Jersey Jazzman: Stuff Journalists Should Know About Charter Schools

Jersey Jazzman: Stuff Journalists Should Know About Charter Schools

Stuff Journalists Should Know About Charter Schools

I can't say I'm surprised, but it looks like Bernie Sanders' latest policy speech on education – where, among other things, he calls for a ban on for-profit charter schools and other charter school reforms -- has generated a lot of fair to poor journalism that purports to explain what charters are and how they perform.

Predictably, the worst of the bunch is from Jon Chait, who cheerleads for charters often without adhering to basic standards of transparency. Chait's latest piece is so overblown that even a casual reader with no background in charter schools will recognize it for the screed that it is, so I won't waste time rebutting it.

There are, however, plenty of other pieces about Sanders' proposals that take a much more measured tone... and yet still get some charter school basics wrong. I'm going to hold off on citing specific examples and instead hope (against hope) that maybe I can get through to some of the journalists who want to get the story of charters right.

Here are some things a journalist should understand before attempting to write about charter schools:

1) The CREDO studies are severely limited, and their reporting of effect sizes in "days of learning" is not warranted.

It seems that the CREDO studies of charter school effects continue to stand as the go-to source for journalists looking to find if charters "work." It should go without saying that relying on one methodology to make sweeping statements about the efficacy of a particular policy is highly problematic -- especially when the methods used in the CREDO studies have been so poorly documented.

The 2015 urban charter study seems to be the one cited most often in the press -- and yet CONTINUE READING: Jersey Jazzman: Stuff Journalists Should Know About Charter Schools

Supporting the Arts with Love and Logic - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Supporting the Arts with Love and Logic - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Supporting the Arts with Love and Logic

Okay everyone, we have a problem.

It’s been a while since I last posted. Over a year to be exact. As many of you know, I’ve been busy!

Last year, I ran a campaign for the San Francisco Unified Board of Education (and WON!) On the campaign trail, I shared my vision of bringing more transparency and accountability to our district. Now that I’m a Board of Education Commissioner, and as Chair for the Budget and Business Services Committee, I have made it my utmost responsibility to ensure our school district’s budget is clear, accurate and equitable. 

As a former classroom teacher, and as a current parent, it is crucial that every last dollar reaches our schools. As Commissioners, we are charged with ensuring the district is accountable — the public deserves to know how their taxpayer dollars are spent in service of our students.

We need to talk about the Arts budget.

In response to parent and community questions, I am creating transparency about our budget so families, teachers and community members understand how our district is funding arts programming. 

Much of this is funded by SFUSD’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program.

Huge support for the Arts in our schools

Actually, San Francisco’s public schools are very, very lucky. Throughout the Great Recession and even now, our Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF)  has allowed our district to provide arts and music programming that many other California districts cannot.

PEEF is voted for and funded by the residents of San Francisco. We are so fortunate to have these extra resources!

But I have questions

As part of my work for the Budget committee,  I’ve been looking at the PEEF budget. Out of all our expenditures, Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) has one of the largest chunks of the PEEF budget — $15 million dollars.  

As I look closely at the VAPA budget, I can see discrepancies in where the money is going. I’ve been asking about these for a while now, from the folks CONTINUE READING: Supporting the Arts with Love and Logic - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

The Teacher as Assessor | Teacher in a strange land

The Teacher as Assessor | Teacher in a strange land

The Teacher as Assessor

A little handmade meme has popped up recently in my Facebook feed, shared by Alexandra Penfold, a children’s author and food writer.

Interesting, no? Being told—by scientific measurement, no less—that you were minimally proficient at the skill that was your heart’s desire and life goal. And then sailing on to the very wonderful career you planned, data be damned.

There are lots of implications here, most importantly that test scores are not even close to reality. The first question I would ask Penfold, if I could, is whether she was ever made to feel as if her skills were ‘remedial’—either by any of her teachers, or by her family. I doubt it.

