Schools Matter: NJ State Testing Just Washed Away

Schools Matter: NJ State Testing Just Washed Away:

NJ State Testing Just Washed Away

by Judy Rabin

Now what? Sandy is a game changer here in New Jersey. These endless standardized tests and the mounds of money spent on this garbage is now finally being exposed as the state grapples with no way to administer and account for the VAM, value added measures. How many points for what trauma. The social, psychological, emotional and financial toll from a storm like this one, and how many "points" should be subtracted or added to an already meaningless bean counting machine for children, will be impossible to calculate. This was the perfect storm indeed, the one we needed to get rid of the phony, money grubbing education deformers here in New Jersey. We can only hope they will be washed away into the sewer they created for themselves by forcing mindless crap on America's school children for the past three decades.

Time for the students and parents to just opt out  of the stupid tests (go to United Opt Out National ) and just put down your pencils. Then you can begin to think again, learn and innovate and figure out a way to rebuild your 

Daily Kos: Ralston 's analysis of early NV Vote - not good for Romney

Daily Kos: Ralston 's analysis of early NV Vote - not good for Romney:

Ralston 's analysis of early NV Vote - not good for Romney

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

as you can read in Democrats end with 71,000-voter lead in Clark, near dead heat in Washoe
some snips:

bottom line: The credible polls on both sides would have to be wrong -- i.e. Romney would have to win independents by a large margin -- for him to win Nevada.

No rural updates from Friday, but Democrats were losing by about 20,000 voters there. Some 

Latest from Sam Wang - more good news

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

As of November 3, 3:00PM EDT:
Obama: 323
Romney: 215
Meta-margin: Obama +2.98%
Probability of Obama re-election: Random Drift 98.0%, Bayesian Prediction 99.8%
Not much of a diary, but his full site still not up so this

PPP Michigan - Obama + 6, and more

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

and quite a bit more
Obama 52-46
Stabenow 55-42
real issue are Proposals, all of which are headed to defeat
Keeping Emergency Manager Law  35-45
    (Repubs only support 40-38)
NOTE - this means that signature legislation of Governor is rejected and democracy is reestablished somewhat - 

Mass Production of Individuals | Mr. Teachbad

Mass Production of Individuals | Mr. Teachbad:

Mass Production of Individuals

by teachbad

Every stu­dent is a pre­cious gift who deserves an edu­ca­tional expe­ri­ence that is at once self-paced and expertly guided; pro­vid­ing a con­stant but ever-changing  and per­fect com­bi­na­tion of chal­lenge, rel­e­vance, sup­port and blah-bitty blah blah, etc. You know…

And we all wish we could do that for our stu­dents.  Or, if we don’t wish we could, we used to imag­ine that we might be able to or want to. Or, lack­ing that, we rea­son­ably assumed that our stu­dents might have endeav­ored to do more work on their own. But what­ever the case, each stu­dent is a uniquely individual…individual…precious, won­der­ful gift.

Every­body will sign onto the idea of the pre­cious gift. That’s easy. Less pleas­ing to the ear and the heart, but no less true, is that each stu­dent is name­less and inter­change­able. The whole of pub­lic edu­ca­tion is bureaucratic-servicesmass pro­duc­tion. There are tens of mil­lions of units to process every year; each then moves to the next pro­duc­ti

Chicago pays $78.4 million fine for stupid job test

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Chicago pays $78.4 million fine for stupid job test:

Chicago pays $78.4 million fine for stupid job test

by admin

People are getting more and more concerned about the cost of testing — and we really have no idea what we’re spending.
But here’s a big number everyone can understand: a $78 million compensation award for Chicago African-American firefighter applicants who, according to a federal judge, were denied job opportunity as a firefighter because of the city’s discriminatory entrance test.
The Sun-Times reported:

“The 1995 firefighters entrance exam was drafted by an African American with an eye toward diversifying a Chicago Fire Department with a long and documented history of discrimination. When results for minorities were disappointing, the city established a cutoff score of 89 and hired randomly from the top 1,800 “well-qualified” candidates. In 2005, a federal judge ruled that the 

The Final Push: It's On Us

Published on Nov 3, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom

Share this: http://OFA.BO/ssUvNt
Tweet this: http://OFA.BO/GT6E7C

There are less than 72 hours until Election Day. Now is time to get involved and help re-elect President Barack Obama: http://OFA.BO/7gYq7L

Confirm your polling location here: http://OFA.BO/U6HcxB
Get all the information you need to vote here: http://OFA.BO/wQHU9f

NYC Public School Parents: Important update on Sandy re closed & relocated schools!

