Thursday, December 13, 2012

NYC Public School Parents: Jim Devor on how the innovative admission plan of D13 & D15 school was engineered

NYC Public School Parents: Jim Devor on how the innovative admission plan of D13 & D15 school was engineered:

Jim Devor on how the innovative admission plan of D13 & D15 school was engineered

by Leonie Haimson

Recently, the Daily News Editorial Page had the unique occasion to sing the praises of a progressive targeted admissions program that the Community Education Councils for Districts 13 ("CEC-13") and 15 ("CEC-15") wrested from the DoE as part of the new [re]construction of PS 133 in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights. In particular, the Daily News voiced strong approval of the plan to set aside 30% of future Kindergarten admissions for immigrant and poor children in a "gentrifying" school.

By all accounts, this was the very first time under the Bloomberg administration that the DoE had agreed to implement a diversity program. How that came to be is a story of cooperation between CECs and the political savvy to take advantage of the unusual circumstances presented to them. As such, the following is the unofficial Reader's Digest version of the saga:

Once upon a time, the School Construction Authority ("SCA") claimed there was no available space in D15 (which includes Cobble Hill, Carroll

Big Education Ape - SPECIAL Mid Day Banana Break 12-13-12 #soschat #edreform

Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break

Teacher Tips for the Impending Apocolypse

by NYC Educator

As I'm certain you all know, the world is due to end a week from tomorrow. Not only that, but if the UFT does not agree to an evaluation that AFT President Randi Weingarten just labeled "junk science," Mayor Bloomberg will impose draconian cuts on the school system, just because he can. After all, mayoral control means he can do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, and if you don't like it, you can just take a hike, pal.

Me, I'm giving a test on Friday. This makes perfect sense to me. I mean, why waste our last day on earth teaching things that, let's be realistic now, will only be of use for less than 24 hours? Better to take a good measure of what we've done so far. Now here's the beauty part. Everyone knows how traumatic it is to fail a test. But no one will fail this test, because guess what? I'm not spending my last hours on earth grading tests.

Plus, Friday is my department's test day. I'm a team player, and I want to make sure my kids are not burdened

Northwest Philly reacts to Philadelphia school closings proposal

by thenotebook

by staff at NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Northwest Philadelphia is home to six of 37 schools which the School District has proposed to close by the end of the school year.

The schools slated to close are Germantown High School, Theodore Roosevelt Middle School and Robert Fulton Elementary, which are located in Germantown. Also on the list are John F. McCloskey and John L. Kinsey elementaries in West Oak Lane and Jay Cooke Elementary in Logan.
The closings would affect more than 2,600 students in Northwest Philadelphia.
The School Reform Commission, which has the final say in the matter, is expected to make its decisions in March.
As word of the proposal filtered out into the community, many shared their reactions with NewsWorks.

Word was just getting out about the projected school closure when children were arriving for classes on Thursday.

Photo Credits:

Brad Larrison for NewsWorks

Response: Rhee Org. Claims Support For Collective Bargaining

by Alexander Russo

StudentsFirst has sent along this collection of quotes and newspaper articles for you to chew through, each of the purporting to show that Rhee and StudentsFirst support collective barginging and have done so several times in the past.
It's worth noting that SF's first comment on the this topic this week got at the substance of some of the Rhee comments below -- that focusing on collective bargaining and union issues is a distraction, not a central part of the Rhee agenda for making schools better. Actions speak louder than words, I can imagine the labor side of this argument saying. Most of the items collected below are rhetorical, rather than campaign donations or introduction of legislation. Most of those listed in the previous post focus on actions.
Read on, make of it what you will. Compare this list to the previous one. I'm just passing notes between AFT and

Speak out about the school-to-prison pipeline

by pureparents

Yesterday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin convened a hearing on the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a way of describing the way some school policies and practices may simply push students – particularly low-income students and students of color – out of school and into jail. Zero tolerance policies, school closings, high-stakes testing, and other factors contribute to this devastating situation. This was an unprecedented hearing, and, unlike the panels of corporate reformers we more often see gathered to share their positions, this time … →

To The Superintendent and the Seattle School Board:

by Melissa Westbrook

The parents and communities of SPS are worried. You know that, right?

