The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement:

A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

by Constance Clark

Location, location, location—it matters in real estate, and the harsh reality is, it matters in student achievement, too. While wealthy Americans can pay for private school or move to a top-ranked district in suburbia, countless other parents are left with their neighborhood public school default. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But what if the choice is not good enough?

Montgomery County, Maryland, one of the nation’s top 20 wealthiest school districts, has one answer.  Federally subsidized homes have been purchased by the government and used to offer safe rental housing for eligible low-income families. This arrangement sometimes referred to as “inclusionary zoning” or “policy-induced integration,” 

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network #UCDAVIS

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network:

Education: The Blueprint for Change

By Linda Katehi

When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education.

It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities.

When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did.

Despite the fact no girl on my island had ever gone to college, my mother was determined that I would.

I always did well in school and loved to solve math and science problems even at a young age, so she insisted we move to Athens where I could attend a comprehensive high school to be eligible for college.

I graduated from the National Technical University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

With the help of some very supportive mentors, I went on to earn my master's and 

UPDATE: Diane in the Evening 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Charter Plan to Privatize Public Education in San Antonio

by dianerav

With a favorable rightwing privatizing climate in Texas and bipartisan support in Washington, a group of charters have proposed a bold plan to take over one fourth of all the students in San Antonio. The time is right for privatization on a grand scle.

Is Douglas County, Colorado, on the Cutting Edge of Reform?

by dianerav

EduShyster is always on the lookout for the leading lights of “reform.”
Is Douglas County, Colorado, the one?
Break open a box of wine and enjoy.

The Business Model Does Not Work in Education

by dianerav

Here is the great journalist Juan Gonzalez interviewing CTU President Karen Lewis and Professor Lois Wiener on Race to the Top. Arne Duncan, and privatization.

A Tiny Brush with Greatness

by dianerav

Jacques Barzun, one of the great thinkers of our age, died at the age of 104 in San Antonio, after a long and distinguished career as a thinker, teacher, cultural critic, and author.
The obituary in the New York Times describes his amazing career.
We are not likely to see his like again. Our age moves too swiftly and demands too much interactivity to allow figures like Barzun to grow, ripen and flourish.
He had the unusual ability to transmit his vast knowledge of history to the public.
I did not know him well but I had a small encounter with

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money):

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money)

Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 1:44 pm

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 How’s this for outrageous? The principal of a charter school in Orange County, Fla., received a check for $519,453.36 in taxpayer money after the district school board agreed to let the school voluntarily close rather than be shut down for poor performance.

According to a story reported in the Orlando Sentinel, Kelly Young is also being paid thousands of dollars bimonthly — also at taxpayer expense — to finish closing NorthStar High School, which enrolled about 180 mostly at-risk students.

The newspaper said the payment to Young was approved by the charter school’s independent board and seems to be legal, but now the chairman of the school board, Bill Sublette, is complaining that it’s “immoral,” and a state senator is calling for an 

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education:

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more

by seattleducation2011

The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed
Alice Walton of the Walton family, who are big contributors to the proliferation of charter schools and vouchers, is the same Alice Walton who has contributed $1.7M, and counting, to the charter school Initiative 1240 in Washington State. The Walton’s are investing heavily now in Louisiana where school vouchers are now legal and the Walton’s, along with some of the other wealthy few, want to ensure that charter schools not only remain in place but proliferate as the article in The Nation below describes. See the Walmart 1% for additional information on the Walton’s involvement in public education.
From The Nation, an excerpt:

Why Do Some of America’s Wealthiest Individuals Have Fingers in Louisiana’s Education System?
Last fall, a coterie of extremely wealthy billionaires, among them New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, turned the races for unpaid positions on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) into some of the most expensive in the state’s history. Seven pro-education “reform” candidates for the BESE outraised eight candidates endorsed by the teacher’s unions by $2,386,768 to $199,878, a ratio of nearly twelve to one. In just one of these races, the executive director of Teach for America Greater New Orleans-

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech:

Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

In schools for the rich, children get taught. In schools for the poor, children get tested. -- Diane Ravitch

I just not got to watch the entire video of Diane Ravitch's recent talk at the City Club. I wish I had been there. Every moment of it is a devastating indictment of the status quo. I've seen people who can speak intelligently about many of these issues, but there is nobody that I know of who can speak about all of them in such clear terms.

Of course the danger is that people really aren't listening, as I've mentioned before. For example, I felt that 

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education:

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough?

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart

Restoring Oklahoma Public Education released their report about Oklahoma’s P20 councilwhich is a follow-up to an earlier paper they wrote that analyzed recent education reforms and how they impacted student privacy (see below). 