NYC Public School Parents: Important update on Sandy re closed & relocated schools!:

Important update on Sandy re closed & relocated schools!

by Leonie Haimson

I hope you are all recovering from Hurricane Sandy; I just got my power restored last night here in Greenwich Village, though there are still nearly one quarter of a million NYC residents and more than a million households in the tri-state area without power or heat. 

Immeasurable damage has occurred to people’s homes and even more tragically, lives have been lost, but I wanted to update you on new developments as regards the NYC public schools:

•  On Monday, most NYC public schools will resume classes.  However, there are 57 schools that have suffered “severe damage” according to the DOE, and have to be re-located to other buildings.  The list of schools that will be closed until further notice and their re-location sites are posted as an spreadsheet on the DOE websitehere.  For those who cannot access spreadsheets, I have also posted this list on my website as a word doc  and as a pdf.

• However, students in the closed schools will NOT be attending classes until Wednesday, to make sure that their new buildings are ready for them.   DOE says they will provide updates early in the week about transportation; teachers are expected at these new sites on Monday and Tuesday. 

All public schools are closed for classes on Tuesday for Election Day, as previously planned. 

• There is another, even longer list of schools that as of last night (Friday) lacked power; many of them have had their power restored already but many have not. 

The list of schools that were undamaged but lacked power as of Friday (as a spreadsheet) is posted here.   As a pdf on my website, it is here.  Check back on the DOE website over the weekend for updates as to which of these schools may NOT be reopening on Monday.

 

I dearly hope you and your family members and loved ones are all safe and sound.  Please feel free to email me if you have questions about this, and I will try to find out answers for you.

They're Furry And Furious: Puppets Protest At The U.S. Capitol : The Two-Way : NPR

They're Furry And Furious: Puppets Protest At The U.S. Capitol : The Two-Way : NPR:



They're Furry And Furious: Puppets Protest At The U.S. Capitol
by SHULA NEUMAN
November 03, 2012 2:48 PM

There's presidential politics and then there's puppet politics. You may recall that in the first presidential debate GOP contender Mitt Romney made a statement that caused the two worlds to collide.

"I am going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too," Romney said, referring to moderator Jim Lehrer. "But I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it."

Well, that brought forth a maelstrom of venom from those who love Big Bird and public broadcasting as a whole. There were seemingly endless memes of Big Bird, like this one or this one; more than 20,000-plus tweets; and the media debate over whether eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would even make a dent 

A Seat in the Room? « InterACT

A Seat in the Room? « InterACT:

A Seat in the Room?

by Lisa Alva Wood

A recent UTLA meeting gets underway. Who will fill open seats in the union’s House of Representatives? (photo by the author)

United Teachers Los Angeles may be on the brink of an unwelcome change.  Currently, there is a groundswell of teachers nominating themselves for the UTLA House of Representatives – teachers who have not been actively involved in UTLA in the past but who are motivated to do something now.  For teachers who are alienated by the current brand of union rhetoric or feel de-professionalized by narrow perspectives, this is a terribly important time.  It’s election time at the union.
The UTLA House of Reps is the policy-making body of the union.  Decisions made here are binding on UTLA leadership.  A UTLA member can nominate herself and likely be “elected” in an uncontested race until November 9.  What an excellent opportunity this is for bringing children and education to the forefront of policy debate, and for hearing education professionals who currently feel alienated or unrepresented.  This is also, perhaps, not in the best interest of the status quo.
Imagine if a critical mass of current teachers – those who were protected from layoffs at underperforming schools 

Schools Matter: Indiana DOE Stalls FOIA Naming Joel Klein and Jeb Bush and Detailing the Dog and Pony Tony Tour

Schools Matter: Indiana DOE Stalls FOIA Naming Joel Klein and Jeb Bush and Detailing the Dog and Pony Tony Tour:

Indiana DOE Stalls FOIA Naming Joel Klein and Jeb Bush and Detailing the Dog and Pony Tony Tour

by Storm

GUEST POST: 

Indiana Department of Education Fails to Release Documents on Tony Bennett, Jeb Bush, and Other School Privatizers

By Doug Martin

On Friday afternoon, just days before the next state supt. of public education will be elected, Indiana’s Public Access Counselor, Joseph B. Hoage, quietly voiced his opinion on the Indiana Department of Education failing to release Freedom of Information Act documents that likely, when forced by law to be made public, will show the crony capitalism behind Tony Bennett and Jeb Bush’s school privatization plan for Indiana.

