Democracy died in Michigan : blue cheddar

Democracy died in Michigan : blue cheddar:

Democracy died in Michigan

by bluecheddar

Tweet from Representative Barb Byrum: @BarbByrum “What we have today is a declaration of war. War on unions.” Rep Stanley #NoRTWMi “Well I’m not sure exactly what happened to pressure Snyder’s hand into strong-arming right to steal legislation in Lansing yesterday. The word is that he was under threat of primary and he was promised support by DeVos, Norquist, inc., and he folded like a crack house mattress.” - bloggingformichigan.com The drama that unfolded yesterday as Michigan protesters were arrested, maced, locked out, and ignored brought back for me many of the same feelings of frustration and rage that dominated my life in early 2011. The process was a sick thing to watch even from afar, but I thought that the least I could do was to share tweets and blog on the matter. Hopefully I am returning a favor to some Michigan residents who did the same for Wisconsinites. I focus in this post on worker rights, but to be clear, Michigan’s Republican legislators are delivering deadly blows to the rights of workers AND women AND kicking their most vulnerable poor citizens with a 60 month lifetime cash assistance limit that has zero exceptions. Zero exceptions. As Ron French more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, December 7, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

15 candidates file to run for LAUSD school board seats

Education Headlines

Friday, December 7, 2012

College of the Desert auditor ties questioned

College of the Desert had questionably close ties to its auditing firm, which it hired for more than 50 years. Still, attendance-counting issues the firm reported to the school went uncorrected for at least six consecutive years.

School buses to return to Indio Hills

High school students living in Indio Hills will once again have buses to take them to and from school, Desert Sands Unified School District officials announced Thursday.

School dugouts replaced for more than 4 times original cost

San Juan Hills High School baseball dugouts built by parent volunteers at a cost of about $20,000 were torn down and rebuilt by the Capistrano Unified School District for $92,400 after district officials realized the project did not meet state building codes.

Galt schools in line for $10 million in federal funds

Galt Joint Union Elementary School District may be on the verge of becoming $10 million richer. The school district of 3,972 students has been selected as a finalist for a share of $400 million of federal Race to the Top funds, the U.S. Department of Education announced last week.

LAUSD wants to settle 189 legal claims over former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt's alleged lewd acts

The Los Angeles Unified School District hopes to settle 189 legal actions by late January in a case involving a former elementary teacher accused of lewd acts with students that were so shocking, they prompted the district to remove all employees at the school while it did a thorough investigation.

State considers shorter service for under-prepared teachers

Under proposals the state's teacher credentialing agency is set to consider today, school districts would need to show on a case-by-case basis that no fully credentialed teachers are available before they resort to less-qualified educators, and under-prepared teachers could serve a maximum of three years instead of five.

Court overturns ruling giving more space to charter schools

Los Angeles school district officials won a key legal battle with charter schools this week, when an appeals court struck down a ruling that could have opened up vast numbers of needed classrooms for charters, while also creating potential hardships for traditional neighborhood schools.

Frey: Survey finds high superintendent turnover in large California districts

Between 2006 and 2009, 71 percent of superintendents in California’s largest districts and 45 percent of all superintendents left their jobs, according to a survey of 215 districts randomly selected from the state’s approximately 1,000 districts.

California eighth-grade students score fifth from bottom in national vocabulary tests

California ranks fifth-lowest in the nation in students' vocabulary -- a critical part of reading, according to results of national standardized tests released Thursday.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Santa Paula board calls inaugural meeting of unified school district

Five newly-elected board members took the oath of office on Wednesday to lead the K-12 Santa Paula Unified School District, the first district to unify in Ventura County since 1980.

Eureka City Schools, teachers reach tentative contract settlement

The Eureka City Schools and its teachers have agreed on a contract for the 2012-2013 school year, after months of negotiations, Superintendent Fred Van Vleck said Wednesday.

Divided Fresno Unified board gives Hanson positive review

Fresno Unified School District trustees gave Superintendent Michael Hanson a positive end-of-the-year evaluation Wednesday evening, but not without a split vote.

O.C. charter school cleared in state-test miscon

Hartford’s Rep. Don Pridemore Named to Chair Assembly Urban Education Committee « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Hartford’s Rep. Don Pridemore Named to Chair Assembly Urban Education Committee « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Hartford’s Rep. Don Pridemore Named to Chair Assembly Urban Education Committee

by millerlf

The “urban” center of Pridemore’s district is Hartford, a town with 14,000 residents. Following is a posting by Barbara Miner whose blog is View From the Heartland.
Posted: 06 Dec 2012 By Barbara J. Miner
This article is cross-posted at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Purple Wisconsin project.

Dark days are ahead in Wisconsin politics. The Republican legislative majority has made clear it plans to ram through backward legislation in any number of areas, from the environment to education to democratic fundamentals such as the right to vote.

