Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Big Education Ape: 7-12-11 PM HOW ALEC, THE KOCH BROTHERS AND THEIR CORPORATE ALLIES PLAN TO PRIVATIZE GOVERNMENT EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Published by Coopmike48 – 7 contributors today

Publicopoly Exposed -- In These Times

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Publicopoly Exposed -- In These TimesThis article is permanently archived at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/main/article/11603/Publicopoly ExposedHow ALEC, the Koch brothers and their corporate allie...

coopmike48

APS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trend | ajc.com

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - APS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trend | ajc.comAPS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trendShareThisPrintE-mailBy Robert A. SchaefferThe Atlanta cheating scandal is likely the largest in scope in U...

coopmike48

This Week In Education: Cheating: Is NAEP Next?

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - This Week In Education: Cheating: Is NAEP Next?Cheating: Is NAEP Next?by Alexander RussoIncreasingly, NAEP scores are being used by big-city district leaders like former ATL head Beverly Hall as a ...

coopmike48

The Shelters That Clinton Built

thenation.com - When Demosthene Lubert heard that Bill Clinton's foundation was going to rebuild his collapsed school at the epicenter of Haiti's January 12, 2010, earthquake, in the coastal city of Lรฉogรขne, the a...

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coopmike48 Remainders: A sixth-borough view on Innovation Zone newbie | GothamSchools - http://goo.gl/k1gZ47 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Ohio Picks Heffner as New State Schools Superintendent - State EdWatch - Education Week:http://t.co/nDnINHT via @addthis5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Ohio Picks Heffner as New State Schools Superintendent - State EdWatch - Education Week -http://goo.gl/DCzFr4 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Cyberbullies, beware | The Education Report

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Cyberbullies, beware | The Education ReportCyberbullies, bewareBy Katy MurphyMonday, July 11th, 2011 at 4:51 pm in politics, safety and discipline, violence.Bullying is grounds for suspension or ex...

coopmike48

State worker unions protest blocked raises

chicagotribune.com - By Monique Garcia Clout Street 2:18 p.m. CDT, July 12, 2011 Several dozen union workers gathered at a downtown state office building this afternoon to protest Gov. Pat Quinn's decision to block rai...

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School Tech Connect: Scrub Completed

schooltechconnect.com - Crazy busy day here--- don't even get me started. My only observation is that the Aspen Ideas tech people have apparently had a talking-to about the persistence of the embed code for the Edelman Mo...

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Shadowboxing [To 50K and Beyond] | The Jose Vilson

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Shadowboxing [To 50K and Beyond] | The Jose VilsonShadowboxing [To 50K and Beyond]by JoseGolden Gloves Boxer, Shadow BoxingWriting these days has been an exercise in shadowboxing, fighting myself o...

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PoliticsSee all

WI recall: It's about saving the middle class

teamsternation.blogspot.com - The first reports are in on turnout from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Apparently it's slow in River Forest and Shorewood. The Democratic candidates are Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay) and Gla...

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Eying 2013 Mayoral Race, Stringer Raises $655,000

cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com - Demonstrating continued fund-raising strength as he eyes a likely bid for mayor in 2013, the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, is expected to report this week that he raised $655,000 ...

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Part II « Small Farmers. Big Change.

smallfarmersbigchange.coop - July 12, 2011 by Phyllis Robinson Part II: Reflections from the South, by Santiago Paz, Co-Manager, Cepicafe The following is an English translation of a video interview with Santiago Paz which fir...

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Robert Reich (The President's Jobs Plan (Not))

robertreich.org - What did the President do in response to last week’s horrendous job report — unemployment rising to 9.2 percent in June, with only 18,000 new jobs (125,000 are needed each month just to keep up wit...

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Special Olympics softball competition - Chicago Sun

suntimes.com - Roberto Guzman of Harrison Park takes a swing at the 13th annual Special Olympics softball skills competition, Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Grant Park. | Jean Lachat~Sun-Times Teammates from Harrison ...