Here is the background.  On February 16th, the Washington D.C. nonprofit, In the Public Interest, 

Parent Jeanette Smith at City Hall Sit-In for Education Justice

On Friday, November 2, 2012, parents, students, teachers and community members filled city hall and staged a sit-in, demanding an immediate moratorium on school closings and charter school expansion. Parent Jeanette Smith discusses why she is willing to be arrested to fight for a quality education for all students, not just those from families who can pay for it.

Vote NO on charter school Initiative 1240 (pass it on!) | Seattle Education

Vote NO on charter school Initiative 1240 (pass it on!) | Seattle Education:

Vote NO on charter school Initiative 1240 (pass it on!)

by seattleducation2011

Friends, neighbors, countrymen/women!

I urge you to join me in voting NO on I-1240, the charter schools initiative which is on the November 6 ballot, for the reasons outlined below.

Please pass it on!

My recommendation is to vote No on this flawed proposal which has been created and funded by a wealthy few, and whose core product is a very problematic concept with an extremely mixed track record.

Even Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has admitted that charters have serious problems: “…unfortunately, we have far too many mediocre charters and we have far too many charter schools that are absolutely low performing.” (Duncan’s address to the National Charter Schools Conference, July 1, 2010.)

Did you know that Initiative I-1240 has a “trigger” mechanism in it that allows as few as 51% of parents or teachers to convert an existing school into a charter? And this could happen in any kind of school, not just those that may be struggling. That means as many as 49% of parents (or teachers) could oppose this action but could not stop it.

Did you know that if I-1240 passes, a separate, new Charter Commission will be created to oversee the charter process, comprised of unelected political appointees who would have with no direct accountability to voters? Our existing elected school board would not have oversight of these charter schools.

This commission would cost an estimated $3 million to create — extra, costly bureaucracy which we cannot afford in these economically lean times.

I-1240 is not an organic, grassroots, effort with wide community support. Instead, it is bankrolled by a small group of wealthy political and business interests who paid about $2 million to get it on the ballot  and have spent upwards of $10 million on it so far. A number of these investors are not even from our state. (See: THE CHARTER PUSHERS: WHO IS BANKROLLING THE $8 MILLION EFFORT TO BRING CHARTERS TO WASHINGTON STATE?)

Washington voters have already said NO 3 times to privatizing public education via charters, and for good reason. This is an unnecessary diversion of attention and resources.

There are many troubling problems associated with charters — lack of public accountability or oversight, they are re-segregating our schools, they have selective enrollment, high attrition rates, lack of service for children with special needs, plus they simply are statistically no better than genuinely public schools.

In fact, 83 percent are no better, or are worse. See the 2009 CREDO Report by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes. It is the most comprehensive, peer-reviewed study of charter schools to date, and it was even funded by charter supporters, such as the Walton family, of Wal-Mart fame. Yet the results were not impressive for charters. It’s been a pretty damning study for their cause.

(I wrote about this here: The Pillars of Education Reform are Toppling, for Seattle Education 2010 and the Huffington Post.)

And take a look at the long list of community groups and organizations who oppose I-1240 versus the small group of business and political entities that support it: No on 1240 Tent vs Yes on 1240 Tent 

Those who oppose it include almost all of the local Democratic clubs, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, community groups like El Centro de la Raza, the WA State PTA and Parents Across America.

Those who support it include political, ed reform and business groups, a number of them financially connected to the Gates Foundation (which, unfortunately, supports privatization of public ed, increased testing and other damaging “reforms”). Here’s their list: League of Education Voters, Stand for Children (this is a political lobbying group that received $3.5 mil from Gates to set up shop in Seattle a few years ago), (so-called) Democrats for Ed Reform, Washington State Roundtable, Seattle Chamber of Commerce Association of Washington Business.

