Big backing for Brown’s tax increase | Thoughts on Public Education

Big backing for Brown’s tax increase | Thoughts on Public Education:

Sacramento school a case study for NCLB waiver - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

A couple hundred children sitting cross-legged covered the floor of the multipurpose room at Oak Ridge Elementary School in Sacramento. Behind them, parents, grandparents, and siblings filled rows of metal folding chairs, while teachers stood beside their students. The room was abuzz with excitement as principal Doug Huscher bounded onto the stage and led everyone [...]

Big backing for Brown’s tax increase - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

The proportion of Californians who favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiative has increased: 72 percent say they support it, compared with 65 percent when asked a month ago, according to the latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Among likely voters, the support is slightly less: 68 percent, up 8 percentage points [...]

The Educated Reporter: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Play

The Educated Reporter: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Play:

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Play

by Emily Richmond

For one school district in rural south Texas, there will be no Friday Night Lights.

Facing a state takeover due to slumping student achievement, Superintendent Ernest Singleton has canceled athletics – including football – for the Premont Independent School District, which serves the town’s 2,700 residents. According to this terrific story by Christopher Sherman of the Associated Press, the Texas Education Agency was scheduled to assume control of the the district July 1. Premont won a brief reprieve, and is trying desperately to improve its shaky standing. Singleton intends to focus all of the district's limited resources on academics.

As the AP story makes clear, the picture is bigger than just disappointment and heartbreak for this year’s varsity players at Premont High School. The future of the entire community might well be riding on whether Singleton is

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's Army

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's Army:

Rahm's Army

by Mike Klonsky

A busload of paid counter- protesters headed to school closings hearings from St. Stephen's church in Englewood.

It's tough times in the Windy City. Unemployment's high, especially for black youth. The church-run social-service agencies are jumping. Conditions are ripe for recruitment to the mayor's new army of rent-a-protesters to counter the growing mass resistance to neighborhood school closings. Chicago political machine hustlers like Englewood's Rev. Roosevelt Watkins III, do the mayor's dirty work in exchange for control of poverty funds and

Florida Parent Trigger Legislation Includes Sales Pitch for Florida Virtual School Through Making Teacher Evaluations Public | Scathing Purple Musings

Florida Parent Trigger Legislation Includes Sales Pitch for Florida Virtual School Through Making Teacher Evaluations Public | Scathing Purple Musings:

Florida Parent Trigger Legislation Includes Sales Pitch for Florida Virtual School Through Making Teacher Evaluations Public

by Bob Sikes

Authors of the parent trigger bill are apparently attempting to drum up business for Florida Virtual School via making teacher’s confidential evaluations public.

48 (25) ASSIGNMENT TO TEACHERS.—

49 (a) Each school district shall annually notify the parent

50 of each public school student assigned to a classroom teacher

51 who is teaching out-of-field regarding such assignment. The

Voice of Authority - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Voice of Authority - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Voice of Authority

by Nancy Flanagan

Who speaks for public education?

Policy-makers, who set change in motion with mandates and incentives designed to get them re-elected? School leaders, who find themselves administering policy "solutions" that actually get in the way of what leaders believe is best for the school community they're leading?

Teachers, whose autonomy, professional judgment and organizations are denigrated daily? Parents, who are deeply invested in educational outcomes, but seldom asked for their perspectives on core issues of teaching, learning and decision-making?

Or --do we get our impressions about public schools from the media?

Where do we--as a nation-- get our ideas and beliefs about education?

• A friend works in the admissions office of a small, well-regarded liberal arts college striving to build an

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts 1-25 #edreform #ows

Failed D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee "Sells" Corporate #EdReform and Privatization in Sacramento

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

What: Demonstration at "A Conversation withSacramentoAbout Education" Hosted by Michelle Rhee and Kevin JohnsonWhere: Tsakopoulos Library Galleria 828 I St. Sacramento(Downtown; across fromCesarChavezPark) When: Wednesday January 25, 2012 Arrive between 5-5:30 pm…Event begins at 6:00 pmMichelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson will be hosting aSacramento“town hall” this coming week, which follows on the heels of similar events they’ve hosted in several other cities around the state. These “town halls” are tightly-orchestrated events, where participants must pre-register with StudentsFirst. Qu... more »

