The Ongoing Destruction of Public Education

The Ongoing Destruction of Public Education:

The Ongoing Destruction of Public Education

Campbell Brown is just the latest semi-famous rich person to parachute in and tell teachers they're doing it wrong.

Campbell Brown used to be an anchor at CNN. Campbell Brown is now married to Dan Senor, the former official prevaricator for the Avignon Presidency's excellent Mesopotamian adventure and a mysteriously popular television commentator on events far out of his depth. Campbell Brown also has taken it upon herself to be the latest rich and (semi-) famous person to parachute in and destroy the idea of public education. (And when the history of the Obama Administration is written, its willingness to go along with charter-school grifters at the behest of Arne Duncan is going to be a very big debit on the ledger.) Campbell Brown would like the Democratic candidates to come to an event she's having and debate about education. So far, as Peter Greene reports via Diane Ravitch's most excellent blog, the Democratic candidates have told Campbell Brown that, sorry, we all have unbreakable oral surgery appointments that night. Brown blames the teachers unions, which is not a surprise. She blames a teachers union every time a cloud passes in front of the sun.​

Brown and some other reformster pilot fish will gladly claim they've been put upon by the union, because that makes them important. It's an old and venerable trick—hell, if I could get Campbell Brown to attack me in print, my bloggy street cred would go way up—but it doesn't always work. And to pretend that the Democratic party, which just fell all over itself lionizing the departing and union un-loved Arne Duncan—well, that party hasn't shown all that much concern about upsetting the teachers unions. At best, Brown is just a victim of the old internet adage "Don't Feed the Trolls." But it's just as likely that her Iowa shindig failed because she's just not that important or relevant.

​As my old Irish gran' would say, who the hell is she when she's at home?

By the way, John King, your new Secretary of Education, has a fine track record of getting results and an interesting method of achieving them—​kick out any student who might blow up the data set and turn the ones who stay into extras in a Pink Floyd video.

I've visited this school, and I noticed that children are not allowed to talk in the hall, and they get punished for the most minor infraction. And when I talked with John King afterwards, I said, "I've never seen a school that serves affluent children where they're not allowed to talk in the hall." And he said, "Well, that might be true, but this is the model that works for us, we've found that this is the model that our kids need."

So I asked him, "Are you preparing these kids to be leaders or followers? Because leaders get to 

The Ongoing Destruction of Public Education:

CURMUDGUCATION: The Central Liberal Reformster Fallacy

CURMUDGUCATION: The Central Liberal Reformster Fallacy:

The Central Liberal Reformster Fallacy

It crops up many places, but today it was front and center in Michael Grunwald's piece for Politico. In "Obama vs. Teacher Union: It's Still On" Grunwald lays out the ongoing beef between teachers unions and the administration, which is first in his display of lesser fallacies. Framing the conflict as one between unions and the administration isn't quite right, as the unions have been largely friendly and compliant with the administration, and most of their official squawks of disagreement have come only after considerable prodding from membership (NEA and AFT still officially think Common Core is Just Fine, Thanks).

Grunwald then goes on to posit that John King on paper looks like a great choice to bind the wounds, resorting to the John King Story, which seems to be how we're going to sell this exemplar of upward failure as a serious faux secretary of ed. Grunwald gives  a quick gloss to King's "former teacher" credential; King taught a grand total of three years, including two in a charter. The King story always includes a chapter about how his public school teachers saved him, but it never includes a thoughtful consideration of whether his favored reforms would support those kind of teachers today, or force them to stop focusing on what children need and devote more time to test scores.

