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Monday, August 6, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 8-6 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, August 6, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 minutes ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: Video streaming by Ustream Education Headlines *Monday, August 6, 2012* San Diego school administrators' union agrees to concessionsThe San Diego Unified School District has reached a contract agreement with the union representing principals and vice principals that includes concessions similar to those given by the district’s teachers, including deferring raises and extending furlough days. Getting to the core of educationThe Common Core Standards are considered more rigorous than most of the states' current requirements, an... more »

Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 35 minutes ago
Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment « School Finance 101: Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment by schoolfinance101 In numerous previous posts I have summarized New Jersey charter school enrollment data, frequently pointing out that the highest performing charter schools in New Jersey tend to be demographically very different from schools in their surrounding neighborhoods and similar grade level schools throughout their host districts or cities. I have tried to explain over and over that the reason these differences are important is b... more »

Schools Matter: The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 37 minutes ago
Schools Matter: The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores: The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores by Jim Horn The other day at Huffington Post, school privatization advocate, Kevin Chavous, gave a “shout out” to KIPP, Inc., the nation’s largest corporate chain of charter schools and certainly the most popular high-rolling philanthro-capitalists who would never send their own children to one of these total compliance lockdown schools. As is customary for KIPP promoters, Chavous tries to portray the KIPP chain gang model as an outgrowth of the late Harriet Ball’s teac... more »

Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers « Diane Ravitch's blog: Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers by dianerav A faithful reader sent the following quotation from Adam Smith’s *The Wealth of Nations*: *Merchants and master manufacturers are, in this order, the two classes of people who commonly employ the largest capitals, and who by their wealth draw to themselves the greatest share of the public consideration. As during their whole lives they are engaged in plans and projects, they have frequently more acuteness of understanding than the greater part of country gent... more »

NYC Educator: Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
NYC Educator: Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings: Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings by NYC Educator I spent last weekend at SOS 2012, surrounded by people who are passionate about education, people who look beyond the headlines, people who do not take preposterous nonsense at face value. This ought to be status quo, but when you consider that even the New York Times runs editorials that don't consider, let alone bother themselves with fundamental research, it's far rarer than it should be. When you're with a group of well-informed people seeking real solutions to real pro... more »

NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill - NorthJersey.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill - NorthJersey.com: NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill MONDAY AUGUST 6, 2012, 9:34 AM ASSOCIATED PRESS PRINT | E-MAIL MIDDLESEX — The president of New Jersey's largest teachers union will appear with Gov. Chris Christie as he signs a bill to overhaul the state's teacher tenure system. Monday's bill-signing is a rare moment of cooperation for Christie and New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian. The two have been in a war of words for years. But they have come together with other education advocates over the tenu... more »

Shanker Blog » Schools Aren't The Only Reason Test Scores Change

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Shanker Blog » Schools Aren't The Only Reason Test Scores Change: Schools Aren’t The Only Reason Test Scores Change by Matthew Di Carlo In all my many posts about the interpretation of state testing data, it seems that I may have failed to articulate one major implication, which is almost always ignored in the news coverage of the release of annual testing data. That is: raw, unadjusted changes in student test scores are not by themselves very good measures of schools’ test-based effectiveness. In other words, schools can have a substantial impact on performance, but student test ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret: NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret by Duke Last week, the Education Law Center published a series of "confidential" documents from the NJ Department of Education detailing a "turnaround" plan for schools, paid for with private monies, that would remove schools from local control, negate collective bargaining agreements, and bring in private charter school management companies. This is the latest chapter in the tale of the Broad Foundation infestation of the NJDOE. But the audacity, scope, and secrecy behind this plan still ... more »

Schools Matter: KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Schools Matter: KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden: KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden by Jim Horn KIPP, Inc. has joined forces with the most corrupt and ruthless charter school operator that Philadelphia has to offer, in a takeover bid for large chunks of one of the most vulnerable school communities in America. Find on this money train, too, a posse of political predators and hungry hangers-on eager to fill their pockets from bleeding dry the public funds for Camden schools. And don't forget the other partner in this business deal, the Cooper Foundation, headed by Georg... more »

PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY | People For the American Way