One of the many recent embarrassments (there are so many, it’s difficult to choose): On Tuesday, arch-Republican and Wisconsin Assembly Speaker-elect Robin Vos named Rep. Don Pridemore as head of the urban

For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing

by millerlf

By MOTOKO RICH, December 4, 2012 NYTimes
PHILADELPHIA — Like many of his third-grade classmates, Mario Cortez-Pacheco likes reading the “Magic Tree House” series, about a brother and a sister who take adventurous trips back in time. He also loves the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” graphic novels.
But Mario, 8, has noticed something about these and many of the other books he encounters in his classroom at Bayard Taylor Elementary here: most of the main characters are white. “I see a lot of people that don’t have a lot of color,” he said.
Hispanic students now make up nearly a quarter of the nation’s public school enrollment, according to an analysis of census data by the Pew Hispanic Center, and are the fastest-growing segment of the school 

Louisiana Educator: BESE Defies Court Decisions

Louisiana Educator: BESE Defies Court Decisions:

BESE Defies Court Decisions

by Michael Deshotels

Public education was subjected to more insanity this week from the Jindal and the ALEC controlled BESE. BESE, at the request of Superintendent John White, voted to approve 45 Choice Course providers to offer MFP funded private courses in the 2013-14 school year. Tom Aswell writes in the Blog, Louisiana Voice, that not only is this action in conflict with the recent State and Federal court decisions outlawing MFP funded vouchers, but several of the BESE members voting for this windfall for private providers may have a serious conflict of interest. BESE members Lottie Beebie and Carolyn Hill were the only members who voted against the authorization. Ms Beebie suggested that at least 5 members of BESE should have recused themselves from voting on the Choice Course authorizations. It seems that some of the BESE members expressing enthusiasm for the privately sponsored courses had received hefty campaign contributions from some of the Course providers or their owners. I hope you will read the Louisiana Voice story (see the post dated Dec. 5)linked here which details the campaign contributions to BESE members by some of the Choice Providers.

In addition to the two court rulings against MFP funding and violation of deseg. requirements for Choice Courses, 

Courant’s Jon Lender sheds light on Malloy’s PAC - Wait, What?

Courant’s Jon Lender sheds light on Malloy’s PAC - Wait, What?:

Courant’s Jon Lender sheds light on Malloy’s PAC

by jonpelto

For Wait, What readers who were intrigued by yesterday’s blog post entitled, “If money is the “mother’s milk of politics”, Governor Malloy’s cup runneth over,” Jon Lender, the courant’s legendary investigative reporter, has taken an even more detailed look into the recent activities of Governor Malloy’s Political Action Committee…or the political action committee that appears to be connected with Malloy.

As noted in my blog yesterday, Governor Malloy, and a number of Connecticut’s highest ranking public officials, attended a fundraiser last night at the home of Alan Lazowski.  Lazowski is the owner of LAZ parking, and the recent recipient of a multi-million dollar development contract given out by a commission that the Governor controls.

As the Courant notes, “Lazowski is CEO of Hartford-based LAZ Parking, one of the 

UPDATE: What’s happening in Michigan + The impact of benefit cuts to legislative districts and the state’s economy. « Fred Klonsky

The impact of benefit cuts to legislative districts and the state’s economy. « Fred Klonsky:

Ten minute drawing. Don’t f**k with my COLA!

by Fred Klonsky

The in box. Glen Brown comments on my post: The impact of benefit cuts.

by Fred Klonsky

…If legislators can breach contractual obligations through legislation (such as HB 6258), the entire middle class will “pay” the consequences. There will be extensive and devastating economic outcomes for the entire State of Illinois if its public employees are robbed of their earned and constitutionally-guaranteed benefits. The attack on public employees is an attack on the entire middle class.
“[Consider that] retired teachers create a $4.4 billion positive impact for the Illinois economy. The $3.1 billion in pensions and benefits paid to retired teachers and school administrators in Illinois during fiscal year 2012 created a sustained economic stimulus of approximately $4.432 billion that reached all 102 Illinois counties, according to a recent study conducted by the Teachers’ Retirement System. The study’s findings were released… in a new report entitled ‘Economic Impact Study of TRS Benefit Payments by Illinois Legislative District and County.’
“‘It is vital for everyone interested in the future of public pensions in Illinois to understand and 

What’s happening in Michigan.

by Fred Klonsky

The impact of benefit cuts to legislative districts and the state’s economy.

by Fred Klonsky

In the latest issue of The Advocate, the publication of the Illinois State University Retirement System (SURS).
It’s a PDF. Scroll down to the chart that shows the benefits received bv SURS members in each state representative and senatorial district.
It totals over $1.2 billion. And that is just for one of the state’s pension systems. It doesn’t include TRS, for example.
There are two important take aways from looking at this chart and the legislative maps that follow it.
Cutting benefits to state public employees will have a huge negative impact on the state’s economy. Not just to

