Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer

Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer:

Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside

Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Vice-Chancellor Anthony Bottar are both resigning from the New York State Board of Regents, the governing body for education in New York State. Bottar represents a region in upstate New York and Tisch holds an out-large position. With this blog, I officially declare my active candidacy for the Tisch slot.

There are no specific qualifications to serve as a New York State Regent. The NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) asked candidates seeking their endorsement for the Regents positions to complete the following questionnaire. Below are their questions and my responses.

1. What has been your experience with public education?

I have been an educator my entire career with a deep commitment to public education. I graduated from a New York City public high school in the Bronx in 1967. I attended the City College of New York, earned teacher certification in social studies and student taught at a middle school in the south Bronx. I started my teaching career as a reading teacher in a middle school in East New York, Brooklyn and taught high school social studies at Charles Evans Hughes High School in Manhattan and Thomas Jefferson, Franklin K. Lane and Edward R. Murrow high schools in Brooklyn. Since 1990 I have been a teacher educator at Hofstra University. Among my other responsibilities I supervise student teachers in Nassau County and New York City public schools. I write a nationally recognized blog on education for Huffington Post where I challenge Common Core, high-stakes testing, racial inequality in education, racial and ethnic discrimination in teacher certification, the impact of Pearson and other private entities on education policy, and the growth of charter schools. I have been active in the opt-out movement speaking to parent and teacher Transform the New York State Board of Regents From the Inside | Alan Singer:

Newark’s teachers’ union fights back–but will it be supported by members? Or the mayor? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Newark’s teachers’ union fights back–but will it be supported by members? Or the mayor? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Newark’s teachers’ union fights back–but will it be supported by members? Or the mayor?

Newark’s teachers’ union fights back–but will it be supported by members? Or the mayor? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

 The head of the Newark Teachers Union (NTU), invoking the sacrifices faced  by the union in the past, has called on current members to oppose efforts by the school district’s state managers to make unilateral changes in the school employees’ prescription drug program. John Abeigon’s contention that the unilateral change is a “punch in the face” that must be answered with “action” carries with it the risk union members are simply not up for a fight and will have few political allies in Newark.

“Stand in the place of that teacher (who didn’t know you) who 30 years ago risked her job but stood afraid yet strong and united in the fight for her rights and your benefits,” Abeigon said in an email to all members. “We are all her beneficiaries.”

At issue is the decision by state-appointed superintendent Christopher Cerf to change prescription providers from General Prescription Program (GPP) to Benecard Services without negotiating the change with either the union or with the Supplemental Fringe Benefits Fund (SMFP), a program set up decades ago to provide benefits to Newark teachers.

On New Year’s Eve,  with the schools closed and school employees on vacation, Vanessa Rodriguez, the state district’s “chief talent officer,” informed GPP its participation would end Feb. 1 and directed the service to provide her with personal information about subscribers.

Rodriguez’s letter did not specify a replacement provider but Abeigon says discussions with the district indicate the state wants to give the contract to Benecard Services, Inc., a company founded by former Republican senate and gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester. The union president also said the broker for the transaction could be Connor, Strong, Buckelew, a company headed by George Norcross III, the Democratic boss of South Jersey who has been a Newark’s teachers’ union fights back–but will it be supported by members? Or the mayor? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

CURMUDGUCATION: Core: Back Off, Parents

CURMUDGUCATION: Core: Back Off, Parents:

Core: Back Off, Parents

The Hechinger Report ran a piece with the somewhat confrontational title, "Back off parents: It’s not your job to teach Common Core math when helping with homework."

In the piece, Kathlenn Lucadamo argues that parents just need to get out of the business of trying to teach math at home. Her subheading is "What should parents do when they don't understand their kids' Common Core homework?" Her answers? Don't try to be a math guru, talk to the teacher, and teach what you know without stepping on toes.

Some of this advice comes courtesy of Jason Zimba, architect of the Common Core math.

“The math instruction on the part of parents should be low. The teacher is there to explain the curriculum,” said Zimba.

And we're not just talking about calculus.'

The struggle seems to bubble in third grade, said experts, when the math becomes moreCURMUDGUCATION: Core: Back Off, Parents: 

Seaside students' GoFundMe campaign aims to get them out of tsunami zone | OregonLive.com

Seaside students' GoFundMe campaign aims to get them out of tsunami zone | OregonLive.com:

Seaside students' GoFundMe campaign aims to get them out of tsunami zone

Seaside hit by tsunami as shown by OSU wave lab
Researchers at Oregon State University run a test modeling the effects of a tsunami hitting Seaside.

