No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle | Seattle Education

No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle | Seattle Education:

No reprimand for the MAP boycotting teachers in Seattle

by seattleducation2011

Teachers at Orca K8 in Seattle who boycotted the MAP test.

Excerpts from the Scrap the MAP website:

Superintendent Banda promised that teachers who boycotted the MAP test would be disciplined, but because of the overwhelming solidarity from around the nation, he was forced to back down. In his letter he tries to save face by saying that no test coordinators or teachers in tested subjects boycotted the test–which is completely false, as just about every teacher at Garfield signed their name to the statement that saying they boycotted the test. I’m not sure how he could even suggest that!

Thanks to everyone who passed a resolution, demonstrated, raised money, emailed or 

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can't go Back There!

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can't go Back There!:

Indiana Wants Me, Lord I can’t go back there!

by Danny Weil

Friday, March 29, 2013

From Advance Indiana

http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com

Indianapolis Islamic School Accused Of Cheating On ISTEP Exam

 The Indiana Supreme Court this past week held that Indiana’s Choice Scholarship program did not violate the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition on the drawing of funds from the state’s treasury for religious purposes. Under the school voucher program, parents are permitted to send their children to a private school of their choice instead of a public school and the state’s Dept. of Education will provide them a voucher to pay for their tuition at the private school. Nearly all of the schools participating in the Choice Scholarship program are religious schools, including Indianapolis’ MTI School of Knowledge, also known as the Islamic School of Indianapolis.

Tonight, WRTV’s Call 6 Investigator Rafael Sanchez is reporting that MTI is under investigation for providing answers to its students before 

How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School | EduShyster

How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School | EduShyster:

How 2 Send Your Child 2 a Rheely Expensive (and Excellent) Private School

by edushyster2012

It’s a conundrum faced by nearly every public school parent. You run an organization that puts students first, but sending your own personal student to an elite private school costs a flippin’ fortune. Twenty two thousand large to be exact. And that’s just the start of it. As any public school parent who also sends her child to an elite private school with an annual tuition bill of $22,000 knows all too well, the annual tuition bill of $22,000 is just the beginning.
Putting your own personal student first requires keeping up with all of the other parents who are also putting their own personal students first. Which means shelling out mad cash for the cute Lily Pulitzer outfits, the Winterim trip to someplace fabulous and the debutante ball—not to mention the private SAT coach that your personal student will totally need if she is to have any hopes of attending an Ivy League school and someday Teaching for America.
No worries, public school parent. You could get your hands on one of these excellent Tennessee opportunity scholarships, which are really excellent, by the way, as they allow students who were formerly being stifled in failing and failed public schools to take the money that used to go towards paying their ineffective LIFO lifer 

Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea | Seattle Education

Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea | Seattle Education:

Closing Schools: Why it’s not a good idea

by seattleducation2011

Two ALEC style education bills that Washington State Senator Steve Litzow sponsored,SB5328 and SB 5329. The first bill would grade schools and the second bill would either close the “low performing” schools permanently, convert them into charter schools, have the principal fired or replace half of the teaching staff.

These two bills represent what has become the favored process for privatizing our public schools; label schools as “failing” and then turn them into charter schools.

The Republican dominated Washington State Senate recently passed the bills and now they are sitting on the desks of our education committee members in the House.

I and other Parents Across America affiliated members visited with our House 

PD: Will It Float? | My Island View

PD: Will It Float? | My Island View:

PD: Will It Float?

by tomwhitby

I have long been a David Letterman fan on any of the shows he has hosted. Over the years one of my favorite Letterman bits has been when he and Paul Shaffer would discuss the possible ability of a specific item to float in water. After their predictions the item would be tossed into a giant, transparent vat of water to determine who was correct. The results were apparent and immediate.
Professional Development has long been an element in American education. At one time things changed slowly so that the need for development seemed less a concern. The country’s shift to being a technology-driven society has increased the rate of change, forcing a need for a more rapid rate of absorption of developments for people in all jobs and professions, but especially education.
The difficulty in education is its goal; it is not just to educate kids about their past and how it relates to the present, but also what to expect in the future. Of course we have no idea what the future holds, because the 

