Diane in the Evening 11-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Louisiana Judge Rules Voucher Program Unconstitutional

by dianerav

A Louisiana judge ruled against the state’s new voucher program, agreeing with the plaintiffs that it violated the state constitution by diverting public funds to private schools.
The state will appeal.
The attorney for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers explains here why the teachers are suing to block Governor Jindal’s Act 2.
It’s not because the law is “illegal,” but because it expressly violates the state constitution.
It’s not because it spends public money for vouchers but because it takes money expressly reserved for public 

Chancellor Tisch, You Are Wrong!

by dianerav

Merryl Tisch, head of the Néw York State Board of Regents, says full speed ahead with the state educator evaluation plan.
Bruce Baker of Rutgers says she is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Wireless Generation Wins Common Core Contract

by dianerav

From NYC Parent blog (by Leonie Haimson):
Wireless Generation, owned by Murdoch/run by Joel Klein, Wins the $4.9M Contract to develop the software that will be used to report & analyze results for the new #CommonCore Assessments – both the interim and “summative” exams being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for 25 states (blue states in map below.)
Wireless is also developing the software/ infrastructure for the Gates-funded Shared Learning Collaborative, 

Ohio Assures Lower Ratings for Public Schools

by dianerav

Ohio legislators are pushing through a few tweaks to the state’s useless accountability system.
Republicans are using their super majority to ignore Democratic dissents.
Read through this description and see the game plan of labeling public schools as failing, giving them letter grades with no validity, cutting their budgets, and clearing the way for privatization.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-30-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Student Activist Joins the Honor Roll by dianerav Stephanie Rivera is a junior at Rutgers University preparing to become a teacher. Stephanie was one of the leading forces in creating Students United for Public Education, a new organization in which students are joining to stand up against the privatizers, profiteers and naysayers now besieging our public schools. She has her own blog, where she regularly debates other students who support corporate reform policies. Conservatives in Michigan Turn to Cou... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters':

Rahm starring in 'Jobs Busters'

by Mike Klonsky

Robert Pawlaszek, of SEIU Local 1, gathers with O'Hare janitors and other employees during a prayer vigil outside Rahm's house.

Perfect timing. As we head into the Christmas season in the land of high heating bills, comes the news that  Rahm is laying off many of the city's library custodians.

He's also put 300 union custodians's jobs on the chopping block at O’Hare Airport because of a controversial $99 million, non-union janitorial contract he's handed out to one of his mobster friends, Richard Simon, a buddy of 

How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff' – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs

How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff' – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs:

How education could plunge off the 'fiscal cliff'

by Donna Krache, CNN

(CNN) Sequestration: The word strikes fear in the hearts of school boards and administrators nationwide, and with good reason.

What does it mean? The term refers to the across-the-board budget cuts that will automatically occur in federal programs in January 2013, unless Congress reaches an agreement by the end of this year on reducing the deficit.

What kind of cuts will this mean for education?

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) estimates the reductions would amount to over $4 billion. That would plunge education funding into pre-2003 levels, according to the National Education Association.

Why is that so scary? Part of the reason is that America’s schools have added 5.4 million new students to their rolls since 2003, and costs have risen about 

Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add — Whole Child Education

Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add — Whole Child Education:

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THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Evaluating Teachers of Non-Tested Subjects in the Age of Value-Add

November 30, 2012 by David Snyder

With many U.S. states overhauling their teacher evaluation systems and introducing student test scores as a factor, how can schools ensure fair evaluation of teachers of non-tested subjects like art and physical education? One of the first states to begin implementing evaluation reform was Tennessee and, back in February, Education Week's Teaching Now blog noted the efforts of arts teachers in Memphis to devisealternative evaluation criteria based on portfolios, work that went on to be lauded by Arne Duncan. Absent alternative criteria, such teachers would be evaluated in part on a schoolwide value-added score unrelated to their subject specifically.

Curious how this effort was unfolding, I took a look at Teacher Evaluation in Tennessee: A Report on Year 1 Implementation (PDF), issued by the Tennessee Department of Education in July. Echoing the Teaching Nowpost, it states: "teachers in subjects and grades that do not yield an individual value-added score consistently 

APPR: It’s All About the Students

ASCD Whole Child Bloggers at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 1 day ago

As states across the nation develop APPR models to measure the classroom teacher's efficacy, they often don't think about the school librarians, technology folks, and other educators who complete the learning experience.