But I have heard plenty of stories about kids who seemed to be fine, cooking right along, until they were derailed by surprising test results, causing a radical change in plans (different classes, different college, different career). Testing impacts lives—and Penfold probably missed the worst of the data fetishism that has become standard in American public education.

And yet, the alternative—the teacher as sole assessor–has come to feel almost random to us. Do we trust teachers—all teachers—to provide useful and accurate feedback, the kind that nurtures children’s dreams and also pushes them to excel? It’s a tall order.

Teachers develop their personal assessment skills and models over time. And building equity and encouragement into testing and grading (as opposed to using evaluation as sorting or punishing) takes a lot of trial and error. Some teachers are good at using grades and scores as investments in student growth. Others, not so much.

Universities don’t do enough to prepare teachers with a range of assessment strategies CONTINUE READING: The Teacher as Assessor | Teacher in a strange land

Flat-lining — Base Wages and the MMSD Budget | AMPS

Flat-lining — Base Wages and the MMSD Budget | AMPS

Flat-lining — Base Wages and the MMSD Budget

The Flaming Groovies — Slow Death, live (click to listen/watch)

The 2019-20 Madison Metropolitan School District budget has — to this point — been built in such a way that employee spending power (wages adjusted for inflation) will remain flat (except for those who advance via educational or credential changes).  MTI has an action alert on this, for the Monday May 20th meeting, and beyond.  At a time when the challenges are great, the morale low,the related difficulties in attracting and retaining staff well-documented, this adds injury to insults.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the budget narrative includes misdirections, in  attempts to confuse the issues.  The key passages are here (on page 16 under “Budget Goals and Guiding Principles” — Goals and Principles the Board never voted on, because the MMSD Board rarely votes on anything involving the budget until 90%+ has been decided by the administration, with easily ignored “feedback” but not decision-making from Board):

Provide total compensation (steps + base wage) to employees equal to or greater than final CPI-U/COLA @ 2.44%

And here, on page 25:

In total with what is reserved in the budget, the average employee with a 2.5% total compensation increase will receive total take home pay slightly above the CPI-u index.

A little background and explanation.  Scott Walker’s Act 10, among other things limited public sector collective bargaining agreements (CBAs or union contracts) to maximum base wage increases equal to the consumer price index changes CONTINUE READING: Flat-lining — Base Wages and the MMSD Budget | AMPS

Pearson’s Plans for 2025: Make Sure You Are Seated When You Read This | Diane Ravitch's blog

Pearson’s Plans for 2025: Make Sure You Are Seated When You Read This | Diane Ravitch's blog

Pearson’s Plans for 2025: Make Sure You Are Seated When You Read This

Pearson has plans for the future. Its plans involve students, education, and profits. Pearson, of course, is the British mega-publishing corporation that has an all-encompassing vision of monetizing every aspect of education.

Two researchers, Sam Sellar and Anna Hogan, have reviewed Pearson’s plans. It is a frightening portrait of corporate privatization of teaching and of student data, all in service of private profit.

Pearson 2025: Transforming teaching and privatising education data, by Sam Sellar and Anna Hogan, discusses the potentially damaging effects of the company’s strategy for public education globally. It raises two main issues of concern in relation to the integrity and sustainability of schooling:

1. the privatization of data infrastructure and data, which encloses innovation and new knowledge about how we learn, turning public goods into private assets; and
2. the transformation and potential reduction of the teaching profession, diminishing the broader purposes and outcomes of public schooling.

You can also find a radio program featuring one of the researchers which discusses these issues at http://www.radiolabour.net/hogan-140519.html

Pearson’s Plans for 2025: Make Sure You Are Seated When You Read This | Diane Ravitch's blog

Pseudo-Socialist Bernie Sanders Finally Opposes Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Pseudo-Socialist Bernie Sanders Finally Opposes Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Pseudo-Socialist Bernie Sanders Finally Opposes Charter Schools

After wavering and making confusing statements about charter schools three years ago when he was running for President, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who is running for President again, finally came out and issued a broad education plan on May 18, 2019 which, among other things, opposes charter schools.