You are already enrolling kindergarteners and students new to SPS and soon will be have open enrollment. What can you seriously tell people about what schools will be where and what will be offered?

There are many, many things that are in flux, in question and downright hazy. And they have been for a long time.

There are many details but it boils down to a few key things:

- Program placement. This drives almost everything done in our district. Enrollment, facilities, what types of

Ten Ten Wilshire event this Sunday — Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD 2013

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

Please join #LAUSD board candidate Robert D. Skeels this Sunday for a 1010 Wilshire Blvd Rooftop Fundraising Reception. j.mp/VAthxV
— Diane Ravitch (@DianeRavitch) December 13, 2012

Join us for an evening of conversation on educational policy on the spectacular 1010 Wilshire rooftop. Meet the board candidate who has been endorsed by many nationally renowned education experts including: Dr. Diane Ravitch, Susan Ohanian, and Dr. Stephen Krashen.
Sign up on facebook or www.robertdskeelsforschoolboard.org
Rooftop Fundraiser for Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD 2013

Connecticut’s leading education reform PR flack (spokesman) heads for the border…

by jonpelto

Tags: Achievement First ConnAD ConnCAN Education Reform Malloy Patrick Riccards Stefan Pryor
First came Achievement First, the large charter school management company that was co-founded by Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor. The people who were the financial backers of Achievement First then created ConnCAN and ConnAD, the two lobbying and advocacy groups designed to support the effort to shift more state funds to Achievement First [...]

(Read more...)

All Aboard the Rephorm Train to Memphis

by edushyster2012

That scent in the air isn’t Memphis-style barbecue but the rich bouquet of education rephorm.

Today our tour of the rephormiest places in America takes us south, to good old Memphis, Tennessee. That unmistakable scent wafting through the air isn’t dry ribs slow cookin’ in a pit, but the rich bouquet of education rephorm. Reader: I give you the Achievement School District, a bold experiment in excellence and innovation that will take the bottom 5% of students in Tennessee and catapult them straight to the top 25%. What’s the ASD’s secret recipe? Take old, failing schools and replace LIFO lifers with fresh, new teachers and administrators. Now add high expectations, toss in a bushel of buzzwords — and don’t forget the spin. Presto chango — Elvis has left the building.
Less than a year into the New Orlean’s style rephorm-over, the Achievement School District’s numbers are off the charts. By numbers, I’m referring NOT to student test scores at the 6 ASD schools —they ranked in the 16th

Swooshes and Balances: Oregon's 21st Century Governance

by Kris Alman

Co-chairs Barnhart, Burdick and Berger and members of the Joint Interim Committee on Economic Development,

I am here on behalf of the Emergency Coalition Against Austerity and the affinity groups to which I belong: Tax Fairness Oregon and Oregon Save Our Schools.

The foremost reason this committee should oppose the Economic Impact Investment Act is because secret deals are decidedly undemocratic. The democratic process demands a thoughtful debate. Having a public hearing to both introduce this bill and its amendments will not allow this.

But I will elaborate further on why this bill is bad. According to classical economic theory, Say’s Law states, “Supply creates its own demand.”[1] Accordingly, profit-seeking businesses will hire job seekers willing to work

Welcome new Parents Across America chapters! Support PAA! | Parents Across America

Support PAA! | Parents Across America:

Philly affiliate files ethics complaint against foundation

by pureparents

Our Philadelphia founding member, Helen Gym, shared news reports that her group, Parents United for Public Education, and others have filed an ethics complaint against the William Penn Foundation and the Boston Consulting Group, alleging that BCG was acting as a lobbyist when it developed a plan for the School District of Philadelphia including major school closures and charter expansion, funded through and at the direction of the foundation. BCG would have been required to disclose their donors, many of … →

Welcome new Atlanta chapter!

by pureparents

Welcome new chapter, PAA-Atlanta/GA/Atlanta Public Schools! We’re delighted to welcome another new chapter, this one in Atlanta. Founder Kimberly Brooks is a former PTA president who is studying for her masters degree. Parents in Atlanta are discouraged by the well-known test cheating scandal and recent passage of charter school expansion laws in the state. They feel their voices are not being heard. Kimberly brings a lot of enthusiasm to our national network! You can contact her at kimberlybrooks.kim@gmail.com Welcome, Kimberly … →