Students in Seaside are taking disaster preparedness into their own hands and launching a fundraiser to move their schools out of a tsunami zone. 

An article published in The New Yorker this summer warned of a Northwest Cascadia subduction-zone earthquake and tsunami that could kill thousands and decimate stretches of coastline west of Interstate 5. The odds of a big earthquake occurring in the next 50 years was roughly one in three, experts said.

The article quickly created a social-media buzz and prompted discussions about disaster preparedness. In Seaside, located in Clatsop County on the Oregon coast, students are worried their community isn't ready for when the disaster hits.

A recently launched GoFundMe is aiming to raise money to prepare for the event, with most of the funds intended to relocate schools that currently sit in a tsunami zone. A 2013 bond to rebuild the schools on a different site failed. 

"We are faced with the reality that our home will be a disaster zone someday, " reads a description of the fundraiser. "We as students have taken initiative to start a campaign to raise awareness for this inevitable disaster."

The fundraiser was launched Dec. 11 and has so far raised about $570. The total goal is $200 million with $128 billed as the cost for rebuilding schools. 

Here's more earthquake coverage:

Experts advise nervous Northwesteners on preparing for The Really Big One

Which Oregon Coast towns face damage if earthquake makes waves?

The really big on and Portland: answers from earthquake experts 

Earthquake and tsunami explained by hand 

--Laura Frazier

lfrazier@oregonian.com
503-294-4035
@frazier_laura

 Seaside students' GoFundMe campaign aims to get them out of tsunami zone | OregonLive.com:

New student database slammed by privacy experts - The Washington Post

New student database slammed by privacy experts - The Washington Post:

New student database slammed by privacy experts

The U.S. Education Department’s new planned system of records that will collect detailed data on thousands of students — and transfer records to private contractors —  is being slammed by experts who say there are not adequate privacy safeguards embedded in the project.

The non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, told the department in a January 2016 formal complaint (see below) that its new system of records for the “Impact Evaluation of Data-Driven Instruction Professional Development for Teachers” violates the Privacy Act by:

(1) collecting irrelevant and unnecessary information and (2) not clearly stating the purpose of the proposed routine use disclosures. EPIC recognizes the need to evaluate educational programs, including professional development of teachers. However, this particular study appears to be one more effort by the agency to transfer sensitive student data to private contractors without any meaningful privacy safeguards.

[The astonishing amount of data being collected about your children]

The Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Educationpublished a Systems of Records Notice on Dec. 2 (see below) that says the data collection will facilitate “a rigorous study of the effectiveness of providing data-driven instruction professional development to teachers and principals.” It says:

The system will contain personally identifying information on approximately 12,000 students, 500 teachers, and 104 principals from 104 schools in 12 school districts and will include, but will not necessarily be limited to, data on: (1) for students, standardized math and English/Language Arts test scores, age, sex, race/ ethnicity, grade, eligibility for free/reduced-price lunches, English Learner status, individualized education plan status, school enrollment dates, attendance records, and discipline records, and (2) for principals and teachers, individual district identifiers, school assignments, grades and subjects 

New student database slammed by privacy experts - The Washington Post:

Washington State Charter School Fix is a Framework for Fraud

Charter School Fix is a Framework for Fraud:

Charter School Fix is a Framework for Fraud

In December 2015, three fake Education Reform front groups (each of which receives millions of dollars in funding from Bill Gates) announced that they had formed a PAC to give legislators a half million dollars in bribes (also known as campaign contributions) in trade for "fixing" the problem created when the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that that the Charter School Initiative 1240, also funded with millions of dollars by Bill Gates, did not comply with the Washington State Constitution. Naturally, with this much money up for grabs, on January 4 2016, Senate Bill 6163, also known as the "Charter School Fix" bill was filed in the Washington State state legislature. According to Public Disclosure Commission filings, the prime sponsor of the Charter School Fix bill was one of two dozen legislators who received a down payment from the Bill Gates funded WA Charter School PAC. Their bill would allow up to ten percent of all Washington schools to be "converted" into unregulated and unaccountable fraud factories that could rob taxpayers and public schools of more than one billion dollars per year. 