Part two of Sanders’ ten-part “Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education” is titled, “End the Unaccountable Profit-Motive of Charter Schools.’

Sanders begins this part of his education plan for the nation by repeating the incorrect and refuted narrative, stubbornly promoted by the left, democrats, and “progressives,” that charter schools had humble, positive, grass-roots origins, as opposed to being conceived, organized, and implemented by neoliberals committed to destroying the natural and social environment.

After that, Sanders properly notes that: “Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system.” He also provides data showing that charter schools are significantly more segregated than public schools.

Sanders rightly demands that: “The damage to communities caused by unregulated charter school growth must be stopped and reversed.”

Reversing charter schools should include making reparations to public schools because of the severe harm charter schools have inflicted on them for more than 25 years.

Sanders goes on to call for a ban on for-profit charter schools and a moratorium on public funds for charter school expansion. Any time the funneling of public funds to the rich is stopped, that is a good thing for the economy, society, and people.

The remaining points in Sanders’ education plan correctly call for greater accountability in the notoriously low-transparency scandal-ridden charter school sector.

All these statements and demands should be supported because they serve CONTINUE READING: Pseudo-Socialist Bernie Sanders Finally Opposes Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

CURMUDGUCATION: Center for Education Reform Doesn't Love Bernie

CURMUDGUCATION: Center for Education Reform Doesn't Love Bernie

Center for Education Reform Doesn't Love Bernie

If you have any doubts about the effect of Bernie Sander's education proposals, Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform tossed off a somewhat apoplectic newsletter after Sanders went public. Here's some sample frothing:

Sanders’ comments - yelling about transparency (which of course exists) or regulation (which charters have plenty of!) and accountability (which is the very essence of charters) - are almost as bad as when Randi Weingarten, AFT Union’s leader, called charters the polite second cousin of segregation.

But transparency doesn't exist for charters, charters have far too little regulation, and consequently, many charters are completely unaccountable. For just one mild example, look at this recent piece about trying to attend charter board meetings in Detroit.

While they have a tough job, it is a fact that traditional public schools are failing to educate more than 60% of students well in math, reading, history, civics, you name it. We also know that a charter school in any neighborhood puts pressure on the standard public schools around it to do better.

It is not a fact. That 60% uneducated figure is 100% bullshit. Nor do we know any such thing about so-called charter "pressure."

It drives unions crazy that charters do so well and are allowed to operate outside of their control, so the teachers unions have launched an all-out war on charter schools. Now they CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Center for Education Reform Doesn't Love Bernie

Jeanne Allen and Her Center for Education Reform (CER) | deutsch29

Jeanne Allen and Her Center for Education Reform (CER) | deutsch29

Jeanne Allen and Her Center for Education Reform (CER)

Jeanne Allen is founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform (CER). I have written about her on occasion, the last time (prior to this post) being in October 2017, when she was upset to discover that a quote of hers was used as the final title for the film, Backpack Full of Cash.

On May 10, 2019, I read a tweet Allen posted in which she intentionally promoted misinformation about education historian and public school advocate, Diane Ravitch, with Allen insinuating that Ravitch used money from the teachers union to pay for her home (that Ravitch purchased 40 years ago, by the way) because, in Allen’s apparently narrow experience on such a front, book sales could not possibly account for such a purchase, and (again, limited Allen) if that money wasn’t generated exclusively from book sales, the only other explanation must be a Walton– I mean, a union– purchase.

The meanness of Allen’s tweet was off-putting (I chose not to post it here), but her willingness to promote false information in a public forum irked me. Allen has the means and ability to know that what she wrote is patently false, yet she chose to promote a lie anyway.

I had not seen Allen do so before. (Not that she hasn’t; it is possible that she has and that I’ve just not seen it.)