Education: A System for Sorting or for Learning?

Sean Slade at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 1 day ago

We believe that each child deserves the right to learn, grow, and develop to their full potential in a safe and supportive environment. But what about the teachers? Do we not expect teachers to be provided the same considerations we demand for our students?

Play Well With Others ... Be Active Against Bullying

Kristen Pekarek at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

Learn about a new antibullying initiative and find resources and information on bullying prevention.

Evaluating Teachers on the Hidden Curriculum

Paula Mirk at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

Teachers should be evaluated on the atmosphere they create in their classrooms and the degree of trust they have established with their students and also be accountable for helping students make connections between real life and the content areas through ethics.

Five Levers to Improve Student Learning

ASCD Whole Child Bloggers at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

Which strategies or innovations are likely to have the greatest effect on student learning? Most education innovations and policies can be placed in one of five categories, some of which provide more powerful leverage than others.

What’s Wrong with Teacher Evaluation and How to Fix It: One Size Fits All

James H. Stronge at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

In the last installment of this series, author and researcher James Stronge offer an analysis of three contemporary teacher evaluation practices within a problem/solution framework. Today's problem: one-size-fits-all evaluation.

Free Webinar: Critical Strategies for Empowering 21st Century Teachers with Coaching and Capacity Building

Klea Scharberg at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

Join ASCD Faculty member Andrew Miller for an exciting, free webinar to learn critical strategies for empowering teachers with coaching and capacity building.

What’s Wrong with Teacher Evaluation and How to Fix It: Observation Equals Evaluation

James H. Stronge at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

In a new series of blog posts, author and researcher James Stronge offer an analysis of three contemporary teacher evaluation practices within a problem/solution framework. Today's problem: Does observation equal evaluation?

Play Well With Others ... Be Active Against Bullying

Kristen Pekarek at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 3 days ago

Learn about a new anti-bullying initiative and find resources and information on bullying prevention.

Evaluating Teachers on the Hidden Curriculum

Paula Mirk at The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education - 4 days ago

Teachers should be evaluated on the atmosphere they create in their classrooms and the degree of trust they have established with their students and also be accountable for helping students make connections between "real life" and the content areas through ethics.

SI&A Cabinet Report – Cornerstones of federal compliance called barriers to innovation

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Cornerstones of federal compliance called barriers to innovation
By Tom Chorneau
Friday, November 30, 2012

For years, careful school administrators have been fearful of violating the federal government’s three major compliance mandates – supplement-not-supplant, comparability and maintenance of effort.

Now a prominent academic think tank is questioning whether the three requirements pose more of a barrier to school innovation than a deterrent to scofflaw administrators.

Researchers at the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington have issued a report calling on Congress to consider revisions to federal policy, especially where the three compliance mandates intersect with use of new technology.

“The federal government should be doing all it can to promote technology-driven innovation for our school children,” the authors of the paper said. “Instead, federal policy stands in the way of innovation, both actively and passively.”

The issue is raised with respect to the federal government’s primary education programs – Title I, which is offered to districts to support disadvantaged students; and the Individuals with Disability Education Act, Part B, which supports special education.

Last year, Congress provided some $14.5 billion in Title I money to states, and another $11.6 billion in funds under 

Stand united: An appeal to commenters « City School Stories

Stand united: An appeal to commenters « City School Stories:

Stand united: An appeal to commenters

by fmurphy

Originally posted on thenotebook blog by Frank Murphy on Nov 27 2012 Posted in Commentary

I have been troubled by the negative tone of several comments posted in response to Notebook articles over the last few months. Anonymous posters have increasingly engaged in highly critical and often sharply worded personal attacks on individual Philadelphia School District employees and union personnel. Though I can understand the depth of emotion that motivates people to make such remarks, I do not support this course of action.
Over the last 10 years, school staff in Philadelphia have increasingly felt pressured by District leaders to act in a manner that borders on professional malpractice. Teachers have been forced to spend an inordinate amount of instructional time on test preparation, and they have been expected to use instructional materials that are inappropriate for their students. Even more troubling, in a growing number of schools, teachers have been required to “do whatever it takes” to increase student test scores by principals who confuse intimidation with leadership.
In the face of such obstacles, it is no wonder that teachers are frustrated and angry. I, too, have felt the wrath of vindictive leaders, and, frankly, it has left me with a bad taste. But ventilating these feelings through scathing and anonymous remarks does us all a disservice. Personal attacks on specific District leaders, personnel, and union staffers can be, and often are, interpreted by the broader public as the rants of disaffected employees who are averse to the concept of being held accountable.
It is the bad ideas of leaders that we must debunk. Focusing on individuals’ hypocrisy and lack of character is a distraction. Doing so contributes to the chaos or “churn” that Eli Broad and other free market reformers like to create in public school systems across the nation. In my view, the main focus of our commentary must be 

Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more. | Seattle Education

Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more. | Seattle Education:

Weekly Update: K12, Inc. tanks with parents and Wall Street, how “non-profit” charter school$ fleece taxpayers, a school to prison pipeline, literally, and much, much more.

by seattleducation2011

The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed

Helen Barkin writes a thorough review of what happened state by state on November 6, 2012 in this article.

What Happened to Public Education on Election Night?

An excerpt:

Barack Obama’s K-12 “reform” policies have brought misery to public schools across the country: more standardized testing, faulty evaluations for teachers based on student test scores, more public schools shut down rather than improved, more privately managed and for-profit charter schools soaking up tax dollars but providing little improvement, more money wasted on unproven 

***UPDATE: School Tech Connect: Culture of Testing II, III and The Highlight Reel

School Tech Connect: Culture of Testing II:

Culture of Testing II

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Diane Munoz and Anne Carlson, both highly accomplished CPS educator-parents, gave some pointed testimony during the Raise Your Hand event last night. I'll let their words do the talking.

Popout

Diane Munoz

As a parent, unfortunately I got to experience this with my own child, and it's heart-wrenching when a first-grader says, "I'm stupid, and I hate school!" due to the results of (his) DIBELS test.

Anne Carlson

Why are we continuing to take the temperature all the time….Our students aren't sick: it's the system that is sick.

The thing to remember is that the testing epidemic is visible most clearly to these people--- the people who work 

Raise Your Hand 

Culture of Testing III

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

The great Julie Fain, CPS mom and longtime Chicago activist, spoke from the heart about her own kids' brush with the testing machine that is CPS. It sounds like something out of a science fiction story, but it's all true.

You really can't read the text of NCLB, of the Blueprint for Reform, or the requirements of Race To The Top and expect anything other than a barrage of soul-killing tests, inflicted as I've said over and over and over, on other people's children. And in the places where the pressure is the greatest, where people are lined up open their own schools with public money, where the political establishment is aligned with these so-called reformers, you see a barrage of "accountability" measures that are in fact designed to hasten an end to public education.

Popout

Julie Fain

My fourth grader, now… they're testing in PE and art and music and library and Spanish and every 

The Highlight Reel

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Here's a little highlight reel from the Culture of Testing event. Many of the people in this video are very well known--- I haven't included names in the clip because I didn't know everyone's name. I'll have some things to say afterwords-- just know that a lot of these parents--- indeed, parents that I talk to all over the city-- are interested in "opting out" of some of the more excessively abusive tests. So that's what a number of them are talking about.

Also, I know it isn't fair for me to cut off the CPS person at the end; I did it for the sad humor value of it. She was nice enough to go to the event and she probably has good intentions and a lot of training.

Popout
Some notes from my own observations.

One parent-educator, at the beginning of the clip above, talks about her kids not being taught how to write because there was so much emphasis on test preparation. I know there are people who feel that writing instruction fell by the wayside when Illinois dropped the writing portion of the ISAT; however, I think these people are crazy. The way to teach writing is to value it, not to reduce it to this horrible formulaic, timed task. I knowone bartender who disagrees, I'll say that much.

Noah Sobe of Loyola said a number of interesting things about assessment during the evening, and I'm working 

When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG! « School Finance 101

When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG! « School Finance 101:

When Disinformation is Fueled by Misinformation! CHANCELLOR TISCH, YOU ARE WRONG!

by schoolfinance101

Very recently, I posted a critique of the recent technical report on New York State median growth percentiles to be used in that state’s teacher and principal evaluation system.
Today, I read this piece in the NY Post – an editorial by NY State Board of Regents Chancellor Meryl Tisch, and well, MY HEAD ALMOST EXPLODED!
The point of the editorial is to encourage NY City’s teachers and DOE to agree to a teacher evaluation system based on supposedly objective measures – where “objective measures” seems largely to be code language for estimates of teacher effectiveness derived from student assessment data.
First, I have written several previous posts on the usefulness of NYC’s value-added model for determining teacher effectiveness.

