Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray, 6/5/12 | The White House

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray, 6/5/12 | The White House:

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray, 6/5/12

by The White House

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:35 P.M. EDT
MR. CARNEY:  We apologize for the delay, but we are glad that you’re here and welcome you as ever to the briefing room for your daily briefing.
As I think was advertised, I have with me Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on my right, and to my left, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rich Cordray.  They're here to talk to you about student loans and college costs.  They participated in a roundtable just earlier this afternoon that was led by the Vice President with a number of presidents of colleges and universities to discuss ways to provide students with more transparency about college costs to help them make very important financial decisions.
So what I’d like to do is first turn it over to Secretary Duncan and then Director Cordray.  They’ll talk to you about these issues, this bucket of issues.  If you could direct questions to them on their issues at the top, after which we’ll let them leave, and I’ll be here to take your questions on other subjects.
And with that I give you the Secretary of Education.
SECRETARY DUNCAN:  Thanks so much, Jay.  And thanks, all of you guys, for giving us the opportunity.
As all of you know, post-secondary education is the ticket to economic success in America.  But while it’s never been more important to have a degree or certificate, unfortunately it’s also never been more expensive.  The Obama administration is working every single day to do our part to keep college affordable by helping students better manage their debt after graduation.
We’ve also proposed to extend and make permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit and to create new incentives for states and institutions to keep college costs from escalating and to increase those completion rates.
And we’re also working to provide parents of students with the information they need to make smart educational 

This Week In Education: Bruno: How Seniority Sends Teachers Into Charters

This Week In Education: Bruno: How Seniority Sends Teachers Into Charters:

Bruno: How Seniority Sends Teachers Into Charters

by Paul Bruno

This summer my family will be relocating from the Bay Area to Southern California. This means that a fair amount of my free time these days is occupied by looking for work in the Los Angeles area.
Since my preferred placement is middle school science in a public school with generally under-served demographics, I'm pretty confident that I'll eventually find a job for the 2012-2013 school year, but I haven't landed one yet.
It's not for lack of trying. I've contacted 20 or so schools over the last couple of months inquiring about potential openings. The only formal applications I've been able to submit, however, have been to charter schools.
Why charter schools?  Read on for all the gory details.
Well, it's partly because they're the only ones hiring. The responses - when I get them - from traditional district schools are 

FCAT “An Academic and Psychological Piece of Junk” | Scathing Purple Musings

FCAT “An Academic and Psychological Piece of Junk” | Scathing Purple Musings:

FCAT “An Academic and Psychological Piece of Junk”

by Bob Sikes

It’s useful to counter the narrative of test-based policy-makers with observations of folks who do this stuff for a living. Consider the following from Dr. Perry Miller writing in the Sun-Sentinel:

In two separate articles of May 26, both of which included Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson’s thoughts regarding the FCAT testing program, it became evident that the Commissioner has not the foggiest understanding or knowledge that the FCAT is an academic and psychological piece of junk . It costs Florida taxpayers thousands of dollars, and accomplishes nothing but creates confusion and misery for classroom teachers and the children involved plus their parents and ends up telling us nothing about the children’s progress or academic abilities.
I hold two different earned doctoral degrees with one in psychology and the other in education, plus 

Strike memory. « Fred Klonsky

Strike memory. « Fred Klonsky:

Strike memory.

by Fred Klonsky

Today’s strike authorization vote by members of the Chicago Teachers Union brings back memories of the week that my local went out on strike.
It was a cold November week in 2003.
Our strike memory is still fresh for many. Two thirds of those presently teaching in Park Ridge, District 64 took part in that strike.
There had not been a strike in our district for a quarter of a century. Few teachers ever thought they would ever need to walk out. For many it was a decision they made with a certain degree of anxiety and fear of the

The in box. Bob Lyons on what’s next.

by Fred Klonsky

Bob Lyons is a member of the Teacher Retirement System Board of Trustees.

