races in California

by dianerav

This is becoming an increasingly familiar–and alarming –story. Charter advocates are pouring large amounts of money–more than $200,000–into local school board races, in districts where few are residents. They are targeting candidates who dare to question the expansion of charters.
In Santa Clara County, incumbent Anna Song is under attack by the charter lobby, which is throwing large sums into a campaign to defeat her.
The article in the Mercury News says:
The most aggressive campaign appears to be aimed at Anna Song, who is running for her fourth term on the county Board of Education.
The Santa Clara County Schools Political Action Committee has raised nearly $200,000 from Jan. 1 through 

School Funding Part II: More Money Doesn’t Mean More Equity | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

School Funding Part II: More Money Doesn’t Mean More Equity | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

School Funding Part II: More Money Doesn’t Mean More Equity

by Tarsi Dunlop

There are few things as complicated as funding when it comes to our nation’s public schools. But a basic understanding on the part of policy-makers and voters can be a significant contributor to the vitality of public schools and our democratic society. This week, as much of mainstream media zeros in on the Presidential race and key competitive Congressional races, it’s worth remembering that on November 7^th, governance will continue with policy decisions and consequences playing out on the local level, especially for education. As we continue our pre-election examination of school finance policies, we focus on the second half of the Center for American Progress (CAP) report, The Stealth Inequities of School Funding: How State and Local School Finance Systems Perpetuate Inequitable Student Spending.
read more

Washington State charter school Initiative 1240 and the lack of accountability | Seattle Education

Washington State charter school Initiative 1240 and the lack of accountability | Seattle Education:

Washington State charter school Initiative 1240 and the lack of accountability

by seattleducation2011

Washington State charter school Initiative 1240 and the lack of accountability

Posted on November 1, 2012 by seattleducation2011 | Leave a comment

Since 2007, OII ( U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement) has handed over $909,000,000 to state education agencies (SEAs) and others (non-SEAs) to open and run charter schools.  And true to the Wall Street philosophy of free and unrestricted greed, the OII has provided no oversight, no regulation, and almost no guidance for the hundreds of millions OII is shoveling to the corporate welfare kings who are operating these urban penal schools.

Jim Horn, Schools Matter

The proponents of Washington State’s charter school Initiative 1240 talk about how charter schools will be free of public oversight and regulations.

This is correct and because of that, parents and students will have no recourse in terms of what they might consider unfair treatment by a charter school. There will be no Seattle School Board Director to go to for advice or support, no district superintendent to go to, no State Representative to ask for help, not 

Ideas for E.L.L.s | 'Gangnam Style,' Emotion Words and More - NYTimes.com

Ideas for E.L.L.s | 'Gangnam Style,' Emotion Words and More - NYTimes.com:

Ideas for English Language Learners | ‘Gangnam Style,’ ‘Emotion Words’ and More

By LARRY FERLAZZO

“Long Division Style,” a parody of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” made by a Brooklyn teacher and her students. Go to related SchoolBook post »

Each month we post a list of ideas for English Language Learners written by teacher and “edublogger” Larry Ferlazzo. Sometimes, like last month’s on thepresidential election, they focus on a timely theme, while others, like this edition, pull from a variety of Times content.

The goal of all of our E.L.L. posts, however, is to suggest ways to make The Times accessible for a range of learners. Let us know if you have ideas, too.

---

Times Videos

Using Video Clips

The Times’s video page has a very useful search engine, and searching the word “clip” brings up many short clips from movies and television shows that 

‘Just Let Me Teach’ armbands taking off:

‘Just Let Me Teach’ armbands taking off

Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 1, 2012 at 11:49 am

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(www.facebook.com/
JustLetMeTeach)

Justin Oakley, 35, is a self-described lifelong Hoosier, who has been a teacher for 10 years and is sick and tired of school reformers telling him and his fellow teachers how to do their jobs.

Oakley, who has been president of the Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association, had waged a months-long campaign to be nominated as Indiana’s Democratic Party candidate for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but he dropped out of the race and is backing veteran educator Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent of Public Instruction against state schools superintendent Tony Bennett.