These groups do not represent public school families.

Already our state ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in per-pupil funding. We cannot afford to divert any of our already limited funds to charter schools with limited oversight that will serve only some children.

We need to remain focused on our existing schools and invest in them, not divert scarce resources to charter management companies and multimillion-dollar franchises like KIPP, Inc., Rocketship Education, Inc. or Green Dot, Inc. for less than a 1 in 5 chance of a better outcome for only a few students.

Let’s give all our schools and all our children the resources and creative autonomy they all need and deserve for a rich learning experience — and not limit creative and academic freedom to just a few lucky lottery winners.

For more information, please see:

The inconvenient truth about charter school Initiative 1240

Say NO to the Charter Schools Initiative

GUEST COLUMN | Sen. Kohl-Welles on charter schools (Queen Anne & Magnolia News)

No on I-1240

People for Our Public Schools

NO on 1240 Facebook page 

Charter School Scandals

Charter schools

Choice Without Equity: Charter School Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards

• Washington State PTA
• League of Women Voters
* State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn
• WASA – Washington Association of School Administrators
• WSSDA – Washington State School Directors Association Board
* Association of Washington School Principals
• Washington Education Association
* National Education Association
* Bellevue Education Association
* Edmonds Education Association
* Federal Way Education Association
* Franklin Pierce Education Association
* American Federation of Teachers
* Renton School Board
* Seattle Public School Board
* Tacoma School Board
* Eatonville School Board
* Evergreen School Board
* Franklin Pierce School Board
* Goldendale School Board
* Moses Lake School Board
* Onion Creek School Board
• Educational Service District 113
* Riverview School Board, serving Carnation, Duvall and parts of unincorporated East King County.
* Renton School District
* Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Jose Banda
* Superintendent Dennis Kip Herren, Auburn
* Superintendent Dr. Nick Brossoit, Edmonds
* Superintendent Steve Myers, Educational Service District 10
* Superintendent Vera Risdon, Renton
• Japanese-American Citizens League Board
• Seattle-King County NAACP
• El Centro de la Raza
* Northwest Progressive Institute
* Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective
* Asian Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment (APACE)
* Faith Action Network
* Japanese-American Citizens League Board
* Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC)
* Washington Community Action Network
• Parents and Friends for Tacoma Public Schools
• Parents Across America – Seattle chapter
* Parents Across America- Tri-Cities chapter
* Parents Across America-Tacoma chapter
* Parents Across America- Spokane chapter
* Senator Adam Kline
• 1st District Democrats
• 5th District Democrats
* 10th District Democrats
• 11th District Democrats
* 21st District Democrats
• 22nd District Democrats
* 23rd District Democrats
* 27th District Democrats
• 32nd District Democrats
• 33rd District Democrats
• 34th District Democrats
• 36th District Democrats
• 37th District Democrats
* 39th District Democrats
* 40th District Democrats
• 41st District Democrats
• 43rd District Democrats
• 45th District Democrats
• 46th District Democrats
• 48th District Democrats
• King County Democrats
* Lewis Country Democrats
* Mason County Democrats
• Pierce County Democrats
* Skagit County Democrats
* Whatcom County Democrats
* Pierce County Democrats
* Pierce County Young Democrats
* San Juan Central Democratic Committee
* Young Democrats of Skagit County
• Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle
* Kristine Lytton State Rep.40th District
• Citizens United for Responsible Education
• IUOE Local 609 (Operating Engineers)
* Washington Federation of State Employees
* Washington State Council of Firefighters
* Washington State Labor Council
* Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587
* Martin Luther King Central Labor Council
* Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity
* Pierce County Central Labor Council
• Association of Washington School Principals
• Northwest Progressive Institute
• UW Alumni Assn. Multicultural Alumni Partnership Board
* The Seattle Stranger
* Luis Moscoso, 1st District State Representative
* Derek Stanford, 1st District State Representative
* Lisa Brown, 3rd District State Senator
* Steve Conway, 29th District State Senator
* Steve Kirby, 29th District State Representative
* Maralyn Chase, 32nd District, State Senator
* Dave Upthegrove, 33rd District State Representative
* Joe Fitzgibbon, 34th District State Representative
* Joe McDermott, King County Council Member
* John Stokes, Bellevue City Council
*Tana Senn, Mercer Island City Council
* Carol Simpson, Newcastle City Council
* Ed Prince, Renton City Council
* Greg Taylor, Renton City Council
* Tom Vance, Sammamish City Council
* Sally Clark, Seattle City Council
*Jean Godden, Seatlle City Council
* Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Council
* Nick Licata, Seattle City Council
* Rob Holland, Port of Seattle Commissioner
* Will Hall, Shoreline City Council
* Chris Roberts, Shoreline City Council
* Stephanie Wright, Snohomish County Council
* Marty Campbell, Tacoma City Council
* Anders Ibsen, Tacoma City Council
* Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Council
• Wayne Au, PhD in education, parent, and editor of Rethinking Schools
• James Bible, President, Seattle-King County chapter of NAACP
• Scott Heinze (Tacoma School Board Director)
* Jamie Devereaux, Gray Middle School PTA, President
* Linda Hanson, former President, Washington State PTA
* Deborah Heart, legislative representative to Goldendale School District & Former President, WSSDA
* Kathy Leviton, Program Director, Renton Technical College
* Jim Martin, Former Assistant To Superintendent – Battle Ground & Former President Evergreen School Board Evergreen School District
* Jeffery Russell, President, Everett Public Schools Board of Directors
• Charlie Mas, Seattle Schools Community Forum blog
• Barbara de Michele,former School Board member, Issaquah School District
• Sue Peters, Seattle Education blog
• John Stokes, Bellevue City Council member
• Melissa Westbrook, Seattle Schools Community Forum Blog