How to Save Your Child's (and Yours) Sanity From Hi Stakes Testing Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: How to Save Your Child's (and Yours) Sanity From Hi Stakes Testing:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Transportation Changes May Be Coming

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Transportation Changes May Be Coming:

Transportation Changes May Be Coming

by Melissa Westbrook

In starting this discussion, I will make a point about transportation in SPS that was made at the Work Session on the Budget.

Overall, SPS transports many more students than the average district does.  My understanding of that meaning is that many other districts do not provide transportation to schools outside of your neighborhood and the amount of transportation available to middle/high school students is far less in other districts.

I understand the concern about limiting transportation especially when so much has been provided in the past.  I also understand that it can be seen as a social justice issue when cutting off transportation makes it harder for some families to access programs.  But this is the way it is in most urban cities and students are still able to access schools via public transportation.  (I know in NYC that many students take the subway or bus - for an

Seattle Schools This Week

by Melissa Westbrook

This week starts the community meetings about the Strategic Plan.  I also received this info from a reader:

• Open Enrollment processing will be completed and information on next year's assigned students downloaded on Friday, April 12th.
• Information on assignments and waitlist status will be available to families beginning at Noon on Monday, April 15th.  You will be able to access this information on-line or by calling the automated phone line, 206-252-0212.
• Individualized letters will be mailed the week of April 22nd to anyone who submitted an Open Enrollment application.

Monday, April 1st
Strategic Plan community meeting at Eckstein Middle School from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  (Interpreters available in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Amharic and Tigrigna)

Tuesday, April 2nd
Strategic Plan community meeting at Chief Sealth International High School from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  (Interpreters available in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Amharic)

Wednesday, April 3rd
Community meeting with Director McLaren from 9 am-10:30 am at Alki Elementary School.

School Board meeting starting at 4:15 p.m.  Agenda  

Saturday, April 6th 
Strategic Plan community meeting at Garfield High School from 10 am to noon.  (Interpreters available in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Amharic and Tigrigna)

College Bound Scholarship Conference
University of Washington
Mary Gates Hall
9:00am-12:00pm
Check in begins at 8:15 a.m.

All College Bound Scholarship students (and parents) in grades 9-12 are encouraged to attend.

At this event students and parents will:

• Learn about the steps you need  take to access your College Bound Scholarship.
• Learn about financial aid, other scholarship opportunities  and the  college admissions process.
• Explore tables at the college and youth services fair.

Light refreshments will be provided. Giveaways and prizes available for students!

Contact:Krista Rillo
College Bound Scholarship Counselor
klrillo@seattleschools.org
(206) 252-0075

Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation

Missouri Education Watchdog: Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation:

Bill Gates Promises More Money for Accelerated Common Core Implementation

by stlgretchen

 

Teachers, don't worry that your accountability will be based on assessments not yet written to be taught from curriculum not yet available and tests mandated to be taken on computers that are non-existent.  Bill Gates wants you to buy into his vision.  He's "here to help you".  It's sort of like "it's for the kids".  Fromfoundationcenter.org:

 

Gates Foundation Seeks Proposals to Accelerate Common Core Implementation Across Teacher Networks

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is accepting proposals from organizations, primarily those that consider themselves to be networks of teachers, to support implementation of Common Core 

50 ways adults in schools ‘cheat’ on standardized tests:

50 ways adults in schools ‘cheat’ on standardized tests

Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 31, 2013 at 2:51 pm

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Here’s a list of 50-plus ways that schools manipulate standardized test scores to make the results look better than they actually are. They were compiled by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized test scores, and were taken from actual cases documented in government and reports. You can learn more here about the misuse of tests.