This is one of the most important education elections in the country. Because Bennett has pushed the privatization of public education further than just about any other state 

Open Letter to Mayor Emanuel and Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson on real parent involvement Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Open Letter to Mayor Emanuel and Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson on real parent involvement:

Open Letter to Mayor Emanuel and Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson on real parent involvement

by admin

An Open Letter to Mayor Emanuel and Walgreen’s

on Real Parent Involvement

November 1, 2012
Sent by facsimile
Dear Mayor Emanuel and Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson:
PURE is a Chicago Public School (CPS) parent advocacy organization which has offered exceptional local school council and parent training and support for 25 years.
We object to the idea of offering parents Walgreen’s cards loaded with 25,000 ”customer loyalty” points (worth $25) for attending report card pick up.
Mayor, you say that this would “incentivize responsible parenting.” Let me ask you – do you need such an “incentive” to participate in and support your own children’s education? Surely not. Then what makes you think CPS parents need it?
Setting your press conference at Field Elementary school brought back some powerful memories, going back 25 years when my two sons attended the school.
I remember being elected to the first local school council (LSC) at Field. At the first meeting, we elected the top vote-getter, an immigrant from El Salvador, as our chairperson. His daughter’s teacher stood up in that meeting and threatened him in front of the principal and the entire audience. Shortly after that, his daughter decided to transfer to another school, so the father lost his eligibility to be an LSC member. All of this was done with full knowledge of the district. That was how CPS “incentivized” parent involvement at Field.
I remember when the Field teachers, with the blessing of the principal, came out in force to a PTA meeting and voted themselves in to all the PTA officers’ positions, effectively shutting parents out of any role in the parent-teacher organization. That was how CPS “incentivized” parent involvement at Field.
The LSC replaced that principal and hired a new one. She seemed great for a while, but then lots of bad advice from upper management led her to hide in her office and, among other things, deny the offer my husband and I made to run a Great Books program in the school. She actually wrote us a letter saying that the school had “enough volunteers.” That was how they “incentivized” parent involvement at Field.
Eventually the LSC found a better principal fit, and I hope things are better for parents under the current principal.
But my perspective at PURE allows me to see how CPS continues to “incentivize” parent involvement around the city:

• CPS allows principals to break federal parent involvement rules by barring PURE’s popular, effective parent workshops from the schools, even though NCLB parent advisory committees have voted to bring in the workshops.
• CPS encourages principals to waste hundreds of thousands of parent involvement dollars every year sending school staff and a few parents to out-of-state conferences (airfare, hotel, meals and stipends included in the cost) while parents at home gain nothing.
• CPS’s Office of LSC Relations continues to blacklist PURE from LSC training even though LSC members prefer independent training over CPS’s ineffective bullet-point sessions.

In addition, Chicago’s foundation and corporate giving world continues to blacklist independent LSC/parent support groups like PURE, instead providing millions of dollars to astroturf groups such as Stand for Children which push union-busting and charter schools.
Mayor Emanuel, you and your CPS team continue to ignore and disrespect elected, parent-run LSCs while pushing phony “parent empowerment” programs like school choice and the parent trigger.
Mr. Wasson, you may be aware of PURE’s 1993 Walgreen’s boycott in response to the company’s opposition to a fair school funding ballot initiative. We urge you to change course and start supporting improved education by paying your fair share of school costs, so that Illinois moves from the bottom of the heap in per-capita school funding to a position more appropriate to the wealth of our state and the needs of our children. You might then consider supporting real parent involvement through parent-selected programs like PURE’s rather than a strategy that simply promotes your corporate brand. I have attached a brochure outlining our parent workshop offerings, for your information.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours truly,
Julie Woestehoff
Executive Director

Schools Matter: Earning a Scholarship

Schools Matter: Earning a Scholarship:

Earning a Scholarship

by Storm

[The following is excerpted from the first chapter of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.  Aside from what is obvious regarding the continuation of this particular social "understanding" of the status of the Black American, I would offer that this is the primary perspective we operate within as members of an hierarchically managed society.  The narrator is one who has beheld an incoherence.   "All dreamers and sleepwalkers must pay the price, and even the invisible victim is responsible for the fate of all."  I suppose it must be plain that I am trying to be more assertive with you regarding this incoherence.  The school is an institution devoted to its continuation--masking the inequalities with rhetoric and absolutely zero reality to our assertions of it as a "commons."  It may be compared to a field, but one of American cotton and tobacco, not unbounded wastes and borderless pasture shared in the service of common ends.]