There is no pension benefit crisis.

by Fred Klonsky

To paraphrase Nobel winning economist and NY Times columnist in his piece this morning, “Let’s get this straight. Illinois is not facing a pension benefit crisis.”
There is a state funding crisis. The political leaders of this state, both Republicans and Democrats, refuse to address the fact that they can’t pay their bills by taxing the rich at the same rate that they tax the poor.
Taxing the poor is pointless. They have no money. That’s the definition of poor. The working class (what we now 

Pass / Fail : LAUSD schools faces challenge of making arts part of the core curriculum | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : LAUSD schools faces challenge of making arts part of the core curriculum | 89.3 KPCC:

LAUSD schools faces challenge of making arts part of the core curriculum

by Tami Abdollah with Ricky O'Bannon

Students dance in the after-school Greenway Arts Alliance program, a magnet program within Fairfax high school. Credit: Mae Ryan/KPCC
Arts advocates and educators are excited that the Los Angeles Unified School District Board voted unanimously in October to make arts a "core subject."
But making that desire a reality is complicated. Educators face a host of questions: What should be included in the arts curriculum? What should be classified as “arts?” How can the arts play a greater role in public education in a time of lean budgets, when political priorities are on improving test scores in areas such as math and English? Even determining the current amount of arts education is tricky.
The renewed focus on arts comes after what arts educators call years of curriculum narrowing following the 

Forget the $300m Deal! Let’s talk $3.4 billion (or more)! « School Finance 101

Forget the $300m Deal! Let’s talk $3.4 billion (or more)! « School Finance 101:

Forget the $300m Deal! Let’s talk $3.4 billion (or more)!

by schoolfinance101

Sometime last week or so, Sockpuppets for Ed Reform marched on City Hall in NY demanding that the city and teachers union come to a deal on a teacher evaluation system compliant with the state’s new regulations for such systems, so that the district could receive an approximately $300 million grant payment associated with the implementation of that system. Well, actually, it was more about trying to enrage the public that the evil teachers union in particular was at fault for holding hostage and potentially losing this supposedly massive sum of funding.
As one can see by the signs the SFER protesters were displaying, the protest was much less clearly articulated than I’ve described above. On would think, from looking at stuff like this: http://nyulocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DSC_0841.jpg that this protest was actually about obtaining funding for the district – funding that would provide for substantive and sustained improvement to district programs/services.
But hey,

Ed Notes Online: Eva Destruction: Walcott/Bloomberg Willing to Destroy Kids to Let Success Charter Grow

Ed Notes Online: Eva Destruction: Walcott/Bloomberg Willing to Destroy Kids to Let Success Charter Grow:

Eva Destruction: Walcott/Bloomberg Willing to Destroy Kids to Let Success Charter Grow

by ed notes online

A high school for at-risk kids is facing eviction from its home to make room for a well-connected charter school to expand...the city is planning to create more space in the Brandeis building by moving the Innovation Diploma Plus school to a Washington Heights building that lacks science labs and a gym...The move also means the school’s teen moms will lose access to day care because Brandeis is one of a few dozen locations where day care is provided for students -- NY Daily News

Why are they moving these HS students out now? Because if they delay a year, Eva is not sure that the next mayor will be as submissive to her will. -- Leonie Haimson

I have seen some horribly destructive behavior toward our kids by the DOE over the years, but this truly is among the worst. The school targeted to be removed is 100% Black and Latino, overage, under credited, a full 50% of whom are unwed mothers. They are in an Upper West Side location, which has been their home since the DOE included them as one of the four schools to replace Brandeis. Then, Upper West Success Charter moved in. Now they are being sent to be warehoused (and likely drop out) in Washington Heights. While their space will be warehoused until such point that the charter is ready to use it ....Noah Gotbaum

At what point does the edurati actually begin to get what's going on? On the same night Eva's husband's 

The inconvenient truth about education | TBO.com

The inconvenient truth about education | TBO.com:

The inconvenient truth about education

COMMENTARY

By RICK OUTZEN | Florida Voices 
Published: December 07, 2012

»  Comments | Post a Comment

Despite what Gov. Rick Scott and his Department of Education may tell you, the Florida public education system isn't very good, especially when it comes to the percentage of students graduating from high school within four years.