What will happen next on pension reduction in Illinois will depend in part on if the union representatives along with the IRTA are allowed to actually be part of the process of negotiation.  Do you recall hearing from Tom Cross, minority leader in the Illinois House, and Christine Radogno, holding the same position in the Senate, that our people were not part of the process in the spring.  Of course the reason they may have thought that was the case could be because Cross and Radogno weren’t even in the room.  The unions were there, but the Republican leaders were not, and while our people were making proposals to Speaker Madigan and President of the Senate Cullerton,  my impression was the two Democratic leaders were themselves talking more than listening.   Certainly  SB1673 was not the result of negotiation.  The bond rating agencies are threatening to drop the rating of Illinois state bonds, already the worst in the nation, by two 

The Adamowski Pension: A Story of one Education Reformers Sense of “Entitlement” - Wait, What?

The Adamowski Pension: A Story of one Education Reformers Sense of “Entitlement” - Wait, What?:

The Adamowski Pension: A Story of one Education Reformers Sense of “Entitlement”

Forty-five thousand teachers and nine thousand administrators have managed to follow Connecticut law and acquired Department of Education certification in order to participate in the Teachers Retirement System, but Steven Adamowski and the Malloy Administration continue to believe that one of Malloy’s “education reform experts” and  “Special Master” for the Windham School System, deserves an exemption from that “burden.”

Readers will recall that earlier this year, despite a $9 billion short-fall in Connecticut’s Teacher Pension Fund, Governor Malloy slipped language into his “Education Reform” bill to retroactively enlarge Adamowski’s teacher retirement pension by giving him credit for the years he served as the Superintendent of Schools in Hartford, despite the fact that he was not certified to be the superintendent.

This “gift” could amount to an additional $27,000 when Adamowski retires.

In a display of courage, the Connecticut Legislature stripped that language out of the 

After Wisconsin « Diane Ravitch's blog

After Wisconsin « Diane Ravitch's blog:

After Wisconsin

by dianerav

The question before the June 5 recall election in Wisconsin was whether big money would be enough to carry Governor Scott Walker to victory.
Now we know. Money was more than enough.
When I heard the results last night, I was disappointed but not surprised. The polls were discouraging, and they were right. People power was not sufficient to overcome the enormous advantage that Walker had as a result of the millions of dollars that poured in from out-of-state people. Walker had become the poster boy for the hard-right, having stripped collective bargaining rights from working people and demonized their unions.
What hope is there for the future? Plenty. We know from history that bad ideas may prevail for a time, but with enough work, even the worst of autocracies and regimes die. Bad things don’t last forever. They don’t die by themselves; they don’t collapse. They die because of determined, relentless opposition from those who understand what is at stake for their children and their society and who are willing to take personal risks to stand 

Time to Reassess California’s API

Time to Reassess California’s API:

Time to Reassess California’s API

by Mandy Zatynski

As a reporter for a small-town paper in California, I dreaded August. It was the month that the state department of education released its annual Academic Performance Index (API) rankings. Teachers, administrators, parents, and realtors live and die by the API, a somewhat ambiguous figure based on a complicated math formula that considers students’ proficiency levels on state tests. As a reporter, I felt it never told us, or the public, very much about a school’s progress over time.
But as Richard Lee Colvin writes in his new report, California has the perfect opportunity to scrap this vague measure for a more thorough—and fairer—judgment of a school’s performance. And it’s an opportunity other states should watch and take note of.
Currently, the API tends to say more about a school’s socio-economic makeup than its student achievement. For example, a school with a high percentage of English-language learners will undoubtedly have a low 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core = Educational Equity, NOT Educational Excellence.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core = Educational Equity, NOT Educational Excellence.:

Common Core = Educational Equity, NOT Educational Excellence.

by stlgretchen

...two words NOT allowed in Common Core standards. "Uncommon" & "Creative"

Jamie Gass from Pioneer Institute writes about current DOEd education reform and common core standards in an article entitled "Leaves of Memory Going Dark":

Gov. Patrick, Secretary Reville, and other state officials must realize the damage the national standards are doing to the high school English curriculum and require yearlong courses in American and British literature, as well as classical literature in Grade 9 or 10. If they do not, their lasting legacy to the Bay State’s schoolchildren will be one of trading that which is beautiful and enduring for the jargon-filled dead language of educationists. 