I was considered an example of desirable conduct -- just as my grandfather had been. And what puzzled me was that the old man had defined it as treachery. When I was praised for my conduct I felt a guilt that in some way I was doing something that was really against the wishes of the white folks, that if they had understood they would have desired me to act just the opposite, that I should have been sulky and mean, and that that really would have been what they wanted, even though they were fooled and thought they wanted me to act as I did. It 

Shanker Blog » The Structural Curve In Indiana's New School Grading System

Shanker Blog » The Structural Curve In Indiana's New School Grading System:

The Structural Curve In Indiana’s New School Grading System

by Matthew Di Carlo

The State of Indiana has receive a great deal of attention for its education reform efforts, and they recently announced the details, as well as the first round of results, of their new “A-F” school grading system. As in many other states, for elementary and middle schools, the grades are based entirely on math and reading test scores.
It is probably the most rudimentary scoring system I’ve seen yet – almost painfully so. Such simplicity carries both potential advantages (easier for stakeholders to understand) and disadvantages (school performance is complex and not always amenable to rudimentary calculation).
In addition, unlike the other systems that I have reviewed here, this one does not rely on explicit “weights,” (i.e., 

THE REAL REASON “CHARTER REFORM” FAILED IN HARRISBURG

THE REAL REASON “CHARTER REFORM”
FAILED IN HARRISBURG

 (Harrisburg, PA)--The failed attempt by proponents of charter schools to force legislation through the House last week resulted in legislation that was so lacking in oversight it raised concerns among far-right Republican members, who eventually joined with Democrats to seriously question and ultimately kill the bill.

The so-call reforms didn’t go far enough or reform well enough to convince those who questioned the industry-lobbied bill on both sides of the aisle.

Some charter proponents insisted that they wanted to use the bill to incorporate "best practices” into their operations so they can perform better; but in reality, they don't need a new law to voluntarily implement any of the successful public transparency, accountability, governance and educational excellence practices already available in the public education system.

Any charter, for profit, private or religious school that receives public tax payer funding can publicly reveal how much of that taxpayer money they actually invest in educating students as well how much they keep as profit, and what kind of educational standards and outcomes the school produces.

Many charter schools do not exceed public school outcomes and in many cases they fall below public school student performances. These charter schools are also free to return surplus taxpayer money back to the public school districts and property taxpayers who fund public school districts across the state.

Any charter, for profit, private, or religious school receiving public taxpayer funding can easily adopt fair and non-discriminatory admissions and retention policies right now, without any new legislation at all. It doesn’t require legislation for charter schools to immediately and publicly reveal all the "great education ideas" they have developed, and the "wonderful education platforms" and best practices they have mastered while their “experimentation” has been completely financed with hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds.

They are perfectly free to reveal their corporate salaries, political contributions, and private contracting transactions right now. They can immediately pledge to operate under the requirements of the Open Meetings Law, the Right to Know Law, and the Ethics Act, just as any public school system in the state does right now.

Every taxpayer funded charter operation in Pennsylvania can voluntarily adhere to the same “sunshine” laws and regulations that apply to the public school systems right now.

Given the fact that, after hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds have been outsourced to these schools and they continually fail to meet the most basic, common sense disclosure and transparency standards, they must face the real reason why real reform of charter governance is a public necessity.

Most of the House, on both sides of the aisle, understand this basic fact of education accountability and that’s why the Senate bill failed in that chamber; and that’s why a new, clean, and balanced bill must be introduced to protect the public interest and protect the taxpayer’s investment in the educational future of the children of Pennsylvania.

About the Citizens Alliance for a Better Future

Citizens Alliance for a Better Future engages taxpayers in a meaningful discussion regarding the decisions being made by our elected officials that will impact all of us for years to come.  Recent cuts in education and other state funding have pushed the financial burdens onto local property owners.  At the same time, officials are implementing new laws that reduce the transparency and accountability of our taxpayer dollars.