Pre-Testing
Fail to store test materials securely
Encourage teachers to view test forms before they are administered
Teach to the test by ignoring subjects not on exam
Drill students on actual test items
Share test items on Internet before administration
Practice on copies of previously administered “secure” tests
Exclude likely low-scorers from enrolling in school
Hold-back low scorers from tested grade
“Leap-frog” promote some students over tested grade
Transfer likely low-scoring students to charter schools with no required tests
Push likely low scorers out of school or enroll them in GED programs

California Father | @califather Califather all spiffed up and ready to stream Occupy the DoE! #edchat #soschat #uoodc13

California Father | Educating Sullivan:

califather on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

• ON DEMAND
• ABOUT OCCUPY THE DEPT OF ED
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Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish] | The Jose Vilson

Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish] | The Jose Vilson:

Chesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Commitment to Eradicating Poverty [To The Foolish]

by Jose Vilson

I’m Feeling Lucky

Dear critics of Google’s choice for their Google Doodle of the Day:
What part of “serving the poor” is not aligned with today, a celebration of Jesus’ renewal and purpose in life?
In no way am I saying Cesar Chavez is Jesus, but are Chavez’s (and Dolores Huerta, by the way) works not aligned with the auspices of serving the poor and helping the needy? While Jesus worked with the Peters and Josephs in his congregation, Cesar worked with the Jesuses, Joses, and Pedros in the fields of California’s wine gardens in his day, but that’s besides the point.
Because I’m a Catholic of Jesuit upbringing, let me pull out my handy-dandy Bible and give you a few quotes from the New Testament to jog your memory:

Luke 4:16-21. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read… “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, 

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education:

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) fights back against the corporate raiders and enemies of education

by Danny Weil

Recently, students, faculty and community supporters rallied to save the City College of San Francisco (CCSF), once known as a “junior college” or “community college” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ohmyNueU94&feature=youtu.be).  However, the names ‘junior college and community college” no longer find resonance in the snaky plans of the privatizers who are threatening the CCSF with corporatization and extinction.

The CCSF has 1,600 faculty that serve over 85,000 students.  For years it was thought to be a progressive stepping stone for students of color, disabled students and working class students to a humane and intellectual education.  This has now all changed.

For while the attention of much of the progressive community in the last ten years or so has focused on standards and the horrific, No Child Left Behind, the Gates-Duncan plans for K-12 school closures, school militarization plans and Race to the Top, Wall Street privatizers and philanthro-pirates like the Bill and Melinda Gates

James Mersotis of The Lumina Foundation

Foundation along with the Lumina 

New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers | InterACT

New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers | InterACT:

New York Times Easter Puzzle: Too Many Effective Teachers

by David B. Cohen

The New York Times has a front-page story on teacher evaluation, and the connundrum faced by reformers who came up with misguided attempts to use test scores and cut scores and all manner of quantification and formulation in their efforts to find the “bad teachers.” But now, it turns out their systems aren’t working as intended.
A couple of quick reactions here. First, as Randi Weingarten suggests in the story itself, perhaps there aren’t as many underperforming teachers as the reformers think. Still, based on anecdotal evidence from colleagues around the country, I think teachers should admit the percentage of teachers who need an exit plan is higher than 1-2%.
There’s also a quote from a principal who says she could identify a certain number of teachers on her staff who were ineffective, and yet the test score formulation had them coming out of the process labeled “effective.” A lesson for reformers there perhaps? The problems with test scores cut both ways. If you want to empower administrators, don’t tie their hands this way. I’m in favor of empowering administrators to do a better job of evaluation. Make sure they have the time, training, and resources to offer so that they can do a better evaluation 

Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez | Photos - ABC News

Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez | Photos - ABC News:

Google Doodle: Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated on March 31 in California, Colorado and Texas.

 

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Google's doodle honors Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez. Chavez was bron on March 31, 1927 and died on April 23, 1993. He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association along with Dolores Huerta. The association would later become the United Farm Workers union. Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated on March 31 in California, Colorado and Texas. (Google)