Monday, September 19, 2011

In the News: CPS vs. CTU school day battle heats up | catalyst-chicago.org

In the News: CPS vs. CTU school day battle heats up | catalyst-chicago.org:

In the News: CPS vs. CTU school day battle heats up

By: Cassandra West / September 19, 2011

The debate over a longer school day in Chicago Public Schools has now turned nasty, with both sides —the Chicago Teachers Union and school officials — accusing each other of exerting pressure to sway teachers, the Tribune reported over the weekend.

ALSO: The New York Times' Monica Davey on the battle between Mayor Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union.

Tribune columnist Eric Zorn says the Chicago Teachers Union would face a public relations defeat if it wins the complaint it has filed with the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

A program run by Urban Students Empowered, pairs Chicago Public Schools students

Goals. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Goals. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Goals.

by Fred Klonsky

I had a number of different jobs before I started teaching nearly three decades ago. None of them asked me what my professional goals were.

None of those jobs were what would be considered professional jobs. But I don’t think that’s why I wasn’t asked about my goals.

Do doctor’s get asked every year to write down their professional goals. Do lawyers?

It’s not as if the principal or anybody else actually looks at them.

I know one teacher who sends a xerox of her goals from the year before. Nobody notices if they changed or asks why.

It is kind of a mystery as to what they are looking for us to say anyway.

If they mean curricular goals, it is a rather cruel joke. There is less opportunity than ever to insert our own perspective and experience into the curriculum. Less time. More is centralized and test driven. “Consistency

Shanker Blog » Be Careful What You Think The Public Thinks About Tenure

Shanker Blog » Be Careful What You Think The Public Thinks About Tenure:

Be Careful What You Think The Public Thinks About Tenure

by Matthew Di Carlo

Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray offered this response to my criticism of how he described tenure in a recent poll of New Jersey public opinion (see my brief reply and Bruce Baker’s as well).

I’m not particularly keen on arguing about the wording of poll questions. As I stated in my original post, wordings are never perfect, and one must always take this into account when trying to interpret polling results. I took issue with Monmouth’s phrasing because it is demonstrably inaccurate, nothing more.

But I do want to quickly add that, as is often the case, responses to poll questions about tenure are very sensitive to the nature of the description offered. A 2009 PDK/Gallup poll provides an illustration.

The poll split the sample into halves, with each half offered a different description of tenure.

One half of those polled were asked:

Most public school teachers have tenure; that is, after a two- or three-year period, they receive

The Teacher Salary Project New Film Fights Negative Perception of Teachers

The Teacher Salary Project:

THE BROAD REPORT The 2011 Broad Report Prize

THE BROAD REPORT:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District Wins Prestigious Broad Prize - US News and World Report

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District Wins Prestigious Broad Prize - US News and World Report:

Thank you for visiting THE BROAD REPORT. Yes, I know it's due for an updating (more about the Broad Residency, Brizard's departure from Rochester and transfer to Chicago, Gorman's initiation of extreme amounts of testing, a deeper look into the superintendent search firms being hired by school districts, etc.), but you'll still find a lot of worthwhile information here.

Be sure to check my other blogs:
– THE PERIMETER PRIMATE
– CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Some associated sites:
-DFER Watch (Democrats for Education Reform)
-Gates Education Report (as in Bill)

Send tips to perimeterprimate@yahoo.com.

Short-Changed by State, School Districts Borrow and Students Lose voiceofsandiego.org: Education

voiceofsandiego.org: Education:

Short-Changed by State, School Districts Borrow and Students LoseComments (3) | 4:10 pm

The last time Phil Stover saw a state government writing IOUs to schools was back in 2004.

That was in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Faced with a cash shortfall after the state was hit by four devastating hurricanes — Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne — Florida lawmakers took that unprecedented step. The IOUs lasted a couple of months, Stover said. Once the state caught up on its finances, it made school districts whole again.

But in San Diego, where Stover now works as deputy superintendent of business at San Diego Unified School District, getting short-changed by the state has become a way of life.

Read the rest of this article

With A Packed Agenda For Pennsylvania Legislature, Governor Tom Corbett Cites School Vouchers As Priority « CBS Philly

With A Packed Agenda For Pennsylvania Legislature, Governor Tom Corbett Cites School Vouchers As Priority « CBS Philly:

Governor Corbett Cites School Vouchers As Priority For Fall Legislative Session

September 19, 2011 4:25 AM

(Gov. Tom Corbett, in file photo)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) – Pennsylvania lawmakers begin returning to the state capitol today to begin what could be a tumultuous fall session of the legislature. The state Senate returns to session this week and the House returns next week.

Governor Corbett says his top priority is school vouchers, but he also wants to address transportation funding, liquor privatization, and natural gas drilling. Governor Corbett told WPHT’s Dom Giordano last week, “I want all four. I’d love to have all

Book Review: Creating the Opportunity to Learn … by Boykin and Noguera | The Jose Vilson

Book Review: Creating the Opportunity to Learn … by Boykin and Noguera | The Jose Vilson:

Book Review: Creating the Opportunity to Learn … by Boykin and Noguera

by Jose

Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap by A. Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera

A. Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera are amongst the most respected education professors in the nation, but with their book Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap, they seek to turn the extensive research review they’ve done in their careers and turn it into practical solutions for educators. Unlike other research-dense books, they understand the pressing need for people to make sense of what’s happening in controlled environments expressed in papers and the day-to-day experiences that K-12 teachers see happening in front of them. They begin with a framework for understanding the basis for why they write such a book, confronting the intersecting education and race theories present in the zeitgeist of current pedagogy. From there, they take on a variety of topics such as differences in how children of different

This Week In Education: Capitol Hill: Who's Pushing What In Online Publishing

This Week In Education: Capitol Hill: Who's Pushing What In Online Publishing:

Update: StoryCorps Teachers Starts Today [image: Old-books] Today is the launch date for the StoryCorps National Teachers Initiative I told you about a few weeks ago. There's a White House event today to kick things off. One of the first examples is this one, in which a neuroseurgeon ...