Here are some of the buzz words and jargon-filled dead language of educationists sprinkled in Arne Duncan's, Michelle Rhee's and David Coleman's statements about education and education reform:

DC Public Schools to replace 18 of Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's principals | Washington Examiner

DC Public Schools to replace 18 principals | Washington Examiner:

DC Public Schools to replace 18 principals

The District is quietly replacing 18 of its public school principals, most of whom were hired by former Chancellor Michelle Rhee to turn around the schools.

DC Public Schools spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz declined to say how many of the 18 principals were retiring, resigning or being fired.

But parents told The Washington Examiner that several principals, including Rhee appointees at Garrison Elementary School and Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, were terminated. Shaw's principal, Kimberly Douglas, was selected by Rhee after the 2010 murder of popular Principal Brian Betts.

Are Teachers Too Easily Caught in Crossfire Over Student Achievement? | PBS NewsHour | June 5, 2012 | PBS

Are Teachers Too Easily Caught in Crossfire Over Student Achievement? | PBS NewsHour | June 5, 2012 | PBS:

Are Teachers Too Easily Caught in Crossfire Over Student Achievement?

Watch Are Teachers Too Accountable Over Student Achievement? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

SUMMARY

Part of the American Graduate project addressing the country's high school dropout crisis, Ray Suarez and former Deputy Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch discuss education reform and her approach to teacher accountability.

 Transcript

JEFFREY BROWN: And next, the second part of our series about teachers, testing, and accountability in public schools.

Last night, we interviewed Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Gates Foundation, who's been an outspoken advocate for testing and tougher standards.

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Tonight, we get a different view on how teachers are and should be evaluated.

Ray Suarez has our story.

CELESTE ADAMS, teacher, Riverview Gardens High School: Classical or traditional education is dead. It's failing our students.

RAY SUAREZ: Across America, teachers are talking, taking a rare opportunity to discuss their work lives, their joys and frustrations, and trade ideas on how to raise graduation rates and reduce the number of dropouts.

They're venting and sharing practical tips about what works in their classrooms at a series of teacher town halls hosted by a dozen local PBS stations. It's part of the American Graduate initiative, sponsored by the Corporation for Public 

Vouchers and the future of public education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Vouchers and the future of public education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Vouchers and the future of public education

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by education historian Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University and author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” This first appeared on her blog.

By Diane Ravitch

I debated whether to give this blog post the title you see or to call it “State Commissioner of Education John White Acknowledges That He Doesn’t Know How to Improve Schools.”

I felt a sense of outrage as I read the latest account of the Louisianavoucher program. Since Gov. Bobby Jindal is already doing what Mitt Romney promises to do, I keep a close watch on Louisiana. So should the national media. A Shreveport newspaper ran an article linking Jindal’s plan to the ALEC model of school reform.

The Reuters article skips the rhetoric about “the civil rights issue of our 

Should Chesapeake Science Point have its charter extended?

by Valerie Strauss

The Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Anne Arundel County is an academic powerhouse. Most of its students get high scores on state standardized tests, and some of them successfully compete in state and international math competitions. But if you look at this assessment by the county’s school superintendent of how the school operates, you might give it a failing grade.
Read full article >>

Charter school proponents edging adversaries in Sacramento County school board races - Elections - The Sacramento Bee

Charter school proponents edging adversaries in Sacramento County school board races - Elections - The Sacramento Bee:

Charter school proponents edging adversaries in Sacramento County school board races

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By Diana Lambert
dlambert@sacbee.com

Published: Tuesday, Jun. 5, 2012 - 10:18 pm

Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 6, 2012 - 1:34 am

Charter school proponents were edging out union candidates for control of the Sacramento County Office of Education board Tuesday night.

If charter supporters win a majority of the board's seven seats, they could secure the future of a chain of Fortune schools approved by the SCOE board last year.

The five-year charter, aimed at addressing the achievement gap of African American students, allows a new K-8 school to be opened in Sacramento County each year. The first school opened this school year.

