Friday, August 19, 2011

Big Education Ape: 8-19-11 AM More Shame of a Nation EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Published by Coopmike48 – 4 news spotters today

More Shame of a Nation

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - On the heels of the Annie E. Casey report (below) comes another devastating report from the Children's Defense Fund on the State of America's Children. Here's the high lowlightsHow America Ranks Am...

mikeklonsky

Michelle Rhee Challenged at Martha's Vineyard Forum

theroot.com - Former Washington, DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was a frequent target at a forum on education on Martha's Vineyard last night. Rhee, who resigned as head of district schools after Mayor Adri...

mikeklonsky

Is anyone listening? | Our Schools NYC

ourschoolsnyc.org - Note: I refer to each person in this article by first name, not out of disrespect but rather a neutral respect. It is the same respect I demand of my students, who call me by my first name and noth...

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EducationSee all

Shame of a nation

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - Millions of children growing up in poverty A couple of new reports caught my eye yesterday. The first was a new study on child well-being put out by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It found that c...

mikeklonsky

SocietySee all

Rick Perry has a funny definition of "miracle"

dailykos.com - You know how the national health care law is modelled after Romneycare in Massachusetts? So if such laws kill jobs, as conservatives claim, then Massachusetts should be in dire straits, correct? If...

fklonsky

Verizon Strike Solidarity Fund

afl.salsalabs.com - Amid the larger national context of attacks on public employee unions, Verizon has adopted a page from Scott Walker’s playbook to launch an assault on collective bargaining rights and the middle cl...

leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

Sharpton's Racket - Page 1 - Columns - New York

villagevoice.com - The Reverend Al Sharpton has proven that it's a waste of ink to detail his decades of bad behavior: the payoffs, shakedowns, conflicts of interests, campaign violations, and legal problems that hav...

leoniehaimson

Election Update for Thursday

saveseattleschools.blogspot.com - Looks like all the incumbents dropped slightly (but overall one percent or less). However, the fight is still on for the challenger to Martin-Morris in Position 3. Dunn has closed the gap to les...

coopmike48

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Las maestras y los maestros importan

vidayfamilia.univision.com - Una maestra efectiva puede adelantar el conocimiento de sus estudiantes por el equivalente de un grado y medio en el espacio de un año académico, mientras que una inefectiva los hace crecer solamen...

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HealthSee all

State of America's Children® 2010 Report

childrensdefense.org - Release Date: May 28, 2010File Size: 3.96 MBFile Format: pdfDownload Document CDF's The State of America's Children 2010, is a compilation of the most recent and reliable national and state-by-st...

mikeklonsky

BusinessSee all

Customers Feel Some Ripples From the Verizon Strike

nytimes.com - As a strike by 45,000 Verizon workers approaches the two-week mark, the company’s customers are beginning to feel the impact — and are complaining about it. Verizon acknowledges “minor”...

leoniehaimson

#verizonRead this paperSee all

Customers Feel Some Ripples From the Verizon Strike

nytimes.com - As a strike by 45,000 Verizon workers approaches the two-week mark, the company’s customers are beginning to feel the impact — and are complaining about it. Verizon acknowledges “minor”...

leoniehaimson

#sosRead this paperSee all

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    Schools Matter: School Vouchers Fail Again

    Schools Matter: School Vouchers Fail Again

    School Vouchers Fail Again

    by Jim Horn
    Last week a Colorado judge struck down yet another attempt to privatize and bleed out public schools with unconstitutional school vouchers:
    DENVER (AP) — A Denver judge blocked Colorado's first school voucher program Friday, calling the program to give parents in the state's wealthiest county checks for tuition at religious schools a "substantial disservice to the public interest."

    Denver District Judge Michael Martinez sided with a group of parents, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They asked for an injunction blocking the "Choice Scholarship Pilot Program" in Douglas County.

    The voucher opponents argued the program violates the separation of church and state because it
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    Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 9


    Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 9

    Modern School: Politics and Capitalism Make Kids Stupid Modern School: Politics and Capitalism Make Kids Stupid Politics and Capitalism Make Kids Stupid by Michael Dunn While pundits, billionaires and politicians continue to scream that the educational sky is falling because of teachers’ selfishness, ...

    solidaridad: Open Letter to DFER's Gloria Romero regarding her recent reactionary letter to the AFTsolidaridad: Open Letter to DFER's Gloria Romero regarding her recent reactionary letter to the AFT Open Letter to DFER's Gloria Romero regarding her recent reactionary letter to the AFT by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *I think about former Senator ...