It is important to note that this bill has nothing to do with school choice or school innovation or even helping the kids who were enrolled in illegal charter schools. School districts are already allowed to create any type of alternative school that complies with our state laws and state constitution. Former charter school kids can attend public schools like any other kids. Parents are allowed to petition school boards to allow their student to attend any school in the school district or move to a different school district or run for the school board and create their own innovative schools. Instead, this Charter School Fix bill is purely about robbing up to one billion dollars per year from public schools and turning these tax payer dollars over to private for profit corporations. One only has to look at how charter schools have turned into fraud factories from California to Florida to New York and Ohio and many other charter school states to understand what the real purpose of charter schools is - it's robbery of tax payer funds pure and simple. 

Here is the math. Washington State has about one million public school students. Each student receives about $10,000 in school funding (about $8,000 from the state plus about $2,000 from local levies and federal funding). This is about $3,000 per pupil less than national average of $13,000 per student - which is why Washington state has among the lowest school funding and highest class sizes in the nation. This extremely low level of funding is also why the Washington State Supreme Court has held the state legislature in "Contempt of Court" for failing to comply with their Constitutional "Paramount Duty" to fully fund our public schools. 

The total funding for all one million Washington state students is about $10 billion per year. This is $3 billion per year less than the national average - with the difference being diverted into billions of dollars in tax breaks for wealthy corporations like Microsoft and Boeing. If the charter school fix bill were to pass, yet another billion dollars could be siphoned off from public school funding and diverted into charter school fraud factories. Here is the language from the bill: ""A school district board may not approve more than.. ten percent of the total number of public schools in the district as district charter schools." (SB 6163, Page 18) Ten percent of $10 billion is one billion dollars. 

The actual amount of the robbery could be much higher because the above figure does not include school construction funds which would also be siphoned off by charter schools. Here is the language from the bill that gives away up to ten percent of school construction funds: "School districts providing facilities that serve district charter school students are eligible for state matching funds for common school Charter School Fix is a Framework for Fraud:

Storm Clouds Over Hillary Clinton’s Education Agenda

Storm Clouds Over Hillary Clinton’s Education Agenda:

Storm Clouds Over Hillary Clinton’s Education Agenda

Hillary Clinton gets positive points for speaking out about autism and mental health. She mentions student transition from high school to young adulthood where there exists a worrisome gap. There is more she proposes here. Mrs. Clinton also brought up the sensitive topic of seclusion and restraints involving students with serious disabilities. We need that conversation–and to find alternative ways for teachers to work with students who act out violently.

Still, I am concerned about Mrs. Clinton’s overall ideology when it comes to public schools. I am not saying there are any Republican candidates whose ideas grab me in this arena either. At least Hillary Clinton is speaking out about children, and it is refreshing she mentioned autism, and also the need for mental health services. But I am writing today about the concerns I have with some of her other ideas about students and their public schools.

Teach for America.

Secretary Clinton supports a National Teaching Corps which is synonymous with Storm Clouds Over Hillary Clinton’s Education Agenda:

Weingarten blames Cuomo for CUNY union’s lack of contract | POLITICO

Weingarten blames Cuomo for CUNY union’s lack of contract | POLITICO:

Weingarten blames Cuomo for CUNY union’s lack of contract

Why don’t CUNY’s unionized employees have a contract?

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Thursday that it’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s fault.

“In the past, the state has provided support for a fair wage for these workers. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo has refused to provide funding—even though the state has more than $1 billion in surplus,” she wrote in an email to AFT supporters, asking that they sign a petition calling on him to increase CUNY's funding in his January executive budget. “College budgets have been slashed, and courses cut, to make up for the funding gap caused by Gov. Cuomo’s austerity policies.”

The Professional Staff Congress, an AFT affiliate that represents faculty and professional staff at CUNY, has worked six years without a contract and five without a contractual raise. Non-professional employees represented by District Council 37 are also without a contract.Weingarten blames Cuomo for CUNY union’s lack of contract | POLITICO:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State's "Former Charter Schools" - Updates

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State's "Former Charter Schools" - Updates:

Washington State's "Former Charter Schools" - Updates

I call them "former charter schools" because, according to OSPI, that's what they are.  They are "contractors" fulfilling a program formulated by OSPI for their students.

My reading of all that is going on comes to two conclusions.