Grunwald includes the story of King's charter-founding awesomeness. He skips over the secret of King's charter success-- sky high suspension rates and the push-out of countless students. And he skips over the huge disconnect in King's story-- the man who talks about how school was a safe, nurturing CURMUDGUCATION: The Central Liberal Reformster Fallacy:

Ohio passes legislation aimed at cleaning up scandal-ridden charter school sector - The Washington Post

Ohio passes legislation aimed at cleaning up scandal-ridden charter school sector - The Washington Post:

Ohio passes legislation aimed at cleaning up scandal-ridden charter school sector

The Ohio legislature has passed legislation that attempts to clean up the state’s scandal-ridden $1 billion charter school sector. Meanwhile, both Republican and Democratic politicians in the state are expressing concern about a $71 million grant that the federal government just gave to the Ohio Department of Education to build and expand charter schools.

The legislation, expected to be signed by Gov. John Kasich, who is running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, includes a series of governance and financial controls on how charter operators run the schools. that would allow better oversight

A June 2015 story in the Akron Beacon Journal said that an investigation it had completed found that Ohio charter schools appeared to have misspent public money “nearly four times more often than any other type of taxpayer-funded agency.” It said that “since 2001, state auditors have uncovered $27.3 million improperly spent by charter schools, many run by for-profit companies, enrolling thousands of children and producing academic results that rival the worst in the nation” — and the misspending could be much higher.

There had been repeated attempts to get the legislature to pass reforms that would provide better oversight and sensible financial and other controls on charter school operations, but until now, they had all failed.

One of the reforms included in the legislation is meant to deal with a situation created last month, when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a lawsuit by 10 now-closed charter schools that the for-profit company that once operated them, White Hat Management, owns all of the equipment it purchased for the schools with public funds. Under the legislation, the schools would from here on out own the equipment.

Another reform, the Columbus Dispatch reported, changes the way state evaluations of charter school operators are done in an effort to speak to a situation that developed this past summer. In July, David Hansen, the Ohio Education Department official responsible for school choice and charter schools, resigned after it was learned that he given help to some charter schools by making student achievement look better in state evaluations than was actually earned.

Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats are expressing concern about a big grant the U.S. Education Department just gave to Ohio. The grant — $32.5 million for this year with a recommended multi-year total of $71 million — was the largest handed out last week to education departments and charter Ohio passes legislation aimed at cleaning up scandal-ridden charter school sector - The Washington Post:

Democrats will squabble over charter schools

Democrats will squabble over charter schools:

Democrats will squabble over charter schools

It would be easy to dismiss the thousands of students, parents and educators marching across the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday decked out in red “I fight to end inequality” T-shirts as bit players in a New York squabble over charter school funding.

It’s way more than that.

What you’re witnessing are yet more signs that the Democratic Party is headed toward a serious fissure over education issues, one that will pit the haves against the have-nots. The divide pits traditional liberals (think New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo) vs. progressives (think New York Mayor Bill de Blasio). The odd thing is that some Democrats don’t seem to see this one coming.

Real bad, as in serious conflicts erupting between white suburbanite parents and urban parents.

Another signal of this eruption came last week, when Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced both his resignation and his replacement: John King, a charter school co-founder who became New York state’s education chief. There, he pursued test-focused reforms designed to root out ineffective teachers.

The opposition in New York was intense. The unions hated King’s reforms, and superintendents didn’t want to deal with additional accountability. Both the unions and Democrats will squabble over charter schools:

Challenge to the Common Core King and Queen: Get Involved Really!

Challenge to the Common Core King and Queen: Get Involved Really!:

Challenge to the Common Core King and Queen: Get Involved Really!

Bill and Melinda Gates say “Working on reforming the U.S. education system is the hardest job they’ve ever tackled — even more difficult and complex than trying to find a cure for malaria.”

Their hardest job? Are they kidding?

Sitting in an ivory palace pulling school reform ideas off the top of your head is not what I would call hard, especially when you can make everyone else be accountable with their tax dollars for your mistakes (see recent Hillsborough County)!

Mr. and Mrs. Gates need to spend some serious time (not just occasional photo ops with the teachers who adore them) in poor public schools and see what the lives of real teachers and students are like.

