Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Puts Trumpism Above Reality and Common Sense | Diane Ravitch's blog

Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Puts Trumpism Above Reality and Common Sense | Diane Ravitch's blog

Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Puts Trumpism Above Reality and Common Sense

John Thompson writes about the latest madness in his home state of Oklahoma:

The shocking headline was that the price of oil dropped to below $1 a barrel. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt was on the phone with Vice President Mike Pence when he heard the news. The legislature now faces “a loss of $1.3 billion in revenue for appropriation between FY 2020 and FY 2022.”

So, why has Gov. Stitt been talking with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about Oklahoma giving some of $40 million of new federal money to private school vouchers?

Even though the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Program, a tax credit that raises money for scholarships to private schools, was supposed to expand school choice for low-income students, it has long been known that “families who earn up to three times the income limits for free and reduced priced lunch (a family of four earning $139,000 a year) are eligible for scholarships.”

Tough decisions’: Stitt projects $1.3 billion drop, legislators want the math 

TELL GOVERNOR STITT WHAT OKLAHOMA EDUCATION NEEDS
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-governor-stitt-what-oklahoma-education-needs

I’ll save non-Oklahomans the details regarding the range of bipartisan efforts to persuade Stitt to embrace reality. Before the COVID-19 shutdown, it seemed like the CONTINUE READING: Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Puts Trumpism Above Reality and Common Sense | Diane Ravitch's blog

Sanity-saving advice for parents teaching their kids - The Washington Post

Sanity-saving advice for parents teaching their kids - The Washington Post

Sanity-saving advice for parents now trying to teach their kids

This is the first in a weekly series on The Answer Sheet for parents who have found themselves learning to home-school their children on the fly now that the covid-19 pandemic has closed schools across the country.

The series is written by Roxanna Elden, who combines 11 years of experience as a public-school teacher with a decade of speaking about education-related topics.

Her first book, the nonfiction “See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers,” is widely used in teacher training. Her debut novel, “Adequate Yearly Progress,” follows a diverse group of educators in an urban high school. She has adapted some of the advice she has long provided to new teachers for this series. You can see more of her work on her website, here.

By Roxanna Elden

Many educators say nothing prepared them for their first year on the job. Even with good training and intentions, new teachers face a nonstop series of judgment calls they’ve never had to make before. Suddenly, they’re sleeping less and yelling more than they ever imagined. They worry that each mistake is impacting kids’ futures. And they’re swamped with urgent-yet-conflicting advice, even the best of which has exceptions they’ll learn the hard way.

Sound familiar? That’s because in many ways, parents are now rookie teachers. And they’re getting much of the same advice. This advice tends to fall into two conflicting camps, each with their own promises and pitfalls, and many an early-career educator has steered too hard in one of these directions. Here’s a review of both camps, plus tips for correcting course if you need to.

CAMP #1: “THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO SHINE AS HOMESCHOOL SUPER-TEACHERS!”

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Advice from this camp tends to take the form of elaborate science projects, breathtakingly detailed lesson plans, and (insert new creative idea that just popped up in your Facebook feed and that you now feel like you should add to your schedule).

Why this is (at least partly) the right idea: Advice from Camp #1 can be inspiring. It may contain some useful ideas to keep your kids learning. And, depending on your situation, you may find that in this moment you actually do have an opportunity to try that Educational Thing You Always Wanted to Do with Your Kids But Never Seemed to Find the Time For. Also, it's hard to know how long this home CONTINUE READING: Sanity-saving advice for parents teaching their kids - The Washington Post

How past crises changed America’s public schools -- ‘and so too will covid-19’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/26/how-past-crises-changed-americas-public-schools-so-too-will-covid-19/

Covid-19 school closures ‘devastating’ for students who rely on music classes 'to get them through the school day’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/26/covid-19-school-closures-devastating-students-who-rely-music-classes-to-get-them-through-school-day/

To Access Online Services, New Jersey Students With Disabilities Must Promise Not To Sue | HuffPost

To Access Online Services, New Jersey Students With Disabilities Must Promise Not To Sue | HuffPost

To Access Online Services, New Jersey Students With Disabilities Must Promise Not To Sue
Special education groups are taking issue with waivers from schools — but the districts say they’re necessary in this unprecedented time.

Some New Jersey schools have been forcing students with disabilities to sign waivers promising not to sue the district before giving them access to special education services, HuffPost has learned. 

A form distributed by districts asks families to “waive and relinquish; fully release and discharge; and indemnify and hold harmless” the school district and all of its employees “from all claims, liabilities, causes of action, costs, expenses, attorneys’ fees, damages, indemnities, and obligations of every kind and nature, in law, equity, or otherwise,” before providing students with the counseling and speech services outlined in their individualized education program, or IEP. (An IEP is the legal document that details the educational services districts are required to provide to a given student with disabilities.) 