The U.S. Department of Education recently released data listing state four-year high school graduation rates for the 2010-11 school year — the first year in which all states used a common, rigorous measure. Prior to the new methodology, varying methods used by states to report 

Morning UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-7-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

What the CREDO Study of NJ Charters Really Said

by dianerav

Julia Sass Rubin, a professor of public policy in New Jersey, took a close look at the CREDO study of charter schools and made a startling discovery: the press release misrepresents the findings of the study.
It recognized the dramatic demographic differences between the students in public schools and in charter schools (“the traditional public schools it looked at served four and a half times as many students with Limited English Proficiency and one and a half times as many special-needs students as did the charter schools”) but ignored the severity of students’ disability or language difficulty.
This is an excerpt from her longer analysis. Rubin wrote:
“The CREDO press release claimed that “New Jersey charter public schools significantly outperform their district 

Philadelphia Parents File Ethics Complaint Against Powerful Foundation

by dianerav

People often ask what can be done to slow down the galloping pace of privatization, which has the enthusiastic support of so many Republican governors and legislatures (see Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana), the Obama administration (see Race to the Top), and wealthy foundations (see Gates, Walton, Broad).
Philadelphia parents are not sitting back and wailing against the proposed privatization. They have lodged ethics complaints against the city’s largest foundation and the Boston Consulting Group for being unregistered lobbyists.
This is a letter from parent leader Helen Gym explaining why parents acted:
Dear Colleagues:
This week, Parents United for Public Education, the Philadelphia Home and School Council and the Philadelphia 

Charters in Mississippi?

by dianerav

A group of elected officials trekked to visit a KIPP Charter school in Arkansas and came home very impressed. They saw black children in an almost all-black school engaged in their studies, and they want to replicate what they saw in Arkansas.
In the news article, however, they said repeatedly that no such schools were needed in DeSoto County. They are needed somewhere else in Mississippi, clearly for black kids.
The school sounded like one of those miracle schools that we hear about so often. I asked Gary Rubinstein i

State Board in Louisiana Approves Contracts Without Funding

by dianerav

The Louisiana state board of education approved contracts for 45 private vendors, many of them for-profit online companies that had made campaign contributions to some state board members.
The board acted despite the court decision last week declaring that it was unconstitutional to take money dedicated specifically for public elementary and secondary schools and spend it on vouchers or other providers.
Two board members asked for a delay–Lottie Beebe and Carolyn Hill–but the board approved the vendors without 

Is Privatization the Purpose of “Great Schools Compact?”

by dianerav

Should Philadelphia close more district schools and open more charters? Can the district schools learn from charters? Can the charters learn from district schools? Are low scores caused by the schools? Are scores the best measure of school quality?
Read about the heated debate in Philadelphia surrounding the Gates-funded “Great Schools Compact.”
And be sure to scan the comments.

A Voice of Sanity in Arizona

by dianerav

Edward Berger lives in Arizona. He is observing the piece-by-piece destruction of America’s free public education system.
I urge you to read his blog at www.edwardberger.com
He has a strong, clear and forceful voice.
He gave me remission to print one of his most recent posts:
Part I: The Dismantling Of Comprehensive Education: A Case Study.

Joel Klein’s Plan to Spin Education into Gold for Murdoch

by dianerav

Earlier this year, Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice chaired a task force at the Council on Foreign Relations, which issued a scathing indictment of public education, calling our public schools “a very grave threat to national security.”
Klein works for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, where he is in charge of selling technology. The latest report from his division repeats the gloomy (and inaccurate statistics) about US education and says there is a way to fix all these dire problems: Buy the technology he is selling!

What to Give for Christmas

by dianerav

Larry Lee of Montgomery, Alabama, has some good ideas for your Christmas giving this year and next:
Larry Lee writes:
No doubt there are some folks who really look forward to Christmas shopping.  Going from store to store, picking up this, picking up that, getting in line at the checkout, rounding up wrapping paper, etc.
I just don’t happen to be one of them.
Maybe it is because I’m a male or maybe because I don’t care for crowds.  I rate Christmas shopping right up 

Diane in the Evening 12-6-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Michigan Now Talking about Right-to-Work Legislation by dianerav Michigan was once one of the nation’ s strongest union states. But with the decimation of the automobile industry and the recent takeover of state government by extremely conservative politicians, the union movement is on the defensive. Unions in Michigan tried and failed to pass a constitutional amendment supporting their right to bargain Legal Dictators in Michigan ? by dianerav This is a thought-provoking article in the conservative National Review about Michigan Governor Rick Snyder... more »

Common core sparks war over words | toteachornototeach

Common core sparks war over words | toteachornototeach:

Common core sparks war over words

by aristotlethewise

Common core sparks war over words

By Lyndsey Layton
As states across the country implement broad changes in curriculum from kindergarten through high school, English teachers worry that they will have to replace the dog-eared novels they love with historical documents and nonfiction texts.
The Common Core State Standards in English, which have been adopted in 46 states and the District, call for public schools to ramp up nonfiction so that by 12th grade students will be reading mostly “informational text” instead of fictional literature. But as teachers excise poetry and classic works of fiction from their classrooms, those who designed the guidelines say it appears that educators have misunderstood them.
Proponents of the new standards, including the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, say U.S. students have suffered from a diet of easy reading and lack the ability to digest