Or they should spend time with the many moms of students with disabilities who homeschool not because they want to, but because schools have cut special education services partly due to the message that Individual Education Plans are less important Challenge to the Common Core King and Queen: Get Involved Really!:

Arne Duncan's Legacy: Growing Influence of a Network of Private Actors on Public Education | The Conversation US

Arne Duncan's Legacy: Growing Influence of a Network of Private Actors on Public Education | The Conversation US:

Arne Duncan's Legacy: Growing Influence of a Network of Private Actors on Public Education

Sherman Dorn, Arizona State University and Amanda U. Potterton, Arizona State University

Arne Duncan is leaving the US Department of Education in December. Reactions to his legacy have been mixed. Some see him as a heroic reformer, and others a well-intentioned but overreaching bureaucrat. He has been called the third secretary of education for George W Bush or the center of stormy education politics.

As researchers of education policy, we see him differently: the hub of a network of policy advocates. As the head of the federal Department of Education, he actively facilitated private actors' influence on public education policy.

Private actors and connections

From early 2009, Arne Duncan opened the federal agency's gates to a powerful network. He used the network, and was sometimes used by advocates for their own purposes.

Duncan was not just the cabinet secretary who played pickup basketball with the president. He was the head of the department with the highest number (five) of early political appointees who had personal connections to President Obama.

He was joined in 2009 by some of the most powerful members of a Democratic-leaning group of education reformers: among them were Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton, a former leader of education policy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Joanne Weiss, the Chief Operating Officer at NewSchools Venture Fund who became Duncan's chief of staff. NewSchools Venture Fund is a venture philanthropy firm that sponsors the growth of charter school chains.

In 2009, both organizations were part of a growing network of advocates which Michigan State University political scientist Sarah Reckhow has called the Boardroom Progressives.

These reformers have largely consisted of private actors, including leaders of education nonprofits, charter school founders and other nontraditional school leaders whose essential resources for reform come from the private wealth of major foundations, an approach that Berkeley education professor Janelle Scott has termed"venture philanthropy."

Did those connections matter?

The network that swirled around Duncan gave him ideas that he promoted through the Obama stimulus, and also the skilled personnel to run those programs.

Members of Duncan's reform network were partly the genesis and potentially the beneficiary of a grant program, Race to the Top, that required applicants to expand opportunities for charter school creation, eliminate firewalls between student test scores and teacher evaluation, and commit to so-called "college and career-ready Arne Duncan's Legacy: Growing Influence of a Network of Private Actors on Public Education | The Conversation US:

Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme - Chicago Tribune

Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme - Chicago Tribune:

Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme

rmer Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett plans to plead guilty to charges she steered no-bid contracts worth more than $23 million to an education consulting firm where she once worked in return for promises of hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks, other perks and a job, federal prosecutors revealed Thursday.

U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon made the disclosure at an afternoon news conference at which he said Byrd-Bennett has been cooperating with investigators.

The 23-count indictment alleges that almost immediately after Mayor Rahm Emanuel installed her as public schools chief in 2012, Byrd-Bennett began scheming with Gary Solomon and Thomas Vranas, co-owners of SUPES Academy, to secure the contracts to train principals and school administrators.

In return, Byrd-Bennett was promised a "signing bonus" of more than $250,000 and a job at SUPES once she stepped down as the public schools CEO, the indictment charges. She also was given meals and tickets to sporting events and expected to be reimbursed for a holiday party she hosted for CPS personnel, according to the charges.

The indictment also alleges that Solomon offered to arrange employment for friends of Byrd-Bennett's.

Solomon and Vranas also were criminally charged, as was their business itself and a subsidiary, Synesi Associates.

The long-awaited indictment comes six months after CPS revealed in mid-April that it had been served federal grand jury subpoenas seeking an array of documents related to the SUPES contract. Soon after Byrd-Bennett took a paid leave of absence, and she resigned in May.