One, the current charter school law is dead.  Two Eastern Washington legislators, Senator Andy Billig and Senator Michael Baumgartner, are introducing a rather hacked-up bill (it's formatted using the old law to show the changes) - SB 6163.  It's what Charlie calls "charter-lite" and it's nonsense.  It would allow any school board in a district to become  an authorizer of a charter.  (The previous law made the district the authorizer with the school board having true role.)  It is a vague mess that would put both districts and school boards in uncharted waters without a map.

Two, there is no frankensteining these former charter schools back to life.  They have passed from being charter schools to being contracting schools.  How they were authorized and overseen would probably not align with any new law enough to make them legal.  They are done.

If people want charter schools, they need to start over with a clean (and constitutionally sound) charter law.  

But I can't see it getting done in this short session because of the more important issues that need to be covered (see: McCleary) and because a new Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State's "Former Charter Schools" - Updates:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's mea culpas don't extend to school closings and wild charter expansion

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's mea culpas don't extend to school closings and wild charter expansion:

Rahm's mea culpas don't extend to school closings and wild charter expansion

Given all Rahm's recent mea culpas, the one he hasn't made is about his wholesale school closings, mostly in the black community and his replacement of them with privately-run charter schools. CPS's publication of a new list of supposedly "underutilized" schools, indicates another round of closings and charter openings is coming.

His appointment of Jaime Guzman, a shill for the charter operators, to the CPS board, shows that Rahm's game plan remains intact. Guzman takes Jesse Ruiz' spot as the lone Latino on the seven-member board.

The amazing thing about that appointment is that Guzman previously sat on the State Charter School Commission, the group that has the authority to create charters even when they've been rejected by local school boards, including Chicago's.

That's the same group, acting under pressure from House Speaker Mike Madigan, that actually reversed CPS's rejection of Concept (Gulen) charter schools' application at a time when the FBI was investigating Concept's operations.

Last year, the senate voted to abolish the commission on grounds that it had become "too politicized" and a purveyor, rather than an objective evaluator and Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's mea culpas don't extend to school closings and wild charter expansion:

With A Brooklyn Accent: BK Nation Forum Defuses Stereotypes About Opt Out as a "White Movement"

With A Brooklyn Accent: BK Nation Forum Defuses Stereotypes About Opt Out as a "White Movement":

BK Nation Forum Defuses Stereotypes About Opt Out as a "White Movement"

The BK Nation Forum on Testing and the Opt Out Movement,held at Judson Memorial Church in lower Manhattan last night, represented a powerful challenge to education policy makers who claim testing is a civil rights measure and that the opt out movement is strictly a white middle class initative

Of the 60 plus people in the audience, at least 70 percent were people of color, with the majority being African American, and over half the group was under 40 years of age.

Although the panel was excellent, including people like Jamaal Bowman, Aixa Rodriguez, Jesse Turner and Shamma Dee, the audience's commentary and participation made the evening special. Anybody who thinks that Reform policies such as testing, school closings and the Common Core Curriculum are popular in Black and Latino communities needed to be in that room. Parent after parent, teacher after teacher, administrator after administrator spoke eloquently about how excessive testing and culturally insensitive curricula were making students in their communities hate school. Equally harrowing were stories about how excessive scripting and humiliating visits were making the best teachers in high poverty communities leave their jobs.
What came across loud and clear was that a climate of fear emanating from city, state and federal policies,, especially school closings and receivership, was creating a toxic atmosphere in many schools in Black and Latino Communities,

What people called for was less testing at all levels, the rewriting of curriculum to include the experience of students in their With A Brooklyn Accent: BK Nation Forum Defuses Stereotypes About Opt Out as a "White Movement":

 

OPT-OUT LEADER TO CHALLENGE MULGREW FOR UFT PRESIDENT « Movement of Rank and File Educators

OPT-OUT LEADER TO CHALLENGE MULGREW FOR UFT PRESIDENT « Movement of Rank and File Educators:

OPT-OUT LEADER TO CHALLENGE MULGREW FOR UFT PRESIDENT

JIA LEE, UFT CHAPTER LEADER OF THE EARTH SCHOOL WILL REPRESENT CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND SCHOOL BASED EDUCATORS AS CANDIDATE FOR UFT PRESIDENT

The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) and New Action, two opposition caucuses of the United Federation of Teachers, have come together to nominate Jia Lee for UFT President in the upcoming  officers’ elections. Ms. Lee has opted-out of standardized testing as a teacher and parent.  She testified in January 2015 before the U.S. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Senate hearing on Testing and Accountability, for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), stating, “I decided that I am obligated and accountable to my students and families, and that is why, as a conscientious objector, I will not administer tests that reduce my students to a single metric and will continue to take this position until the role of standardized assessments are put in their proper place.” Her fundamental belief that the over reliance on multiple choice tests betrays the educational promise that our children deserve, is shared by parents and educators throughout the city. The opt-out movement has been credited with influencing New York and national educational shift away from Common Core based high stakes testing to an approach that involves parents and educators in the decision making process.