Jeanne Allen

So, I thought it time to get to know Allen and her CER better. However, Allen’s CER bio reads more like a promotional ad than a comprehensive detailing of her  CONTINUE READING: Jeanne Allen and Her Center for Education Reform (CER) | deutsch29

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Congrats to the victorious CTU CORE Caucus

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Congrats to the victorious CTU CORE Caucus

Congrats to the victorious CTU CORE Caucus

As expected, Chicago Teachers Union Pres. Jesse Sharkey and his CORE caucus easily defeated the opposition Members First slate to retain their control of CTU leadership. Now it's on to the contract negotiations which hopefully can be resolved sooner than later.

Obviously feeling charged from his victory, Sharkey issued a threat to Chicago's mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot.

“We hope that the new mayor makes good on her promises to transform our public schools — if she does, she will find us to be a steadfast ally. If she does not, she will find us to be an implacable foe,” Sharkey said.

Remember, the CTU leadership had backed Lightfoot’s opponent, Cook County Board President and Democratic Party chief, Toni Preckwinkle, who lost to Lightfoot in a landslide. During the campaign, Sharkey claimed that the choice to endorse Preckwinkle was made at least in part because Preckwinkle “gives us better leverage in a contract fight."

Even if that were true (which I doubt), it made the early endorsement that much more problematic. If Preckwinkle would have won, I suspect Sharkey's quote would have been all over the media during the contract negotiations, putting added pressure on the mayor to be "tough" on the unions.Actually, with the exception of Preckwinkle's early support for charter schools, both candidates had pretty much the same stand on ed issues CONTINUE READING: Mike Klonsky's Blog: Congrats to the victorious CTU CORE Caucus

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NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 36min

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John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 36min

John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog John Thompson On Deeper Learning John Thompson is a historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma who blogs frequently. Reading In Search of Deeper Learning: the Quest to Remake the American High School , by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine, is like reading the Mueller report. Special prosecutor Robert Mueller compiled a thoroughly researched narrative

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students “ The District has not received payments from Community Preparatory Academy for the months of January 2017 through June 2017, which total to $82,240.97 currently owed to the District. ” - LAUSD Charter School Division The LAUSD School Board took the rare step of considering the

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2h

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! Capital & Main interviewed Jackie Goldberg about her views, her vision, her hopes for the future. My heart sang and my brain hummed as I read her inspiring words. Reading Jackie’s words was like eating comfort food. I kept saying to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Read the interview and you will see wh

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO

by Mike Simpson / 2h

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Friday that students who lack the means to attend the school of their choice enjoy as much freedom as those in East Germany had under communist rule. In remarks to the conservative Young America’s Foundation, DeVos recalled

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward BLACK FOLKS, STOP CHASING WHITE INTEGRATION. IT’S NOT THE SUREST PATH TO BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT We, as a nation, are chasing the wrong things. From Boston to Birmingham, we have seen the ferocious and virulent reaction of white people to the thought of integration. From throwi

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits Do As We Say, Not As We Do For as long as I can remember, education has been accused of being stuck in the stone age and resistant to change. You can’t spend a day on the socials without someone lamenting that schools haven’t adapted to the new world and still operate like 20th-century factories. One way out of our morass, these critics say, is for educ

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3h

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This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 3h

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by Mike Simpson / 3h

Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Disruptive Behavior Is on the Rise by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d EAB conducted a survey of nearly 1,900 elementary school teachers, administrators, and staff, to better understand the scope of the problem and how they are responding to it. Responses from multiple stakeholders outlined several important trends: 1. Teachers and administrat

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by Mike Simpson / 4h

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YESTERDAY

Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education | Capital & Main

by Mike Simpson / 23h

Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education | Capital & Main Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education After winning a Los Angeles school board seat, Goldberg speaks about charter schools, money and what it means to fight the good fight. Jackie Goldberg has spent her life fighting for students. From 1983 to 1991, she served on the Los Angeles Unified Sc