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY | People For the American Way: PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY Add caption * * *THE AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL AND ITS CORPORATE AND RIGHT-WING ALLIES PROMOTE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC ASSETS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES.* The combination of state and local budget crises and the 2010 election of anti-government ideologues in many states has left taxpayers and communities increasingly vul... more »

Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why?: Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why? Daily News Editorial Philadelphia Daily News READER FEEDBACK Post a comment A report authored by the Boston Consulting Group for the School Reform Commission and paid for by the William Penn Foundation provides interesting reading on the state of the school district and school reform in general. Among the most interesting: It doesn't appear to have been written by either Satan or any of his minions. This despite the fact that some parents, school advocates, the Philadelphia... more »

AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school - News - Boston.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school - News - Boston.com: *AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school* [image: In a July 19, 2012, photo, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is interviewed by The Associated Press in Washington. Duncan says a more well-rounded curriculum with less focus on a single test, higher academic standards, more difficult classwork and continued cuts to extracurricular and other activities because of the tough economy are some of the changes and challenges that children could notice in the new school year. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)] In a Jul... more »

Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California - latimes.com: Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in CaliforniaLegislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and increases disparities. SACRAMENTO — Not every proposed law is historic or sweeping. Some merely are pretty good ideas — perhaps even important for a low-income kid. One such bill is among the hundreds awaiting action as the Legislature heads into its final month. The measure's goal is to stop schools from socking stu... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part II by Duke Here's Part I of this series. More from Tom Moran's interview with Arne Duncan: *Q. Tell me about your experience in Chicago. As with Joel Klein in New York and Michelle Rhee in Washington, you see improvements, but it doesn’t seem dramatic overall.* A. There are schools and communities that are breaking through. We see lots of examples in Chicago and New York and D.C. *The question is whether we can take *

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-6-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Why Won’t Rahm Talk to Parents? by dianerav This parent activist in Chicago says that parents have good ideas about how to improve the schools but Mayor Rahm Emanuel won’t meet with them. Parents in New York City say the same about Mayor Bloomberg. Why won’t the mayor listen to the most informed and most committed stakeholders of all? Not the business community, not the entrepreneurs, but the parents of the children? *It would cost more than the city has which is a nearly 1 billion dollar deficit! Parent grou... more »

“Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
“Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique | EdSource Today: “Waste, fraud, and abuse”: A hollow and hypocritical critique ** August 5th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By Seth Rosenblatt Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services [image: Seth Rosenblatt] Seth Rosenblatt There are many critiques of the public sector by those in the private sector; some have validity, while others ring hollow. I have written about examples of both, but a great illustration of the latter is the oft used criticism that governments – including... more »

Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: 10 most inaccurate school reform axioms by Valerie Strauss Below Dov Rosenberg lists what he considers the 10 most inaccurate and damaging statements that some school reformers toss around. Rosenberg, who loves to help teachers use technology, has been serving North Carolina public school students and teachers for 11 years as a teacher and instructional technology facilitator. Read full article >> Newest Olympic sport: Teacher bashing? By Valerie Strauss You all know about Michelle Rhee’s anti-teac... more »

NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.” « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.” « Fred Klonsky: NEA is still spinning Senate Bill 7 as “teacher led reform.” by Fred Klonsky The National Council of State Legislators is meeting in Chicago this week. More than 12oo legislators and their staff will wine and dine on lobbyist’s money. Included among the lobbyists will be some from the National Education Association. I am concerned with what my union lobbyists will be telling state legislators and their staff while taking a knife to a steak at Morton’s Steak House. Will they be telling them how great Illin... more »

Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education? - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education? - Education - GOOD: Are Lazy Students the Real Problem in Public Education? by Liz Dwyer [image: students] Over the past few years teachers have borne the brunt of the blame for the challenges facing the nation's public schools. But in a scathing op-ed in Salt Lake City's *Deseret News*, Teresa Talbot, a veteran of Utah's public schools who's about to enter her 25th year in the classroom, claims "the main problem with our education system today is not what is taught, where it is taught, by whom it is taught or how it is taught... more »