Jia Lee has been an active UFT Chapter Leader for seven years. She is running for President because, “For too long, our union leadership has been complicit to damaging educational policies, such as test-based teacher evaluations and mayoral control over the city’s schools. This has led to the void in community voice and democratic decision making our public school students deserve.” Ms. Lee raised a resolution at the June 2015 UFT Delegate Assembly for a vote of “No confidence in the newly appointed State Education Commissioner, Mary Ellen Elia” which the leadership spoke against citing Ms. Elia “as a friend to public education.” Recently, the Commissioner affirmed her position to continue pushing accountability measures. Ms. Lee and MORE/New Action will continue to fight for our members to have a voice in our union and educational policies that impact the children we teach everyday.

MORE is a rank and file led caucus of the UFT,  that represents thousands of teachers, guidance counselors, paraprofessionals, secretaries, and school based support staff.  In the 2013 UFT elections, MORE won over 40% of the High School votes and more than 5,000 votes from the 20,000 active members that cast ballots. MORE has announced it will run as a joint slate with the long established New Action Caucus of the UFT. Their combined votes in 2013 would have won them 7 seats on the UFT Executive Board.

MORE has established itself as the leading voice for active educators by holding union meetings in local communities, supporting parent’s right to opt-out of standardized testing, organizing conferences for parents, students and educators, defending UFT members, providing free workshops on contractual enforcement, and fighting for the schools all our children deserve. New Action is the the oldest opposition caucus in the UFT and their members currently serve on the union’s executive board.OPT-OUT LEADER TO CHALLENGE MULGREW FOR UFT PRESIDENT « Movement of Rank and File Educators:

 

UOO Conference, February 26 – 28, 2016: Transcending Resistance, Igniting Revolution

It is time for revolution. It is time for non-negotiable demands. It is time to reclaim our public schools and demand all for all children. Join us in Philly as we dialogue with an incredible group of revolutionary leaders whoRead more

UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform - United Opt Out National 

Three Protagonists Controlling Public Education and Downton Abbey. Time for a *Downstairs* Rebellion. – Missouri Education Watchdog

Three Protagonists Controlling Public Education and Downton Abbey. Time for a *Downstairs* Rebellion. – Missouri Education Watchdog:

Three Protagonists Controlling Public Education and Downton Abbey. Time for a *Downstairs* Rebellion.

The education reform novel contains characters mimicking actors in Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey.  Education reform and the miniseries delve into the lives of two definite classes: one which rules and one which takes orders.  The ‘downstairs’ class (the servants who take the orders) operates as the ruling class deems necessary for the existence and continuation of the ruling class.  In American education reform policy, parents are considered downstairs servants subject to the mandates of the ruling class: the Ed Reformers, NGOs, ed reform funded politicians, and Federal agencies. The mandates/laws are to justify the existence/continuation of this ruling class at the expense of the lower class: the taxpayers compelled to pay for these mandates/laws and offer their children to non-researched/non-data based educational theories.

Who are the ruling class protagonists in the Education Reform movement which supports Common Core, centralized education and the expansion of public/private partnerships?  A list would include both individuals and organizations, such as The Chamber of Commerce, NGA, and CCSSO.  Some of the characters in the novel of Public Education: 2016 Version of Common Core, have started a new ed reform chapter of directives/ideas.  Bill Gates, Jason Zimba and Michael Petrilli reveal how they really don’t trust the parents who are compelled to pay for the system these education reformers are attempting to control through public/private partnerships.  What frolicking escapades/statements are these protagonists up in the new year?

