School Psychology Awareness Week: Know Your Own Strengths — Whole Child Education

School Psychology Awareness Week: Know Your Own Strengths — Whole Child Education:

School Psychology Awareness Week: Know Your Own Strengths

November 12, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

This week whole child partner National Association of School Psychologists is hostingSchool Psychology Awareness Week. Designed around the theme "Know Your Own Strengths. Discover them. Share them. Celebrate them.," this year's program looks to help students and schools find and celebrate their strengths in the school community, their academics, and their lives.

The program provides resources and activities member school psychologists can use to engage communities to help students find and develop their individual strengths. Families and educators can access resources year-round on resilience, back-to-school, behavior, diversity, health and wellness, crisis and safety, assessment and instruction, social and emotional development, special populations, and more.

Jersey Jazzman: K12 Inc Comes Clean: "Reform" Is All About the $

Jersey Jazzman: K12 Inc Comes Clean: "Reform" Is All About the $:

K12 Inc Comes Clean: "Reform" Is All About the $

by Duke

Ken Libby points us to the transcript of a K12 Inc. conference call to investors. K12 is a charter school management company that specializes in "virtual" or "blended" learning, replacing brick-and-mortal schools with on-line instruction. NEPC released a report this past summer that shows K12's students fall further behind students in traditional schools. K12's school in Tennessee is under fire for poor performance, and critics in Florida say the schools there have unqualified staff. K12 is heavily involved in politics, lobbying and making campaign contributions to support friendly state and local officials.

Given all this, the way K12 presents itself to investors is fascinating (all emphases mine):

Now I would like to make some brief comments on the elections. First, I would like to congratulate President Obama in his reelection. Secretary Duncan has done a fantastic job over the past 4 years, advancing things like common core, 

On "Failing" High Schools and Reform Churn-and-Burn: Two Case Studies - Dana Goldstein

On "Failing" High Schools and Reform Churn-and-Burn: Two Case Studies - Dana Goldstein:

On "Failing" High Schools and Reform Churn-and-Burn: Two Case Studies

by Dana Goldstein

Between periods at Crenshaw High School in South L.A., May 2011.
Let's say a certain school's reform plan has yielded measurable academic gains (especially for disabled students), a decrease in student suspensions and expulsions, and is enthusiastically supported by the principal, teachers, and many parents. The plan has also garnered national interest, attracting funding from a major philanthropy and the Obama administration, too. This school is by no means perfect; Latino students, in particular, need significant help. And the school in question has a history of outspoken activism, with parents and teachers partnering to demand better textbooks and technology, and some teachers closely-affiliated with their union and loudly opposed to popular reform strategies such as merit pay tied to student test scores. Should this school's reform plan be halted, or allowed to continue its experimentation?
This isn't a hypothetical case, but the real story of Crenshaw High in South Los Angeles, which I reported on 

Schools Matter: Obama Pushes Apartheid Charter Movement in Georgia Over the Top

Schools Matter: Obama Pushes Apartheid Charter Movement in Georgia Over the Top:

Obama Pushes Apartheid Charter Movement in Georgia Over the Top

by Jim Horn

My first year of teaching was in Georgia in 1971, one year after the end of segregation in Washington County, where I would teach Title I English at TJ Elder Jr. High School.  The personnel director (before people became human resources) wore a white suit and white patent leather loafers, and he grinned widely as he told me that he was glad to welcome another young white family to Sandersville.

The head of the little English department at Elder was little blue-haired woman who leaned against the door frame as I dug around the book room looking for something, I didn't know what, that would be good for my students, who were almost all black, since the year before private Baptist academies had sprung up all over Georgia to keep the white children away the black ones.  The department chair told me I shouldn't be worrying too much about choosing books that would work, for as said, smiling sweetly, "after all, Mr. Horn, a nigra is a 