The Best Resources On Punctuation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Best Resources On Punctuation | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: The Best Resources On Punctuation Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 hours ago I just saw a clip of Victor Borge’s apparently famous “Phonetic Punctuation” performance, and it’s prompting me to pull together a short list of resources I’ve posted about punctuation in the past (along with Borge clip) Feel free to contribute … Continue reading → Twitter Experiment With Our Book Begins Today! Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 hours ago As I’ve previously posted... more »

The Educated Reporter: A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps: A New Prelude to Student Debt: Food Stamps by Emily Richmond *The Educated Reporter is taking a brief summer hiatus, and will return Wednesday, Aug. 8. For the next few days you'll have a chance to catch up on some past posts. * Like most clichés that arise by virtue of their accuracy, there are most certainly cash-strapped college students who owe a debt of gratitude to the ever-affordable ramen noodle. However, as tuition costs continue to soar -- and part-time work remains hard to find -- more and more college... more »

SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing - Politics K-12 - Education Week: SOS Event Draws Small Crowd, Focuses on Organizing by Stephen Sawchuk [image: SOS Save Our Schools] *By guest blogger Liana Heitin* In sharp contrast to last summer's celebrity-attended rally and march to the White House, the Save Our Schools gathering this year proved a quiet, 150-person affair. Held this weekend in the regal Wardman Park Marriott in downtown Washington, the convention featured presentations on an array of topics including advocacy, social justice, and elevating student voice, a... more »

E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: E4E's Michael Loeb Enters Campbell Brown's Twilight Zone by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) A lot has been said in the last few days or so of CNN's Cambpell Brown, and wife of MichelleRheeFirst lackeyDan Senor, and her column in the Wall Street Journal claiming that teacher's unions, in particular the UFT, protects sexual predators. Nothing, we all know, could be further from the truth. More disturbing is that a fellow teacher and UFT member (both terms used quite loosely) andEducators4Excllence bon vivant, Michael Loeb, without thinking, witho... more »

Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated | The Jose Vilson: Theatricality And Deception, Powerful Agents For The Uninitiated by Jose This is the post where I almost started off with a “Dear White People.” This is going to lean towards education, but applies pervasively. I’m referring to the educators who still want to save the children, the ones who still think they’re teaching their subjects and not actual students, the ones who see teaching as a segue to administration or a central office job, the ones who use euphemisms for kids of color to advance their ... more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three: SOS Conference 2012, Day Three by James Boutin This morning, I began the day by attending a session led by Monty Neill and Bob George where attendees offered suggestions for how Save Our Schools might adapt its policy recommendation literature for policymakers and the public. Rose Sanders speaksOver and over again, in the session and throughout the conference, participants railed against high-stakes testing as the illusion on which corporate reform is standing. I felt this to be the area in which we had largest consensus.... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part I by Duke Today, the *Star-Ledger* publishes an interview Tom Moran did with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. It's an astonishing piece - because the mind of Arne Duncan is an astonishing place, full of self-contradiction, personal faith masquerading as deductive reasoning, and just sheer nonsense. I think this entire exchange deserves a close look, so I'm planning to divide this up into severe shorter posts. One thing before we get started: given all my previous problems... more »

Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality | Dailycensored.com: Cyber ‘earning’ the big enchilada: Point and click education in the age of irrationality by Danny Weil I posted what you will read below back in 2010 but now that Verizon is joining the multi-billion dollar educational fray* (* http://www.dailycensored.com/2012/07/26/look-at-whos-partnering-with-verizon-to-deliver-common-core-offal/) as well as the newly created Rupert Murdoch’s ‘educational’ division headed by Joel Klein, cyber learning from K-16 and beyond is the new vent... more »

What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? - Wait, What?: What are Mayor Finch and Governor Malloy going to do about Paul Vallas…? by jonpelto Today’s Connecticut Post has an extraordinary article about Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools. Unfortunately the Page One story is not on-line, but as soon as it is, you’ll be able to find a link here. Wait, What? readers may recall two blog posts a few days ago that revealed that Paul Vallas had hired a number of consultants to help him in Bridgeport. Most, if not all of these people work fo... more »

