Friday, February 1, 2013

by W.J. Levay

Highlights from the Jan. 31 issue of New York Teacher:

At 11th hour, mayor torpedoes evaluation deal
At 3 a.m. on Jan. 17, the day of the state deadline, the UFT and the Department of Education had reached an agreement in principle on a new evaluation plan that would have given teachers better working conditions, more voice in how they are evaluated and support for continued professional growth throughout their careers. But the mayor stepped in to sabotage the deal, and in the process forfeited at least $240 million in state education aid for city schools.
Parents want experienced school bus drivers
The city’s protracted yellow school bus strike has left both parents and teachers increasingly frustrated with Mayor Bloomberg for his failure to negotiate with the union that represents the approximately 9,000 striking drivers and matrons.
Where would we be without them?
Community volunteers like these are the backbone of many schools across the city.
Cuomo to boost school aid
Gov. Cuomo proposed a 4.4 percent increase in education spending next year, part of an overall state budget increase of 1.9 percent that signals the beginning of cautiously better fiscal times for the state and the city.
State ed commish reads DOE the riot act
State Education Commissioner John King read New York City the riot act a day after the city missed the deadline for concluding a new teacher evaluation system. Laying the blame squarely on the mayor and the Department of Education, King said the city’s failure would result in the immediate loss of $240 million in state education aid and put hundreds of millions of other state and federal dollars at risk.
Noteworthy graduates: Jon Bauer, founder, investment management firm
Jon Bauer, a co-founder, chief executive operating officer and chief investment officer of Contrarian Capital Management, which invests in troubled companies and helps them restructure their finances, was “blown away” when he first learned about economics as a boy.
School of rock
Manhattan teacher’s passion rubs off on his music students
The rock star of PS 34 moves like a dervish among his students, getting them to work through a progression of basic chords. Basic rock chords, that is — a spin on teaching music that has turned blasé students into driven musicians. Students and colleagues at this school in Manhattan’s East Village say it’s all because of music teacher Ulises Soto.
Teacher attrition up after recession-driven lull
Teachers are voting with their feet again. Though the 2008 recession and its aftermath reduced attrition among city teachers, it seems to be on the move now. According to new UFT data, teachers and other pedagogues are leaving the school system in much higher numbers than they were two years ago, even as the city has bumped up hiring.

Carrot Juice Instead Of Coke? USDA Proposes New School Snack Rules : The Salt : NPR

Carrot Juice Instead Of Coke? USDA Proposes New School Snack Rules : The Salt : NPR:

Carrot Juice Instead Of Coke? USDA Proposes New School Snack Rules
by ALLISON AUBREY

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed new rules for school snacks promote healthier options, like the fruits and vegetables served in this Palo Alto, Calif., cafeteria.

The Department of Agriculture has proposed a new "Smart Snacks in School" rule that aims to promote more healthful options in school vending machines, snack bars and cafeterias across the country.

The USDA's updated regulations, which are open to public comment for 60 days, will set nutrition standards and calorie limits for snack foods that are sold in schools.

"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," wrote Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a release announcing the proposal.

The snack rule will complement the standards set for school breakfast and lunch, which took effect last year as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

"The updated USDA rule could have a major impact on children's diets," Jessica Donze Black, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project, tells The Salt in an

Press Conference Introducing Legislation To End Mayoral Control Of Schools « New York City Parents Union

Press Conference Introducing Legislation To End Mayoral Control Of Schools « New York City Parents Union:

Press Conference Introducing Legislation To End Mayoral Control Of Schools

by admin

State Assemblyman David Weprin and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery Push Bill To End Mayoral Control of NYC Schools

New York, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2013 – Two New York City-based lawmakers have introduced legislation in their respective chambers to correct mayoral control and restore balance, professionalism, and parental input to the governance of the New York City public school system.

The Board of Education would continue to have 13 members.

Each Boro President would continue to appoint 1 member.
- Each member would have to have a child in the NYC public school system.
- The City Council would appoint 4 members.
  - One of these would be a representative of a college or university.
  - One would be a member of a parent’s organization.
  - One would be a member of a Parent’s Educational Council.
  - One member to be appointed at large.
  - The Mayor would appoint 4 members.
    - Each member would have to be a resident of New York City
    - At least one appointee would have to have a child in the NYC public school system.