Each of the five defendants was charged with 15 counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud, except for Vranas, who was indicted on one fewer wire fraud count. Solomon, 47, of Wilmette, and Vranas, 34, of Glenview, were also charged with two counts of bribery Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme - Chicago Tribune:

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Harsh Truth About What Is Happening to Teachers, Students and Schools

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Harsh Truth About What Is Happening to Teachers, Students and Schools:

The Harsh Truth About What Is Happening to Teachers, Students and Schools

Teachers all over the country are shell shocked at the speed with which their jobs are being ruined, eliminated or destroyed. Whether it is scripted curriculum, demeaning observations, test based teacher evaluations, or the threat of their schools being closed and replaced with charters, our best veteran teachers are being asked to commit professional malpractice as the price of losing their jobs. Some can't take it and quit. Others put themselves under a doctors care and need medication to get through the day. Others just suffer sleepless nights because they know what they are being asked to do in their classrooms is wrong
Unfortunately, none of this is unintentional. The powers that be in this country have decided that veteran teachers, especially unionized veteran teachers, are too expensive for our schools to afford. Their plan is to plan to replace them, in most of the country's schools, with teacher temps, and fresh out of school teachers, or TFA Corps members who work 12 hour days until they burn out and leave.
And if students suffer, what of it. Since over 70 percent of the new jobs in the country are going to be at or near minimum With A Brooklyn Accent: The Harsh Truth About What Is Happening to Teachers, Students and Schools:

FDA says Pearson is marketing ADHD product without proper approval - The Washington Post

FDA says Pearson is marketing ADHD product without proper approval - The Washington Post:

FDA says Pearson is marketing ADHD product without proper approval

(Update: Pearson response)

Pearson, the giant education company, has been marketing a program called Quotient ADHD System, which, the Web site says, “is an innovative device that objectively measures three core symptoms of ADHD: hyperactivity, attention and impulsivity.” It further says:

‘Based on research from the McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, this easy-to-administer tool uses advanced motion tracking technology to track a child or adult’s micromovements while they complete a 15-20 minute computerized test. After the test is completed, patterns of motion, accuracy of the responses, and fluctuations in attention state are quickly analyzed and scored using proprietary algorithms. Scores and test data from these analyses provide valuable insights into both the existence of ADHD and the severity of the disorder.Cleared by the FDA with the intended use: “to provide clinicians with objective measures of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention to aid in the clinical assessment of ADHD”. [Bold-faced added]

It turns out the Federation Drug Administration isn’t as on board as all of that. A letter dated Aug. 20, 2015, from the FDA to Pearson says:

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has learned that your firm is marketing the Quotient ADHD System in the United States without marketing clearance or approval, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).

Pearson spokeswoman Laura Howe said in an e-mail:

“In August, Pearson received a letter from the FDA regarding marketing language for its Quotient program and has since taken steps to ensure all materials are in compliance with federal regulations.”

Here’s the full text of the letter:FDA says Pearson is marketing ADHD product without proper approval - The Washington Post:

Former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools Indicted for Accepting Bribes and Kickbacks to Steer No-Bid Contracts | USAO-NDIL | Department of Justice

Former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools Indicted for Accepting Bribes and Kickbacks to Steer No-Bid Contracts | USAO-NDIL | Department of Justice:

Former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools Indicted for Accepting Bribes and Kickbacks to Steer No-Bid Contracts

CHICAGO — A federal indictment returned today charges BARBARA BYRD-BENNETT with using her position atop the Chicago Public Schools to award lucrative no-bid contracts to her former employer in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

The 23-count indictment alleges that Byrd-Bennett steered no-bid contracts worth more than $23 million to THE SUPES ACADEMY LLC, and SYNESI ASSOCIATES LLC, in exchange for an expectation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.   The companies agreed to conceal the kickback money by funneling it into accounts set up in the names of two of Byrd-Bennett’s relatives, according to the indictment.  A later agreement called for the funds to be paid to Byrd-Bennett in the form of a “signing bonus” after her employment with CPS ended and the companies re-hired her as a consultant, according to the indictment.