Character #1:

Bill Gates, who has supported the centralized blueprint of education (over $300 Million) and furthered his version of ‘philanthropy’ by donating funding to organizations to further his vision, controls the public/private partnership mechanism.  He starts out his position in the new year by his ‘contributions’ to organizations who will then support his vision.  He set the foundation of how public education policy is written: through NGOS, lobbyists and politicians indebted to Gates via grants and contributions.  From Gates, Koch, and Common Core: What Are Citizens to Do?:

Opposition to the Common Core and the closely aligned standardized testing regimen is strong in New York State. The Gates Foundation strategically chose to give $1.2 million to the United Way of New York City to“build [their] capacity as an advocate, school-based technical assistance provider and community-based organization trainer in support of Common Core in NYC and NY State.”

Other 2015 grants seemed to be made with the same goal of impacting the public debate around educational policy. With affiliates in each of the 50 states, it may not be a surprise to find that the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) was another 2015 Gates grantee, receiving slightly less than $1 million to“support the training and engagement of parent volunteers around Common Core assessments and forthcoming assessment results.” Stand for Children, an organization created to “ensure that all children, regardless of their background, graduate from high school prepared for, and with access to, a college education,” received $3,580,000 from the Gates Foundation to “support capacity building and increased public will around Common Core standards and aligned assessments in four states.” The publisher ofEducation Week, Editorial Projects in Education Inc., received a grant of $750,000 “to support reporting on issues related to the implementation of the Common Core.”

While individuals and foundations have always been able to target their giving to organizations with which they agree, the growth of a class of super-rich people who control such a large share of our national wealth 

Three Protagonists Controlling Public Education and Downton Abbey. Time for a *Downstairs* Rebellion. – Missouri Education Watchdog:

Time for Education Advocates to Get Behind Bernie Sanders? - Living in Dialogue

Time for Education Advocates to Get Behind Bernie Sanders? - Living in Dialogue:'

Time for Education Advocates to Get Behind Bernie Sanders? 

By Anthony Cody.

For the past seven months, I have been holding my breath hoping that Bernie Sanders would follow the logic of his passionate defense of working people and willingness to confront hedge funders and financiers, and apply this thinking to K12 education policy. As we know, many of the most ardent backers of the privatization of schools are these same wealthy individuals.

Last May, I wrote this column, suggesting ways that Sanders could win support from education activists like myself. Last night, Sanders made a clear statement of support for public schools, shared on Diane Ravitch’s blog. He said:

I’m not in favor of privately run charter schools. If we are going to have a strong democracy and be competitive globally, we need the best educated people in the world. I believe in public education; I went to public schools my whole life, so I think rather than give tax breaks to billionaires, I think we invest in teachers and we invest in public education. I really do. (see video here, statement at 1:48:32)

This morning I posted a longer transcript of remarks Sanders made at a gathering of the Massachusetts Teachers Association last October. He makes it clear that he supports the teaching profession, and our unions. It is also notable that when Sanders was in Chicago recently he made a point of stating that he did not need support from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has closed fifty schools and waged war on the teachers union.

I think it is time for education advocates to get behind the Sanders candidacy. I think support would be stronger were he to lay out policies along the lines I suggested, but I think there are several powerful reasons to support him. Here they are:

For years, we have argued that when attempting to improve educational outcomes for students, we cannot ignore the effects of poverty. We have called on leaders to directly address poverty – and Sanders has by Time for Education Advocates to Get Behind Bernie Sanders? - Living in Dialogue:'

Bernie Sanders Talks Education at the Massachusetts Teachers Association - Living in Dialogue http://bit.ly/1PMiBJ3

By Anthony Cody.

Educators have growing interest in the candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders. Today I posted my own statement of support for his candidacy. This support has been a bit slow in coming,  because many, including myself, have expressed a desire for more specific policies regarding K12 education. Along those lines, Diane Ravitch yesterday shared this statement Bernie Sanders made on Jan. 3 in New Hampshire on her blog.

I’m not in favor of privately run charter schools. If we are going to have a strong democracy and be competitive globally, we need the best educated people in the world. I believe in public education; I went to public schools my whole life, so I think rather than give tax breaks to billionaires, I think we invest in teachers and we invest in public education. I really do. (see video here, statement at 1:48:32)

Last October 15, Bernie Sanders spoke to a gathering of members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and spent time addressing education issues. Below is a transcript I made of his remarks.

Bernie Sanders:
Let me just begin by saying thank you for what you do. You are the heroes and heroines of America today, and your job is enormously difficult, and it is enormously important. Certainly one of the goals of the campaign that we are running, which we call “the political revolution,” is to transform America in many respects, and certainly at the top of our lists is to transform how we prioritize education. I cannot think of anything more important to this country than to have the best public education system in the world. And I know we all love Tom Brady, and we have all these athletes that are making millions of dollars a year, but, you know, it might not be a bad idea if we made everybody in America realize that teaching is a great profession, it is an enormously important profession, it is a profession that should be respected and well compensated. We want the best and the brightest to go into teaching, and to stay in teaching.