The form, devised with help from an education law firm, has raised alarms for disability advocates and lawyers, who have taken up the matter with the New Jersey Department of Education. Rebecca Schore, the legal advocacy director at Disability Rights New Jersey, said her organization already has two clients who have been asked to sign the waiver in order to receive counseling and speech support. 

“If the parent refuses to sign it, they will absolutely withhold services,” Schore said.

Lawyers say they have not heard of students who do not require special education services being made to sign any such waivers. 

Legal liability has become a significant concern of school districts as they transition to distance learning amid widespread school closures due to the coronavirus epidemic. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ― the sprawling federal law that CONTINUE READING: To Access Online Services, New Jersey Students With Disabilities Must Promise Not To Sue | HuffPost

EdAction in Congress April 26, 2020 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 26, 2020 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 26, 2020

Coronavirus crisis threatens education funding

An economic downturn that could rival the Great Depression is upon us—and threatening the ability of state and local governments to fund public education and other essential services. Costs are up as the nation struggles to contain COVID-19 and cope with dramatically rising unemployment—in the last five weeks, 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs. Tax revenues are declining as consumers stop spending on virtually everything except groceries and Netflix subscriptions. The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says FY2021 could be the worst year EVER for state budget shortfalls.

To address the looming crisis, NEA is calling for an additional $175 billion to stabilize education funding—the $30.7 billion authorized thus far is not nearly enough. The National Governors Association is calling for even more—an additional $500 billion in direct relief to state and local governments. But Congress is going to need convincing even though history shows that’s clearly the right course. A decade ago, during the Great Recession, state and local governments scrapped essential student services and laid off tens of thousands of educators. We can’t let that happen again. TAKE ACTION

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COVID-19 exposes homework gap and digital divide

As part of the next COVID-19 legislative package, NEA is pushing Congress to help narrow the digital divide and close the homework gap—the inability to do schoolwork at home due to lack of internet access. Nationwide, as many as 12 million students are affected—roughly 1 in 5. A disproportionate share of those students are African-American, Hispanic, live in rural areas, or come from low-income families. The Emergency Educational Connections Act (H.R. 6563) would provide $2 billion for a special fund, administered by the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program, to equip students to go online for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. TAKE ACTION

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Cheers and Jeers

Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)introduced the Emergency Educational Connections Act (H.R. 6563), which would provide $2 billion for an emergency fund to help close the homework gap and digital divide.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and James Risch (R-ID) led a bipartisan group of 23 other senators on a letter calling for the Senate to provide much-needed financial certainty during the COVID-19 crisis for rural communities to ensure long-term funding for education and other essential services.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) made a floor speech supporting additional state and local funding to address the coronavirus crisis.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced the COVID–19 Every Worker Protection Act (H.R. 6559), which would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency temporary standard, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to protect all workers from exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) resisted calls for fiscal relief for states and localities hit hard by COVID-19, saying, “We can’t borrow enough money to solve the problem indefinitely … I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route.”

EdAction in Congress April 26, 2020 - Education Votes

CURMUDGUCATION: Defending the Future of the Big Standardized Test

CURMUDGUCATION: Defending the Future of the Big Standardized Test

Defending the Future of the Big Standardized Test

What has happened to our beloved Big Standardized Test? Why do people keep picking on it? And can we lift it back up to its hallowed heights of the past? I have a report sitting in one of my tabs here that wants to answer those questions, yet somehow falls short. It's FutureEd's report The Big Test, and it is yet another attempt to repackage reformster alternate earth history. It's not super long, but I've read it so that you don't have to. Thank goodness I took my blood pressure meds today. Buckle up and let's go.

Who Are These People?

FutureEd is a project of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. It was founded by Thomas Toch, whose previous work included some edu-flavored thinky tanks and executive director of Independent Education, a private school network in DC, and an editor at US News. He is one more self-declared education policy expert who has apparently never taught in a K-12 classroom.

FutureEd launched a few years back, with declarations of independence and lack of bias; one more entry in the "new conversation" pageant. But its independence was all that one can expect from a group funded by the City Fund, the Waltons, and Bill and Melinda Gates. Their senior fellows are drawn from 50CAN, Bridge International Academies, Education Trust, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, Alliance for Excellent Education, and NewSchools Venture Fund. It's a whole blooming field of Reformsters without any traditional public education advocates anywhere in sight.