The companies, which specialize in training principals and school administrators, provided Byrd-Bennett with numerous other benefits, including meals, an airplane ticket, and seats at basketball and baseball games, the indictment states.  Byrd-Bennett also expected to receive reimbursement from the companies for costs associated with a holiday party she hosted for CPS personnel, according to the charges.

The Wilmette-based SUPES and the Evanston-based Synesi are also charged in the indictment, along with their respective former owners, GARY SOLOMON and THOMAS VRANAS.  Byrd-Bennett had worked as a consultant for SUPES and Synesi before moving to CPS in May 2012.  She was appointed chief executive officer at CPS on Oct. 12, 2012.

The indictment charges Byrd-Bennett, 66, of Solon, Ohio, with 15 counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud.  Solomon, 47, of Wilmette, is charged with 15 counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud, two counts of bribery of a government official, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.  Vranas, 34, of Glenview, is charged with 15 counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, two counts of bribery of a government official, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.  SUPES and Synesi are charged as corporate defendants with 15 counts of mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud apiece.

The indictment seeks forfeiture from defendants Solomon, Vranas, SUPES and Synesi of all money and property traceable to the violations, estimated at approximately $2 million.

An arraignment date in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been set.

“Graft and corruption in our city’s public school system tears at the fabric of a vital resource for the children of Chicago,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  “School officials and city vendors who abuse the public trust will be held accountable.”

Mr. Fardon announced the indictment along with John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Nicholas J. Schuler, Inspector General for the Chicago Public Schools.

“The American people expect honest services from their government leaders, particularly those responsible for leading our teachers and caring for our children,” said Special Agent Brown.  “The FBI, in conjunction with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners, remains steadfast in its pursuit of those willing to trade the education of our children for their own prosperity.”

“The public education system is harmed when a high-level insider chooses to line their pockets with public funds," CPS Inspector General Schuler said.  "My office is committed to rooting out corruption at any level through joint investigations such as this one.”

The contracts referenced in the indictment were awarded by the Chicago Board of Education, which governs CPS, as part of a CBOE training program called the Chicago Executive Leadership Academy (CELA).  One such contract – worth $2.09 million for leadership training of school administrators – was awarded to SUPES within two weeks of Byrd-Bennett’s appointment as CEO, and then extended with an additional $225,000 allocation in 2013.   A larger no-bid contract – worth $20.5 million – was awarded to SUPES on June 26, 2013.

The indictment alleges that Byrd-Bennett used her position as CEO to lobby CBOE officials on behalf of SUPES and Synesi, and to actively seek funds from the CPS budget to expand the CELA program for the companies’ benefit.  Byrd-Bennett directed CPS employees to obtain the necessary approvals to eliminate competitive bidding from the procurement process, and to ensure that the contracts were awarded to SUPES, according to the indictment.

All the while, Byrd-Bennett falsely represented to CBOE officials that she received no financial compensation from the companies, the indictment contends.  In reality, Byrd-Bennett maintained an interest in SUPES and Synesi through a secret consulting agreement, which promised to pay her a percentage of the gross proceeds from the contracts she helped to procure, according to the indictment.

The indictment cites an email between Solomon and Vranas on or about Dec. 6, 2012, which contained a prior email discussion between Byrd-Bennett, Solomon and Vranas.  In that email, Solomon informed Byrd-Bennett, in part: “It is our assumption that the distribution will serve as a signing bonus upon your return to SUPES/Synesi.  If you only join for the day, you will be the highest paid person on the planet for that day.”

In the late summer or early fall of 2013, according to the indictment, Solomon informed Byrd-Bennett that the CBOE Inspector General wanted to review Solomon’s and Vranas’s emails.  Solomon said Vranas planned to use a computer program to delete the emails, and he told Byrd-Bennett to delete her emails as well, the indictment states.

