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Monday, March 26, 2012

Big Education Ape: 3-26-12 AM 'A Test You Need to Fail' EDition #soschat

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 news spotters today




Arne Duncan: Indifferent Maniac

jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com - What a nutcase:Publishing teachers' ratings in the newspaper in the way The New York Times and other outlets have done recently is not a good use of performance data, U.S. Secretary of Education Ar...
DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 solidaridad: Why everyone effected by the LAUSD cuts needs to come to Thursday’s rally at Mariachi Plaza: s...bit.ly/H8l7nr #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 20 questions for parents about K-12 school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: 20 questions fo... bit.ly/Ha7mHD #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 (CReATE): Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation: An Open Letter of Concern to... bit.ly/H8l9f0 #eduabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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"May God have mercy on us..."

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - Lake Board votes on cuts I'm heading back to Ohio this week to speak at Kenyon College and then on to D.C. to speak at Occupy the DOE. While at Bowling Green last Thursday, I picked up a copy of th...
mikeklonsky

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - President Obama "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. I can only imagine what his parents are going through. When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids." -- AP Wire Jesse Jackson ...
mikeklonsky

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Gov. Scott signs school prayer law - Florida

miamiherald.com - TALLAHASSEE -- The burden is now on school districts to decide whether to allow students to pray or deliver “inspirational messages” during public events. Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Friday a c...
coopmike48

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Making Prom Happen for Foster Care Girls

lafiga.firedoglake.com - Pretty dresses, cute shoes, hair and make-up are all part of the prom experience for millions of American girls. But for many teenagers living in foster care, the prom is just one more thing out of...
coopmike48

I just want her to be happy « MomsRising Blog

momsrising.org - I remember the moment I became a mother.  It was like lightening and thunder inside my body, and then, suddenly and unexpectedly, a delightful soft and smooth swoosh.  And there she was. Like every...
coopmike48

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Just Wondering

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Seattle Schools Community Forum: Just Wondering: Just Wonderingby Melissa WestbrookNow we know a few more things about the situation at Lowell and I just have to ask Dr. Enfield and Mr. Apostle a c...
coopmike48

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Obama's disbelief after staring into N. Korea

news.yahoo.com - [[ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ],[ [['test Zimmerm...
mikeklonsky

Two New Good Photo-Editing Sites

larryferlazzo.edublogs.org - Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects: PicMonkey joins the many other tools on the list by offering many different kinds of photo-editing features...
coopmike48

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Three Students Die Making \\\'Potatoe\\\' Bombs in Colombia

hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 6:30 pm EST, March 25, 2012 Three Colombian university students, including a woman, died Sunday when the explosives they were handling went off at a house in Bogota, police and city of...
coopmike48

Student shot to death on Mississippi State campus

nj.com - STARKVILLE, Miss. — A student was shot to death at a Mississippi State University residence hall late Saturday night, prompting campus-wide alerts as authorities searched for suspects who fled the ...
coopmike48

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Not Common. Not Core, Either. - Teacher in a Strange Land

blogs.edweek.org - My friend Claudia Swisher, an exceptional veteran teacher from Oklahoma, recently posted an update in Goodreads, a kind of virtual book club where we hang out together. We have challenged each othe...
tbfurman

#edreformRead this paperSee all


Not Common. Not Core, Either. - Teacher in a Strange Land

blogs.edweek.org - My friend Claudia Swisher, an exceptional veteran teacher from Oklahoma, recently posted an update in Goodreads, a kind of virtual book club where we hang out together. We have challenged each othe...
tbfurman

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(CReATE): Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation: An Open Letter of Concern to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago School Board

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation: An Open Letter of Concern to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago School Board:


Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation: An Open Letter of Concern to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago School Board

by Create Chicago

March 26, 2012

Misconceptions and Realities about Teacher and Principal Evaluation

An Open Letter of Concern to

Mayor Rahm Emanuel,
Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard,
and the Chicago School Board

Regarding Chicago’s Implementation of Legislation for the Evaluation of Teachers and Principals

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) plans to implement dramatic changes in the 2012-2013 school year.  As university professors and researchers who specialize in educational research, we recognize that change is an essential component of school improvement.  We are very concerned, however, at a continuing pattern of changes imposed rapidly without high-quality evidentiary support. 

