Profits before students with charter schools | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Letters: Profits before students with charter schools | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

Profits before students with charter schools

Kurt Strazdins/McClatchy-Tribune

• FILED UNDER

• Opinion
• Letters To The Editor
• Charter Schools
• Rick Snyder
• Grosse Pointe

Now that Gov. Rick Snyder has lifted the cap on charter schools, we can expect to see a rise in for-profit companies running schools under the "authority" of universities.

In case anyone thinks charter schools are still "public" because they are run by universities, read the print in Senate Bill 618, which lists the kinds of entities that can "obtain a contract to organize and operate 1 or more 2 public school academies": "partnership, nonprofit or business corporation, labor organization, or any other association, corporation, trust, or other legal entity."

Lifting the cap on charter schools further privatizes our public school system. Money will continue to be drained from the public sector and poured into the private sector in the form of for-profit charter schools.

The schools will be accountable to company shareholders, not

School Tech Connect: Let's Get On With It

School Tech Connect: Let's Get On With It:

Let's Get On With It

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney last night at Evanston SPACE. Another hilarious show. After the show, I raced back home before the fireworks started because they terrify the dog. Really, throughout the course of the year, there are any number of events that terrify the dog.

Now back to another year of calling out Arne Duncan

New Year’s Day links. « Fred Klonsky

New Year’s Day links. « Fred Klonsky:

New Year’s Day links.

by Fred Klonsky

New York Mayor Bloomberg kisses Lady Gaga. Ball drops. H/T Arthur Goldstein.

500 Occupy Wall Street protesters briefly took back Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhanttan last night and this morning. “At least a dozen police officers charged into the park, plowing directly into a crowd of people, some of whom were trying to flee, pushing and shoving. One man was thrown down and pinned to the ground by several officers.”

“We want to make great teachers rich,” said Jason Kamras, the (Washington DC) district’s chief of human capital. This is from The New York Times report on Michelle Rhee’s DC merit pay program, where about 230

PWCS “Debt” and Budget « PWC Education Reform Blog

PWCS “Debt” and Budget « PWC Education Reform Blog:

PWCS “Debt” and Budget

January 1, 2012 — pwceducationreform

Every year about this time the school division begins preparing its budget for next year. The budget is a little confusing, and with over 100 pages of detail, kind of cumbersome. We’ll try to keep you aware of things we notice as the budget is released. Before we get into the details of the budget we wanted to review one item in particular which is the source of much debate and misunderstanding – our debt, debt service costs, and the CIP. Our source document for the numbers presented here is the 2011 Comprehensive Annual Report of Prince William County Schools, the audit of the financial operations associated with the 2010 – 2011 school year which you can find at the link or on the PWCS web site.

First things first – PWCS is audited every year and has received an unqualified opinion every year for as long as I can remember. An unqualified opinion is frequently referred to as a “clean opinion” but what it really means is that the auditors did not find anything in their examination which leads them to believe PWCS’s financial statements are

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 01.01.12. Lady Gaga and A Possum Greet You!

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 01.01.12. Lady Gaga and A Possum Greet You!:

The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 01.01.12. Lady Gaga and A Possum Greet You!

by stlgretchen

Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 01.01.12. We are using a different logo today in honor of possums everywhere.

Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Happy New Year!

Did you stay up until midnight and celebrate the ushering in of a new year? Most folks at home probably had their televisions turned to the Times Square coverage of the dropping of the LED lit crystal ball. Who was that masked wonder with Mayor Bloomberg on the concert stage? It was none other than Lady Gaga. Maybe her presence is illustrative of a "over the top" year in education and reforms. You can read some fascinating historical facts about the Times Square Ball here.

I don't know about you, but instead of seeing Lady Gaga, I'd rather see live coverage of other New Year's

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform

Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin (extended version)

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Moody Blues Nights In White Satin LyricsNights in white satin, never reaching the end,Letters I've written, never meaning to send.Beauty I'd always missed with these eyes before.Just what the truth is, I can't say anymore.'Cos I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you.Gazing at people, some hand in hand,Just what I'm going through they can't understand.Some try to tell me, thoughts they cannot defend,Just what you want to be, you will be in the end.And I ... more »

Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

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Schools Matter: Protect Your Children's Future by Saying No to High-Stakes Testing