CURMUDGUCATION: Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CURMUDGUCATION: Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History Diane Ravitch was the first major voice of the resistance to the modern corporate "reform" of education, in part because of her newsworthy turn from the reform ideas and peers she had previously embraced. An education historian, she has laid out the problems with

Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students | Capital & Main

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students | Capital & Main Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students The most discouraging finding of a report on LGBTQ students may be that only 130 of California’s 343 unified school districts responded to the survey. “Learning Curves” is a weekly roundup of news items, profiles and dish about the intersection of education and ineq

Larry Ferlazzo's VERY BUSY Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Larry Ferlazzo's VERY BUSY Websites of the Day... Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. Yo

Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools | Dissident Voice Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools A May 2019 report of a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 Presidential voters conducted late spring of last year shows that broad public opposition to charter schools persists. 1 About half of all those polled

Gov. Newsom proposes tighter rules on charter school enrollment | EdSource

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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Outrage Over Sick Teachers Paying for Their Own Substitutes Sparks Calls for Reform | The California Report | KQED News

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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Sac City Unified OKs Budget Dodges Teachers Strike

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Sacramento City Unified School District dodges teachers strike Sacramento City Unified School District dodges teachers strike SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —The Sacramento City Unified School District has avoided a teachers strike that was originally planned for next week. In announcing that the one-day, May 22 strike would not happen, Sacramento City Teachers Association President David Fisher said

Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess!

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess! Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess! Parents in Florida and Tennessee and many other states have fought for recess. Sometimes children in elementary school get 20-minute breaks once a day if they’re lucky. Children should get several recess breaks each day! We should be looking at the benefit of school recess bre

Southern Education Foundation Reports on Budget Proposals | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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School Segregation in America 65 Years after “Brown v. Board of Education” | janresseger

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NYC Educator: Betsy and Me

by Mike Simpson / 1d

NYC Educator: Betsy and Me Betsy and Me by special guest Mindy Rosier A few weeks ago, a little birdy informed me that Ms. Betsy DeVos herself would be traveling to NYC. After looking into this tip, it turned out that she would be receiving an award from the dreadful Manhattan Institute on May 1st, May Day, at Cipriani’s on 42nd Street. As a lifelong New Yorker & a veteran special education teach

The Hype of “Transforming” Teaching and Learning | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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CURMUDGUCATION: Miracle School's Secret Sauce

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CURMUDGUCATION: Miracle School's Secret Sauce Miracle School's Secret Sauce Here's news of yet another miraculous charter school. Can we look closely and see what the secret of their success might be. Southland College Prep School in Chicagoland had 100% of its mostly-Black graduating class accepted to college. It's the sixth straight year for this achievement, and it's been covered widely in the

NYC Public School Parents: We win! The Chancellor withdraws the proposal to close PS 25; let's hope as its enrollment grows, he keeps its class sizes small

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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Education is a hot topic for some candidates in the Democratic presidential field — and potential trouble for others - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 1d

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MAY 16

Gates Foundation Launches Major Higher Ed Initiative | Education News | US News

by Mike Simpson / 2d

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Jackie Goldberg’s win changes LAUSD equation for unions, charters and Beutner - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 2d

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CURMUDGUCATION: Why The Big Standardized Test Is Useless For Teachers

by Mike Simpson / 2d

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by Mike Simpson / 2d

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by Mike Simpson / 2d

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Cynthia Liu: After Jackie Goldberg’s Win, How to Keep Momentum Going | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d

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Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* | deutsch29 Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* Standardized testing is claiming squatter’s rights on increasingly more of the school year, with the greatest intrusion occurring in the spring. Our school has been in the height of spring testing asphyxia for a month now. This means that teaching and learning take the far-back seat to survivial as class sch

NYC Public School Parents: How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been

by Mike Simpson / 2d

NYC Public School Parents: How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been Today at the NY Supreme Court, a hearing was held on our lawsuit vs the redactions of 2015 City Hall decision memo which discussed and memorialize

Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore | Gary Rubinstein's Blog Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore A few days ago I wrote about how Texas pays TFA $5.5 million for 400 recruits, or about $15,000 per recruit. Yesterday I wrote about how Ohio paid $2 million to TFA for

Public Education Statewide Day of Action / SCTA Strike! Choosing Democracy

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Choosing Democracy Public Education Statewide Day of Action / SCTA Strike! Sacramento DSA will welcome DSA members from all over California on May 22 for a statewide day of action to demand the public education California students deserve! Together, we will join educators, parents, students, and community members to demand the full funding of our public schools, common-sense charter school accoun

Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women | radical eyes for equity Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to,” retells Offred in Part II, Chapter 6, of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale . “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (p. 33). Readers have just been i

Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster | tultican Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster By T. Ultican 5/15/2019 In his 1998 gubernatorial campaign Jeb Bush proposed his A+ Education Reform. This March, Sue M. Legg, Ph.D. produced a paper that studies the results twenty years later. Professor Legg observed, “It is critically important to recognize whose interests are bei

Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! 1. Save the date! On Wednesday June 19 we will hold our annual Skinny award dinner at Casa La Femme on 140 Charles St. The honorees will be Attorney General Tish James for her steadfast and cour

MAY 15

The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening?

by Mike Simpson / 2d

The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening? The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening? It has been 296 days since Ref Rodriguez pleaded guilty to felony charges and was forced from the Board District 5 seat . During this time, students in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board District 5 have had no representation. Considering the fact that their former board m

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition

by Mike Simpson / 3d

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition HB 70 is an Ohio law that strips a school district and its elected school board of all their power and hands it, via an academic distress board, to one person-- a super-powered CEO. The law was rammed through the legislature in less than 12 hours under the direction of then-Governor K

It’s All About Growth | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 3d

It’s All About Growth | Live Long and Prosper It’s All About Growth LOSING One of my favorite bloggers, Peter Greene, is on his second set of children…his older children are in their thirties and he is the father of twin babies. It’s normal, I think, that we look back at our lives with a certain amount of nostalgia and Greene does this in a beautiful and thoughtful way in his post, Parenting Is A

The Teachers' Revolt And The Fight For Social Equality | PopularResistance.Org

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Teachers' Revolt And The Fight For Social Equality | PopularResistance.Org THE TEACHERS’ REVOLT AND THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL EQUALITY Like teachers across the US, educators in Detroit are angered over stagnant real income and the indifference of corporate-controlled politicians who will not provide adequate resources to address the needs of our students. Three years ago, Detroit teachers were the

Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win - Los Angeles Times Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win Jackie Goldberg, a veteran politician and educator who served on the Los Angeles school board three decades ago, will once again have a voice in the nation’s second-largest school district after a resounding win Tuesday for a seat

Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? | Diane Ravitch's blog Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? In her book, After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform, Andrea Gabor identified school districts and educators who exemplified a truly forward-thinking

Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law | janresseger Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law The future of Ohio’s state takeovers of so called “failing” school districts rests with the Ohio Senate. On May 1, 2019, by an astounding bipartisan margin of 83/12, the Ohio House pass

In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought | The Edvocate Blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought | The Edvocate Blog In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought This is a season of extreme gaslighting where everyone from politicians to internet trolls are tripping over themselves to use psychological means to manipulate us into questioning our own sanity. This w

What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. | Gary Rubinstein's Blog What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. Yesterday I reported that Texas pays TFA $5.5 million a year for 400 new recruits. I speculated that TFA probably has similar arrangements in other states. Today I learne

Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! | The Merrow Report

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! | The Merrow Report Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! Full disclosure: Although I have never met or interviewed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, I am a huge fan. In fact, the closest I have been to her was at the Education Writers Association’s annual conference in Baltimore recently. Sitting maybe 75 feet from her, I was dazzled as I watched her hold off some tough qu

Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests | gadflyonthewallblog Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” -George Washington Anna Batista , a corporate consultant at Highstreet Consulting running for Pittsburgh School Board, is taking thousands of dollars

The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) | radical eyes for equity The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) What do the National Reading Panel (NRP) report (2000), A Nation at Risk (1983), and the seminal “word gap” study by Hart and Risley (1992/1995) have in common? First, each of these has become a recurring citation in mainstream m

Jackie Wins!!!

by Mike Simpson / 3d

JACKIE WINS!!!