Diane in the Evening 11-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

A Bad Joke, Not Funny

by dianerav

A reader passed along this speculation about a possible replacement for Duncan.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Superintendent’s Advice to President Obama by dianerav Jere Hochman runs an exemplary school district in Bedford, New York. Before the election, he wrote an eloquent letter (which I posted though I may not have used his name) on why everyone should support President Obama. He convinced me. He also promised me that after the election, he would speak out about the need to change the punitive testing and accountability policies of this administration. He is speaking out. The biggest problem in education tod... more »

School Tech Connect: A Day With A Book

School Tech Connect: A Day With A Book:

A Day With A Book

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

What a great, luxurious Veterans' Day. I treated myself to a CPL copy of Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks. It's weird how that when I'm thirsty for reading, I actually check out a book and read it, rather than endure exercises in reading comprehension, context clues, or even that great Holy Grail of education, critical thinking. People who howl the loudest about the lack of critical thinking in others are very often on the darndest bandwagons.

Caleb's Crossing isn't my typical fare, but  Brooks is such a remarkable writer, and the story is so compelling, that I had trouble putting it down until about 2 PM today. In one scene, the protaganist, Bethia Mayfield, is explaining the concept of original sin to a young Wampanoag she has befriended, and he's bewildered by the concept in spite of her insistence that it makes sense. It all reminds me of the poor individuals who have tried to 

Tony at the Red Line Tap. « Fred Klonsky

Tony at the Red Line Tap. « Fred Klonsky:

Tony at the Red Line Tap.

by Fred Klonsky

“Marty. Got any of the Antares from Argentina left?”
“I saved a couple of bottles just for you, Freddy.”
“You’re a sweet-heart.”
“Damn, Klonsky. I haven’t seen you for weeks,” said Tony. “I thought you had fallen off a fiscal cliff.”
“Right. What the hell is with that? Three things that I’m pretty sure didn’t get talked about during the past two years on the campaign trail or in a debate. Poor people. Education reform. And fiscal cliffs. And now all of a sudden it is a world ending crisis.”
Tony looked at me with a smirk. “You listened. You believed. You got snookered. How have you lived in the land that made Eddie Vrdolyak fast so long and yet not developed a thick bullshit shield around you? It is like my 

Firestorm Erupts Over Virginia's Education Goals : NPR

Firestorm Erupts Over Virginia's Education Goals : NPR:

Firestorm Erupts Over Virginia's Education Goals

by CLAUDIO SANCHEZ

 As part of Virginia's waiver to opt out of mandates set out in the No Child Left Behind law, the state has created a controversial new set of education goals that are higher for white and Asian kids than for blacks, Latinos and students with disabilities.

Virginia Democratic state Sen. Donald McEachin first read about the state's new performance goals for schoolchildren in a newspaper editorial.

"And I was shocked to find that the state board of education [was] putting in place permanent disparities between different subgroups — Asians at the top, African-Americans at the bottom," says McEachin.

Here's what the Virginia state board of education actually did. It looked at students' test scores in reading and math and then proposed new passing rates. In math it set an acceptable passing rate at 82 percent for Asian students, 68 percent for whites, 52 percent for Latinos, 45 percent for blacks and 33 percent for kids with disabilities.

Alarmed by these numbers, McEachin and members of the Legislature's black caucus denounced the new policy as a "backwards-looking scheme."

"If we don't demand the best of our children, we won't receive the best," says McEachin.

At a meeting of the state board of education in late 

Obama’s next steps | Outside the Cave

Obama’s next steps | Outside the Cave:

Obama’s next steps

by Stephen Lazar

I was planning on writing a piece about things I hope will change in a second Obama administration, but Sam Chaltain and Jose Vilson pretty much nailed everything I wanted to say.
Jose first:

We thought you would bring fair trials to the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and close it in your first year. The gates remain open.
We thought you would bring about actual peace in the Middle East. You might have killed Osama bin Laden, but you are equally responsible for the drones dropping on innocent civilians there, and the perpetuation of the Green Zone in Baghdad while babies die right outside its gates.