1. the NYC VAM model retains some persistent biases

Nobody likes Pat Quinn. « Fred Klonsky

Nobody likes Pat Quinn. « Fred Klonsky:

Nobody likes Pat Quinn.

by Fred Klonsky

What happens when you are the most anti-union governor in the history of Illinois?
Nobody likes you.
You become the most unpopular governor in the entire United States.

With only one in four Illinois voters approving his job performance, Gov. Pat Quinn is the least popular in the country and would lose in head-to-head pairings against two of three Republicans eying his job in 2014, a newly commissioned survey found Thursday.

Just 25 percent of voters in Illinois approved of the work Quinn is doing, while 

Democurmudgeon: Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids.

Democurmudgeon: Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids.:

Group looking to hold Charter Schools accountable, too many failing but still taking kids.

While Gov. Scott Walker has already removed accountability measures for voucher schools, parents should be alerted to a rising problem where bad schools continue to remain open. With no way of knowing whether a school is failing, until it’s too late, parents are being sold on the idea that success can be gauged by higher enrollment.

Wrong. That means many are falling prey to a massive nationwide sales pitch, and it’s working. I've mentioned this before, but check out how voucher advocates talk up rising attendance, and never how well those schools are doing. Because they can't.

Supposed "small government" Republicans are fine with creating a defective parallel school system that drains taxpayer’s money and requires costly oversight. But that was their original argument about public schools. 

Things are bad right now, and most American don't know it. I'm hoping this article in Edweek changes a few minds about those "innovative" charter schools: 

As enrollment in charters schools continues to climb, a national organization is urging state legislators to draw a harder line on setting standards for opening those schools and ensuring that weak ones get shut down.

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers, is launching what it calls a "One Million 

Mother Crusader: We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me?

Mother Crusader: We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me?:

We Need To Get Rid Of The Political Bosses, Don't You Agree With Me?

by darciecima

George Norcross gets what George Norcross wants.

George's brother Donald was the chief architect of the The Urban Hope Act.   The legislation was enacted with lightening speed, but before it was passed or signed George was already openly talking about his plans.

Norcross said ideally his proposal would be built on the Lanning Square site next to Cooper, long eyed for a new school through the state's court-ordered school construction program but stalled now under the Schools Development Authority. 

"Lanning Square would bring us the most pride, right in our backyard," he said.

Activists like MoNeke Ragsdale and Gary Frazier have been working tirelessly to get Lanning Square school 

NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment

NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment:

NSBA to Court: School Officials Must be Given Flexibility in Handling Student Harassment

Alexandria, Va. (November 30, 2012) - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to rule that school districts should not be held financially liable for harassment related to a student’s disability if school officials took appropriate steps to stop it. 

NSBA, along with the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), the Alabama School Boards Association, and the Georgia School Superintendents Association, has filed an amicus brief in Long v. Murray County School District asking the court to uphold the standard set forth in the U.S. Supreme Court case Davis v. Monroe when determining whether school officials are liable under federal civil rights laws for peer harassment. The Davis precedent allows victims to collect monetary compensation when school officials are deliberately indifferent to known harassment based on a protected category that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment that it denies the victim access to the educational program.

“It is important that the court recognize that local school officials, who work closely with students and parents on a regular basis, are knowledgeable about community resources, and understand their students’ educational and emotional needs, know best how to prevent and respond to harassment in their own schools,” said NSBA’s General Counsel Francisco M. Negrón Jr. 

The parents’ legal arguments rely on informal guidance given by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) through an October 2010 “Dear Colleague” letter that stated school district officials could be held responsible for claims of unreported harassment. In a December 2010 response to that letter, NSBA warned that the guidance overstepped the Supreme Court standard set by Davis and that it vastly expanded the definition of discrimination and harassment, circumventing precedent established by the courts.  In a March 2011 letter to NSBA, OCR officials dismissed concerns that the guidance would lead to numerous and costly lawsuits against school districts; however, this case has proven otherwise.