Welcome new Michigan chapter!

by pureparents

Welcome new chapter in Utica, MI We are excited to have a new chapter in Utica, Michigan, called Parents Across Utica Community Schools. They reached out to PAA for help with their Broad superintendent and a Board President who also runs a “virtual learning academy.” They are asking for our help – please “like” the Parents Across Utica Community Schools Facebook page and follow them for updates and action alerts. Their story, which follows, can be found in somewhat … →

Speak out about the school-to-prison pipeline

by pureparents

Support PAA!

by pureparents

SUPPORT PAA! Please use our Donate button to help us continue our important work supporting public school parents and children.

Here are some effects of PAA’s parent power in 2012:

PAA challenged parent trigger legislation and won (so far!) in Florida and across the nation.

We preempted efforts to use the “Won’t Back Down” movie to push parent trigger laws; the movie was roundly panned as propaganda by film critics and ticket sales were dismal.

We co-wrote and promoted a National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing which currently has nearly 14,000 individual and 470 group endorsers including school boards.

We pointed out major flaws in standardized tests, most notably in Pineapplegate.“

We reached out to Congress and to parents and the public with letters, fact sheets, and position papers on charter schools, testing, class size, budgets, and other key education issues.

Our leaders published articles in such places as the book, “Educational Courage,” the New York Times, and the Washington Post and were quoted or interviewed in nearly every major national news outlet from People Magazine and USA TODAY to the Wall Street Journal and Education Week to NPR to CNN and MSNBC.

Our chapters and affiliates had many local successes fighting corporate reform and supporting quality public education for every child. These stories can be found every week in our newsletter and on our new website, www.parentsacrossamerica.org, where parents can also join in an Action of the Week.

Perhaps the best indication of our growing strength is the near doubling of our chapters and affiliates, which now number 38 across 21 states. We welcome parents and parent-centered public school advocacy groups to join us as we raise our voices in support of our children and our schools.

Unlike asrtroturf “parent” groups, we are an all-volunteer organization with little funding for our expenses beyond individual donations. We need your support to continue raising parents’ voices in the fight for our public schools and our children’s education. Please give generously!

Diane in the Evening 12-13-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

A Bizarre Article Planted by StudentsFirst

by dianerav

I usually ignore editorials and opinion articles in the tabloids of New York City because 99% say the same things: public schools are bad, public school teachers are awful or criminal or should be fired, and charter schools are all great.
Today, however, someone on Twitter asked me about an opinion piece in the Daily News. I read it and discovered it was written by someone who said he was the father of twin daughters in kindergarten in Brooklyn. The girls were in different classes. The father is upset because he can tell that one teacher is great and the other

A Fab New Program: America for America

by dianerav

Friends and readers, many years ago I worked for a small magazine. Once in a while, we would receive a submission from a completely unknown writer. We said “it came over the transom.” Now to understand the expression, you have to know what a transom is. It’s the movable glass panel on a hinge over the door. You left it open to get air circulation, in the days before air-conditioning. So, if you worked in this little magazine, you might have an article literally tossed over the transom, unsolicited. Who knew? Maybe it would be the next great

The Outrageous Attacks on Susan Rice

by dianerav

I don’t usually comment on matters outside education, but I had to say something about the bullying of Susan Rice.
I don’t think I ever met Susan, but I knew her mother fairly well when I worked at the Brookings Institution, so I followed Susan’s remarkable career.
Susan Rice graduated from Stanford University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She was a Rhodes Scholar with double degrees from Oxford University. She was on the staff of the National Security Council and an

Randi Weingarten’s Excellent Proposal for the Teaching Profession

by dianerav

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, understands that teachers must be better prepared in the future. At present, the standards for entry into teaching are a hodgepodge, are set by every state and district at varying levels, and many new teachers arrive with an online degree or with only a few weeks of “training.” This is not good enough.
In Finland, which has an excellent school system, all teachers are prepared over the course of a five-year program that includes subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skill. No one is allowed to teach without that deep and well-planned preparation for the classroom. Finland has eight universities. All of them follow the same