Please Comment on CNN Interview with Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Please Comment on CNN Interview with Michelle Rhee « Diane Ravitch's blog: Please Comment on CNN Interview with Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee by dianerav Many readers have asked how they can contact CNN to respond to its interview with Michelle Rhee. CNN has invited comments: http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/05/rhee-on-saving-americas-schools/comment-page-1/ Bear in mind that the international rankings, which she loves to tout to embarrass America, its students and its

Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Stiff competition in Oakland’s school board races Sunday, August 5th, 2012 at 8:00 am in Two years ago, I wrote about how few people were running for school board in Oakland. It’s much different this year. Below is a list of 13 candidates that have announced at some point that they were running for seats 1, 3, 5, or 7. I’ve learned of a number of new candidates since my blog post in late May *Friday, Aug. 10* is the filing deadline. You can see for yourself who’s supp... more »

School Tech Connect: You Can't Handle This

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
School Tech Connect: You Can't Handle This: You Can't Handle This by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) If you set up a Google Alert for the term "school board election debate," you start getting all these hits from around the country. These are just the first three. It turns out that all over the land, people are interested in debating their ideas about how the schools should be moving forward. Those ideas are in turned ratified by voters. Albany, GA

CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK - Perdaily.com: CLEARLY LAUSD/UTLA HAVE NO INTEREST IN ASKING WHY THE VALUE ADDED MODEL (VAM) DOESN'T WORK by Leonard Isenberg (Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) *With the passing of Gore Vidal last week, I'm having second thoughts about whether in the final analysis education has any value other than as a source of amusement and/or frustration for those of us who have enough of it to either get the sick joke or frust... more »

First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel « @ the chalk face

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel « @ the chalk face: @ THE CHALK FACE Progressive #edreform blog, podcast, and radio show from actual educators First of many @thechalkface parody videos, this one of the recent #studentsfirst drivel August 4, 2012 by Chalk Face For this, you don’t have to pay $3 to see it.

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher?: Thinking Out Loud! If I Don't Tweet and/or Blog, Does That Make Me a "Bad" Teacher? by Lisa M Yeah! It's Connected Educator Month! After reading numerous articles and tweets over the past year, I am getting an idea. An idea, that may be a misconception on my part. Is there a belief that teachers who are passionate about tweeting and/or blogging, are considered "better" teachers??? Are we considered "better" than the ones who don't? I know I am passionate about tw... more »

A Blood Libel | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
A Blood Libel | Edwize: A Blood Libel by Leo Casey Recent days has seen a nasty tweet fight break out, as Mayor Bloomberg’s proxies – Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, StudentsFirst honcho and former Bloomberg Albany lobbyist Micah Lasher, and former television anchor Campbell Brown – have used the 140 character forum to launch a vicious slander that the UFT protects sexual predators, defending their return to the classroom. Their argument is that since arbitrators who decide dismissal hearings against tenured teachers are jointly selected by the Department of Education and the UFT, ... more »

Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic « Feminist Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic « Feminist Teacher: Feminist Teacher Featured in The Atlantic by feministteacher During my time at the Aspen Ideas Festival earlier this summer, I was interviewed by Conor Friedersdorf from The Atlantic on teaching my students how to make their writing a part of a larger public discourse through blogging. The result: engaged young writers who learn that their voices matter.

The Conservative Brookings Institute | Firedoglake

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
The Conservative Brookings Institute | Firedoglake: The Conservative Brookings InstituteBy: masaccio Sunday August 5, 2012 10:40 am [image: Tweet]Tweet [image: digg] [image: stumbleupon] Scott Winship, looking well-groomed and well-fed. And did I mention that 15% increase in median net worth since 1970? The Brookings Institute was once a bastion of liberal thought, so much so that it was hard to find a reference to it that didn’t begin with “The Liberal Brookings Institute”. Its scholars were top-notch exponents of liberal values, and its reports and studies were widely reviewed... more »

What Public Education Did for Me « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
What Public Education Did for Me « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Public Education Did for Me by dianerav The writer of this article sent it to me today. It is a testimonial to a teacher who changed his life. As he says, there are millions of stories like this, and they are all true. Do you have one to tell? *Bret Wooten: The Value Of Public Schools* ** *Several months ago, we heard from a listener after a state legislator talked about the great potential in charter schools. Bret Wooten felt more should be said about the great potential offered by traditional public schools. Here’s hi... more »

