NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:

NPE News Briefs

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Real education reform would focus on ____________ | Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates

JUN

26

2013

by Harry Proudfoot – Dear Bill, Someone posted something on Facebook today I have to take issue with here. The post suggested the math skills learned in high school are not applicable in real life. Actually, we use the skills taught in math classes every day. The important thing we are supposed to get from ...

Another Day, Another Trashing of Teachers | NYC Educator:

JUN

26

2013

by NYC Educator – The Daily News, no longer content to have its editorial section lecture us on the perfidy of teachers, has now taken to the pages of its “reporting” to do so. In fact, to save time, they appear to be simply writing the same story every day. Teachers are a bunch of ...

Admin’s ” Not So Confidential” Emails Part 7-Terminating Another Teacher | Educator Fights Back

JUN

26

2013

by Francesco Portelos – Continued from Admin’s “Not so Confidential” Emails segment. There was another teacher that my principal tried to terminate. There was an OSI investigation on them that comes after this interesting email to the assistant principals. The teacher was later alleged to have ripped a student’s shirt while the student was running around class. ...

McGraw-Hill! Welcome to the trough! | YouTube

JUN

26

2013

by zeno ricci – The Regents Exam in NY has been saved from the corrupt hands of the teachers. McGraw-Hill is here to make it all better. Welcome to the trough but, hey, at least get in line with the rest of the corporate suckers. Click here to view the video via McGraw-Hill! Welcome to ...

Carol Burris on Problems with APPR and the English Regents | Ed Notes Online

JUN

26

2013

by Norm Scott – Wouldst our union do a tenth of the work Carol is doing to expose the bullshit from the crooks at the NY State Ed Department, the leaders of whom if justice is ever served, would be removed in handcuffs. Carol suggests writing them. My suggestion would be to go after them with ...

‘Badass Teachers’ Fights for Public Education | Take Part

JUN

26

2013

by Suzi Parker – A group calling themselves the Badass Teacher Association (BAT) launched a campaign on Monday against America’s federal education policies. The 15,000-plus strong Internet group spent Monday making thousands of calls to the White House switchboard to tell President Barack Obama to replace Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education. Instead, the teachers ...

City “reevaluating” McGraw-Hill contract afterscoring snafus | GothamSchools

JUN

26

2013

by Philissa Cramer – The city is “reevaluating” its contract with CTB/McGraw-Hill after the electronic exam scoring system the company built for the Department of Education crashed and burned this month. A department spokeswoman, Erin Hughes, said officials had not yet decided what to do about the contract because they have been so focused on ...

Ex-state senator picked to lead DFER’s New York fundraising | GothamSchools

JUN

26

2013

by Geoff Decker – Democrats for Education Reform is reuniting with an old Albany friend as it prepares to resume a larger presence in the state. The political action committee’s New York chapter named former state Senator Craig Johnson as board chair, Executive Director Joe Williams said. Johnson’s role on the board, which is unpaid, will ...

Closings – the final day | Substance News

JUN

26

2013

by Jean Schwab – There were plenty of hugs and tears on June 24, 2013, the last day of school at Ana Roque deDuprey School and Von Humboldt Schools in East Humboldt Park. The two schools, which have shared the century old Von Humboldt building since Roque deDuprey was closed down fiave years ago, had ...

Sacramento closes nine schools | Substance News

JUN

26

2013

by George N. Schmidt – Sacramento California, where the school board is elected, joined the neoliberal racist attack real public school serving children who live in poverty with a vote to close nine of the city’s real public schools. Last week, a group representing the children who will be affected by the closings filed a ...

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Supporting Teacher Growth with Instructional Rounds — Whole Child Education

Supporting Teacher Growth with Instructional Rounds — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Supporting Teacher Growth with Instructional Rounds

June 26, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written by Robert J. Marzano and Michael D. Toth

In Teacher Evaluation That Makes a Difference, our recommendations for best practices are based on the assumption that teacher evaluation should have two purposes—development and measurement—but that development should be the more important of the two. If districts and schools share this perspective, then they must provide teachers with direct support in their efforts to improve.

Our recommendations are derived from three primary sources: Effective Supervision, Becoming a Reflective Teacher, and Coaching Classroom Instruction. We believe there are at least five direct actions that districts and schools can take to support teacher growth:

1. Begin with a teacher self-audit.
2. Keep track of progress.
3. Use instructional rounds.
4. Use online professional learning communities (PLCs).
5. Provide coaching.

Here, we will take a closer look at how to use instructional rounds to support teacher growth.

Focusing on Problems of Practice

Instructional rounds are among the most valuable tools a school or district can employ to help teachers develop their pedagogical skills and cultivate a culture of collaboration. Administrators, teacher supervisors, and instructional coaches often use them "to focus on a common problem of practice that cuts across all 

Diane in the Evening 6-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Lisa Fleisher of WSJ: Evaluations for Thee, But Not for Me

by dianerav

Lisa Fleisher of the Wall Street Journal reminds us what investigative reporting looks like.
In New York City, we nearly forgot, especially since Michael Winerip of the New York Ztimes was taken off the education beat.
Fleisher filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out whether top officials at the New York City Department of Education receive job evaluations. As we know, the Bloomberg DOE evaluates everyone in its 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Philly Student Orchestra Plays Last Concert? by dianerav Watch this video of the Philadelphia All-City High School Orchestra. Because of the budget cuts, this might be their last performance. The governor, the legislature, the business leaders, the foundations of Pennsylvania should hang their heads in shame. Will this be the year the music died in Philadelphia? David Greene: Repeal Race to the Top by dianerav David C. Greene says it is time to restore common se... more »