    Hispanic Group, Spread the Word About the Need to Preserve the Colorado River - Hispanically Speaking News Hispanic Group, Spread the Word About the Need to Preserve the Colorado River - Hispanically Speaking News Hispanic Group Looking to Spread the Word About the Need to Preserve the Colorado River 0 Comments Published at 5:29 pm, August 18, 2011 [image: ...

    SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Jackson Pollock Comes To The NYC DOE SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Jackson Pollock Comes To The NYC DOE Jackson Pollock Comes To The NYC DOE by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) Years ago, I think around 1996, my wife and I were passing through Austerlitz NY on Labor Day weekend and came upon a ...

    On The Future of Teaching: Evaluating the Evaluators, Part 1 | The Jose Vilson On The Future of Teaching: Evaluating the Evaluators, Part 1 | The Jose Vilson On The Future of Teaching: Evaluating the Evaluators, Part 1 by Jose Here’s an excerpt from The Future of Teaching: Your choice of Renee Moore speaks volumes of what you ...

    Brill Book: Race to Top Scores Sparked 'Near-Panic' at Ed. Dept. - Politics K-12 - Education Week Brill Book: Race to Top Scores Sparked 'Near-Panic' at Ed. Dept. - Politics K-12 - Education Week Brill Book: Race to Top Scores Sparked 'Near-Panic' at Ed. Dept. by Michele McNeil Louisiana and Colorado take heart: Senior staff members at the U.S. ...

    State Special Schools Director Named - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education) State Special Schools Director Named - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education) State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces New Director to Head Department's State Special Schools and Services Division SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom ...

    Subverting The National Conversation: A lesson on how it is done! - Perdaily.com Subverting The National Conversation: A lesson on how it is done! by Susan lee Schwartz with thanks to Kevin Gosztola - Perdaily.com Subverting The National Conversation: A lesson on how it is done! by Susan lee Schwartz with thanks to Kevin Gosztola by ...

    Duncan: States Don't Need to Join Common Core for Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week Duncan: States Don't Need to Join Common Core for Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week Duncan: States Don't Need to Join Common Core for Waiver By Alyson Klein on August 18, 2011 5:05 PM | No comments | No recommendations If you were worried that ...
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    Benefits of Merit Pay Unclear - Chicago News Cooperative

    Benefits of Merit Pay Unclear - Chicago News Cooperative

    Benefits of Merit Pay Unclear

    by REBECCA VEVEA

    As Chicago Public Schools officials begin to shape a new system of merit pay for principals, experts say there are important lessons to be learned from cities that have experimented with similar initiatives.

    As he had promised during the mayoral campaign, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Monday that CPS would implement a $10 million merit pay program for principals next year, which would be partially funded with private money.

    Recent research suggests there is no clear link between bonuses and improved student performance, but politicians and administrators continue to push for merit pay in the nation’s school systems.

    “It’s an idea that keeps coming back,” said Julie Marsh, the lead researcher for a study on New York City’s

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    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Obama should have walked over to the Whaling Church last night

    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Obama should have walked over to the Whaling Church last night

    Obama should have walked over to the Whaling Church last night

    I wish I could have been there. I wish Pres. Obama and Michelle would have made it over to the 1787 Old Whaling Church in Martha's Vineyard last night as well. The Post's coverage makes last night's panel sound simply like a well-deserved verbal spanking of test-and-punish Michelle Rhee by Diane Ravitch. Rhee's singular focus on bad teachers always pales in comparison to Ravitch's broader social critique.

    Harvard prof Lawrence Bobo
    Unfortunately, you have to scan this morning's
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    Lobato 8/18: Sheridan’s story | EdNewsColorado

    Lobato 8/18: Sheridan’s story | EdNewsColorado

    Lobato 8/18: Sheridan’s story

    by Todd Engdahl

    Sheridan on Thursday joined the long list of school districts whose leaders have voluntarily confessed their failings during testimony at the Lobato school funding trial.

    Lobato v. State illustrationDuring testimony that took all morning, lawyer David Hinojosa led Superintendent Michael Clough through lengthy testimony about the district’s demographics, achievement scores, budget, building needs and more.

    Sheridan has about 1,600 students, 80 percent eligible for free and reduced lunch, nearly 80 percent Hispanic and more than a third English language learners, according to Clough’s testimony. Sheridan is accredited with a

    DPS touts CSAP growth over time

    by Charlie Brennan

    Don’t focus only on the current ranking of Denver Public Schools. Look, too, at how far they have come.

    DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg talked about the district's academic growth at Steck Elementary on Thursday, the first day of school for most students.

    That’s the message Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg delivered to school board members Thursday night, discussing district results released Aug. 3 for the final year of testing under the Colorado

    Video: DPS goes back to class

    by Nancy Mitchell
    Popout

    Steck Elementary students in Denver prepare for their first day of class in 2011-12.

    Enrollment in Denver Public Schools is projected to hit 80,956 this fall, the first time the district has surpassed 80,000 since 1974 when the U.S. Supreme Court mandated busing to integrate city schools.

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    State Auditor calls CalSTRS a high risk | Thoughts on Public Education

    State Auditor calls CalSTRS a high risk | Thoughts on Public Education

    State Auditor calls CalSTRS a high risk

    Anti-spiking bill will be test of Legislature's resolve

    Posted on 8/19/11 • Categorized as Pensions, Uncategorized

    By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

    State Auditor Elaine Howle has added the teachers’ pension fund, CalSTRS, to the state’shigh-risk list, adding urgency to the imperative to reduce taxpayers’ liability for the nation’s largest education pension fund. The release of Howle’s periodic update of financial worries comes on the eve of the final showdown on a significant pension reform before the Legislature, an anti-spiking bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian, a Palo Alto Democrat.

    Passage of SB 27 by itself won’t make a huge dent in the problem. But the bill deals with

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    Parents Across America, Seattle Part of Protest at Apple Store | Seattle Education

    Parents Across America, Seattle Part of Protest at Apple Store | Seattle Education

    Parents Across America, Seattle Part of Protest at Apple Store

    by seattleducation2011

    The Battle for Seattle continues.

    Steve Jobs with Apple has gotten on the ed reform bandwagon and is offering free iPads to Teach for America recruits but of course none to real teachers who have teaching experience, degrees in education and have devoted their lives to their school communities. Nope, this is for the TFA, Inc. recruits with five weeks of training to teach to the test and nothing more. I guess they need some sort of way to track all of those test scores.

    Check out this great video titled An Apple a Day for TFA.

    The protest happened on August 13, 2011.

    Dora

    Part 1

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    Support growing for school finance reform | California Watch

    Support growing for school finance reform | California Watch

    Support growing for school finance reform

    by Denise Zapata

    Flickr/woodleywonderworks

    A recent effort to reform California public school financing has stalled, but key players say there’s a growing consensus that the system needs to be simplified and made more equitable.

    A bill by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, sailed through the state Assembly but faced problems in the Senate last month. Amid concerns about opposition from teachers unions and questions about a lack of specificity, Brownley pulled her legislation and converted it into a two-year bill, meaning it will be revisited in January. The bill would place fewer restrictions on how school districts can spend state money.

    “I have commitments from all the stakeholder groups that they will work with me on it,” Brownley said. “I think everyone agrees that we need to reform the system. Where the concerns lie is ensuring that this is a system

    Plastics industry edited environmental textbook

    by Suzanne Yada

    José Luis Girarte/istockphoto.com

    Under pressure from the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for the plastics industry, schools officials in California edited a new environmental curriculum to include positive messages about plastic shopping bags, interviews and documents show.

    The rewritten textbooks and teachers’ guides coincided with a public relations and lobbying effort by the chemistry council to fight proposed plastic bag bans throughout the country. But despite the positive message, activists say there is no debate: Plastic bags kill marine animals, leech toxic chemicals and take an estimated 1,000 years to decompose in landfills.

    In 2009, a private consultant hired by California school officials added a new section to the 11th-grade teachers’

    React & Act: How to join the environmental curriculum debate

    by La Toya Tooles

    In “Plastics industry edited environmental textbook,” California Watch reporter Susanne Rust details how, under pressure from a lobbying group for plastics manufacturers, state public school officials have edited a new environmental curriculum to include positive messages about plastic shopping bags. We’ve created a list of key players you can reach out to ifyou would like to weigh in on the issue.

    Gov. Jerry Brow
    Phone: 916-445-2841
    Write: State Capitol, Suite 1173
    Sacramento, CA 95814

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    Today's Big Idea To Get America Working: Invest In Public Education | California Progress Report

    Today's Big Idea To Get America Working: Invest In Public Education | California Progress Report

    Today's Big Idea To Get America Working: Invest In Public Education

    by megan

    By Jeff Bryant

    I don't think anyone has ever even tried to make the argument that education and jobs are not in any way linked. But the economic argument for education is not well understood even by those -- politicians especially -- who are most apt to make the connection. So before we demand that political and civic leaders at all levels turn around our troubled economy by increasing investment in public education, we need to get the framing right.