And then, Sam:

When it comes to public education, let’s start by recognizing that Race to the Top was well-

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Race and Education

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Race and Education:

Race and Education

by Melissa Westbrook

We are just coming off a presidential election where, to some degree, race mattered.  Governor Romney lost because the GOP seems to be tone-deaf to the fact that what they allowed various GOP officials, including Romney, to say about Hispanics and women really DID matter.  The GOP can continue this at their own risk but the numbers are against them (and so is history and common decency).

The NY Times had two articles about students and race and its impacts that I thought worthy of posting.  Both are about Asian-Americans.

One article is about Asian-Americans in college.  This is a large and diverse group of students with varying outcomes.  By the numbers, Chinese, Japanese and Korean-American students tend to do fairly well in school.  Pacific Islanders, Samoans, Vietnamese-Americans tend to do less well.   Add into those groups Pakistani, Indian, Filipinos, and Cambodians and you get a lot of people under one umbrella who are wildly different in their attitudes and outcomes about K-12 public education.   The article is referencing college students in Texas against the backdrop of a US Supreme Court case over the use of race in college admissions.

Asian-Americans, who make up 5 percent of the population, are the fastest growing racial group, with 

Relief Is Not Enough: Nov 14–20th Climate Solidarity Actions | OccupyWallSt.org

Relief Is Not Enough: Nov 14–20th Climate Solidarity Actions | OccupyWallSt.org:

Relief Is Not Enough: Nov 14–20th Climate Solidarity Actions

by OccupyWallSt

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, New Yorkers are showing the best of humanity, self-organizing to provide mutual aid in spite of the establishment's continued failure to turn the lights back on. Free kitchens were distributing hot meals within hours. Thousands of pounds of food, clothing, and other donations have been distributed across Red Hook, Staten Island, the Rockaways, and Coney Island. Cleanup of flood damage has begun. We must continue to provide for each other and, as we do, show the world that another way of relating to one another is not only possible, but necessary in the face of economic and ecological catastrophe.
But we must not forget that the twin catastrophes of climate change and capitalism are deeply interconnected. The market sees only resources to be extracted, not a world to be shared or communities to be protected. The 1% continue to push for (and the banks continue to finance) more coal, oil, and natural gas, and they don't care 

Students Last: Over the Educational Cliff

Students Last: Over the Educational Cliff:

Over the Educational Cliff

by Students Last

Washington D.C. - U.S. Senator LaLa Verdad of New York released this statement today:

"Louise, no matter what happens, I'm glad I came with you."

Lately my office has been receiving communication from constituents about the state of education. Some of you have expressed annoyance over the frequency and length of the tests your child has had to take. Some of you were surprised to find out that the teacher you and your child love has been deemed "ineffective" as determined by value-added measures. A few of you were worried that the government maintains decades of data on your child. Some of you are angry that the unproven Common Core is forcing teachers to robotically deliver lessons and demanding six-year-olds read oodles of non-fiction. My question to you is: where the hell have you people been as our children went over the "educational cliff?"

I know, I know you didn't realize all these "reforms" were effecting your kid or yourschool district so you didn't give a shit. Well now that it's dawned on you that it is your kid and your district 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Gloria Romero gets it wrong: HALF THE CALIFORNIA ELECTORATE DIDN’T VOTE

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Gloria Romero gets it wrong: HALF THE CALIFORNIA ELECTORATE DIDN’T VOTE:

Gloria Romero gets it wrong: HALF THE CALIFORNIA ELECTORATE DIDN’T VOTE

if we are to believe Romero’s fuzzy math:

A quarter of eligible voters gave Democrats supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature. 

But we shouldn’t …see following!

