School to Punish Kids For Its Failures « PWC Education Reform Blog

School to Punish Kids For Its Failures « PWC Education Reform Blog:

School to Punish Kids For Its Failures

by pwceducationreform

Parents sometimes send us things they receive from their schools that set their teeth on edge. Sometimes the things are misunderstandings and other times the things make our blood boil. We received one such letter a few days ago that still has me wishing I’d cut out the caffeine. The letter was sent in December by the fifth grade team at an elementary school in Prince William County to the parents of all 5th grade students at that school (see attached pdf).

The team starts by explaining that mastery of multiplication facts is vital for a child’s academic success, that facts are an essential part of the 3rd grade curriculum, and that they’ve realized that many of their students “do not know their multiplication facts”. The team then explains that because this mastery is so important, they’ve developed a “reward and consequence plan” that they believe will ensure the appropriate level of mastery is achieved by every student.

Before we get into the “reward and consequence plan”, let’s stop for a moment and consider what we’ve just been told

Florida parent groups question origins of " CHARTER SCHOOL empowerment" bill

Florida parent groups question origins of "parent empowerment" bill | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | Tampa Bay Times:

Florida parent groups question origins of "parent CHARTER SCHOOL empowerment" bill

Florida lawmakers call it the "Parent Empowerment Act."

But parent groups around the state have told the Gradebook that they're not the ones asking for legislation — now filed in both the House and Senate — that would allow 51 percent of parents to demand overhauls to their schools.

"Strong, established parent groups are opposed to the parent trigger law," said Rita Solnet, a Palm Beach activist and leader of Parents Across America. "It creates divisiveness in communities."

Her group issued a statement saying that while it supports "authentic parent empowerment," it cannot back the legislation, which "allows parents to voice

Teaching and Assessing Meaninfully in a Standards-Based World « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Teaching and Assessing Meaninfully in a Standards-Based World « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

Teaching and Assessing Meaninfully in a Standards-Based World

January 11th, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by Larry Lewin and Betty Shoemaker, authors of Great Performances: Creating Classroom-Based Assessment Tasks, 2nd ed., where they tackle the sparkles and blemishes of performance assessments. With expertise in performance-based assessment, differentiated instruction, literacy, integrated thematic curriculum, and teaching comprehension with student-based questioning, they are influencing decision makers about both the importance and quality of great classroom-based assessments instead of high stakes standardized tests. Connect with Lewin by e-mail atlarry@larrylewin.com and Shoemaker at dr.betty.shoemaker@comcast.net.

“Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, not the

Remembering the Lawrence Strike | Dissident Voice

Remembering the Lawrence Strike | Dissident Voice:

Remembering the Lawrence Strike

by Jerry Elmer

January 12, 2012 is the one hundredth anniversary of the commencement of one of the most important labor strikes in American history – the bloody 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile strike that lasted 63 days. The strike represented the organizing apogee of the radical, syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or Wobblies); the strike has also become associated (albeit erroneously) in popular lore with the slogan “Bread and Roses” (the phrase originated in a poem by James Oppenheim published in 1911, but was apparently never used by the Lawrence strikers in 1912).

On January 1, 1912, a new Massachusetts law had gone into effect that cut the maximum work week to 54 hours. Mill workers’ pay was given out on Fridays, not for the week just ended but for the previous week; thus, on Friday afternoon, January 12, 1912, workers received their pay for the work week of Monday, January 1 through Saturday, January 6. Workers found their pay to be an average of 32¢ short, representing the fewer hours that the mill workers had toiled. On Friday, January 12, upon finding that their pay had been shorted, 11,000 of

RheeFirst! » Principal fired by Rhee named Person of the Year

RheeFirst! » Principal fired by Rhee named Person of the Year:

Principal fired by Rhee named Person of the Year

by admin

See related video here

Written by Beth Solomon for The Georgetown Dish. Read the entire article here.
“‘He was booted [by former chancellor Michelle Rhee] out of Hardy Middle School, which he had built into a high-performing institution. Then, he was forced to sit for months in a central-office cubicle before being shipped to what some described as Siberia: a struggling school east of the Anacostia River that had ripped through several administrative leaders,’ Barras wrote.

Patrick Pope was expected to quit. Instead, he has turned the tiny elementary from a troubled under-achiever to an award-winning success that was recently given a $500,000 federal grant to develop an arts program like the one Pope built at Hardy.“

Watch Michelle Rhee pull a Romney: loves to fire people

admin at RheeFirst! - 22 hours ago

From Michael Winerip's New York Times article: "*Always, she preens for the cameras. Early in her chancellorship, she was trailed for a story by the education correspondent of 'PBS NewsHour,' John Merrow.* *At one point, Ms. Rhee asked if his crew wanted to watch her fire a principal. 'We were totally stunned,' Mr. Merrow said.* *She let them set up the camera behind the principal and videotape the entire firing. 'The principal seemed dazed,' said Mr. Merrow. 'I’ve been reporting 35 years and never seen anything like it.'"* It takes a strong stomach, but you can watch the video belo... more »

Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?

admin at RheeFirst! - 1 day ago

*Note: Although these tests occurred in 2011, one year after Rhee's departure from DC, the DC school personnel that administered them are the same personnel and system that she put in place.* "Is this an intentional effort to deny parents, voters and taxpayers the information they need to judge the integrity of D.C. test results? [instead of releasing the results DC] is going to hire another consultant to do another investigation. That will likely keep parents, teachers and students in the dark for a long time. Caveon visited some schools and did some interviews. In nearly every cas... more »

Unsolved Mystery: DC Public Schools Cheating Scandal– I​s there a cover up?

admin at RheeFirst! - 2 days ago

"The Washington DC school system's failure to hold higher-ups accountable for their 2008-2010 test cheating scandal has led to more speculation that some are intentionally stonewalling attempts to get at the truth. ... ... Mayor Gray took the opportunity to reference Michelle Rhee’s tenure in DC. Gray suggested the investigations “do nothing to tarnish former Chancellor Michelle Rhee…We’re not looking to continue or detract from her legacy…the results speak for themselves.” Rhee built her reputation on improving test scores in DC and is currently criss-crossing the country pushing ed... more »

WashPost: 2011 DCPS suspicious erasures decline– so do test scores

admin at RheeFirst! - 5 days ago

That’s a drop of nearly 50 percent from 253 classrooms in 2009. The 128 classrooms represent less than 3 percent of the total number of classrooms in which students were tested. ... The 2011 numbers continue a trend in which the decline in suspicious erasures--which officials credit to improved security--has been accompanied by flat or falling test scores. The 2011 data released this week show the highest concentration of high-erasure classrooms in the third grade, where 21 of 303 rooms (6.9 percent) were flagged in math tests and 6.3 percent in reading exams. Why erasure rates are ... more »

Schools flunked inquiries into suspicious scores in 2011

admin at RheeFirst! - 1 week ago

"By the time it's over, 2011 may well go down as the Year of the Test Scandal... The revelations came as schools, nearly a decade into the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era of test-based accountability, struggled to increase the percentage of students deemed "proficient" on state math and reading tests. Among the most high-profile cases: •In Atlanta, three years after the Journal-Constitution began probing unusual gains on test scores, a state investigation in July found that 178 teachers and principals had tampered with tests over the past decade. Last week, investigators said educat... more »

DCPS achievement gap blamed on officials, demographics, lack of funding

admin at RheeFirst! - 1 week ago

"Goldstein also concluded that while Rhee failed to significantly narrow achievement gaps, the gaps would be less disturbing if overall achievement levels were moderate or high. "But what we continue to see in D.C. is that white students score well above both national and urban district averages for their race; [and that] black, Hispanic and poor children score well below national averages for their races and classes," Goldstein wrote."

Former DC schools chief busy lobbying, helping (right-wing) politicians

admin at RheeFirst! - 1 week ago

"'She represents an approach to reforming education that we think is really destructive and is not going to face the problems of public education,' says Lisa Guisbond of Citizens for Public Schools, a Boston-based public education advocacy group. Along with a handful* of others, Guisbond's group arranged a boisterous demonstration in November when Rhee appeared at Boston's Symphony Hall, where marchers carried signs that read, 'Erasing Mistakes Doesn't Put Children First.'" *Contemporaneous local news reports put the number of protestors at 100.

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin blooper. « Fred Klonsky

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin blooper. « Fred Klonsky:

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin blooper.

by Fred Klonsky

It ranks up there with Mitt Romney’s “I like firing people.”

Wisconsin’s anti-union governor, Scott Walker, has plastered a billboard claiming he creates jobs right in front of the Janesville GM plant.

Which is closed and shuttered.

Wisconsin voters are a week away

Chicago parking meters and the G8 Summit.

by Fred Klonsky

Won’t you please come to Chicago in May.

Obama was in town last night for several fund raisers.

My friend Erin has the misfortune of living near one of the high rollers who hosted one of the gatherings. Street closures meant she didn’t get home for hours.

It’s an omen of thing to come next May when the NATO and G-8 summits are held here. Although Erin didn’t have to cross barbed wire perimeter and robo-cops.

Mayor Emanuel has already announced a permanent suspension of civil liberties in anticipation of globalization

A lesson by a Seattle teacher on charter schools | Seattle Education

A lesson by a Seattle teacher on charter schools | Seattle Education:

A lesson by a Seattle teacher on charter schools

by seattleducation2011

A week after the State Supreme Court found the state’s “paramount duty” unfulfilled, we find a misdirected group of Olympia legislators pushing charter school legislation. Again, for the 4^th time, because voters have already rejected previous legislation 3 times.

This, really, is their solution to the funding crisis in public education?

So, time for a lesson, Washington. First, let’s review.