    You Can't Blame The Bad Economy On Education

    A truly specious argument about education and its relationship to the economy is that economic failures are "caused" by inadequate public schools. Both conservatives and "liberals" are often guilty of making this charge.

    read more

    Children Are Invisible Victims of California's Tanking Economy

    by megan

    By Ngoc Nguyen

    The dual problems of housing instability and joblessness are negatively affecting the well-being of California’s children, according to a new report released Wednesday.

    One million children in the state -- or 7 percent -- have been impacted by foreclosure since 2007, according to figures taken from the 2011 Kids Count Data Book, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Only three states have higher rates than California, including Nevada (13 percent), Florida (10 percent) and Arizona (8 percent). The figures exclude children living in rental units, whose families may have been affected.

    The report also found that children in California are paying a price due to a grim job market. About 1.2 million children in the state now have at least one unemployed parent, and about one-third of all children statewide have no parent with a full time, year-round job.

    read more

    Landmark Health Care Reform Legislation Introduced by Senate President Steinberg

    by megan

    By Marty Omoto

    Potential sweeping landmark health care insurance reform legislation was introduced Tuesday by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg that would require health managed care plans and health insurance plans to provide as a covered benefit behavioral health treatment for persons with autism spectrum disorders. The legislation would take effect, if passed by the Legislature before it adjourns for the year on September 9th and signed by the Governor on or before October 9th, on January 1, 2012.

    The bill, which Steinberg said he was committed to see passed before the Legislature adjourns for the year on September 9th, will likely meet fierce opposition from health managed care plans and strong support from advocates for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and their families. Health plans who have opposed previous efforts, have said that behavioral health treatments for persons with autism are more appropriately provided by school districts and other entities.

    read more

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    D.C.’s move toward charter-centric school system - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

    D.C.’s move toward charter-centric school system - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

    D.C.’s move toward charter-centric school system

    by Valerie Strauss

    Are we seeing the beginnings of the “New Orleanization” of the D.C. public school system?

    There is new evidence suggesting that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray is taking the initial steps in a move toward molding the system into one that has a small core of traditional public schools and a larger collection of independently run charter schools. For a lot of reasons, D.C. residents should be concerned.

    Remember when Michelle Rhee quit as D.C. schools chancellor last October, insisting that she had to leave because the soon-to-be-new-mayor, Gray, wasn’t committed to her brand of reform? Wrong again.

    Read full article >>

    The right way to lengthen the school year

    by Valerie Strauss

    This is the third part of a debate on time and learning that started with a a post I published Tuesday by Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University, about what he called an “absurd” debate on the appropriate length of the school year. He noted that there is no compelling evidence that a longer school year improves student learning. Then yesterday I published a response by Jennifer Davis, co-founder and president of the National Center on Time & Learning, and Emily McCann, president of Citizen Schools. Here is Phillips, once again, responding to the Davis-McCann piece.

    Read full article >>
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    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More Shame of a Nation

    Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More Shame of a Nation

    More Shame of a Nation


    On the heels of the Annie E. Casey report (below) comes another devastating report from the Children's Defense Fund on the State of America's Children. Here's the high lowlights

    How America Ranks Among Industrialized Countries in
    Investing in and Protecting Children

    1st in gross domestic product
    1st in number of billionaires
    1st in number of persons incarcerated
    1st in health expenditures
    1st in military technology
    1st in defense
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    NYC Public School Parents: Karen Sprowal talks about class size at last night's PEP and Verizon vote followed by audience yelling "Shame!"

    NYC Public School Parents: Karen Sprowal talks about class size at last night's PEP and Verizon vote followed by audience yelling "Shame!"

    Karen Sprowal talks about class size at last night's PEP and Verizon vote followed by audience yelling "Shame!"

    by Leonie Haimson

    Karen Sprowal,whose son, Matthew, was kicked out of Harlem Success charter school in Kindergarten, speaks for Class Size Matters about the devastating school budget cuts and the harsh effect on class size at last night's Panel for Educational Policy meeting.

    Below this video is another of the audience shouting "Shame" after the Panel vote to approve the $120 million contract with Verizon.
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