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-13-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Teacher: When I Dared to Ignore the Standards by dianerav A teacher writes: “I went to the Thinking in the Deep End blog, as you suggested, and returned to your site resisting the urge to cry. As a recent arrival to the teaching field — as a creative writer/poet and journalist who did so at the ripe age of 48, that is — I am utterly distressed at the test-centric atmosphere of the urban high school where I teach Language Arts. The again, I feel like a giddy young rebel, as I recently decided to guide my st... more »

Ed Notes Online: Charter School Head Merriman Hones Comedy Act

Ed Notes Online: Charter School Head Merriman Hones Comedy Act:

Charter School Head Merriman Hones Comedy Act

“It’s not the date,” said New York City Charter School Center CEO James Merriman. “It’s the data.”

I like it James. "It's not the date. It's the data." Got a great beat and you can dance the charter/DOE tango to it. Really, James Merriman may be the funniest man in America.

The rejection of teacher evaluation requirements also comes from a sector that has sought greater accountability for teachers, principals and schools. In their letter to school leaders, Merriman and Phillips said standardized evaluation rules are not a good fit for charter schools because the schools are held accountable in other ways.

Excuse me, I have to recover from my laughing fit. James, you have to take this show on the road. Like try Washington State.

“In traditional schools and districts, which may fail students for years without being closed, prescriptive rules

NYC Public School Parents: Joyce and Megan's story with a (somewhat) happy ending for this holiday season

NYC Public School Parents: Joyce and Megan's story with a (somewhat) happy ending for this holiday season:

Joyce and Megan's story with a (somewhat) happy ending for this holiday season

by Leonie Haimson

Megan Marrera credit: NY Post

Here is the story of a Queens parent, Joyce Caba, who refused to allow her honor-roll daughter, Megan, to be denied her chance to graduate from middle school after the DOE claimed she had flunked her 8th grade English Language Arts exam.

We first found out about Megan’s plight from a comment Joyce left on our NYC Public School Parents blog after the state ELA exams were held last spring, an exam which many parents, students, and teachers found to be flawed and confusing --and which included the now-infamousPineapple question, on the very same 8^thgrade exam which Megan supposedly failed.

Everything that follows is just as Joyce wrote it, with a few typos corrected and edited for length, along with the NY Post articles which resulted from her emails to me. Megan's story, as well as the thousands of other students who were unjustly prevented from graduating with their class, underscores how the fate of no child should ever be decided on a single exam--and the city’s policy to hold back students on the basis of unreliable test scores is not unfair but contrary to research. In a holiday spirit, I thought I would recount Megan's story, as her mom told it to me, because there is a partially happy ending, as

Throughout December and January: Whole Child and Common Core — Whole Child Education

Throughout December and January: Whole Child and Common Core — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Throughout December and January: Whole Child and Common Core

December 13, 2012 by Klea Scharberg

Educators have a unique opportunity to reset the playing field and to make the Common Core State Standards work for them. We can implement the standards, align them to a whole child approach to education, and ensure that both support and enhance each other. The Common Core and a whole child approach are not opposites, rather they do not and should not have to be in opposition.

Join us throughout December and January as we investigate how the standards integrate and align within a whole child approach and how a strong framework can support a well-rounded education that prepares students for college, career, and citizenship success. Overall, we will highlight how now is the time for educators to take control and become empowered in the process. The outcomes will depend upon what you decide to do around the Common Core within a whole child approach and how you decide to do it.

The Whole Child Blog

Check out the Whole Child Blog for contributions from experts and practitioners in the field, whole child partners, and ASCD staff who will share free resources, provide examples of integrating and aligning the Common Core and a whole child approach, and answer your questions. Be sure to leave your questions, ideas, and stories in the comments.

What Works in Common Core

Visit the What Works section for a one-stop (free!) shop to explore issues that must be transformed for us to successfully educate the whole child. Our topic pages are a collection of resources on the topics we address each month. This month, we'll add resources to the Common Core topic page. Tell us what has worked in your school and with your students. E-mail us and share resources, research, and examples.

Social Networking

Connect (if you haven't already) with the Whole Child Initiative on Facebook and Twitter to be part of changing the conversation about the importance of a whole child approach to education with more than 15,000 people from around the globe.