The new evaluation system for teachers and principals centers on misconceptions about student growth, with potentially negative impact on the education of Chicago’s children.  We believe it is our ethical obligation to raise awareness about how the proposed changes not only lack a sound research basis, but in some instances, have already proven to be harmful.

In this letter, we describe our concerns and relevant research as we make two recommendations for moving forward:

1.     Pilot and adjust the evaluation system before implementing it on a large scale.

2.     Minimize the percentage that student growth counts in teacher or principal evaluation.

We also urge consulting on the above steps with the professors and researchers among us who bring both scholarly and practical expertise on these issues.

Background

In January 2010, the Illinois State Legislature—in an effort to secure federal Race to the Top funds—approved an amendment to the Illinois School Code known as the Performance Evaluation Review Act (PERA), which requires districts to include “student growth” as a significant portion of teacher and principal evaluation.  While most of the state does not have to implement a new evaluation plan for teachers until 2016, CPS was able to get written into the law an early implementation date of September 2012 for at least 300 schools.

The proposed rules associated with PERA will not be finalized until April 2012 at the earliest.  Nevertheless, CPS is moving ahead with teacher and principal evaluation plans based on the proposals.  The suggested rules define “significant” use of student growth as at least 25% of a principal’s or teacher’s evaluation in the first two years of implementation, and 30% after that, with the possibility of making student growth count for as much as 50%.

The PERA law mandates that multiple measures of student growth be used in teacher evaluation.  The proposed rules 
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20 questions for parents about K-12 school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

20 questions for parents about K-12 school reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:


20 questions for parents about K-12 school reform

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Ronald Willett, a former university professor, researcher and administrator, and former corporate executive, entrepreneur and CEO. For the last decade, as an avocation, he has tracked and researched U.S. K-12, and advocated its legitimate reform and pursuit of innovation.
By Ronald Willett
In an earlier post, I made a case for taking a broader perspective about the causes of U.S. school learning challenges, rather than simply focusing on its teachers.
The list of entities that play a major role in whether a district, or school, or even a classroom can meet the public’s learning goals include local school boards, state boards of education, the testing industry and more
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solidaridad: Why everyone effected by the LAUSD cuts needs to come to Thursday’s rally at Mariachi Plaza

solidaridad: Why everyone effected by the LAUSD cuts needs to come to Thursday’s rally at Mariachi Plaza:


Why everyone effected by the LAUSD cuts needs to come to Thursday’s rally at Mariachi Plaza

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene
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The legislative shell game in Olympia and its roots in the corporate privatization of our public schools | Seattle Education

The legislative shell game in Olympia and its roots in the corporate privatization of our public schools | Seattle Education:


The legislative shell game in Olympia and its roots in the corporate privatization of our public schools

by seattleducation2011
Why is this man laughing?
I came across this article that I had saved under “Online Learning” and realized that it needs to see the light of day once again. It is reflective of the legislative games that Republicans (and  Rodney Tom) have been playing between Minnesota and now our state, privatizing everything in their path including our public school system.
See if this sounds familiar. From The Nation Institute, Selling Schools Out:
Lamenting this series of defeats, Patricia Levesque, a top adviser to former Governor Jeb Bush, spoke to fellow reformers at a retreat in October 2010. Levesque noted that reform efforts had failed 
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Death and the Educational World « Cooperative Catalyst

Death and the Educational World « Cooperative Catalyst:


Death and the Educational World

by caseykcaronna
Death and the Educational World:

   This afternoon I attended a funeral.  This is not an event that I look forward too, nor do I believe many people do.  Usually funerals are important for two critical reasons, the first being the emotional closure to losing a loved one, and the second, as a time reflect on ones own mortality.  Today, however, as I walked back down the path, through the trees of my undergraduate college campus, I could only think about the quietness in which educators passing has, both throughout history and our current time.
    You see, this funeral, was not that of a family member or close friend, but of a late professor of mine.  A man who helped shape my understanding of progressive education, the use of narrative voice in teaching history, an individual who not only transformed me but thousands of others, both through his teaching and also, throughout 
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One Teacher's Perspective: Corporations, Governments, Public Schools, Unions are People

One Teacher's Perspective: Corporations, Governments, Public Schools, Unions are People:


Corporations, Governments, Public Schools, Unions are People

by Imagine Wisconsin
With the Republican/Tea Party presidential campaigns panderingto conservatives in Wisconsin this week, it is a tough time to try to shakeloose from the entanglements of Governor Scott Walker’s dichotomous design. Nonetheless,the beautiful spring weather continues to soften my soul. Light and darkconverge, once again, landing me in the twilight zone. 