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    This Week In Education: Thompson: Kids Being "Fired" from Charter Schools

    This Week In Education: Thompson: Kids Being "Fired" from Charter Schools
    Thompson: Kids Being "Fired" from Charter Schools [image: Charters] Walking into my high school class on the first day of school, often it was obvious which kids had math or reading disabilities. But if a child took a seat on the front row, pulled out his or her well-organized materials, and worked ...
    Five Best Blogs: States' "Race" Timelines Were "Overly Optimistic" [image: Knockout] Assessing the Progress of Race to the Top New America: Many states have found that their original timelines were “overly optimistic” and have had to rework the planned roll out of different efforts. Academic Exceptionalism Amanda ...
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    Jersey Jazzman: Accountability For Thee, Not For Me!

    Jersey Jazzman: Accountability For Thee, Not For Me!

    Accountability For Thee, Not For Me!

    by Duke
    But... but... but... I thought judging success by looking at standardized tests was "not perfect, but better than nothing"!
    Standardized test scores are supposed to bring the hammer of accountability down on teachers, principals and schools. When scores don’t grow as expected, evaluations suffer, career trajectories flatten, jobs can be lost. Schools that miss out on the still-coveted AYP seal of approval face questions from parents and elected officials.
    But for the D.C. school system as a whole, this year’s so-so showing will come without cost--even though the District fell short of what it promised the federal government in its successful 2010 application for $75 million in Race to the Top
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    Duncan’s office met with IG about cheating - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

    Duncan’s office met with IG about cheating - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

    Duncan’s office met with IG about cheating

    by Bill Turque

    One of the multiple murky aspects of the U.S. Education Department’s apparent involvement in the D.C. cheating probe is how it began. Was the agency’s office of inspector general asked by the District’s IG to assist? Did it intervene on its own? Was it prodded by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has been more vocal lately on the issue of test security?

    Justin Hamilton, Duncan’s press secretary, offered a fragment of new detail today.

    “All I can say for now is that we’ve met with the IG’s office about the issue of cheating and know that they are engaged and paying close attention to what’s going on,” he said.

    Read full article >>
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    NYC Public School Parents: Tomas Hanna, new innovation chief for DOE

    NYC Public School Parents: Tomas Hanna, new innovation chief for DOE

    Tomas Hanna, new innovation chief for DOE

    by Leonie Haimson
    I asked a friend, Helen Gym, a parent activist in Philadelphia, what she knew of Tomas Hanna, the new head of “Innovation” for DOE, which to the educrats at Tweed, unfortunately, means online learning. With her permission, I share her message below. Here is his picture from the Broad Academy website, where he graduated in 2008.
    Dear Leonie:
    Thanks for your inquiry about Tomas Hanna, whom I've known in different circles around Philadelphia. In general, I would say that Tomas carries a general reputation as an accessible education administrator. He's polite, professional, and overall is responsive to most communities around a variety of issues.
    In Philadelphia, he's held a number of posts. He won accolades as a teacher & principal and rose quickly thru administration. He eventually became head of Human Resources where he was charged with heading up the Campaign for Human Development, a ground-breaking
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    Jersey Jazzman: Questions For Merit Pay Supporters

    Jersey Jazzman: Questions For Merit Pay Supporters

    Questions For Merit Pay Supporters

    by Duke
    I was listening to the gab station yesterday (the new guys on 101.5 at least they let callers finish their sentences), and the subject was merit pay. The folks who love merit pay just don't understand how anyone could be against it: "It's what happens in the 'real world!'"

    I teach elementary school - nothing is more "real" than the world I deal with every day: broken homes, children with learning and emotional disabilities, economic struggles... that's as "real" as it gets. But let's put that aside and talk about merit pay. Study after study has shown that it doesn't help student achievement, but that doesn't stop some people from advocating for it. It seems "logical'; it seems "fair."