I am for better or for worse – you’ll have to judge – a product of public education. I believe in public education and I believe that public education is one of the strongest Bernie Sanders Talks Education at the Massachusetts Teachers Association - Living in Dialogue http://bit.ly/1PMiBJ3

A School's Year in Hell, Through the Lens of a National Board Portfolio Entry - Living in Dialogue

A School's Year in Hell, Through the Lens of a National Board Portfolio Entry - Living in Dialogue:

A School's Year in Hell, Through the Lens of a National Board Portfolio Entry

 By John Thompson.

As explained previously, here in part 1 of this three part series, and here in part 2, since my book, A Teacher’s Tale has been released, I’ve been rereading the manuscript’s my first draft and some of its original sources.  My National Board (NBPTS) teacher certification entries are a contemporary record my school’s “Year from Hell” in 1998-1999. The following describes a challenging freshman class situation as our school was collapsing. (All names are pseudonyms)

My second videotaped National Board session documented freshmen group learning, and I believed it should have received a grade comparable to the whole class discussion’s grade of a 3.00, as opposed to a 2.00.  On the other hand, to have followed their rules of evidence, the graders would have to believe my description of the background to that lesson. And those of us who were living through our shared experience often had problems comprehending that what we were seeing was actually happening; too much of that year was a surreal and recurring nightmare.  Unless a grader had firsthand experience in the inner city, a suspension of disbelief might have been impossible.  Moreover, an evaluation of that lesson under the IMPACT rubric in the District of Columbia in the 21st century could have determined that I was “Ineffective.”

During the fall semester, the class that was videotaped was nearly perfect, and much of the credit belonged to two vocal leaders, Alice and Loren, and two quiet leaders, Kelli and Joe. The entry explained, “Last semester during a great class discussion, Loren interrupted and asked, ‘D.T., you aren’t going to leave us, are you?’”  She and her classmates then said that they knew that the best teachers had left for the magnet A School's Year in Hell, Through the Lens of a National Board Portfolio Entry - Living in Dialogue:

Torlakson Appoints Division Directors - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

Torlakson Appoints Division Directors - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Torlakson Appoints Division Directors to Help Districts Implement New Academic Standards and New Funding System

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today named Brent Malicote Director of the California Department of Education's (CDE) new Standards Support Office and Jeff Breshears as Director of the Local Agency Systems Support Office.

Both appointments are key CDE leadership positions and reflect the department's increasing emphasis on supporting local districts and schools, Torlakson said.

The Standards Support Office will provide increased access to the tools and resources necessary to implement the new, more rigorous California learning standards, which cover English-Language Arts, Math, Science, and English Language Development.

Malicote is a high-energy leader with extensive field experience in teaching and administration in California's Central Valley. He most recently served as Principal of Pinewood Elementary School, which CDE honored as a California Distinguished School in 2014. He was named El Dorado County's Elementary Principal of the Year for 2015.

"We are fortunate that a proven school leader of Brent's caliber has joined the department," Torlakson said. "His success leading school teams with high-quality implementation of Common Core Standards will be a great addition to CDE and the students and families we serve."

The Local Agency Systems Support Office (LASSO) helps school districts achieve state and local goals in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which gives districts more resources and more flexibility in spending and requires them to work with their communities to create education plans.

Breshears brings 10 years of CDE experience supporting programs that serve high-need students. He supported critical phases of Local Control Funding Formula implementation, including extensive work with County Offices of Education to support design and implementation of Local Control Accountability Planning (LCAP).

Breshears has extensive teaching and administrative experience in California public schools, including innovative work with students with exceptional needs in middle schools and high schools in Solano County.

"Jeff's work with the initial stages of California's innovative Local Control Funding Formula implementation will provide the department with high-quality leadership needed to create and guide the next phase of this important program," Torlakson said. "He currently leads the department's LCAP Support Team, a new initiative designed to support local school districts as they design and implement effective plans for their schools and communities."

For additional information on the Local Agency Systems Support Office, visit the Local Agency Systems Support Office Web page.

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

Last Reviewed: Thursday, January 7, 2016