*Who*	State Senator Velmanette MontgomeryState Assemblyman David I. WeprinRepresentatives from UFT Representatives from the New York City Parents Union New York City school students and parents Other invited elected officials
*Where*	City Hall steps, Lower Manhattan
*When*	Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013 at 1pm

Diane in the Evening 2-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Why Schools Can’t Do It Alone

by dianerav

Paul Thomas is one of our most eloquent critics of the idea that schools alone can overcome poverty.
In this essay, he explains why.
The money quote comes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“In addition to the absence of coordination and sufficiency, the programs [addressing poverty] of the past all have another common failing — they are indirect. Each seeks to solve poverty by first solving something else.
“I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-1-13 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] Jeb Bush Foundation Under Fire for Conflicts by dianerav Coach Bob Sikes reports here that Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Educational Excellence is under fire by groups who claim that it is promoting the for-profit interests of its corporate sponsors. The Bush foundation, which presumably has a tax exemption, claims that 90% of its funding comes from philanthropic donors, not corporations. NYSUT: Slow Down on Common Core Testing by dianerav The New York State United Teachers urged the state education department... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Breaking News - Alabama Withdraws From Both Testing Consortia

Missouri Education Watchdog: Breaking News - Alabama Withdraws From Both Testing Consortia:

Breaking News - Alabama Withdraws From Both Testing Consortia

by Anngie

We had heard rumors that there was something going on in Alabama. State Board of Education member Betty Peters has been ringing the bell about Common Core for years. Now there is something to celebrate.

EdWeek broke the news today that Alabama has withdrawn from both testing consortia, Smarter Balanced and PARCC. The state's assessment director, Gloria Turner confirmed that they will not longer participate in the consortia developed testing. They will "pursue a different avenue for assessments."

Back in 2011 Governor Robert Bentley, who sits as President of the State School Board in AL, introduced a resolution to rescind that state's adoption of the standards. His vote, along with that of board members Betty Peters and Stephanie Bell, was unfortunately not enough to get the resolution passed.

The news is not totally unepxected. Alabama has been lukewarm about their involvement in the consortia from

The Case of Kentucky | Truth in American Education

The Case of Kentucky | Truth in American Education:

The Case of Kentucky

from Truth in American Education by Shane Vander Hart

Matthew Ladner brings up Kentucky as an example that the Common Core State Standards are working. Kentucky was one of the first states to implement them.

He said that the Kentucky exams were far more lax than that of the NAEP assessments, and after the Common Core they were brought closer into line saying that Kentucky’s definition of “proficient” was far more lax than NAEP’s definition.

He posted these charts below:

Richard Innes of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions said in an email that Ladner wasn’t being accurate as he had the wrong NAEP scores for Kentucky making the above graphs misleading.

As most of you know, Kentucky was the first state to adopt CCSS (even before they were

Schools Matter: How Jeb Bush's FEE Became the Conduit for Corporate Cash to Make ED Policy

Schools Matter: How Jeb Bush's FEE Became the Conduit for Corporate Cash to Make ED Policy:

How Jeb Bush' FEE Became the Conduit for Corporate Cash to Make ED Policy

by Jim Horn

Through FOIA, In the Public Interest has acquired hundreds of documents that provide the much-needed links between corporate interests and state and federal education policy makers. Below is a commentary from IPIand below that are some page views that offer some graphic evidence of the depth of the sewer, which promises to give corruption in education policy entirely new boundaries.

What we find, essentially, is that Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education is the conduit that carries money, communication, lobbying, and logistics for making education policy at the state and federal levels. Working in conjunction with ALEC to write legislation, this is how policy gets done without public oversight and without elected officials ever getting involved.

What I clipped from the huge stash is enough to give readers an overview of how Jeb Bush's Foundation for

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: A Shout-Out to Education Activists

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: A Shout-Out to Education Activists:

A Shout-Out to Education Activists

by KatieO

This piece was originally posted at http://atthechalkface.com/2013/02/01/a-shout-out-to-education-activists/

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by my good fortune to know so many powerful parent, teacher, student, and community activists across the country and the globe. We have come together through the fight against corporate education reform and the call for education justice, equity, and democratically-run schools. I feel lucky to have met so many amazing people at the many rallies, sit-ins, community meetings, and education events happening across my city of Chicago. I feel fortunate for being able to witness and take a small part in the inspirational Chicago Teachers Strike. I feel blessed to know many of the people behind the scenes of that historic event. I feel privileged to work in solidarity across the nation with activists standing up against excessive testing, fighting for smaller classes, speaking out against corporate influence in education, and lending their expertise and voice to the struggle. And today I feel honored to share a blog space with many of my education blogging heroes whose words tear down the false rhetoric of the education reform movement and inspire us to a new, equitable, and just vision of schooling.

As yet another School Choice Week comes to a close, I am again hit by the differences between

UPDATE: Obama's man from G.E. stepping down Schooling in the Ownership Society: Look who's 'leaning' on pols to cut more out of pensions

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Look who's 'leaning' on pols to cut more out of pensions:

Immelt, Obama's man from G.E. stepping down

by Mike Klonsky

“Adoption of the Common Core by states was a historic event in education and one we believe will dramatically alter the landscape of education forever,” said Bob Corcoran, president of the GE Foundation."