Obama on education in State of the Union address - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Obama on education in State of the Union address - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Obama on education in State of the Union addressBy Valerie StraussHere’s the part of President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address that was about education, taken from a text prepared for delivery:....To prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we’ve convinced ... more »

ASCD Inservice: ASCD Responds to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

ASCD Inservice: ASCD Responds to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address:ASCD Responds to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union AddressThe President's call for improving education and training for students and workers comes at a time when ASCD is calling for similar efforts in our 2012 Legislative Agenda, released today at the association's annual Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy in Washington, D.C. ASCD believes that a quality education is the pathway to a successful future for today's students ... more »

Plan would close half of L.A. Unified's regional headquarters - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Plan would close half of L.A. Unified's regional headquarters - latimes.com:Plan would close half of L.A. Unified's regional headquartersOfficials with the Los Angeles Unified School District are fashioning a plan to reduce the number of regional headquarters by nearly half, The Times has learned.The plan is still under development, but would probably reduce these offices, which are spread across the sprawling school system, from eight to four. A fifth division would oversee campuses that merit especially close attention, such as ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Skill Center

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Skill Center:Skill Centerby Charlie MasThere are high school students in our house, so we got a robocall and an email about the Skill Center.Here is the text for those who are interested:Starting now, students who will have at least 10 credits OR are at least 16 years old may enroll in the new Seattle Public Schools SKILLS CENTER for next fall. A skills center is a public school opportunity for a student to take advanced Career ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Obama Blows It On Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Jersey Jazzman: Obama Blows It On Education:Obama Blows It On Educationby DukeI'm having a hard time listening to the rest of the State of the Union. Because President Obama - a good and intelligent man - cited the Chetty, Friedman Rockoff study as a justification for the odious Race To The Top, and to call for what will amount to an expanded testing regime which drives merit pay.Here are some of the many objections and cautions about using this study ... more »

Protesters take over cottage on Quad | Davis Enterprise #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Protesters take over cottage on Quad | Davis Enterprise:Protesters take over cottage on QuadIn their first major action of the winter quarter, Occupy UC Davis protesters on Tuesday afternoon took over the former home of the campus’ Cross-Cultural Center.Though numbers fluctuated, at mid-afternoon about 50 remained inside the cottage, one of the campus’ oldest buildings, across from the Quad.Since breaking camp on the Quad in December, protesters have been relatively quiet, holding workshops, meetings and small protests, without incident, at ... more »

A different view from Denver | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

A different view from Denver | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:A different view from Denverby Guest bloggerThis guest blog post comes from Andrea Mérida, a director of the Denver School Board.Recently, a mayoral delegation from Philadelphia traveled to Denver to visit Denver Public Schools. Given their reaction, you would have thought that they were journeying to an educational Shangri-La.But in reality, DPS has been a national flashpoint for the battle between corporate-style education reformers and those focusing upon a more child-centric, ... more »

Support PURE! » PSAT SOTU edition: Here’s how to join in

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT SOTU edition: Here’s how to join in:PSAT SOTU edition: Here’s how to join inby adminFrom ed.gov:Watch the State of the Union Live TonightTonight at 9 pm EST, President Obama will give his annual State of the Union address, with education being a likely topic of discussion during the speech. You can watch an enhanced version of the speech with graphics and data at whitehouse.gov/live, and join the conversation on Twitter ... more »

Slaves, Oranges and Arithmetic: The Dangers of Too Much Content Integration | Mr. D's Neighborhood

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Slaves, Oranges and Arithmetic: The Dangers of Too Much Content Integration | Mr. D's Neighborhood:Slaves, Oranges and Arithmetic: The Dangers of Too Much Content Integrationby ldorazio1In that ever-growing list of educational untouchables, the enslavement of African Americans is among the most sensitive and nerve-rattling.So why in Hell would a teacher build a set of math problems based on slavery? The misguided belief that social studies can—and should—be integrated into everything.One of the offending questions, courtesy of ABC NewsIf ever there ... more »

Support PURE! » PSAT for 1-24-12: Call for a moratorium on school closings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 1-24-12: Call for a moratorium on school closings:PSAT for 1-24-12: Call for a moratorium on school closingsby adminWe’ve done it before, but the momentum for demanding a citywide moratorium on school closings grows stronger than ever.Why do I say that?1) The front-page headline story in the Sun-Times exposing the rent-a-protesters at school closing hearings hasturned up the heat on CPS and its refusal to listen to the real people ... more »