Sacramento closes nine schools - Substance News

Sacramento closes nine schools - Substance News:

California city gets the usual barrage of verbiage about 'budget deficits' and 'underutilization' crises... Parents file lawsuit on behalf of poor families as Sacramento closes seven elementary schools following the neo-liberal attack on public schools with seven closings

George N. Schmidt - June 16, 2013

Sacramento California, where the school board is elected, joined the neoliberal racist attack real public school serving children who live in poverty with a vote to close nine of the city's real public schools. Last week, a group representing the children who will be affected by the closings filed a lawsuit challenging the school board's decision. Despite the fact that both of their careers have been challenged for corruption, Michelle Rhee and her husband, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, were given the time for an appearance on the "Commonwealth Club" on national public radio. During the appearance, they used their time to trash real public schools, promote charter schools, and repeat their neo-liberal talking points with very little criticism from the questions that were allowed from the audience.The "First Lady" of Sacramento is Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools who currently heads "Students First," one of the main astroturf groups promoting attacks on public education.

Rhee married Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson in 2011. Johnson's two terms as mayor of Sacramento have been marked by scandal at the charter school he operates ("St. HOPE"), including allegations of sexual misconduct and a financial scandal that resulted in St HOPE repaying nearly a half million dollars to AmeriCorps. Rhee and Johnson devote time to promoting charter schools and denigrating real public schools according to the usual 

Jersey Jazzman: TFA: The New Gentrifiers

Jersey Jazzman: TFA: The New Gentrifiers:

TFA: The New Gentrifiers

by Duke

Gentrifying America One Charter School at a Time!

Yesterday, I reported on how Teach For America is turning into a pipeline to bring young, college-educated professionals into urban areas ripe for gentrification. In Newark, for example, developer Ron Beit, the financial muscle behind Teachers Village, also happens to serve on the advisory board of TFA-Newark.

It's the perfect scheme: Beit and his private investors get tens of millions of dollars in tax credits to finance the development. He then turns around and rents his commercial units to charter schools, which drain tax revenues away from the neighboring public schools (which could sorely use the money to shore up their crumbling infrastructures). Those schools then pay their young teachers, recruited from TFA, who then turn around and pay rent to Beit.

So Beit's managed to develop three revenue streams - tax credits, charter school rents, and teacher residence rents - all made possible by the proliferation of charters and TFA.

And here's the real beauty part: if the neighborhood gets gentrified and property values rise, the increases accrue 

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Yaks at Mackinac

Applauds Senate Approval of New Student Assessment - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Applauds Senate Approval of New Student Assessment - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Applauds Senate Ed Committee
Approval of New Era of Student Assessment

SACRAMENTO—The Senate Education Committee today approved legislation sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson that would replace California's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) system with new, computer-based exams designed to assess students' progress toward career and college readiness.

"I appreciate the Committee's support of this legislation, and their recognition that it's time for our tests to measure how ready students are for the challenges of a changing world," Torlakson said. "With teachers and schools across the state working hard to bring the new Common Core State Standards to life in our classrooms, we need assessments that reflect the deeper learning students are striving for—and the real-world skills they need to contribute to the future of our state."

Assembly Bill 484 (Bonilla D-Concord), would limit the use of STAR tests for the 2013-14 school year, and begin statewide use of new assessments aligned to California's Common Core State Standards in 2014-15; it would at that time completely replace the STAR program with the California Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress for the 21st Century (CalMAPP21) assessments.

The urgency legislation, which was approved last month by the state Assembly, now moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

‘Education Spring’ Rebellions Get Noticed At The Top

‘Education Spring’ Rebellions Get Noticed At The Top:

‘Education Spring’ Rebellions Get Noticed At The Top

by Jeff Bryant

The end of another school year is leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths. A steady diet of government austerity and top-down “accountability” mandates have left numerous communities across the country with a severe case of sour stomachs over how their schools are being governed.

As the school year closed in Michigan, hundreds of protestors gathered at the state capital in Lansing to protest state school budgets and policies that have left classrooms overcrowded and eliminated art, music, and other educational programs in schools.

In Pennsylvania, teachers, parents, and public school activists have staged multiple actions (see here, here, and here) to protest severe budget cuts that have eliminated programs and laid off teachers.

At the state capital of North Carolina, boisterous “Moral Monday” demonstrations against the state’s conservative government have made public education funding part of a rallying cry for a more progressive agenda in that state.

These protests are a continuation of a months-long Education Spring unifying diverse factions across the nation in efforts to reverse education policy mandates and bolster public schools instead of punishing them and closing them down.

The uprising has not gone unnoticed by people at the centers of policy, power, and 

Infographic: “Common Standards and Assessment Consortia Membership” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Infographic: “Common Standards and Assessment Consortia Membership” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Infographic: “Common Standards and Assessment Consortia Membership”

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’m adding this updated infographic from Education Week to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing.
I’m also adding the Ed Week article, Schools Test-Drive Common Core, to the same list.

Common Standards and Assessment Consortia Membership infographic by lindajurkowitz.