Louisiana Educator: Wall Street Vultures

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Louisiana Educator: Wall Street Vultures: Wall Street Vultures by Michael Deshotels A member of the Coalition for Louisiana Public Education sent me this link to a Reuters news story dated Aug.2about a recent business conference where the *opportunities*for school privatization schemes were discussed with interested business persons. It seems that many of the Wall Street guys see K-12 education as a major source of big profits. *Big profits? *How can that be at this time of shrinking school budgets and increased mandated costs to local school systems? Here's the gist of it. The w... more »

Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? | Scathing Purple Musings: Did Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Intervene and Prompt School Grade Changes? by Bob Sikes Two of Florida’s top political reporters, Mary Ellen Klas and Steve Bousquet have a Sunday story highlighting some critical interventions of Rick Scott’s new chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth. According to the two reporters, Hollingsworth had a hand in the DOE’s positive change in 213 school grades. A week after Hollingsworth started his new job, school districts raised doubts about a new gra... more »

Ed Notes Online: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Ed Notes Online: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement: @SOS Karran Harper Royal: How [Some] African Americans and Civil Rights Leaders Got on the Wrong Side of the Ed Reform Movement Karran is the best there is at exposing the ed deform New Orleans "miracle." And a founder with Leonie Haimson and others of Parents Across America. She opposed the status quo back in the 90's so she can't be accused of defending the SQ. She could have been on the ed deform side given her history of activi... more »

Rahm and Other People’s Children « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Rahm and Other People’s Children « Diane Ravitch's blog: Rahm and Other People’s Children by dianerav One of the themes of the corporate reform movement is this: “We know what’s best for other people’s children but it is not what’s best for mine.” Many of the leading corporate reformers went to elite prep schools and/or send their children to them. Schools like Exeter, Andover, Deerfield Academy, Sidwell Friends, the University of Chicago Lab School, Lakeside Academy (Seattle), Maumee Country Day School (Toledo). At these schools there are beautiful facilities, small classes, exper... more »

Open the Flood Gates - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Open the Flood Gates - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators: Open the Flood Gates One of the legacies of the Industrial Age is the ideal of standardization: creating products of consistent quality that can be mass-produced. Coming out of the Agricultural Age, this was a huge step forward; without standardization much of what was accomplished in the twentieth century could not have been attained. Along with standardization came specialization, as specific standards of quality had to be met by specific experts. On any ... more »

Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 | OccupyWallSt.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 | OccupyWallSt.org: Global Education Strike: Oct. 18 & Nov. 14-21 Posted 15 minutes ago on Aug. 5, 2012, 11:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt [image: Global Education Strike!] *via the International Student Movement:* We are calling for a Global Education Strike. It is the first time that an education strike is being coordinated worldwide. We will UNITE in solidarity, because no matter where we live, we face the same struggle against national state and profit driven interests, and their hold on education. Increasing tuition fees, budget cuts, ... more »

What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay « Diane Ravitch's blog: What Albert Shanker Said About Merit Pay by dianerav In the early 1990s, I attended a meeting where the issues of education were debated. One of the attendees was Albert Shanker. I don’t remember where or when this meeting occurred. I can’t document it. But I remember what Al Shanker said that day about merit pay. After another member of the group predicted the great improvements that would occur if teachers could compete for merit pay, Shanker said the following: *“Let me get this straight,” he said. “The kids will work... more »

Schools Matter: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Schools Matter: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing: Texas Orders Up a New Test to Solve Problems Created by 32 Years of Testing by Jim Horn Texas has been been doing more of the same standardized testing and expecting different results (see Einstein's definition of insanity) for 32 years now, and the children of the Lone Star state are as poor, malnourished, and miseducated as ever. One in four lives in poverty, just as one in four Texans has no health insurance. Poverty rates jumped by 9 percent in the last U. S. Census, while the nationa... more »

Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? « Diane Ravitch's blog: Do Cities Need Virtual Schools? by dianerav Carly Berwick writes about K12′s plan to establish a virtual charter school in New Jersey. It was turned down, but only temporarily, to provide a year of “planning” time. The poor academic results of K12 cyber charters are well known. They were written about in the New York Times and the Washington Post. They were reviewed negatively by the National Education Policy Center. The most startling statistic –of many–is that K12′s Colorado Virtual Academy had a graduation rate of 12 perce... more »







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FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, August 6, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:



Education Headlines

Monday, August 6, 2012

San Diego school administrators' union agrees to concessions

The San Diego Unified School District has reached a contract agreement with the union representing principals and vice principals that includes concessions similar to those given by the district’s teachers, including deferring raises and extending furlough days.