To the chagrin of my progressive friends—who continue to dogthe dark-side’s presidential frontrunner for his most famous campaign comment--Iconcur with Mitt Romney’s remark that “corporations are people.” However, as another Steve logically explains, ifcorporations are people, then “governments are people, too.” In the same vein, public schools are people, too.

When you put a face to them, hatingcorporations is hard.  While the
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Louisiana Educator: Senate Slows Jindal Train

Louisiana Educator: Senate Slows Jindal Train:


Senate Slows Jindal Train

by Michael Deshotels
Louisiana Educator Poll shows little faith in Governor's reform bills
The most recent poll of readers of this blog indicates almost no confidence that firing teachers using the Act 54 value-added system will result in improved student performance on state tests. The poll shows that only 3% of  the 1200 plus readers who responded believe that student performance will improve significantly. An additional 29% indicated that their may be a small gain in student performance initially which would stall because very little is being done to address the root causes of student under performance. My personal belief (even though this was not addressed in the poll) is that beefing up early childhood education could make a real difference. One part of the governor's legislation, HB 933, proposes to improve early childhood education. But with no adequate funding for early childhood education, (the Governor turned down federal funding for this recently) I believe the Governor's legislation will amount to window dressing.

Reform Package Expected to Allow For More Deliberation in The Senate
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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "May God have mercy on us..."

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "May God have mercy on us...":


"May God have mercy on us..."

by Mike Klonsky
Lake Board votes on cuts
I'm heading back to Ohio this week to speak at Kenyon College and then on to D.C. to speak at Occupy the DOE. While at Bowling Green last Thursday, I picked up a copy of the local Sentinel-Tribune. The lead storyabout the devastating cuts being made in nearby Lake Township schools has stayed with me all the way back to Chicago.

It starts with the Lake Board's ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of its students.
There was a parade of outstanding basketball players, superior-rated music students and the top speller at Lake Elementary. The middle school quiz bowl team got kudos for being tops in the county.
Then the other shoe drops. The Board votes to strip $1.15 million from the district's budget. That's 43 positions, 

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky
President Obama
"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. I can only imagine what his parents are going through. When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids." -- AP Wire
Jesse Jackson
 "Why isn't America outraged, that far more people die of gun violence in one year in America than the number of soldiers killed in the wars waged in Iraq and Afghanistan?" -- L.A. Times
Rahm Emanuel
“Taking the politics out of politics is like taking the money out of capitalism.” -- Meet the New 
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Jersey Jazzman: Who's Copping Out?

Jersey Jazzman: Who's Copping Out?:


Who's Copping Out?

by Duke
The problem in our poorest schools these days is that teachers just don't care enough:
Some teachers, including Passaic County Education Association President Joseph Cheff, argue that in schools with high concentrations of very poor students, poverty has to be alleviated before achievement can improve. New Jersey’s acting education commissioner, Chris Cerf, says that’s a cop-out.
“Of course poverty and circumstances play a very significant role in academic outcomes,” Cerf said. “But the standard is, can we do better?”
Teacher quality is the biggest in-school factor affecting achievement, many studies say. 


The "Real" World

by Duke
Bruce Baker breaks down two reformy arguments that are at the intellectual level of what I hear daily on the monkey bars:
Taxpayer outrage arguments are in style these days (as if they ever really go out of style). Two particular taxpayer outrage arguments that have existed for some time seem to be making a bit of resurgence of late. Or, at least I think I’ve been seeing these arguments a bit more lately in the blogosphere and on twitter.  First, since now is the era of crapping on public school teachers and arguing for increased accountability specifically on teachers for improving student outcomes, there’s the “I pay your salary so you should cower to my every demand” argument (I’ve heard only a few warped individuals take this argument this far, but sadly I have!).  Second, there’s the persistent I pay for those schools and don’t even use them argument, or the variant on that argument that I pay twice for schools because I send my kids to private schools.
It's just so sad that an eminent scholar like Baker has to address this nonsense, but that's the world we live in 
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Schools Matter: The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

Schools Matter: The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise:


The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

by P. L. Thomas
The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

South Carolina's Superintendent of Education Mick Zais makes several claims in The State (March 25, 2012) that build on one central argument: "The most important information about teachers isn’t the degrees they have or their years of seniority. Their effectiveness in the classroom matters much, much more."