How Much Data is Enough Data? What happens to privacy when bureaucracies exceed their scope?

Here is th

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?:

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators?

by jonpelto

Senators Cassano and Williams (Photo courtesy of Christine Stuart)

Following a press conference, yesterday, by State Senators Don Williams and Steve Cassano, the former chief of staff for the Connecticut Republican Party, and managing director of Voters for Good Government, admitted to Connecticut media outlets that television ads are going to be run against certain Democratic State Senators.  Liz Kurantowicz, the Voters for Good Government Political Action Committee’s staff person, told reporters that, “our goal is to try and bring to light bad policies and politicians that make bad decisions.”

The television advertisements are being produced by Cashman + Katz, an advertising and political consulting firm that has done work for the CT Dept. of Children and Families, the 

Board of Regents Newsflash: Let’s put in a chief of staff with no public higher education experience

by jonpelto

Categories: Board of Regents, Bridgeport, Malloy, State Politics Tags: Board of Regents, Bridgeport, Malloy, Phil Austin First Governor Malloy selected former UConn President Phil Austin to be the interim President of the Connecticut Board of Regents, despite the fact that he has no experience running community colleges. And today it has  become public that they will be adding a new Chief of Staff with NO EXPERIENCE with public higher education at [...]

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg:

Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg

by Melissa Westbrook

In the latest in how to lose public education dollars, this story from NBC News.   (I'll call out in red how this parallels I-1240.) 

A Florida state senator is calling for an investigation into the payout of more than $500,000 to the principal of a failed Orange County charter school.

A school board chairman blasted the payout of taxpayer money, which has sparked outrage in Orlando, as “immoral and unethical.” 

---

Kelly Young, principal of NorthStar High School in Orlando, received a check for $519,453.96 in June, about the same time the Orange County School Board accepted the school’s plan to close in lieu of being forced to shut 

Our Schools Coalition Wants Your Input

by Charlie Mas

The Our Schools Coalition, an Alliance for Education project funded by the Gates Foundation, wants to kibbitz once again on the negotiation between the teachers' union (SEA) and the District as they wrestle over the collective bargaining agreement. And they want you to tell them what they should agitate for. Provide your inputhere.

Just in case you question the propriety of their kibbitzing in the process, they have this blog post to justify it. Only that blog post doesn't give any reason that we need Our Schools Coalition to serve as the voice of the community in addition to the democratically elected board which has the duty to serve as the voice of the community to relay our priorities to the negotiators.

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by Kris Nielsen.
This post was originally published here on his blog, Middle Grades Mastery.
I love teaching. Or, I did love teaching. I loved teaching when my job was to teach. Now, I don't love teaching, because my job is no longer teaching.
Was that introduction awkward enough? That's kind of how my job feels: awkward, frustrating, backwards, stifling, and redundant. Breaking away from the comparison to the introduction, I'd like to add demeaning, thankless, exhausting, fruitless, unappreciated, lonely, undemocratic, unfulfilling, and major energy drain.
But, please, let me explain my whining. I'm not generally a whiner, so I feel that when I do moan and complain, I should have some good reasons, and maybe even some solutions. (Before you get your hopes up, I'm not going 

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky:

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word.

by Fred Klonsky

The Illinois Teacher Retirement System board of trustees is wrapping up their meeting today.
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery’s call for the firing of TRS Executive Director Richard Ingram has been met so far with silence.
It could happen today. I hear they will meet in executive session at some point to discuss Ingram.
You may recall that several weeks ago Ingram gave an interview to Crain’s where he strongly suggested action by the legislature cutting COLA benefits to retirees.
In addition to the fact that this is a bone-headed idea. It encourages the myth that retiree benefit cuts and not 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Calling All Pro Bono Lawyers

by dianerav

A reader just raised an interesting question offline.
He lives in New Jersey, where the state constitution requires that the state provide a “thorough and efficient” public education.
New Jersey officials today are doing their best to dismantle and privatize the state’s public education system.
Are they violating their oath of office?
What does it say in other state constitutions where the privatizers are busy dismantling the public system for fun, power, profit and ideology?