Getting to the core of education

The Common Core Standards are considered more rigorous than most of the states' current requirements, and are designed to help students master - not simply memorize - academic subjects and sharpen their critical-thinking skills.

Fensterwald: School funding primer: A is for Alligator

The alligator chart cuts through verbiage to visually capture  how much money has been cut since 2007-08, the last year that the Legislature funded schools without IOUs for lost cost-of-living increases or direct cuts.

Legislature taking notice of risk school insolvency poses to state

With a record number of school districts facing the serious threat of insolvency and news of yet another seeking a state bankruptcy bailout, key members of the California Legislature are beginning to take a harder look at the fiscal risks failing schools pose to the state.

Truancy: Inland lawmaker's bill refocuses on the students

A bill by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto, seeks to change the state’s truancy rules, with the goal of keeping more students in school.

Lawsuit, bill aim to keep K-12 education free in California

Legislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and increases disparities.

AIG to pay L.A. Unified nearly $79 million in claims settlement

Insurance giant AIG will pay nearly $79 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District to settle a lawsuit over its failure to pay claims on properties with environmental and pollution hazards, The Times has learned.
Friday, August 3, 2012

At Central Valley School, A Recipe for Success

With the beginning of the school year fast approaching, parents and students alike are gearing up for new classrooms, new teachers and, for many, new struggles. But for one school in California’s Central Valley, meeting those challenges is made easier thanks to two innovative programs.

Tam district property tax exemption 'cleanup' could yield another $75,000 this year

The Tamalpais Union High School District could reap nearly $75,000 in new parcel taxes this year after purging its records of households that are improperly receiving senior citizen exemptions, a district official said.

West Contra Costa school district finalizes terms of parcel tax, bond measures

The West Contra Costa school district Wednesday settled on the terms of parcel tax and bond measures that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The proposed parcel tax will be a five-year extension of a tax passed in 2008 providing $9.6 million annually for five years beginning July 1, 2014.

Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment « School Finance 101

Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment « School Finance 101:


Effects of Charter Enrollment on Newark District Enrollment

In numerous previous posts I have summarized New Jersey charter school enrollment data, frequently pointing out that the highest performing charter schools in New Jersey tend to be demographically very different from schools in their surrounding neighborhoods and similar grade level schools throughout their host districts or cities. I have tried to explain over and over that the reason these differences are important is because they constrain the scalability of charter schooling as a replicable model of “success.” Again, to the extent that charter successes are built on serving vastly different student populations, we can simply never know (even with the best statistical analyses attempting to sort out peer factors, control for attrition, etc.) whether the charter schools themselves, their instructional strategies/models are effective and/or would be effective with larger numbers of more representative students.
Here, I take a quick look at the other side of the picture, again focusing on the city of Newark. Specifically, I thought it would be interesting to evaluate the effect on Newark schools enrollment of the shift in students to 

Schools Matter: The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores

Schools Matter: The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores:


The Facts About KIPP That Kevin Chavous Ignores

The other day at Huffington Post, school privatization advocate, Kevin Chavous, gave a “shout out” to KIPP, Inc., the nation’s largest corporate chain of charter schools and certainly the most popular high-rolling philanthro-capitalists who would never send their own children to one of these total compliance lockdown schools.  As is customary for KIPP promoters, Chavous tries to portray the KIPP chain gang model as an outgrowth of the late Harriet Ball’s teaching method. 