Their stated mission these days-- " committed to bringing fresh energy to the causes of excellence, CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Defending the Future of the Big Standardized Test

Emergency press conference on Monday to fight $825 million cuts to schools | Class Size Matters

Emergency press conference on Monday to fight $825 million cuts to schools | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Emergency press conference on Monday to fight $825 million cuts to schools

Please join us via Zoom on Monday, April 27 at 3 PM to fight the Mayor’s $825 million cuts to schools by cutting contracts and other unnecessary spending instead.  RSVP here or at http://tiny.cc/6pdrnz

Emergency press conference on Monday to fight $825 million cuts to schools | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

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

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

TODAY

My Most Popular Tweets Of The Month

by Larry Ferlazzo / 28min

PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay I used to post weekly collections of my best tweets, and used Storify to bring them together. Unfortunately, Storify went under. Fortunately, however, Wakelet was a new tool that was able to import all of a person’s Storifys. So you can see all those previous Twitter “Best” lists here . You might also be interested in MY MOST POPULAR TWEETS IN 2019 – PART TWO and NEW &

YESTERDAY

May Is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

April’s “Best” Lists – There Are Now 2,150 Of Them!

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h

Here’s my regular round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 2,150 of them categorized here ): THE BEST VIDEOS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING ABOUT – YES – “POOP” THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING HOW BLACK GIRLS ARE TREATED UNFAIRLY & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. GAVE HIS “MOUNTAINTOP” SPEECH 52 YEARS AGO TODAY – HERE ARE TEACHING & LEARNING RESOURCES THE BEST S

New PBS NewsHour Video Segment: “School closures leave homeless students even more vulnerable”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h

Jon Tyson Here’s a segment from tonight’s PBS NewsHour:

My Favorite Posts That Appeared In April

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17h

I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here ). You can also see my all-time favorites here . I’ve also been doing “A Look Back” series reviewing old favorite

Three Useful Videos For Students About The Coronavirus

by Larry Ferlazzo / 21h

Abhi_Jacob / Pixabay I’m adding these three videos to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS:

Most Popular Posts Of The Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 23h

I’m making a change in the content of the regular feature. In addition to sharing the top five posts that have received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they may have originally been published on an earlier date), I will also include the top five posts that have actually appeared in the 

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

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

Ronnie Dyson: A Transitional Soul Figure Lost To Time

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

'For One-Hit Wonders/Second-Best Songs, Mark Anthony Neal recommends Ronnie Dyson 's "Ain't Nothing Wrong." He's known mostly for 1970's "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?"'

Unladylike2020: Meta Warrick Fuller: Trailblazing African American Artist

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

' Meta Warrick Fuller 's artwork celebrated African American heritage and cultural identity, and resisted stereotypical representations in her depictions of the Black body.' -- American Masters PBS

Brittany Packnett Cunningham on Activism in Crisis

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

' Rebecca Carroll talks to activist and organizer Brittany Packnett Cunningham on the small and big ways we can live in community during the coronavirus pandemic -- even though we’re forced to be apart. From how we shop at the grocery store to how our elected leaders can ensure a fair vote in the fall, Brittany lays out just what it’s going to take to get through this: “If we have the power to sh

Behind The Beats: DJ Premier's Sonic Inspiration In Three Samples

by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h

' DJ Premier is a purist at heart . He picks samples based on feeling, and the beats he creates from them are all about honoring that vibe. That lineage has played out from his parents record collection growing up in Houston to his own expansive discography over the last 30 years.'

'We Were Curiosities': One Of 'The Last Negroes At Harvard' Shares His Story

by Mark Anthony Neal / 14h

'In 1959, Kent Garrett was one of 18 Black students accepted into a freshman class of more than 1,000. It was an early form of affirmative action, and he chronicles his time on campus in a new book, The Last Negroes At Harvard .' -- All Things Considered

Puerto Rico, Island Of Racial Harmony?

by Mark Anthony Neal / 15h

'Many Puerto Ricans grow up being taught that they're a mixture of three races: Black, White and Indigenous. But on the U.S. census, a majority of Puerto Ricans choose "White" as their only race. On this episode, of Code Switch the host look into why that is, and the group of people trying to change it.'

Modern Malian Singer Fatoumata Diawara Respects Her Roots

by Mark Anthony Neal / 22h

' Malian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor Fatoumata Diawara is a multiple Grammy Award nominee, currently living in Paris. "Fatou" Diawara has become an enthusiastic collaborator - with musicians from other African countries - Cheikh Lô, AfroCubism, and Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - as well as rock stars like Damon Albarn and Flea and traditional players from Cuba and Brittany. She ha

Issa Rae is Still Rooting for Everybody Black

by Mark Anthony Neal / 23h

' As usual, Issa Rae is out here doing the most. She joins Rebecca Carroll to talk about the return of Insecure , how she’s supporting the next generation of black artists, and why black audiences matter the most to her. And how cookie dough is getting her through coronatine.' -- Come Through with Rebecca Carroll

A Moment of True Decolonization #31: Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Beginning of a Perfect Decolonial Moment

by Mark Anthony Neal / 23h

' Ruth Wilson Gilmore is Professor of Geography and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the City University of New York Graduate Center. A co-founder of many grassroots organizations including California Prison Moratorium Project, and Critical Resistance, she works on racial 

NewBlackMan (in Exile)