MAY 14

The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education by Robert D. Skeels :: SSRN

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education by Robert D. Skeels :: SSRN The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education 6 Pages Posted: 14 May 2019 Robert D. Skeels Peoples College of Law Date Written: March 5, 2015 Abstract Essay explores the Non-Profit Industrial Complex’s (NPIC) substantive role in imposing neoli

The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts Schools must provide adequate reading programs and reading remediation for students who need more assistance. But the recent report on dyslexia recommending intensive phonics for all children by the PBS News Hour, through Education Week, is

CURMUDGUCATION: Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again)

by Mike Simpson / 3d

CURMUDGUCATION: Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again) Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again) In a way, I can almost sympathize with Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy. Schools can find themselves in a real bind at times. A student can go to the media (social or traditional) and tell a story of how he was repeatedly hauled into the principal's office and disciplined because he

JEFF BRYANT: Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them | Salon.com

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them | Salon.com Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them For years, support for charter schools has been the norm in the Democratic Party. No longer T he politics of charter schools have changed, and bipartisan support for these publicly funded, privately controlled schoo

Black girls are criminalized at alarming rates. Here's how to fix that

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Black girls are criminalized at alarming rates. Here's how to fix that What can be done to stop the criminalization of black girls? Rebuild the system Black girls are being criminalized at alarming rates. Experts say there are ways to make sure that doesn't happen. I tivere Enaohwo is a college sophomore, majoring in criminal justice at Texas Southern University, with designs on law school. Her m

NYC Public School Parents: Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy

by Mike Simpson / 4d

NYC Public School Parents: Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy On May 4, 2019 , the NY Daily News ran an article abou

Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers When West Virginia teachers went out on strike in 2018, setting off a national wave of teachers’ strikes, one of their core demands was “no charter schools.” Governor Jim Justice promised that he woul

Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee | janresseger Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee The headline on Jim Siegel’s Columbus Dispatch article on March 19 proclaimed, “ DeWine budget sets stage for Ohio House’s sweeping school funding revamp .” For th

Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) This post comes from the blog Education Realist . While I usually avoid postings from anonymous authors, this full time math teacher who writes under the pseudonym of Education Realist is someone I have come

The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d

The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD | Gary Rubinstein's Blog The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD Of all the failed experiments conducted on families and children by the modern education reformers, perhaps the biggest failure is Tennessee’s Achievement School District (ASD). Started in 2011 by TFAer and YES Prep Charter chain founder Chris Barbic, hired by then Te

Thurmond Asks Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Thurmond Asks Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education) State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Calls All Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike at Sacramento City Unified SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is working quickly to avoid a potential teachers’ strike at the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) and to help the district

MAY 13

CURMUDGUCATION: DFER Tries To Swing A Primary

by Mike Simpson / 4d

CURMUDGUCATION: DFER Tries To Swing A Primary DFER Tries To Swing A Primary We live in interesting times. So many folks are sure they know what "most people" think or "most people" want, but it's hard for anybody to have a clue because the great American industry is the business of trying to sell a particular opinion. Even when the Russians mess with us, their disinformation campaigns focus not o

Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny | Education | theadvocate.com

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny | Education | theadvocate.com Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny Just nine months after opening its first school, BASIS.ed has won approval to open a second campus in Louisiana’s Capital City. The new school will allow the Arizona-based charter schoo

California: A Time for Action!!!! | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d

California: A Time for Action!!!! | Diane Ravitch's blog California: A Time for Action!!!! There are three important California assembly bills AB 1505, AB 1506, and AB 1507 designed to help clean up the charter school mess. 1507 will be going up for a vote by the full assembly TODAY, Monday, May 13. This bill would forbid charters from being placed in school districts that do not want them by oth