    Until you start asking people how, exactly, it should be set up. Because when you starting asking some questions, merit pay looks quite a bit less appealing:

    - Are we going to spend any extra money on merit pay? To me, this is probably the most important question
    Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action
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    School Tech Connect: Let's Fax The Governor

    School Tech Connect: Let's Fax The Governor

    Let's Fax The Governor

    There's so much going on right now, it's hard to keep up, but the PURE is asking folks to contact the governor regarding SB 630, which is desperately needed in Chicago. If you need me to send a fax on your behalf, just email me your note to the governor and I'll send if off. Mine couldn't have been any simpler; I pretty much just used Julie's suggestions.



    This is one of those Illinois things, so forgive me. Our city's district has a hugely opaque process on closing schools and deciding who's going to get what and when. It's traditionally been influenced by politics. This bill requires the district to come up with a facilities plan. You know, like a normal place where they elect the school board.
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    Cyber-bullying Now Grounds For Expulsion At CA Schools | The Moral Liberal

    Cyber-bullying Now Grounds For Expulsion At CA Schools | The Moral Liberal

    Cyber-bullying Now Grounds For Expulsion At CA Schools


    July 12, 2011

    School Days, EducationNews.org

    At The Education Report, reporter Katy Murphy’s blog on education news, we read about a new lawthat has been signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in California.

    Bullying is grounds for suspension or expulsion in California, whether it’s done face to face or through electronic media. And if there was any doubt that Facebook and other social networks came under the state’s definition of electronic media, there isn’t anymore.

    The bill, know as AB 746, or the Cyber Bully Prevention bill, was championed by

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    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Experts fly into town to make the necessary "tweaks"

    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Experts fly into town to make the necessary "tweaks"

    Experts fly into town to make the necessary "tweaks"

    "If it's something that's not working, then what are the tweaks that need to be made." -- Expert Jonathan Brice, heads the Office of Student Support and Safety in Baltimore City Public Schools
    All the king's men...
    Chicago's new schools chief, J.C. Brizard hasassembled a team of "experts" from across the land to help him figure out how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. The fall in this case is 15 years of mayoral control underDaley and his "miracle" makers -- Vallas,Duncan, and Huberman.

    As far as I can tell, Brizard's list of "experts" is
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    Could Smaller School Districts Have Prevented Atlanta Cheating Scandal? | Resurgence | Big Think

    Could Smaller School Districts Have Prevented Atlanta Cheating Scandal? | Resurgence | Big Think

    COULD SMALLER SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE PREVENTED ATLANTA CHEATING SCANDAL?

    Kris Broughton on July 12, 2011, 2:49 PM
    Test_

    Here in Atlanta, the cheating scandal at the Atlanta Public School system has been front page news every day. The new superintendent is cleaning house based on the findings of an800 page report from the governor’s office while the old superintendent has just retired and is laying low in Hawaii. In the years down the road, when this scandal has become a distant memory, the APS system will still be a behemoth, with over 54,000 K-12 students and more than 6000 teachers, staffers and administrators.

    Could the idea of creating smaller school districts in large urban areas make more of a difference in their student’s scholastic achievement level?

    1. The higher the level of poverty in a community served by a school, the more damage larger schools and school districts inflict on student achievement. In more affluent communities, the impact of school and district size is quite small, but the poorer the community, the stronger the influence.

    2. The achievement gap between children from more affluent and those from less affluent communities is narrowed in smaller schools and smaller districts, and

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    After union bid, fired charter school teachers allege retaliation | GothamSchools

    After union bid, fired charter school teachers allege retaliation | GothamSchools

    After union bid, fired charter school teachers allege retaliation

    by

    Earlier this year, a small group of determined teachers at Opportunity Charter School marched into Leonard Goldberg’s office and confronted their boss.

    They carried a letter that detailed their complaints with Goldberg’s response to their recent bid to unionize. Not only had Goldberg refused to recognize the staff’s vote to join the United Federation of Teachers, they said, he had begun waging an anti-union email campaign.

    Goldberg, the school’s CEO, declined the letter and ordered them to leave, according to a teacher present at the meeting.