Each count of mail and wire fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, mandatory restitution, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.  Each count of bribery of a government official carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.  The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.

If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.  The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Cunniff Church and Lindsay Jenkins.

Indictment (175.45 KB)

Former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools Indicted for Accepting Bribes and Kickbacks to Steer No-Bid Contracts | USAO-NDIL | Department of Justice:

Schooling in the Ownership Society: J.B. Pritzker and Goldman Sachs doing the special ed hustle

Schooling in the Ownership Society: J.B. Pritzker and Goldman Sachs doing the special ed hustle:

 J.B. Pritzker and Goldman Sachs doing the special ed hustle

J.B. Pritzker

Goldman Sachs and J.B. Pritzker may call it "philanthropy" but it's a profitable brand that includes their benefiting financially from cuts in special ed and from every child who's dropped from or pushed out of a SpEd program.

It's all because of the latest corporate scheme in which private firms foot the initial bill for public services and then are repaid with interest if those services reduce the number of kids in special ed. They call it "social impact" investing.

In Utah for example, GS and J.B. have committed $7 million to area pay-for-success programs through the United Way, which will fund preschool services for five cohorts of children. Even at a 5% rate of return, they still receive 95% of any special-education savings to the state until the investments are repaid with interest. After that, the firms will receive 40% of ongoing cost savings until the participating students complete sixth grade.

If only companies like Goldman Sachs didn'toperate virtually fax-free, there would likely be adequate public funding for special ed and all other education funding. Instead schools are forced to operate on the largess of private investment firms who not only operate at a profit, but also influence important public ed policy issues -- like which child should be in SpEd and which one needn't be?

According to Crain's,

United Way of Salt Lake is betting that the savings from keeping kids Schooling in the Ownership Society: J.B. Pritzker and Goldman Sachs doing the special ed hustle:

Malloy Admin- Drops $2 million on consulting firm to micro-manage Alliance Districts then blames districts for program's failures. - Wait What?

Malloy Admin- Drops $2 million on consulting firm to micro-manage Alliance Districts then blames districts for program's failures. - Wait What?:

Malloy Admin- Drops $2 million on consulting firm to micro-manage Alliance Districts then blames districts for program’s failures.

Here we go again…

Rather than properly fund Connecticut’s public schools, Governor Malloy has turned his back on the majority of Connecticut’s public schools and local property tax payers by shifting almost all new state education funding to Connecticut’s so-called Alliance Districts.

Making matters far worse, rather than using the State Department of Education’s expert team of superintendents, principals and policy experts who had been working with Connecticut’s Priority Schools, when Malloy’s first Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, took office he laid off and reassigned the Connecticut experts and handed their work over to Mass Insight, Inc., a politically connected, out-of-state Corporate Education Reform consulting company.  Mass Insight then sent in a team of consultants, with little to no education experience, to manage the day to day work associated with the Alliance District and Turnaround Program.

And heading up the overall operation, which has spent more than $300 million in public funds, Commissioner Stefan Pryor recruited a school principal from Achievement First, Inc. the large charter school management company that Pryor co-founded.

Lacking the certification necessary to teach or work in a Connecticut school, Morgan Barth had already spent eight years illegally teaching and working at Achievement First, Inc.  However, Barth’s claim to fame was that he was a close relative of Richard Barth, the CEO of the massive KIPP Charter School chain who, in turn, is married to the Wendy Koop, the founder of Teach for America.

When it comes to actually overseeing Malloy’s Alliance District program, Barth and Mass Insight’s track record has been abysmal, but that didn’t stop Mass Insight from collecting at least $1,957,960 in consulting fees and Barth finding the time to head out to UConn to Malloy Admin- Drops $2 million on consulting firm to micro-manage Alliance Districts then blames districts for program's failures. - Wait What?:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Mr. and Mrs. Gates

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Mr. and Mrs. Gates:

Mr. and Mrs. Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates are having a two-day (kinda secret) Gates Foundation event in downtown Bellevue.  Yesterday, the first day of the event, Mr. and Mrs. Gates sat down to opine about their adventures in public education. 