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Schools Matter: Protect Your Children's Future by Saying No to High-Stakes Testing:Protect Your Children's Future by Saying No to High-Stakes Testingby Jim HornPlan for National Opt Out Day, January 7thA New Year is upon us. It is paramount that we make the most of it and organize and ACT to end corporate education reform. We must move out into our neighborhoods, our communities, and support others in understanding the absolute destruction surrounding the tactics of the corporate education reformers. Opting ... more »

The Few Like You Are Still The Few Like You « Cooperative Catalyst

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The Few Like You Are Still The Few Like You « Cooperative Catalyst:The Few Like You Are Still The Few Like YouPOSTED BY PAULA WHITE ⋅ JANUARY 1, 2012 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENTFollowing up on Pam’s post, “Once Upon a Time We Put a Human on the Moon,” I have to say I agree with much of what she said. In the “olden days,” there were desks in rows, kids doing worksheets, very little choice in assignments, mostly the teacher ... more »

Weekly Address: Working Together in the New Year

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President Obama tells the American people that, by joining together, we can move past the tough debates and help to create jobs and grow the economy in the new year.

4LAKids - WE MUST PRESERVE PUBLIC EDUCATION

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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: WE MUST PRESERVE PUBLIC EDUCATION:WE MUST PRESERVE PUBLIC EDUCATIONOP-ED BY PATRICE APODACA IN THE NEWPORT BEACH DAILY PILOT | HTTP://BIT.LY/RTOTZIDecember 31, 2011 | 6:49 p.m. :: By many measures, 2011 was a momentous year.Osama bin Laden was finally tracked down and killed. The Arab Spring uprisings toppled ruthless regimes. The Eurozone's unity was sorely tested. The Occupy protest movement swept across America.Closer to home, Costa Mesa became a key battleground in ... more »

Occupy Wall Street Ringing in the New Year (LIVE VIDEO) | The Dissenter #ows

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Occupy Wall Street Ringing in the New Year (LIVE VIDEO) | The Dissenter:Occupy Wall Street Ringing in the New Year (LIVE VIDEO)By: Kevin Gosztola Saturday December 31, 2011 10:19 pm Tweet15 Occupy Wall Street is celebrating the New Year in the streets. OccupyWallSt.org has posted a roundup on the website of what has happened thus far tonight. There have been multiple tents. A “tiny tent” went up in Zuccotti Park. People have been jumping barricades at Liberty Park. The police ... more »

Once Upon a Time We Put a Human on the Moon « Cooperative Catalyst

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Once Upon a Time We Put a Human on the Moon « Cooperative Catalyst:Once Upon a Time We Put a Human on the Moonby pamelamoranDespite complaints that NCLB has reduced classrooms to one-size-fits all test prep environments, my perspective is that our classrooms have mostly always been, with a few exceptions, one-size-fits all teaching spaces. In working at all three levels of Pk-12, elementary educators do seem more likely to create spaces where students have resource material choices, opportunities to ... more »

Walking to School: Dear NEA,

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Walking to School: Dear NEA,:Dear NEA,I have a New Year's Resolution for you: Man-up.That's what my students would say. That's much of what your membership seems to be saying. And that's what I implore you to do.I have been a teacher since 1978 and an NEA member for almost as long. But the fact of the matter is that, as I improved in my abilities to teach through an association with other professional organizations (the National Writing Project, The National ... more »

Schools Matter: Occupy the Schoolhouse! #ows

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Schools Matter: Occupy the Schoolhouse!:Occupy the Schoolhouse!by Kathleen LynchTime magazine has named the Protester as 2011’s Person of the Year. However, as I read the Time article reviewing the year in protests and revolutions, I found one critical protest missing from the narrative: the Save Our Schools movement. Aside from some limited coverage around the national march in July, the national media has largely ignored this important protest against the latest education “reform” movement . The Occupy movement, on the ... more »

New Year's Eve Noise Demo Against The Prison-Industrial Complex | OccupyWallSt.org #OWS #edREFORM

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New Year's Eve Noise Demo Against The Prison-Industrial Complex | OccupyWallSt.org:New Year's Eve Noise Demo Against The Prison-Industrial Complexby OccupyWallStSaturday, December 31st. 9PM (EST) MCC (Metropolitan Correctional Center), 150 Park Row, Manhattan (J to Chambers Street or 4/5/6 to City Hall)via the NYC Anarchist Black Cross:To many it feels like we live in a time like no other– with surveillance and repression at every turn, but also resistance, rebellion, and open revolt. However, this is neither the new golden nor ... more »