Thanks, & remember to vote!

Sincerely,

Sue Peters

Seattle public schools parent

Co-founding editor, Seattle Education Blog

Founding member, Parents Across America

Contributing writer, the Huffington Post

All Things Education: Dear Reformies: Please stop speaking for my children.

All Things Education: Dear Reformies: Please stop speaking for my children.:

Dear Reformies: Please stop speaking for my children.

by Rachel Levy

To all of the Chris Arnolds out there:

How many kids do you have? How many are in the public schools? How many kids have you taught? I ask because I am a teacher and am a parent with actual children in public schools and I haven't seen any evidence that the policies you endorse are helping students or helping my children. In fact, I see that the policies you support are harmful: harmful to public schools, harmful to quality education, harmful to students, harmful to my children.

I understand that you don't agree. That you probably believe in the mission of the industry you work for (though not, apparently, enough to tell anyone that you work in said industry). That's fine (though I'd love to know how 

To be heard by the IEA leadership gets tougher. I still own the orange sweater. And I’m the new president of Skokie. « Fred Klonsky

To be heard by the IEA leadership gets tougher. I still own the orange sweater. And I’m the new president of Skokie. « Fred Klonsky:

To be heard by the IEA leadership gets tougher. I still own the orange sweater. And I’m the new president of Skokie.

by Fred Klonsky

Wearing the ugly orange sweater at the 2009 IEA RA. 


When Bob Haisman was IEA President and I was the only delegate to the NEA RA from Illinois who supported the merger of the AFT and the NEA, Haisman was cordial and dismissive. I really posed no challenge to the outcome he wanted. I was for the unity of the two national teacher unions. He opposed it. He won.
When Ann Davis was President, I would go to the mic. She would call on me. I would ask a question. She would respond with, “Next question.” 
When Ken Swanson was President, he just would ignore me at the mic. He wouldn’t see me.
This led me to wearing a bright ugly orange sweater to the state conventions. The better to be seen.
Such is the nature of democracy

INFOGRAPHIC: YOUTH AND THE 2012 ELECTION - CIRCLE

CIRCLE:

INFOGRAPHIC: YOUTH AND THE 2012 ELECTION

For Immediate Release:

Friday, November 3, 2012

Contact: Brad Luna, 202-812-8140 (cell)

brad@lunamediagroup.com

(Release continues below, after infographic)

Premiere Youth Research Center Releases Infographic Showing Newly Released Poll Results on Youth and the 2012 Election

National Press Call Scheduled for November 7^th to Provide Exclusive Youth Turnout #, Expert Analysis on Young Voters

Medford/Somerville, Mass – With just 4 days until the 2012 general election, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Education (CIRCLE), the premiere youth think tank based at Tufts University, today released an infographic and key summary of polling data, which was released over the last week on youth and the 2012 election.