The Gates' friends at the Times, which gets funding for education reporting from the Foundation, put out one version of this story yesterday that I see that TODAY has now been edited.  A quote by Gates is altered and soft quotes from State Superintendent Randy Dorn and the head of the Road Map project are in.  (I really have to start taking screenshots of these stories since the Times feels compelled to rewrite them at will.) 

From the Times:

Working on reforming the U.S. education system is the hardest job they’ve ever tackled, Bill and Melinda Gates said Wednesday — even more difficult and complex than trying to find a cure for malaria.

And again, failure after failure and yet they just keep trying to see what might stick.  Using other people's children as their guinea pigs. 

“If we come up with a new malaria drug, a new malaria vaccine, nobody votes to uninvent our malaria vaccine,” said Gates, to laughter from the Seattle Schools Community Forum: Mr. and Mrs. Gates:





Washington State Charter School Updates

Some items I have mentioned before and some items are probably new to most readers.

- The Washington State Charter Schools Association asked the Supreme Court for an extension on their filing for reconsideration by the Court and was granted it.  They have until October 24th to file.

- Meanwhile, Attorney General Bob Ferguson met the 20-day deadline for his office's filing for reconsideration.

- Additionally, Ferguson is filing a friend of the court for the WSCSA's reconsideration.

- The Washington Education Association has launched a petition to ask Ferguson to reconsider his motion to the Court for reconsideration. It has over 1,000 signatures.

- Troubled First Place Scholars charter school is have a "radio-thon" this weekend in to raise money for the school.

- Remember how the head of the WSCASA, Tom Franta, had said, immediately after the ruling, that private donors would make sure that the current charter Washington State Charter School Updates

Motoko Rich’s Fuzzy Thinking in NY Times Piece on Common Core Tests | janresseger

Motoko Rich’s Fuzzy Thinking in NY Times Piece on Common Core Tests | janresseger:

Motoko Rich’s Fuzzy Thinking in NY Times Piece on Common Core Tests

I am troubled by Motoko Rich’s NY Times piece earlier this week in which she worries thatTest Scores Under Common Core Show That “Proficient” Varies by State.  Does Rich believe that the push for uniform academic standards (the Common Core standards) was really all about the tests? Does Rich really believe there is some kind of objective, universal, ideal test score standard—a model—to which we can compare all students and judge their academic standing?  Does she believe standardized tests are sufficiently comprehensive really to measure students’ accomplishments and compare them to each other?  Does she believe that cut scores derive from some kind of scientific principle?  Does Rich believe any of this matters?

Rich writes: “Ohio seems to have taken a page from Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average.  Last month, state officials releasing an early batch of test scores declared that two-thirds of students at most grade levels were proficient on reading and math tests given last spring under the new Common Core requirements.  Yet similar scores on the same tests meant something quite different in Illinois, where education officials said only about a third of students were on track.  And in Massachusetts, typically one of the strongest academic performers, the state said about half of the students who took the same tests as Ohio’s children met expectations.  It all came down to the different labels each state used to describe the exact same scores on the same tests.”

Whether we need consistent academic expectations from place to place (the Common Core Motoko Rich’s Fuzzy Thinking in NY Times Piece on Common Core Tests | janresseger:

CURMUDGUCATION: Campbell Brown Snubbed Again

CURMUDGUCATION: Campbell Brown Snubbed Again: "Campbell Brown Snubbed Again"

Campbell Brown Snubbed Again

Campbell Brown, journalist caterpillar transformed into reformster butterfly, has been snubbed again.

When Brown set up her website, one of her stated goals was to help drive the political discussion of education. With an eye toward the 2016 Presidential race, she had set up two educati0n discussions for candidates-- one in New Hampshire for the GOP, and one in Iowa for the Dems.