“The federal government wants a one-size fits-all approach, but such a rule would require school districts to implement strategy after strategy even when the misconduct was isolated or minimal,” said Negrón. “The federal government’s approach creates an illusion of safety that would subject thousands of school districts to costly and unnecessary lawsuits diverting vital resources away from the classroom.”

Among other claims, the case will determine whether the Murray County school district in Georgia should be held liable under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act for money damages as a result of the suicide of a student with Asperger’s Syndrome. After the student reported incidents of peer bullying during his freshman and sophomore years, school officials responded effectively to all known occurrences at school. The student committed suicide at home during his junior year.

A date for oral argument date in the case has not been set yet. Phil Hartley and Martha Pearson, members of NSBA’s Council of School Attorneys, and partners in Harben, Hartley & Hawkins, LLP, are representing the Murray County school district. Hartley also serves as General Counsel for the Georgia School Boards Association.

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, November 30, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

California prepares for more rain this weekend

Education Headlines

Friday, November 30, 2012

EdSource: Abuse records don’t follow some school workers

California teachers who lose their jobs for misconduct against students lose their licenses to teach, but the state has no similar process for the other 289,000 school employees who are fired or forced to resign due to child abuse. There’s no mechanism for sharing the information on “classified” employees; as a result, other districts and childcare centers may hire a new bus driver, classroom or special education aide or cafeteria worker without knowing why the person left their last job.

Audit: College of the Desert bilked state out of $5.3M

College of the Desert officials “improperly and knowingly” inflated the number of students it served over seven years, which led the school to receive about $5.3 million in undeserved state funds, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office announced Thursday.

$245,000 spent on Irvine school-cash ballot measure

The political committee that drove the $12 million Irvine Support Our Schools Initiative to victory in the Nov. 6 election received $135,000 in cash donations and spent about $245,000, campaign finance disclosures show.

Poway schools boss ranks high in state pay

Poway Superintendent John Collins is not only the highest paid superintendent in San Diego County — his compensation package is third highest among California’s 25 largest school systems.

Banned East Bay yearbook photo causes stir

Call it a parting shot, but Amador Valley High School senior Kenton Koos wanted to leave his mark with his final yearbook photo. So he spiked his curly hair, dyed it green, put in an oversized nose ring, and had a tribal tattoo painted on his face with mascara -- a la boxer Mike Tyson. Donning the get-up and the required tuxedo, Koos had his graduation shots taken at a Dublin studio. But school administrators say the photo is too wild, and won't run it in the yearbook -- a move the American Civil Liberties Union says violates the state Education Code.

Teachers hope video games teach math skills

The worst that can happen is students will discover that learning is fun, Corona teacher Brian Kenney said about a new effort to teach students math with popular video games such as “Minecraft.”

Report: College of the Desert overbilled state $5.2 million

The College of the Desert in Palm Desert will have to pay back $5.2 million because the district knowingly overstated its enrollment and overbilled the state for seven years, a pattern that the state Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team characterized as potential fraud.

Audit finds failures, delays in LAUSD teacher misconduct process

Systematic problems within Los Angeles Unified resulted in its failure to report teacher misconduct to the state credentialing agency and costly delays in investigating and disciplining abusive teachers, according to a state audit released Thursday.

Dozens of Bay Area districts have used a risky and costly form of financing for some construction improvements

Dozens of school districts in the Bay Area are among 200 statewide that have borrowed billions of dollars to build and upgrade schools using bond financing that critics are blasting because it burdens homeowners with high debts that take up to 40 years to pay off at exorbitant interest rates.

LAUSD slow to report on teacher misconduct

An audit finds that the school district failed to promptly inform a California panel about allegations, including sexual ones.

Fensterwald: Renewed push for a 55 percent threshold to pass parcel tax

It didn’t take long for a Democratic senator among the newly empowered supermajority in the Legislature to go after a low-hanging fruit: lowering the threshold for passage of a local parcel tax for education.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Kerchner: How a small bet on technology could have a big payoff in learning

Let’s adopt a public policy that increases the capacity of public education, one that makes existing schools winners again, and that empowers both students and teachers. To make a technology investment we need to simultaneously think small and think big.

Dr. Gary Rutherford final candidate for superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District

The Desert Sands Board of Education has selected Dr. Gary Rutherford as its final candidate for superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District.

Denair school district's shortfall a shock to small town

Small-town loyalty mixed with shock and just plain sadness as the 4,000 residents tried to digest news of their schools' dire finances.