Three contested seats were up for grabs Tuesday. Teachers unions have been vocally opposed to the charter network. They spent ten of thousands of dollars to support three candidates in an effort to

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/05/4541441/charter-school-proponents-edging.html#mi_rss=Education#storylink=cpy

Failing Data in Education Reform | National Education Policy Center

Failing Data in Education Reform | National Education Policy Center:

Failing Data in Education Reform

 

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Paul Thomas

June 5, 2012

• Paul Thomas
 
• Accountability and Testing
 
• No Child Left Behind

Few phrases have been written or uttered more often than "data-driven instruction" or "evidence-based decision making"since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) codified "scientifically-based" practices in 2001.

The accountability era begun in the early 1980s intensified the near mania for data in the U.S. that can be traced back to the first few decades of the twentieth century and the promises associated with quantifying student learning and teacher quality through standardized testing. Although the past century and the more recent thirty-year cycle of accountability based on standards and standardized testing have not delivered on the promises (see Hout & Elliot, 2011), "No Excuses" Reformers, including the current Department of Education headed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, remain steadfast in pursuing better tests based on better standards.

The "No Excuses" Reform movement is driven by bully politics that ironically includes an unbending faith in data and 

Jersey Jazzman: Eli Broad Buys New Jersey's Schools

Jersey Jazzman: Eli Broad Buys New Jersey's Schools:

Eli Broad Buys New Jersey's Schools

by Duke

Tomorrow, Eli Broad will buy New Jersey's schools... and at a bargain price!

The State Board of Education tomorrow will have two unusual resolutions before it to accept more than $600,000 in outside funds from two foundations:

• $200,000 from StartUp:Education, the national foundation created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
• $430,000 from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the California-based organization that has helped train and support three of the administration’s top education officials, including acting Commissioner Chris Cerf.

If approved as expected, the money will go to several distinct projects, officials said 

Fumigating the Broad Infestation

by Duke

The Education Law Center sees the Broadies crawling like bedbugs all over the NJDOE, and wants to get out the can of Raid. Here's a letter they sent yesterday, in its entirety:

June 5, 2012  

The Honorable Arcelio Aponte, President 

New Jersey State Board of Education 

River View Executive Plaza 

Building 100, P.O. Box 500 

Trenton, NJ 08625-0500  

Re: Resolutions Approving Receipt of Funds from Broad and Start Up: Education Foundations  

Dear Mr. Aponte and fellow members of the State Board:  

I write to request that the State Board of Education defer consideration of Resolutions approving the Department of Education's receipt of "donated funds" of $430,000 from the Broad Foundation and $200,000 from the Start Up: Education Foundation. These resolutions are set forth as attachments to the State Board June 6 meeting agenda.  

In presenting these resolutions to the State Board and the public, the 

THE INSULAR CULTURE OF LAUSD IS ANTITHETICAL TO EXCELLENT PUBLIC EDUCATION - Perdaily.com

THE INSULAR CULTURE OF LAUSD IS ANTITHETICAL TO EXCELLENT PUBLIC EDUCATION - Perdaily.com:

THE INSULAR CULTURE OF LAUSD IS ANTITHETICAL TO EXCELLENT PUBLIC EDUCATION

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

Today I went to speak before the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Directors before they were scheduled to go into closed session to deal again with the Scot Graham - ex-Superintendent Ramon Cortines alleged sexual harassment issue that the LAUSD Board voted 4-3 in a previous session several weeks ago to pay Graham a $200,000 settlement and $250,000 worth of lifetime health benefits. This prior clandestine action of the Board unwound because it flew in the face of the public notice requirements of the Brown Act. In addition, the fact that the Board "outed" Mr. Graham caused his attorneys to balk at the proposed settlement offer.

So today the LAUSD Board tried again to get it right by revisiting the Graham-Cortines 

Audits for 3 Georgia Charter Schools Tied to Gulen Movement - NYTimes.com

Audits for 3 Georgia Charter Schools Tied to Gulen Movement - NYTimes.com:

Audits for 3 Georgia Schools Tied to Turkish Movement

By STEPHANIE SAUL

A group of three publicly financed charter schools in Georgia run by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a prominent Turkish imam, have come under scrutiny after they defaulted on bonds and an audit found that the schools improperly granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts to businesses and groups, many of them with ties to the Gulen movement.