We know, however, from Jay Mathews’ saccharine tribute (Work Hard, Be Nice) to KIPP founders, Mike Feinberg and David Levin, Harriet Ball did not want her name associated with KIPP’s penal version of her own tough, yet loving, approach to teaching.  In fact, a former KIPP teacher whom I interviewed for an extended 

Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers « Diane Ravitch's blog

Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers « Diane Ravitch's blog:


Adam Smith Warns: Beware the Profit-Seekers

A faithful reader sent the following quotation from Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations:
Merchants and master manufacturers are, in this order, the two classes of people who commonly employ the largest capitals, and who by their wealth draw to themselves the greatest share of the public consideration. As during their whole lives they are engaged in plans and projects, they have frequently more acuteness of understanding than the greater part of country gentlemen. As their thoughts, however, are commonly exercised rather about the interest of their own particular branch of business, than about that of the society, their judgment, even when given with the greatest candour (which it has not been upon every occasion) is much more to be depended upon with regard to the former of those two objects than with regard to the latter. Their superiority over the country gentleman is not so much in their knowledge of the public interest, as in their having a better knowledge of their own interest than he has of his. It is by this superior knowledge of their own interest 



What Scholars Say about Merit Pay

The New York Times’ editorial is so unbelievably ignorant!
There is by now a huge accumulation of knowledge and experience about the uselessness of merit pay or pay for performance.
Daniel Pink (Drive), Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational), Edward Deci (Why We Do What We Do) have explained why intrinsic motivation matters more than bonuses, and why bonuses may actually impair performance by demoralizing people.
Here are leading scholars in Zurich who explain yet again that merit pay does not work and will never work.
The idea that people are solely self-interested and materially orientated has been thrown overboard by leading 


When Students Awaken, Everything Will Change

I just got this post on Twitter by a student who wants no part of the DFER-like “Students for Education Reform,” created at Princeton to advance the corporate reform agenda. This student is amazing! Impressive research, real understanding about how words can be used to deceive, and a grasp of the issues.
There is a bottom-line question that no one ever answers: If DFER and SFER and SFC and TFA and StudentsFirst and other corporate reformers already know how to close the achievement gap, as they repeatedly claim, why are there no examples of it anywhere? It hasn’t happened in New York City, after ten long years of


News about the Best and the Brightest

Remember Howard Dean? He ran for President in 2004. He is a leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic party.
His son was TFA and now runs charter schools.
Who on the national scene supports public education?

NYC Educator: Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings

NYC Educator: Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings:


Yes, Virginia, There Are Good Meetings

I spent last weekend at SOS 2012, surrounded by people who are passionate about education, people who look beyond the headlines, people who do not take preposterous nonsense at face value. This ought to be status quo, but when you consider that even the New York Times runs editorials that don't consider, let alone bother themselves with fundamental research, it's far rarer than it should be.

When you're with a group of well-informed people seeking real solutions to real problems, real discussions ensue. You learn that democracy is not precisely getting to choose between Tweedledee and Tweedledum once every four years. You learn that there is a lot of give and take and coming to a 

NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill - NorthJersey.com

NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill - NorthJersey.com:


NJEA to stand with Christie on tenure bill

ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
MIDDLESEX — The president of New Jersey's largest teachers union will appear with Gov. Chris Christie as he signs a bill to overhaul the state's teacher tenure system.
Monday's bill-signing is a rare moment of cooperation for Christie and New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian.
The two have been in a war of words for years.
But they have come together with other education advocates over the tenure bill.
It will make it harder for educators to get tenure and easier for them to lose it if they have poor job evaluations.
Teachers' groups agreed when lawmakers agreed to retain seniority to determine which educators lose 

Shanker Blog » Schools Aren't The Only Reason Test Scores Change

Shanker Blog » Schools Aren't The Only Reason Test Scores Change:


Schools Aren’t The Only Reason Test Scores Change

In all my many posts about the interpretation of state testing data, it seems that I may have failed to articulate one major implication, which is almost always ignored in the news coverage of the release of annual testing data. That is: raw, unadjusted changes in student test scores are not by themselves very good measures of schools’ test-based effectiveness.
In other words, schools can have a substantial impact on performance, but student test scores also increase, decrease or remain flat for reasons that have little or nothing to do with schools. The first, most basic reason is error. There is measurement error in all test scores – for various reasons, students taking the same test twice will get different scores, even if their “knowledge” remains constant. Also, as I’ve discussed many times, there isextra imprecision when using cross-sectional data. Often, any changes in scores or rates, especially when 

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret:


NJDOE Denies Their Secrets Are Secret

Last week, the Education Law Center published a series of "confidential" documents from the NJ Department of Education detailing a "turnaround" plan for schools, paid for with private monies, that would remove schools from local control, negate collective bargaining agreements, and bring in private charter school management companies.