Jeffery Immelt is the chairman and chief executive of G.E., the largest corporation in the U.S. and a company that rakes in about $15 billion/yr. yet pays not a penny in U.S. taxes. In fact, in 2010 the company actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion dollars while at the same time, wringing millions in wage and benefit concessions from its workers. Pretty slick, huh?

Immelt and Obama

That didn't stop Obama from making Jeffery Immelt, a Republican, his top outside economic adviser as head of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Now that the presidenthas disbanded the Council, Immelt can trot on back to his post at G.E. where he can build more nukes and invest company

Look who's 'leaning' on pols to cut more out of pensions

by Mike Klonsky

THE POWER BEHIND THE PENSION GRAB -- Second from left, R. Eden Martin, past president of the Civic Committee ,Lester Crown, chairman of Henry Crown & Co., and Tyrone Fahner, head of the Civic Committee and former chairman of the management committee at the Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw.

An editorial in today's Sun-Times unmasks the real power and the face behind the current attacks on the pensions and health care supports for retired teachers and public workers. It's the face of the Civic Committee of

Groundbreaking Moment for Students with Disabilities | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Groundbreaking Moment for Students with Disabilities | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Groundbreaking Moment for Students with Disabilities

by Special Olympics Project UNIFY

This was written in collaboration with many Project UNIFY staff members.
Editor’s Note: This post is form our partners at the Special Olympics Project UNIFY. Each week in January, we will feature a new article on a topic related to the social inclusion of youth with intellectual disabilities. Through this effort, we hope to inform the public of the importance of such inclusion as well as offer educators and parents resources to implement it.
On Friday, January 25, 2013, the United States Department of Education (DOE) released new guidance to schools and school systems throughout the nation that receive federal aid about the requirements of providing quality sports opportunities for students with disabilities. While the guidance does not make new law, it does identify the responsibilities that schools and school systems have under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The key messages in the new guidance could be summarized as the following:
read more

Polarization & Charter/TFA Discussions | K-12 News Network

Polarization & Charter/TFA Discussions | K-12 News Network:

Polarization & Charter/TFA Discussions

by admin

Here’s why I think “civility” is a poor frame for discussions about public policy:
Michael Petrilli, of the conservative Hoover Institution, has a point that TFA discussions are now very polar. But he remains naive/turns a blind eye to how a flood of venture capital and hedge fund money, newly allied with religious right funders, has made it lucrative for former TFA alums (like Rhee) to push the agendas — deliberately far removed from classroom practice and realities — that they do. Clueless/careless about classes and students? That’s a feature, not a bug.

From the NYT piece:

Michael Petrilli, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a pro-charter education analyst with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, worries about this lack of exchange. He recently conducted an analysis of Twitter and the tens of thousands of followers of Ms. Rhee, who is pro-charter, and Ms. Ravitch, who is anti-charter, and discovered that only 10 percent overlapped. Just as conservatives gravitate to Fox News and liberals to MSNBC to hear their

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Last nigh't school closing hearings

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Last nigh't school closing hearings:

Last nigh't school closing hearings

by Mike Klonsky

Isaiah McNulty, 13, an eighth-grader at May Academy, prepares to speak Thursday night during a public hearing on Chicago Public Schools closings at Friendship Baptist Church in Chicago. | Andrew A. Nelles~Sun-Times Media

I don't know who writes headlines for S-T. But "fiesty" isn't the word I would have chosen to describe the hundreds of parents, teachers, students and community folks who have been turning out for BBB's school-closing hearings.

Growing number of educators boycott standardized tests

Growing number of educators boycott standardized tests:

Growing number of educators boycott standardized tests

Since 2002, standardized tests have taken on more significance because of federal mandates.

The decision by a group of Seattle teachers toboycott a standardized test this winter could spill out to other cities as a decade of frustration over testing simmers.

Teachers at Garfield High School, Seattle's largest high school, said in December that theyw would take a pass on giving the latest Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, a diagnostic tool that also screens students for remedial or gifted classes. Given several times a year, it's also used indirectly to rate teachers, but Garfield teachers say it's not aligned to the state curriculum and produces "meaningless" results. They have until Feb. 22 to administer the test or face unpaid suspension.

Since then, teachers at two more Seattle schools have said they'll sit out the test, with the approval of leading academics and both major U.S. teachers unions.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Teachers Union this week

GREG TOPPO

Greg Toppo is USA Today's national K-12 education writer. He's interested in tech & how video games are changing school.