Capitol Hill: Who's Pushing What In Online Publishing [image: image from firststreet.cqpress.com] An interesting look at legislation, lobbying, and two online /ebook companies, AAP and ACS, from First Street Research Group (the folks from CQ Press, which includes Congressional Quarterly). Data ...

AM News: What Next For Obama Jobs / Education Plan? [image: News2] Education impact of jobs bill under debate EdWeek: Educators and analysts are taking a hard look at whether the $55 billion K-12 portion of President Barack Obama’s nearly $450 billion jobs plan will provide the jolt to schools still ...

Schools Matter: BPS Moves CorporatePower Compact Meeting to 5 PM

Schools Matter: BPS Moves CorporatePower Compact Meeting to 5 PM:

BPS Moves CorporatePower Compact Meeting to 5 PM

by Jim Horn

Even though Boston Public Schools knew last Thursday that the time for today's meeting would not be 7PM as previously announced (see time stamp on agenda below), BPS waited until this morning to release the agenda (click to enlarge) with the correct time of 5PM. Who needs a public for a non-public process, right?

So come early, you noisy bastards, come loud, come ready to speak, and be ready for civil disobedience and non-violent resistance. Spread the word.

I was able to obtain a copy of the early response to this corporatization plan from Citizens for Public Schools:

Ten Reasons to Abolish Homework (And Five Alternatives) « Cooperative Catalyst

Ten Reasons to Abolish Homework (And Five Alternatives) « Cooperative Catalyst:

Ten Reasons to Abolish Homework (And Five Alternatives)

by John T. Spencer

I don’t assign homework and I haven’t for the last four years. It’s been a slow journey, because it runs against a very powerful ideology within the United States. Here are ten reasons to abolish homework:

1. Young Children Are Busy: If a child cannot learn what needs to be learned in a six hour day, we are expecting too much of a child. We are creating a jam-packed hurried day without a chance to play, reflect and interact. Adding hours to an already busy day is absurd.
2. Older Children Are Even More Busy: So if younger students need a chance to play, the reality is that many older students are busy with extracurricular activities,
3. Inequitable Situation: I have some students who go home to parents that can provide additional support. I have others who go home and babysit younger siblings while their single parent works a second shift. I have some who don’t have adequate lighting, who constantly move and who lose electricity on a regular basis. Call those excuses if you want. I’ll call it systemic injustice instead.
4. Kids Need to Play: My son loves school. He loves the chance to learn to read, write and think in a way that is different from how I engage him. However, when he comes home, he needs to ride a bike, throw a ball or climb a

5 freedoms I enjoyed in school that my daughter won’t « MomsRising Blog

5 freedoms I enjoyed in school that my daughter won’t « MomsRising Blog:

5 freedoms I enjoyed in school that my daughter won’t

Posted September 19th, 2011 by Kerala Taylor

Read more: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/5-freedoms-i-enjoyed-in-school-that-my-daughter-won%e2%80%99t/#ixzz1YP8i6970

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa on Urban School Reform :: Frederick M. Hess

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa on Urban School Reform :: Frederick M. Hess:

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa on Urban School Reform

by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 19, 2011 at 8:09 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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This afternoon, at AEI, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is visiting to discuss the challenges of urban school reform, how to drive school improvement in a time of shrinking revenues, and the lessons he's learned in office. Villaraigosa, a longtime union organizer and former speaker of the California Assembly, was first elected mayor in 2005 and is now midway through his second term. As mayor, he's broken some china and earned some scars--and I'm curious to hear what he has to say about all of it. Villaraigosa has been named the "charter dude of the year" by the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (though, on second thought, that's probably not the official honorific), and will actually be receiving his award at the end of the event.

L.A. is America's second largest city and the LAUSD is America's second largest school district, enrolling nearly 700,000 students and boasting a $7.3 billion dollar budget. Just this past May, schools chief John Deasy stopped by to talk about his efforts. (You can check out the video of that event here.) Deasy described a district

Michelle Rhee group StudentsFirst dumps $1M into Michigan lobbying effort during teacher tenure reform push (comments) | MLive.com

Michelle Rhee group StudentsFirst dumps $1M into Michigan lobbying effort during teacher tenure reform push (comments) | MLive.com:

Michelle Rhee group StudentsFirst dumps $1M into Michigan lobbying effort during teacher tenure reform push (comments)

Published: Sunday, September 18, 2011, 9:25 AM Updated: Sunday, September 18, 2011, 6:38 PM

By Susan J. Demas | MLive.com Contributor

Education reform group StudentsFirst founded by former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, vaulted to the top of lobbying groups in Michigan this year, spending $951,000. Now MLive.com readers respond.

AP File PhotoTeachers protest education cuts in Monroe, 2011.

That's according to a new report by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.

Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative Republicans have pushed big changes like teacher tenure reform, which StudentsFirst supported. Now Senate Republicans have a package that would allow unlimited charter schools and mandate the schools of choice program.

I asked the question why StudentsFirst has to spend that much money when Snyder and Republicans back their agenda.

Rams102 had an answer:

Because the public does not support everything the GOP is doing. They need people to believe that eliminating seniority is good for their kids......they need people to believe that taking away local control of their school districts is good for their kids.
They know a lot of what is going on in Landing is not completely supported by people who do traditionally vote Republican.
Fancy color mailers selling something costs a lot of money.

FairVoice wrote that it was good politics:

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