The audit released Tuesday by the Fulton County Schools near Atlanta found the schools made purchases like T-shirts, teacher training and video production services from organizations with connections to school officials or Gulen followers. Those included more than $500,000 in contracts since January 2010 with the Grace Institute, a foundation whose board has included school leaders. In some cases the awards skirted bidding requirements, the audit said.

“I would just question how those vendors were selected when price in many instances wasn’t part of the decision making,” said the Fulton County superintendent, Robert 

NYC Educator: End-Year Evaluation

NYC Educator: End-Year Evaluation:

End-Year Evaluation

by NYC Educator

I've got a few more years before the geniuses who run the government institute junk-science VAM tests so I can be fired for trying to teach high-needs kids. Meanwhile, I'm fortunate enough to work in a place without Leadership Academy lunatics pushing abject nonsense as the next up-and-coming religious icon.

Every year, I pass around a suggestion box for my students. I let them say whatever they want anonymously, and then read the responses aloud. It’s pretty popular with the kids. So I'll consider this my assessment for the year. Guarantee--all responses verbatim, and only changed for grammar,  spelling, or to exclude the names of the innocent.

A good number of my students are happy:

Your class is the best because we work like a dog.

This class is very good. Mr. E. is the best teacher.

Hey, Mr. E., your class is the best because you make a lot of 

Will Technology Cut the Budget? « Diane Ravitch's blog

Will Technology Cut the Budget? « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Will Technology Cut the Budget?

by dianerav

The answer to this question, says this reader, is no. Libertarians and folks on the right believe that technology will make it possible to replace teachers with machines. Machines don’t need health care or pensions. And their salaries don’t go up in a step schedule. When the machines get obsolete, you junk them. With teachers, you can’t just toss them aside, unless your state passed a law banning seniority and tenure.
This is the reader’s comment:
As a technology professional, I guarantee that technology is not a way to save money in education.
I do think it can be a way to improve instruction in some subjects, and to allow kids more options if they are willing to self-direct and take responsibility for their own learning. For example, an ambitious kid who wants to learn Mandarin in a school with no Mandarin teacher and no other students who want to learn Mandarin could do so online, on school time, using school resources, while guided by a non-Mandarin speaking teacher. I wholly 

Last Stand for Children First: A Message to Chicago Teachers from JC on the Strike Vote

Last Stand for Children First: A Message to Chicago Teachers from JC on the Strike Vote:

A Message to Chicago Teachers from JC on the Strike Vote

Dear Teacher,

Earlier this evening, I emailed you requesting that you reconsider voting yes in the strike authorization vote in our schools beginning Wednesday, June 6.  I have it on very good authority that many of you did not heed my missive and in fact some of you have even taken to openly mocking it on forums and on Facebook.  I am asking you again to reconsider and this time the gloves are off.

I told you already about SB7.   This legislation was carefully crafted by very wealthy people both inside and out of the state to crush your union and take away your ability to strike.  Frankly, we never even thought there was an outside chance that you could hit 50% in a strike vote.  You may have seen the Jonah Edelman video going around where 

Pass / Fail : Lawsuit against California officials, LA Unified would undo significant teacher job protections | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : Lawsuit against California officials, LA Unified would undo significant teacher job protections | 89.3 KPCC:

Lawsuit against California officials, LA Unified would undo significant teacher job protections

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Tami Abdollah/KPCC

The lawsuit, known as Vergara vs. California, claims that teacher protections in the law violate students’ constitutional rights to an equal education.

A recently filed lawsuit against California public officials and the LAUSD would radically change the way the district hires and fires public school teachers.

The lawsuit is known as Vergara v. California and it pits major education players against each other. The suit claims that teacher protections in the law violate students’ constitutional rights to an equal education.

The plaintiffs are 13-year-old L.A. Unified student Beatriz Vergara and seven other public school students. Lawyers from a 120-year-old L.A.-based law firm (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) represent them.

Firm partner Theodore Boutrous, a specialist in appellate and constitutional law, is co-counsel. He convinced U.S. Supreme Court justices to deny class action status to a