    “He was screaming and yelling,” said the teacher. “He said ‘You’re not welcome in here,’ and threw us out of the office.”

    By the end of the school year, that teacher and 13 of her pro-union colleagues – as well as one who opposed

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    Calculating the Savings From Ending Last-in, First-Out - State EdWatch - Education Week

    Calculating the Savings From Ending Last-in, First-Out - State EdWatch - Education Week

    Calculating the Savings From Ending Last-in, First-Out

    by Sean Cavanagh

    Critics of "last-in, first-out" policies, which compel districts to lay off the least experienced educators first, say those arrangements undermine the talent pool by forcing school systems to make decisions about their workforce that have nothing to do with teaching ability.

    But in a newly published essay, a pair of scholars make the case that there's another consequence for "LIFO": When times are tough—as they are now—it forces districts to lay off more teachers than they otherwise might.

    State and district leaders will probably read the paper with interest, as they scramble for ways to cut costs without undermining classroom instruction. This year, a number of states, including Florida, Idaho, Illinois, and

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    What School Integration Teaches Kids (and Adults, Too) - Dana Goldstein

    What School Integration Teaches Kids (and Adults, Too) - Dana Goldstein

    What School Integration Teaches Kids (and Adults, Too)

    by Dana Goldstein

    Jay Matthews reports on a fascinating school integration debate in suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Teenagers in the affluent, predominantly white neighborhood of Wakefield Chapel are currently zoned to attend the unusually diverse Annandale High School, which is 49 percent low-income and about one-third Latino, 29 percent white, 23 percent Asian, and 15 percent black. The high school has a well-regarded International Baccalaureate program and scores highly on the Washington Post's Challenge Index, a ranking of how effective high schools across the country are at enrolling all students--not just those from privileged families--in college-level courses.

    But Annandale High is now overcrowded, and Fairfax's response has been to rezone the wealthy Wakefield Chapel neighborhood to Woodson High, which is two-thirds white and just 6 percent low-income.

    This decision has opened up an interesting rift in the neighborhood. Parents of younger kids --those currently attending whiter, wealthier elementary and middle schools--are in favor of the switch to Woodson. They assume that their own already-privileged children will get more out of a high school experience learning alongside similar

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    Schooling in the Ownership Society: Koldyke's Chicago 'turnaround' investment

    Schooling in the Ownership Society: Koldyke's Chicago 'turnaround' investment

    Koldyke's Chicago 'turnaround' investment

    by Mike Klonsky
    Koldyke
    It all began when venture capitalist and Mayor Daley golf buddy, Mike Koldyke(Frontenac Capital) decided he could save the public school system by running it like a business. Frontenac had been a big investor in for-profit colleges like DeVry and Rasmussen College, which trained technically skilled workers for local businesses.Scrutiny of for-profit colleges by the feds has them, and everybody across the for-profit sector, examining how they measure student success and relying more and more on standardized testing.

    In 2001, with lots of political clout and years of good will built up from his days sponsoring the Golden Apple Foundation, and as a trustee of the Chicago Public Education Fund, Koldyke decided to get into the heavily D.O.E.-funded school-turnaround business by establishing his own non-profit venture, the Academy for
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    APS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trend  | ajc.com

    APS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trend | ajc.com

    APS cheating scandal reflects U.S. trend

    By Robert A. Schaeffer

    The Atlanta cheating scandal is likely the largest in scope in U.S. history in terms of the number of people implicated. But it is hardly an isolated incident.

    For more than two decades, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), has tracked reports of cheating from across the nation. The number of cases has exploded in recent years, with new reports nearly every week.

    In the past few months, improper test score manipulation have been uncovered in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando and many smaller communities.

    The Georgia Office of Special Investigators’ report on the Atlanta scandal provides a particularly cogent analysis of the causes of the problem. If politicians who mandate school policies heed its findings, it should have powerful implications for both federal and state testing requirements.

    Here’s what the Georgia investigators found:

    “Three primary conditions led to widespread cheating on the 2009 CRCT. The targets set by the district were often

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