BY GLORIA ROMERO / OP-ED FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER | HTTP://BIT.LY/UK0XNH

Published: Nov. 9, 2012 Updated: Nov. 12, 2012 6:48 a.m.  ::  Pundits called it the most important election of our lifetime.
Yet, half of the California electorate – grown larger due to the ease of online registration – sat out the election. Only 52.8 percent of the electorate bothered to vote; 9.6 million of the 18.2 million voters just didn't show up.Orange County reported a 54 percent turnout, slightly better than San Diego's 53.3 percent but far short of San Francisco's 56.7 percent. Fresno County was just dismal ,at 39.1 percent. The highest was Alpine County at 84.9 percent, but since size matters, that translated to 656 voters of its 773 electorate voting. Los Angeles County turned out at an anemic 49.8 percent, but that translated to 2.4 million voters.
On Election Night and for the first time in decades, California became a truly blue state – with Democrats capturing a supermajority of both legislative houses and the power that comes with it: The right to raise taxes, previously blocked by an ever-growing irrelevant Republican Party, which had increasingly only become relevant for legislative budget votes. And then it was to just say “no.” Now even that relevance was gone.
The majority of the half of the electorate bothering to vote rallied to “save public education” and passed the governor's tax initiative (Proposition 30). Indeed, Californians passed 85 percent of school bond and parcel tax measures, authorizing some $12.8 billion in borrowing.
The majority of the half of the electorate who bothered to vote was swayed by opponents of Prop. 32, which sought to cut the specia

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Sun-Times has a 'democracy problem" of its own

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Sun-Times has a 'democracy problem" of its own:

Sun-Times has a 'democracy problem" of its own

by Mike Klonsky

The landslide victory for Chicago's elected school board referendum has the Sun-Times editorial board in a tizzy.Today's editorial begins by answering its own question:

"Does the Chicago Board of Education have a democracy problem?  Without a doubt."

My guess is that most of the 65,763 yes voters (as compared  to the 10,174 no voters) would have offered a slightly stronger response -- like " OH HELL YES!"

I mean -- problem with democracy? Our autocratic mayor's hand-picked, elitist billionaire board has never even 

Oh Great A Pop News Quiz (on a holiday): Catching up on what happened before the hurricane | GothamSchools

News quiz: Catching up on what happened before the hurricane | GothamSchools:

News quiz: Catching up on what happened before the hurricane

by Rachel Cromidas

Much like the rest of New York City, for the last two weeks, we’ve been focused almost exclusively on Hurricane Sandy‘s effects on the city’s schools. Now, while Sandy’s aftermath will continue to be an education story for a long time, we’re also getting back to work on other stories that we’ve been following.
It feels like it was far more than three weeks ago that we were publishing stories about college-readiness rates, a city middle school initiative, and how the Department of Education does — or does not — use test scores.
If we needed a refresher, our guess is that our readers need one, too. So we created GothamSchools’ first-ever news quiz:

This Week In Education: Campaign 2012: CA Democratic Party Attacks Pro-Reform Democrat

This Week In Education: Campaign 2012: CA Democratic Party Attacks Pro-Reform Democrat:

Attention Bootlicker ALERT!

Campaign 2012: CA Democratic Party Attacks Pro-Reform Democrat

Last week I told you about the substantive differences between pro-reform Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom and pro-teacher Betsy Butler (Showdown In Santa Monica). Over the weekend, I found out that it wasn't just the teachers unions fighting to protect Butler, the incumbent.  The California Democratic Party joined in paying for negative flyers against Bloom.    Yep, the California Democrats, who are closely allied with the teachers unions. 

Endorsements between Democratic candidates are pretty common.  We know from recent news accounts that teachers unions sometimes fund anti-charter candidates even if they're Tea Party

 
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER!

Chicago Teachers Union leaders to tell their story in Philadelphia | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Chicago Teachers Union leaders to tell their story in Philadelphia | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Chicago Teachers Union leaders to tell their story in Philadelphia

by Ron Whitehorne

The ideas expressed in this guest post are solely the opinions of the author. The Notebook invites readers to submit guest posts on current topics in Philadelphia education. Submissions should be sent tonotebook@thenotebook.org.

---

by Ron Whitehorn
The recently concluded Chicago teachers strike has had an impact far beyond the Windy City. There are lessons to be learned that have broad relevance for teachers and all those concerned about public education here in Philadelphia, where the education crisis is similar but even more extreme than the circumstances in Chicago.
What were some of those lessons?