Like Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Zais has no experience teaching children in K-12 public education. This complete lack of teaching experience and degrees in the field of education is a suspect position from which to claim that these two characteristics do not matter. In fact, political appointees and elected officials sit in unique positions often above both accountability (the mantra du jour of the political elite regarding education) and 
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Michelle Rhee Took DCPS Financial Backers With Her and Left Taxpayers Holding the Merit Pay Bag | Scathing Purple Musings

Michelle Rhee Took DCPS Financial Backers With Her and Left Taxpayers Holding the Merit Pay Bag | Scathing Purple Musings:


Michelle Rhee Took DCPS Financial Backers With Her and Left Taxpayers Holding the Merit Pay Bag

by Bob Sikes
Huffington Post education reporter Joy Resmovits tracked down Michelle Rhee’s financiers earlier this month. They include two who’ve  pulled their support for DCPS once Rhee left to go solo.
Until now, identifying Rhee’s usually anonymous donors has been largely a guessing game. But recent lobbying filings in Pennsylvania name New Jersey hedge funder and Romney backer David Tepper and the Texas-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation as among the largest donors to StudentsFirst, Rhee’s national lobbying and advocacy group that pushes for rigorous teacher evaluations and school choice. And though the filings don’t give dollar amounts, a source close to the donor community said the Arnold grant amounted to tens of millions of dollars.
In addition to Arnold, an another former DCPS donor, Eli Broad, has  indicated that his foundation  contributed 
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LAUSD: CONTINUES TO IGNORE CHEATING & CORRUPTION AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL/TRI-C WASC, Deasy - Perdaily.com

WASC, Deasy - Perdaily.com:


LAUSD: CONTINUES TO IGNORE CHEATING & CORRUPTION AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL/TRI-C

by Leonard Isenberg
WASC.jpg
(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
On Tuesday, March 27th, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will send out a team to see how Central High/Tri-C Continuation High School with its 27 stand-alone classroom sites scattered throughout the city is doing 3 years after WASC gave this school a 6 year accreditation. This accreditation is supposed to serve to validity for colleges and universities the high school diploma that this continuation school gives its students.

The problem is that the vast majority of the students at this school do not even have rudimentary skills in English and Math, which are the foundational skills they would have needed to do high school level and subsequent academic or trade school work. If, unlike LAUSD administration, you are curious as to how this could be true, realize that even a cursory examination of Central High School/Tri-C classrooms, records, and their practices 
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Budget Doublespeak: Less Money, More Change « InterACT

Budget Doublespeak: Less Money, More Change « InterACT:


Budget Doublespeak: Less Money, More Change

by Lisa Alva Wood
Teachers in LAUSD kind of dodged a bullet this month, but it will likely ricochet back in ways we will not like.  Our school board approved a budget based on the hope  that voters will provide more tax money for education.  The two tax proposals currently on the table are far from perfect (they are a start!) but they won’t keep us from stoking the fire and finding new ways to point the finger at each other.  Is this what the public truly wants? Is this what benefits children most?
First, we have had one-third of our educational force pink-slipped.  Over eleven thousand Reduction in Force notices went out this month to various professionals and a teaching body numbering about 33,000.  Until LAUSD openly shares budget numbers, why would we subject ourselves to believing such a massive reduction is necessary?  Union president Warren Fletcher reported at January’s house of representatives meeting that the state’s budget for us yielded $4,845 per student, while the district’s figures showed $4,638.  Mr. Fletcher notes


ACT Reminders

by David B. Cohen
From time to time I have the opportunity to participate in various education-related events, and I’m always eager to discuss Accomplished California Teachers.  Readers of this blog are likely already familiar with our work as a teacher leadership network for the state, but there are other ways for readers and other interested people to keep up with ACT.  Here’s a list of our online outlets, which will also lead you to contact information if you prefer something offline.
Our website
Facebook page
Twitter
YouTube
Ning site - this is our members-only communications platform.  If you are a California teacher leader, a teacher 
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