New Book Critiques 'Corporate' School Reform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

New Book Critiques 'Corporate' School Reform:DescriptionNeoliberal education reforms, including No Child Left Behind and Chicago's Renaissance 2010, tend to "marketize" schools and threaten to dismantle public education as we know it, according to a new book edited University of Illinois at Chicago education researcher William Watkins.New Book Critiques 'Corporate' School ReformReleased: 1/24/2012 3:15 PM ESTSource: University of Illinois at ChicagoNeoliberal education reforms, including No Child Left Behind and Chicago's Renaissance 2010, tend to "marketize" schools and threaten to...more »

Students Occupy Former Cross Cultural Center at UC Davis « occupy california

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Students Occupy Former Cross Cultural Center at UC Davis « occupy california:Students Occupy Former Cross Cultural Center at UC Davisby gStudents at UC Davis have occupied the former Cross Cultural Center, the center having moved to a new $22 million building.They have declared their solidarity with UCR, Egypt, the hotel occupation in San Francisco and Occupy Oakland – especially with their upcoming moving day on January 28th.Pictures will be posted soon, here is the communiqué:The spaces we live in are ... more »

Ravitch: Why California gives me hope - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Ravitch: Why California gives me hope - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Ravitch: Why California gives me hopeby Valerie StraussThis was written by education historian Diane Ravitch for her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an ... more »

Competitive Grants Will Make Our Students Winners & Losers « EdVox

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Competitive Grants Will Make Our Students Winners Losers « EdVox:Competitive Grants Will Make Our Students Winners Losersby edvoxnyby Zakiyah AnsariI understand the importance of successful performance for holding the bar high. My eldest daughter Anisah graduated high school with an Advanced Regents diploma, graduated from Baruch College Cum Laude, B.A. Sociology, and last year graduated from Hunter Graduate School of Social Work with her Master’s Degree. She will begin her PhD in Criminal Justice in March 2012. My daughter Aliyah ... more »

RheeFirst! » 5 biggest lies about the right-wing corporate-backed war on our schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

RheeFirst! » 5 biggest lies about the right-wing corporate-backed war on our schools:5 biggest lies about the right-wing corporate-backed war on our schoolsby adminMore school choice is one of Rhee’s top corporate reform platforms. This article points to its fatal flaws.Written by Kristin Rawls for AlterNet. Read the entire post here.“Carrie Rogers, a Wake County parent and former teacher who describes herself as a moderate Republican… says school choice largely benefits well-educated middle and upper-middle class students. Rogers notes that

NYC Public School Parents: Resolution on busing, with FOILed data showing DOE granted more busing thru safety variances to private school students

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

NYC Public School Parents: Resolution on busing, with FOILed data showing DOE granted more busing thru safety variances to private school students:Resolution on busing, with FOILed data showing DOE granted more busing thru safety variances to private school studentsby Leonie HaimsonThe DOE unilaterally eliminated middle-school busing from many areas of Queens and Staten Island that have no public transportation, and this may have contributed to the death of at least one public school student. Along with some news clips, the ... more »

The facts that school reformers ignore - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

The facts that school reformers ignore - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:The facts that school reformers ignoreby Valerie StraussThis was written by Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit organization created to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. From 1999 to 2002 he was the national education columnist of The New York Times, and he is the author of several books, including “Grading Education: ... more »

RheeFirst! » Why Rhee is wrong on collective bargaining and teachers’ unions

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

RheeFirst! » Why Rhee is wrong on collective bargaining and teachers’ unions:Why Rhee is wrong on collective bargaining and teachers’ unionsby adminRhee claims to support the right of teachers to collectively bargain. She says she supports their rights to bargain base compensation and professional development. “But they should not actually be co-managing school systems, and many decisions do not belong on the bargaining table. For example, it would present a huge conflict of interest for unions to be negotiating performance ... more »

Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences. | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences. | Seattle Education:Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences.by seattleducation2011These are the three bills that I am referring to as described by WSSDA:HB 2427/SB 6203 would make student growth data a significant factor in the evaluation process ... more »