The infographic released today illustrates the poll’s findings relating to the role young voters are playing in this year’s election, their feelings about the candidates and the top items influencing youth voters.  The poll data and infographic were featured today in a piece published on the Huffington Post Politics vertical:  http://huff.to/SEEoqv

The key summary and analysis from the CIRCLE poll, commissioned by the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF), released this week includes:

·       Young Voters and The Horserace: 52.1% Obama v. 35.1% Romney

·       Knowledge of State Voting Laws Still Lacking

·       Since Summer: Obama + 10 points with African-Americans and +14 points with Latino Youth

·       Outreach to youth: 11.5% of college youth but just 5.8% of non-college youth have been contacted on behalf of Obama; 3.5% of college youth and 6.6% of non-college youth for Romney

National Press Call to Provide Analysis from Youth Experts, Release Exclusive Youth Turnout #

At 12noon (ET) on the day after the election (Wednesday, November 7) Rock the Vote and Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) will hold a joint telephonic press conference where experts at both groups will provide in-depth analysis regarding the role young Americans played on Election Day, and researchers from CIRCLE will release exclusive estimates on the youth turnout rate for the 2012 election. 

WHO:           Heather Smith, President, Rock the Vote and Peter Levine, Director, CIRCLE

WHEN:        12noon (ET) – 1pm (ET) on Wednesday, November 7, 2012

WHERE:      Toll-Free (US & Canada):    (888) 567-1602

         International Dial-In (Toll):    (201) 604-5049

** To reserve a line for the call, please RSVP to zoe@berlinrosen.com or brad@lunamediagroup.com. **

# # #

CIRCLE (www.civicyouth.org) is a nonpartisan, independent, academic research center that studies young people in politics and presents detailed data on young voters in all 50 states. CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a generous gift from the Pew Charitable Trusts and is part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. CIRCLE's reputation for reliable, independent, timely research has been hailed by experts in the field of civic partnership, such as Harvard University professor Robert Putnam who said CIRCLE has brought "the best and most serious research to one place.”

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service (http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/) is a national leader whose model and research are setting the standard for higher education’s role in civic engagement education. Serving every school of Tufts University, Tisch College creates an enduring culture that prepares students to be lifelong active citizens.

Tufts University (http://www.tufts.edu/) located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized as one of the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across the university's schools is widely encouraged.

United Illuminating (UI): One of biggest donors to Mayor Finch’s effort to undermine democracy in Bridgeport - Wait, What?

United Illuminating (UI): One of biggest donors to Mayor Finch’s effort to undermine democracy in Bridgeport - Wait, What?:

United Illuminating (UI): One of biggest donors to Mayor Finch’s effort to undermine democracy in Bridgeport

by jonpelto

True the $10,000 donation from United Illuminating to Residents for a Better Bridgeport occurred before Hurricane Sandy hit.

And true an extra $10,000 wouldn’t allow a substantively different response by UI to this natural disaster.

But with 41,794 UI customers still out of power as of 11:00 a.m. today – November 3^rd, 2012, – a week after the storm hit, the symbolism is – let’s just say – shocking!

UI is a Connecticut public utility company; it provides a public benefit so it is regulated by the State of Connecticut.  It exists because we, the people, allow it to exist.

Here we are, a state in which 10 percent of the people are unemployed and nearly 1 in 5 

New AJC analysis: Fewer poor kids attend charter schools in metro area. Does that matter to you? | Get Schooled

New AJC analysis: Fewer poor kids attend charter schools in metro area. Does that matter to you? | Get Schooled:

New AJC analysis: Fewer poor kids attend charter schools in metro area. Does that matter to you?

by Maureen Downey

A new analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds fewer low-income students enrolled in metro area charter schools.
Whether these new findings alarm you will depend on whether you believe charters ought to focus on areas with high poverty and lower opportunity or whether they ought to be an option even for parents in areas with high performing public schools. The trend nationwide is for charters to open in middle-class communities where parents want more specialization for their kids.
Having watched this movement from the very start, I can attest to the shifts in both goals and definition. I