Education Research Report: Race to the Top Progress Reports

Education Research Report: Race to the Top Progress Reports:

Race to the Top Progress Reports

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Today the U.S. Department of Education released state-specific reports for 12 Race to the Top grantees, detailing their progress on transforming education at the local level. The reports highlight the second-year work and accomplishments of states awarded funding through the first two phases of Race to the Top: Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee.

The 12 reports provide detailed, transparent summaries of each state’s accomplishments and challenges in year two, which covered the 2011-12 school year, as well as the milestones they have ahead for year three. Each state’s work is measured against its own plan and progress in year two of its Race to the Top grant.

States reached a number of benchmarks in year two, as they implemented unique plans built around Race to the Top’s four assurance areas: implementing college- and career-ready standards and assessments, building robust data systems to improve instruction, supporting great teachers and school leaders, and turning around persistently low-performing schools. Some states made strategic investments to develop tools and resources for educators, students and parents; launch state-level support networks; or develop additional science, technology,

UPDATE: North shore reps who back pension busting have called a community meeting Monday night. The return of the Skokie chapter. « Fred Klonsky

North shore reps who back pension busting have called a community meeting Monday night. The return of the Skokie chapter. « Fred Klonsky:

North shore reps who back pension busting have called a community meeting Monday night. The return of the Skokie chapter.

by Fred Klonsky

Senator Dan Biss. Representatives Robyn Gabel and Laura Fine. Bizarro World Democrats.
Skokie is a suburb north of the City.
It’s where an IEA office is. And where a number of IEA Regions meet and where their staff people have offices.
If you retire from one of the dozens of school districts served by the IEA Skokie office, you probably get assigned to the Skokie chapter of IEA – Retired.
But for as long as anyone can remember, there hasn’t been a chapter of IEA – Retired out of the Skokie office of

Ten minute drawing. Madigans for governor?

by Fred Klonsky

Click on image to enlarge.

“She went to the park with her friends. That’s what kids do.”

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

Hurrah for Subsidiarity « Deborah Meier on Education

Hurrah for Subsidiarity « Deborah Meier on Education:

Hurrah for Subsidiarity

by debmeier

William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”

I love and learn from all Larry Cuban’s blogs. Thanks, Larry, for introducing me to the idea of “subsidiarity”
It’s at the heart of policy-making at Centrl Park East and Mission Hill and !’d argue, of democracy. I know that it makes change harder and slower–or so “change-agents” would have us believe. But we also know that “see! the data says x, therefore you must do y” is neither science nor art. First of all, the data rarely says just x, and what follows is rarely a simple y. We’re stuck with critiquing how the data was collected (which requires insight from those who know ‘the data’ from the ground), arguing over its interpretation, and then, most of the time, to persuading and influencing. The faster route often proves the slowest, especially in labor intensive fields (which may account for why “the reformers” want to get rid of experienced teachers, and eventually maybe to human teachers altogether. You don’t have to persuade a machine.)
So here it is in the words of California’ governor Jerry Brown, in his January s[eech to the legislature.

We seem to think that education is a thing—like a vaccine—that can be designed from afar and

UPDATE:FETC 2013 et al + What Box? « My Island View

What Box? « My Island View:

FETC 2013 et al

by tomwhitby

With as many education conferences that I have attended, and continue to attend, I am getting to be quite the expert at least in the ability to compare and contrast the various major education conferences. I hope I am not one of the five blind men describing an elephant, but I did seek out opinions from other experienced conference attendees and presenters finding them in agreement.
Unfortunately for educators, most of these conferences are the same old, same old with little focus for the future with the exception of vendor-driven bells and whistles presentations. These however are not the essential things that will transform, and move education forward.
In no way am I implying that Conference planners are not dedicated, hard-working, well-meaning individuals.

What Box?

by tomwhitby

I just read a post by John Spencer, “Why Aren’t Teachers More Innovative?“ I was struck by a comment from a reader. The comment was a question; “What box? That prompted me to think about what “the box” was that so many educators refer to. My personal conclusion is that the box we generally refer to has different dimensions for each and every individual educator.
My understanding of the box, as it is referred to, is a set of limits. Why it has been assigned a square shape as opposed to round I don’t know. Maybe people find the angles of a square more restrictive and egregious than the supple curves of a circle. At any rate, and again this is my understanding, this box has specific boundaries outside which, people with innovative tendencies will strive to break “out of” in order to think.
I guess the first question is what is the box, and then where does it come from? Who created and placed this box out, in which educators must remain? The perimeter of the original box for educators begins with the model of education in which they teach from the early days of industrialization. The tried and true model of American

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, February 1, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Frey: Poll indicates counselors are more important for school safety than police officers

Education Headlines

Friday, February 1, 2013

Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, February 1, 2013

Growing number of educators boycott standardized tests

Since 2002, standardized tests have taken on more significance because of federal mandates.

GREG TOPPO

Education Headlines