New year’s eve coffee + Old school . « Fred Klonsky

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New year’s eve coffee. « Fred Klonsky:New year’s eve coffee.by Fred KlonskyDecember 31 and it will reach nearly 50 degrees today in Chicago.It has been a few years since Anne and I have stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve.It has been a few years since we went to a party. Most of our contemporaries don’t stay up until midnight any more either.It has been a few years since we went out to dinner on New Year’s Eve. Our ... more »

The worst and the best education events of 2011 « Parents Across America

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The worst and the best education events of 2011 « Parents Across America:The worst and the best education events of 2011by leoniehaimsonPlease add your suggestions of what I’ve missed in the comment section,and Happy New Year to all!Worst education news of 2011:Schools suffer huge budget cuts across the nation class sizes increases, with the support of billionaires like Bill Gates, Bloomberg and other members of the .0001%, who send their own kids to expensive private schools and who claim that ... more »

“You Can Only Take 10 Posts With You…!” My Top 10 2011 Posts! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

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“You Can Only Take 10 Posts With You…!” My Top 10 2011 Posts! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:“You Can Only Take 10 Posts With You…!” My Top 10 2011 Posts!by OldschoolteachIf someone said to me, “You can only take 10 posts with you to (make up a place). AND, they have to be from 2011, which posts are you going to take?Here are my choices, in no particular order:“Open Letter to President Obama: This is What Standardized Testing ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Worst and best education events of 2011

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NYC Public School Parents: Worst and best education events of 2011:Worst and best education events of 2011by Leonie HaimsonPlease add your suggestions for what I've missed in the comment section, and Happy New Year to all!Worst education news of 2011:Schools suffer huge budget cuts across the nation class sizes increases, with the support of billionaires like Bill Gates, Bloomberg and other members of the .0001%, who send their own kids to expensive private schools and who claim that resources and ... more »

Action for the Week of January 1st: Plan for National Opt Out Day, January 7th | United Opt Out National

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Action for the Week of January 1st: Plan for National Opt Out Day, January 7th | United Opt Out National:ACTION FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 1ST: PLAN FOR NATIONAL OPT OUT DAY, JANUARY 7THA New Year is upon us. It is paramount that we make the most of it and organize and ACT to end corporate education reform. We must move out into our neighborhoods, our communities, and support others in understanding the absolute destruction surrounding the tactics of the ... more »

The Innovation Mismatch: "Smart Capital" and Education Innovation - Joanne Weiss - Innovations in Education - Harvard Business Review

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The Innovation Mismatch: "Smart Capital" and Education Innovation - Joanne Weiss - Innovations in Education - Harvard Business Review:The Innovation Mismatch: "Smart Capital" and Education Innovation8:00 AM Thursday March 31, 2011by Joanne Weiss | Comments (11)FEATURED PRODUCTSHuman Resources Management: Challenges for Graduate Educationby James Wimbush$6.95Buy it now »Asahi Net: Bringing Innovation to Educationby Hirotaka Takeuchi$6.95Buy it now »EMAILSHAREPRINTEditor's note: This post is part of a three-week seriesexamining educational innovation and technology, published in partn... more »

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/31/2011

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Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/31/2011:Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/31/2011by coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher)11 Tools for the 21st Century LearnerThis is a course for Spring Branch ISD which uses a blog as the framework. I also love how 9 hours of professional development is being given for the educators in this course. We need more embedded PD that gives teachers an opportunity to embed ... more »

Belling the Cats of Corporate Education Reform in 2011 - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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Belling the Cats of Corporate Education Reform in 2011 - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:Belling the Cats of Corporate Education Reform in 2011by Anthony CodyThis year, the gloves came off, as teachers faced unprecedented attacks on our right to collective bargaining, as well as continued attempts to tie our pay and job security to test scores. Some of these attacks were blatant, as in Wisconsin, but most were veiled behind a cloak of rhetoric about education reform. Today ... more »

#OccupyBigEd #ows #edreform

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#OccupyBigEd:#OccupyBigEdby CYNTHIA on DECEMBER 31, 2011When Republican Congressmen vote against higher nutrition standards for children’s school lunches, carrying out the wishes of “Big Ag” by making the tomato sauce on school lunch pizza the equivalent of a vegetable, we instantly know what that means. Public interests have been sold out again, and we the public have to rally our forces again to prevail.“Big Ag” is shorthand for what decades of educating the nation’s eaters now understand: billion dollar agricultural interests ... more »