The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights - Center for American Progress

by Mike Simpson / 5d

The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights - Center for American Progress The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights Download the PDF here. Since Betsy DeVos became the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, she has continued to push for a federally funded private school voucher program. These programs currently exist in 29 states and provide stat

‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools - The New York Times

by Mike Simpson / 5d

‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools - The New York Times ‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools WINCHESTER, Va. — Nausea had consumed her as her attacker pinned her arms down at a park, forced her first kiss upon her, and tried to take off her pants at the tender age of 14, and nausea resurfaced every time she saw him in t

Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education (Calif.) Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised May budget doubled down on his proposal to improve special education by providing schools millions more in state support. In his January spending plan, Newsom earmarked $57

Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows - Los Angeles Times Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows Two pivotal, looming elections are a study in contradictions for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In one contest, two powerful unions have become heated rivals; in the other, they’ve remained best of friends. In one election, philanthropist

Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries | deutsch29 Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries On May 11, 2019, Teach for America (TFA) alum and New York math teacher, Gary Rubinstein, posted a piece about the money Texas taxpayers spend to keep TFA in their state. Rubinstein

Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools | | The Edvocate Blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools | | The Edvocate Blog Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools The new “parent empowerment” voucher, passed during Florida’s 2019 legislative session, is a calculated gateway to universal vouchers which are often linked by reformers to the end of brick and mortar public education as we know it. The victory la

CURMUDGUCATION: Parenting Is All About Losing

by Mike Simpson / 5d

CURMUDGUCATION: Parenting Is All About Losing Parenting Is All About Losing As I've been immersed again in the world of children's music, I'm struck by how much of it is sad. Not "when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall sad," but a kind of melancholic ache behind the music itself. I think it's the losing. My wife asked me the other day, "Is it always like this?" We had turned around and had o

MAY 12

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board As I wind up my 24 th year of teaching in Los Angeles classrooms , I pause to think of my past lives in different schools and neighborhoods. While presenting to students in Finland I always included a slide of past eras of my life such as growing up in the Eastside, college and ad

Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School!

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School! Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School! If mothers could have anything they wanted for Mother’s Day, they would say I want my child to be safe. I want them to be safe at school! Here’s why they worry they aren’t. The NRA After Sandy Hook, most of us thought the NRA would scale back its rigid position about

Sunday, May 5, 2019 CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: + ICYMI: Do You Feel Appreciated Now Edition

by Mike Simpson / 6d

CURMUDGUCATION Do You Feel Appreciated Now Edition So, teachers, did this week do it for you? Here are some pieces to read while you bask in the warm glow. A Bridge Too Far Wow. Florida Senator Tom Lee (R) is a long time supporter of charters, but during this last round of legislative baloney he stood up to say "enough." Accountabaloney reports some of his speech and it is rough and honest and no

Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore – Parenting for Liberation

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore – Parenting for Liberation Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore In honor of Mama’s Day, and to raise awareness of the Black Mama Bailout initiative, Parenting for Liberation spoke with Tiara Moore and mother of 5, an activist, and mama who was bailed out by the Black Mama Day Bailout initiative. In our conversation, Tiara reflects on

Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits | Gary Rubinstein's Blog Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits The title of this post says it all. I’ve learned that for the past 2 years Texas taxpayers have been subsidizing TFA about $6 million a year and that for the next two years, through 2021, they are scheduled to receive $5.5 million a year. You can see the official docume

MAY 11

Top Posts This Week 5/11/19 #REDFORED #CTA #VOTEJackieGoldberg

by Mike Simpson / 7d

Top Posts This Week 5/11/19 # VOTEJackieGoldberg CURMUDGUCATION: Another Free Market Lesson CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: May Day Edition (5/5) CURMUDGUCATION: Obstacles To Building Better Writers Diane Ravitch’s Education “Wisdom and Wit” is Critical at this Time