Image: 

Photo Credits: 

Flickr/Shutter Stutter

read more

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Odds and Ends

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Odds and Ends:

Odds and Ends

by Melissa Westbrook

There's a sinkhole problem in West Seattle directly on the route that buses to Pathfinder take.  This story from our friends at the West Seattle Blog.

Thought-provoking story this morning on NPR about how Eastern and Western parents view their children and their ability to learn.  (I have often thought that persistence, resilience, and encouragement are more important than what intellectual capacities you are born with.)

Interesting article from the Huffington Post about who serves special needs children especially those with more severe disabilities.

The high cost of educating students with special needs is disproportionately falling on traditional public schools as other students increasingly opt for alternatives that aren't always readily open to those requiring special education. 

The issue is particularly acute in districts where enrollment has declined due to demographic changes such as low birth rates and population shifts combined with an influx of charter schools 

Charters in Washington State

by Melissa Westbrook

I am collecting names for those that would like to continue watching over the charter school issue.  Contact me at charterfreewashington@gmail.com and include your area of interest (watchdog, legal, etc.) and your phone number. 

Pass / Fail : USC program trains counselors to help students in military families | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : USC program trains counselors to help students in military families | 89.3 KPCC:

USC program trains counselors to help students in military families

by By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Duane Brown, his wife Marria and Rita Beal talk about their days in the Beal kitchen. Credit: Grant Slater/KPCC
By one count, close to 100,000 California public school kids have at least one parent serving in the military. Advocates say educators have done a poor job supporting these kids at school through the stressful times before, during, and after military deployments. That’s changing.
The Beal family of Westminster is ready for the change. Corey and Rita Beal recently moved into their new house in north Orange County. Their three kids are settled into their rooms, the four floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are up in the living room, but their wedding pictures aren’t hung yet.

Rita Beal says there’s really nothing new about moving into a new house; the family's lived in “over a dozen in the last 10 years,” she said. Husband Corey has served in the U.S. Army for 13 years. In that time the family has lived on and off military bases.
On this day the Beals did something they haven’t done very often - walking together to pick up their second 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: 23 CANDIDATES FILE PAPERS TO RUN FOR 3 L.A. SCHOOL BOARD SEATS + List of Candidates

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: 23 CANDIDATES FILE PAPERS TO RUN FOR 3 L.A. SCHOOL BOARD SEATS + List of Candidates:

23 CANDIDATES FILE PAPERS TO RUN FOR 3 L.A. SCHOOL BOARD SEATS + List of Candidates

The March election could change the course of a new teacher evaluation system, the union's dealings with charters and, possibly, the future of Supt. John Deasy. Voters will also pick community college board members.

BY HOWARD BLUME, LOS ANGELES TIMES | HTTP://LAT.MS/SFN0P5

November 11, 2012  ::  The race for three Los Angeles school board seats — and an expected showdown between the teachers union and its opponents — began to take shape Saturday with the deadline for candidates to announce their plans to run.
Depending on who wins, the Board of Education could change course on a new teacher evaluation system, on its dealings with charter schools and even on the future of L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, one of the nation's highest-profile district administrators. Deasy's aggressive policy push has prompted the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, to oppose the school district in court. And in March, the ballot box will become another forum for settling some of these issues.
The union is the most persistent force in district elections, but it doesn't always win, and other groups also hope to shape the outcome, including the California Charter Schools Assn. and a coalition of business and civic leaders that, in recent elections, rallied together under the banner of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
In recent elections, Villaraigosa has sometimes gone head to head against the union, spearheading fundraising efforts to elect favored candidates. But he's leaving office, and it isn't yet clear if he'll try to maintain his kingmaker role — or even if he'll be able to do so.
One-term incumbent Nury Martinez, who represents the east San Fernando Valley in District 6, is widely expected to run for the City Council seat about to be vacated by Tony Cardenas, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

●●smf: Cardenas’ seat (CD 6) – with two years remaining - will be presumably filled in a Special Election. It is not up for election in the current March Primary/May General Election cycle.

Martinez had been elected four years ago with backing from the teachers union. But she has become perhaps the staunchest ally of