1) On the whole, charter schools provide no better (and, just as often, worse) educational outcomes than

Two Golden Opportunities Lost in the 1990s? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Two Golden Opportunities Lost in the 1990s? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Two Golden Opportunities Lost in the 1990s?

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,

Reading Stephen Cohen's essay "The Soviet Union's Afterlife" in the latest issue of The Nation gave me the chills. I've occasionally pointed to the Soviet focus on centralized five-year plans in decrying contemporary politics here in the USA. Like No Child Left Behind, the Soviet state set goals for everyone to meet—or else. Since they were unmeetable goals, it produced a culture of lies and cover-ups and a climate of fear. Does that sound familiar?

Cohen, a Russian studies professor at New York University, brought my attention to how his narrative of the "revolution" that occurred in the USSR in the 1980s and 1990s fit closely to one I know first-hand even better: the revolution under way in the American educational system, and possibly way beyond that. Definitely read his piece, and tell me if you think I'm being ridiculous,

Cohen's narrative starts in 1991, after a period of gradual steps toward détente, democratization, and

Jersey Jazzman: Son of Mario = Governor Goofus?

Jersey Jazzman: Son of Mario = Governor Goofus?:

Son of Mario = Governor Goofus?

by Duke

Dear lord, what is the Son of Mario thinking?

Gov. Cuomo in a statement accused Assembly Democrats, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver, of putting the interests of the teachers unions before the students.

Cuomo singled out the Assembly Dems for what he deemed a faulty 2010 teacher evaluation law passed in order to qualify for federal Race To The Top funds.

The law required that a new teacher evaluation system be subject to negotiations between each local district and their teacher unions.

The city recently lost millions of dollars after failing to reach a deal with the union by the end-of-the-year deadline.

“The Assembly-led legislation in 2010 protected the teachers union at the expense of the students and

NYC Public School Parents: The Real Deal on Morris High School & Bloomberg’s Failed Education Policies

NYC Public School Parents: The Real Deal on Morris High School & Bloomberg’s Failed Education Policies:

The Real Deal on Morris High School & Bloomberg’s Failed Education Policies

by Leonie Haimson

As Bloomberg is giving his State of the City address today at Morris HS...

Claim: Bloomberg likes to contrast the graduation rate at the old Morris HS to graduation rates at the high schools currently housed in the building, as evidence of the success of his education policies.

Reality: The types of students enrolled at the old and new Morris campus are very different. Of the students enrolled in the four schools currently housed in the Morris building, only 1.7% are in self-contained special education classes– revealing their higher level of need, compared to 14% of students enrolled in the old Morris HS in 2001-02.[1] Also, dividing up the building has caused its own problems; for example, according to a teacher at one of these schools, there is no longer any librarian and the library is completely unutilized: “Lots of books with no one tending to them

The Charlotte Post - For-profit charter schools questioned

The Charlotte Post - For-profit charter schools questioned:

For-profit charter schools questioned

With N.C. cap removed, companies apply for approval

Published Thursday, January 12, 2012 7:21 am

by Sommer Brokaw

The emergence of for-profit charter schools is drawing fire in North Carolina.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP sent a letter to the North Carolina State Board of Education last month to block the application for Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School, which is on the fast track to open in August. According to its application, the school would serve up to 723 students in grades K-8.
The charter school would partner with National Heritage Academies, a for-profit company that got its start in Grand Rapids, Mich., to manage day-to-day school operations. Angela Lee, the lead applicant for the board of directors, could not be reached for comment.
Joel Medley, director of the office of charter schools at N.C. Department of Public Instruction, said Lee Scholars is one of 11 applicants that the N.C. Public Charte

Shanker Blog » Beyond Anecdotes: The Evidence About Financial Incentives And Teacher Retention

Shanker Blog » Beyond Anecdotes: The Evidence About Financial Incentives And Teacher Retention:

Beyond Anecdotes: The Evidence About Financial Incentives And Teacher Retention

by Eleanor Fulbeck

Our guest author today is Eleanor Fulbeck, who earned her Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011, and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

A couple of weeks ago, an article in the New York Times, written by reporter Sam Dillon, took a look at the new incentive program being used by the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Under this plan (called “Impact Plus”), teachers rated “highly effective” by the district’s new evaluation system are eligible for large cash bonuses and/or permanent salary increases.

Dillon notes that, “The profession is notorious for losing thousands of its brightest young teachers within a few

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Against Oligarchical Roundtables In Education

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Against Oligarchical Roundtables In Education:

Guest Post: Against Oligarchical Roundtables In Education

by P. L. Thomas

Against Oligarchical Roundtables In Education (and really, everywhere else too)

by Douglas Storm

If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers. Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow

It’s that simple really. All we do now is ask the wrong questions and get irrelevant answers because the questions determine the direction we’ll be heading. The Pynchon quote comes from the stunningly simple book by Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian called Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Schools? By simple I mean obvious. When you read it you are just left with a kind of awe-struck response to the clear and obvious abuses perpetrated by that class of Americans we call “owners” or corporate managers. They have the money, the