This is the latest chapter in the tale of the Broad Foundation infestation of the NJDOE. But the audacity, scope, and secrecy behind this plan still stunned many observers. How could the NJDOE justify developing such a radical proposal behind closed doors with private monies and no public input?

Simple: pretend the proposal had already been made public.
But the N.J. Department of Education contends it has never tried to hide its 

Schools Matter: KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden

Schools Matter: KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden:


KIPP at Center of Corruption in Camden

KIPP, Inc. has joined forces with the most corrupt and ruthless charter school operator that Philadelphia has to offer, in a takeover bid for large chunks of one of the most vulnerable school communities in America.

Find on this money train, too, a posse of political predators and hungry hangers-on eager to fill their pockets from bleeding dry the public funds for Camden schools. And don't forget the other partner in this business deal, the Cooper Foundation, headed by George Norcross III, whose medical complex sits next door to where the planned KIPP incarceration camp is to be built.

 Norcross's brother, Donald Norcross, sponsored the legislation in Trenton to make the whole deal possible.  Oh, 

PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY | People For the American Way

PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY | People For the American Way:


PREDATORY PRIVATIZATION: EXPLOITING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, ENRICHING THE 1 PERCENT, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY

Add caption
 
 
THE AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL AND ITS CORPORATE AND RIGHT-WING ALLIES PROMOTE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC ASSETS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
 
The combination of state and local budget crises and the 2010 election of anti-government ideologues in many states has left taxpayers and communities increasingly vulnerable to predatory “privatization” of government services and public infrastructure. Privatization, whether promoted as a short-term way to fill a budget gap or as part of a long-term campaign against the government and unionized workers, can bring disastrous long-term consequences for American families and taxpayers as well as for the democratic process.
 
Privatization is a wonky term that can obscure the real mechanism and process at work. Through privatization schemes to outsource traditional governmental functions, taxpayer dollars are diverted from the building of public assets and institutions to create long-term revenue streams and profit for corporations. The privatization of governmental function

Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why?

Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why?:


Report has public-school advocates enraged. But why?

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A report authored by the Boston Consulting Group for the School Reform Commission and paid for by the William Penn Foundation provides interesting reading on the state of the school district and school reform in general.

Among the most interesting: It doesn't appear to have been written by either Satan or any of his minions. This despite the fact that some parents, school advocates, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and others have characterized the report as a conspiratorial blueprint for dismantling the public system.
They've ascribed nefarious motives to the funder of the study, as well as to a number of other private and monied interests that are providing funding for school reform, such as the Gates Foundation, suggesting that a shadow government is being formed to take over the public 

AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school - News - Boston.com

AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school - News - Boston.com:


AP Interview: Duncan on reform and back to school


                     
              In a July 19, 2012, photo, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is interviewed by The Associated Press in Washington. Duncan says a more well-rounded curriculum with less focus on a single test,  higher academic standards, more difficult classwork and continued cuts to extracurricular and other activities because of the tough economy are some of the changes and challenges that children could notice in the new school year. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In a July 19, 2012, photo, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is interviewed by The Associated Press in Washington. Duncan says a more well-rounded curriculum with less focus on a single test, higher academic standards, more difficult classwork and continued cuts to extracurricular and other activities because of the tough economy are some of the changes and challenges that children could notice in the new school year. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By CAROLE FELDMAN
AP Education Writers  / August 6, 2012
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A more well-rounded curriculum with less focus on a single test. Higher academic standards and more difficult classwork. Continued cuts to extracurricular and other activities because of the tough economy.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says those are some of the changes and challenges that children could notice as they start the new school year.
Several significant reforms have taken place over the past three years.
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core standards, a set of uniform benchmarks for math and reading. Thirty-two states