Will Educators’ Disgust with Race to the Top Affect the Election?

by dianerav

Many of us have wondered whether President Obama hears the voices of teachers. Many have wondered whether he understands that educators–not only teachers, but principals and superintendents–despise Race to the Top and see it as a calculated effort to undermine professionalism and advance the privatization agenda. And many have wondered whether the President knows that he may be jeopardizing his re-election by turning off an 

Charter Fails, Principal Wins Big

by dianerav

A charter school in Orange County, Florida, closed its doors for the last time in June.
The principal took home a cash payout of more than $500,000 after the school failed.
The local public school board is outraged and says the taxpayers’ money should be returned to the district.
The principal’s customary salary was $305,000, almost triple the $116,000 typically paid to public school principals in the same district.
She is still on partial salary as she helps to close out the school.
As the song goes, “nice work if you can get it…”

Farewell, Kathy 1

by dianerav

I received a tweet tonight that said that one of our faithful readers, and a frequent commenter on this site, whom I knew only as Kathy 1, had died very unexpectedly.
Her name, I learned from the tweet, was Kathy DuPuis.
This was the tweet: “We lost a good friend and warrior for public education this week. She came home from a long trip, tired and worn out, logged onto her computer and commented on a Diane Ravitch blog.”
Her last comment was October 17 at 5:12 pm. She commented on  a post about President Obama’s Disappointing Response, a form letter written to one of us. She wrote: “President Obama can’t say teachers don’t care.”
Farewell, Kathy 1. Your voice will be missed. I hope President Obama heard you. We did

Michelle Rhee Gives $500,000 to beat Unions in Michigan

by dianerav

Michelle Rhee continues as the front group for corporations, right wing millionaires and billionaires who want to bust unions. She is joined in her opposition to Michigan’s Prop 2 by the deceptively named Democrats for Education Reform, the group founded by Wall Street hedge fund managers to advance privatization.

Diane in the Afternoon 10-25-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: The Real Goal of Reformers: Re-Segregation? by dianerav Anthony Cody has a stunning article this week about what is happening in Louisiana. The expansion of vouchers and charters will facilitate the re-segregation of the schools, he predicts. Governor Jindal eliminated all funding for public libraries in his new budget. TFA Commissioner has put a young and unqualified TFA alum in charge of teacher evaluation. The freight train of reform (aka privatization) is running full blast in that unfortunate state. Arne Duncan will be there any day now to congratulate ... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-25-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Teachers Running for Office in Ohio by dianerav What’s the best way to stop the attack on teachers? Run for office. Many teachers in Ohio figured that out, and they are running for legislative seats. Some are taking on impossible tasks, but, hey, you never know. When the legislators refuse to listen, then run against them. Organize parents and others who care about public education. Run for office. On the list linked here A Student Activist and a Hero of Public Education by dianerav Zack Koppelin is a hero of... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 26, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

No On 32: Stop Special Exemptions

Education Headlines

Friday, October 26, 2012

Encinitas school district changes website following campaigning complaint

A San Diego man has complained to the Encinitas Union School District that its website has inappropriate campaign material supporting tax propositions on the November ballot.

Galt elementary school district board increases developer fees

Over the next five years, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District estimated it will need room for an additional 106 new students due to new housing projections — and officials there are asking developers to foot the bill.

Walters: Jerry Brown's tax boost is in trouble

The governor of California may not be toast – yet – but, one might say, he's turning browner by the moment in the heat of a political campaign he hoped would be his legacy achievement. Two new statewide polls confirm what political instincts – and Jerry Brown's body language – were already telling us: His tax increase measure, Proposition 30, is fading fast with scarcely a week remaining until Election Day.

Amid misconduct probe, O.C. charter school exonerates itself

A K-8 charter school accused of misconduct during state standardized testing has absolved itself of wrongdoing following an internal investigation, even as the Capistrano Unified School District continues to probe reports of testing violations.

School bonds crowd local ballot; What's at stake

Come Election Day, San Diego County voters will decide the fate of 11 local education bond measures — the most on a single ballot since 1996 — and two statewide tax initiatives meant to generate money for schools.

Fensterwald: Report says weighted student formula alone not enough

A new report reaffirms support in principle for the concept of a weighted student formula, but calls for the governor to include provisions that will assure that the extra money for disadvantaged students actually will be spent in the schools that those students attend ­– and isn’t diluted throughout a district.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Marin school funding effort bears first fruits

After more than two years, Marin public schools Wednesday received the first payments — $220,000 in all — from a new countywide fundraising initiative, SchoolsRule-Marin. The initiative, a partnership between fundraising foundations of individual school districts, divided the funds among Marin school districts based on enrollment.

Fresno Unified seeks $40 million from 'Race to Top'

Fresno Unified trustees approved an application for $40 million in federal "Race to the Top" funds Wednesday night, but not without dissent. The application is the third try for federal education improvement funds in the past three years.

Chico school district and faculty union at impasse

The Chico Unified School District and the union that represents its faculty and other certificated professionals are officially at "impasse," but neither side seems terribly upset about it.