But this morning Politico announced that the Iowa beauty pageant has been snubbed. None of the five candidates (come on-- did you even know there were five of them) have RSVP-ed. In fact, most have not even called to say "Nothankyouverymuch."

Writer Michael Grunwald is assisting Brown in painting the snub as the result of pressure from those pernicious unions, and while it's certainly true that Brown, in her new role of Rhee Lite, has not won any union love, I'd like to offer another explanation.

The NH beauty pageant happened, but it was not exactly a rousing success. Of the something-teen GOP candidates alive and kicking at the time, Brown scored just six-- Bush, Kasich, Fiorina, Christie, Jindal, and Walker. Millions of viewers did not tune in or log on, and no news was made. And yet then-- and now-- Brown did not offer any explanation for why ten-or-more GOP candidates did not come out to play with her. But Iowa is simply not the first and only time she's been snubbed playing this Presidential job interviewer game.

I admire Brown's guts-- she has tried to make herself into a major campaign player just by insisting that she is. But her attempt failed.

Sure, "Those unions are out to get me because I'm so big and scary, so I must be really important" makes a good narrative for keeping her brand alive. It's certainly more energizing than, "No CURMUDGUCATION: Campbell Brown Snubbed Again: "Campbell Brown Snubbed Again"



All the Feels


One hallmark of reformsterism has been the relentless insistence on data and research. Decisions must be data-driven, while programs must be research-based. We must make the delivery system of education just as scientific and mechanical and bloodless as a toaster assembly line.

Which is why it has been so curious to see all the reformster feelings on display. Deep feelings. Heartfelt feelings. Just the announcement of the departure of Arne Duncan and his replacement by failing-upward poster boy John King has been a feeling-fest. Just, really, all the feels.

Duncan's announcement included a whole list of things he loves. With tears. The Politico profile is just full of the feels, with Ted Mitchell tearing up, and a hammering home of a point often made about Duncan-- that he just cares so much. He cares about kids. In fact, some folks in the USED circle are certain that nobody anywhere on the planet cares about the kids as much as Duncan does. And I can actually believe that, well, he thinks so. It would frankly explain a lot-- Duncan the righteous crusader who doesn't have to listen to anybody because nobody cares like he does. And so Duncan can ignore all the research based evidence that would suggest VAM should be data-driven over a cliff-- he can ignore that. And he can keep puzzling over why schools have become so test-focused even as lots of people try to tell him. And he can keep bragging about only the United States Education Department-- not teachers or schools or even parents-- will tell the truth about how kids are doing.

All of that because Duncan just cares so much more than everyone else.

And the feels just keep on coming as we contemplate the anointing of John King, who like many All the Feels




LA: How To PARCC Up Parents

One of the ongoing challenges of selling the Big Standardized Test is trying to convince folks that the BS Tests are generating some sort of real data. With that in mind, the Louisiana Department of Education has whipped up an awesome video to model how teachers should try to convince parents that the PARCC exam wasn't a huge waste of everyone's time and money.

Emily Martin will be our teacher exemplar; some poor uncredited woman plays the part of Jonah's mom. Emily will show us how to have "an effective parent conversation" about the upcoming PARCC scores (hey-- that must mean they're finally being released! cool!).

Martin opens with a cheerful greeting and delivers some small talk about really enjoyinghavingjohnnyinclasshe'salotoffunokayletsjustetonwithit. Her delivery needs some work, but hey-- she has the highly complex PARCC data on her mind.

Martin says that she wants to be sure that Mom understands the information in the PARCC report from the test that Jonah took last year. She has a packet!! With her name and email on it. The packet looks to be actually a file folder, and the contents would be about two pieces of paper. But Martin has included her name and e-mail on a card. Plus the URL for the Louisiana Believes website.

Jonah's mom starts working her line, because in this "conversation," the parent part seems to be LA: How To PARCC Up Parents