UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, February 4, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

الشركات استيلاء التعليم العام

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

L.A. parent group applies lessons from Compton, Adelanto efforts to take over school

Education Headlines

Monday, February 4, 2013

Fontana Unified School District board to mull rifles, counseling

The school counselor issue and the school police department's recent purchase of 14 military-style rifles were moved to the special meeting to allow more time for deliberations and comments, Superintendent Cali Olsen-Binks said.

Charter schools leader filling in at Sac City post

Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond hired a local charter schools leader as his interim chief of staff at a higher pay rate than appears in the position's salary schedule.

Alvord superintendent to retire

Alvord Unified School District Superintendent Nick Ferguson will retire when his contract expires at the end of June, he said Friday, Feb. 1.

Paperwork mistake became Alvord’s $1.8 million error

In 1998, an Alvord schools clerk made a mistake on a new form required by the state. But no one caught the goof, which was repeated for the next eight years. Then last month, the state officials told a state board that Alvord owed it about $18 million – an amount that could have bankrupted the Riverside-based school district.

Smaller classes in Lodi Unified School District too expensive for now

Creating smaller class sizes is a much talked about idea among teachers in Lodi Unified School District, but district officials say it is too expensive at this time.

California abandons algebra requirement for eighth-graders

By falling in line with other states, California is abandoning its push for all eighth-graders to take algebra. Last month, the State Board of Education unanimously shifted away from a 15-year policy of expecting eighth-graders to take Algebra I.

L.A.'s first Hebrew-language charter school raises questions

Lashon Academy is to teach modern Hebrew, have no religious component and aim for a diverse student body. But some worry that dual-language charters blur the line between public and private schools.

L.A. parent group applies lessons from Compton, Adelanto efforts to take over school

Amabilia Villeda had no idea her daughter couldn't read. It wasn't until the girl had moved on from the 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles that the Spanish-speaking mother of three was told her sixth-grader was reading at below the first-grade level.

School turnarounds prompt community backlash

The federal government's push for drastic reforms at chronically low achieving schools has led to takeovers by charter operators, overhauls of staff and curriculum, and even school shutdowns across the country.

Suspected child molester left L.A. archdiocese for L.A. schools

A former priest and suspected child molester left employment with the Los Angeles archdiocese to work for the L.A. Unified School District, officials confirmed Sunday.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Outgoing Monterey schools chief Shepherd granted paid leave

The retiring superintendent of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District was honored by her peers on Thursday, a day after the district's board of trustees unanimously approved a paid leave of absence for the remainder of her term.

School police armed with AR-15s

The president of the San Diego school board questioned why the district’s police department authorized the use of assault weapons by its officers after he learned about the weaponry in a newspaper article.

Rocketship Education founder John Danner leaves charter school to start online-learning company

Rocketship Education founder John Danner is stepping aside to return to his roots as a software entrepreneur and develop programs for online learning.

San Leandro, West Contra Costa schools and others sued over parcel taxes

A Walnut Creek attorney who won a court ruling invalidating an Alameda school parcel tax has sued eight other school districts, alleging their similar parcel taxes also are illegal because they tax property owners at different rates.

Frey: Poll indicates counselors are more important for school safety than police officers

To improve school safety, Californians overwhelmingly believe that having guidance counselors in every school would be more effective than deploying armed police officers.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Security boosted at Lincoln Unified campuses

Lincoln Unified's board voted unanimously Tuesday night to bolster campus safety, adding six new positions that will enable the district to provide full-time security coverage at all of its elementary schools.

Lodi Unified School District gains some school days

The Lodi Education Association has reached an understanding with Lodi Unified School District to restore five instructional days, with pay, to the 2013-14 calendar.

Natomas board OKs settlement over school site

A bad land deal that has plagued three Natomas Unified school boards and five superintendents has finally been resolved. But the district still took a big hit.cpy

Expelled Student Activist Wins $50K Court Judgment Against University President «

Expelled Student Activist Wins $50K Court Judgment Against University President «:

Expelled Student Activist Wins $50K Court Judgment Against University President

by Angus Johnston

An environmental activist expelled from Georgia’s Validosta State University (VSU) has won a $50,000 award in a lawsuit against the university president who kicked him out of school in 2007. In a dramatic rebuke to President Ronald Zaccari, the federal jury that heard the case found Zaccari personally liable for violating Hayden Barnes’ due process rights.
The case emerged from a dispute over a planned parking structure that Barnes considered a waste of money and an environmental blight on the campus. At least three times Zaccari reached out to Barnes to complain about his organizing against the garage — which included flyering about other uses to which the money could be put and calling members of the VSU board of regents to urge them to reject the proposal —  and when Barnes posted a collage on Facebook that called it the “Zaccari Memorial Parking Garage,” Zaccari claimed it was a threat to his safety and expelled him without a hearing.
Zaccari’s conclusion that Barnes posed a threat of violence was contradicted by campus mental health officials 

Big Surprise: Yet Another Ed Reform Turns Out to be Bogus | Mother Jones

Big Surprise: Yet Another Ed Reform Turns Out to be Bogus | Mother Jones:

Big Surprise: Yet Another Ed Reform Turns Out to be Bogus

—By Kevin Drum

| Mon Jan. 28, 2013 8:55 AM PST

59

WOW! Who Knew?

Do high schools with higher standards get better performance from their students? If you require everyone to take college prep classes, will more kids go to college? The San Jose school district has long been a poster child for this notion, but guess what? It turns out it was all a crock:

San Jose Unified has quietly acknowledged that the district overstated its accomplishments. And aTimes analysis of the district's record shows that its progress has not, in fact, far outpaced many other school systems'....In 2000, before the college-prep program took effect, 40% of San Jose graduates fulfilled requirements for applying to University of California and Cal State University. In 2011, the number was 40.3%.

My cynicism about the ed reform community grows by leaps and bounds every time I read a 

UPDATE: Feb. 6 – National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott + More School Districts Suing States For Education Funding | NEA Today

More School Districts Suing States For Education Funding | NEA Today:

Feb. 6 – National Day of Action to Support Seattle MAP Test Boycott

by twalker

On Wednesday, February 6, educators, students, parents and supporters of public education nationwide will take action in support of Garfield High School teachers and all teachers in Seattle Public Schools refusing to administer the MAP test.  Supporters can participate in actions to show support for this effort. Visit Scrap The MAP! for more information.

More School Districts Suing States For Education Funding

by twalker

By Tim Walker
In a 1973 landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that education was not a Constitutional right. The case was San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez and was brought by a group of parents who believed the state’s acceptance of huge funding gaps between rich and poor violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Amendment. Although a state court ruled in the parents’ favor, the high court overturned the decision by a 5-4 vote, declaring that “though education is one of the most important services performed by the state, it is not within the limited category of rights recognized by this Court as guaranteed by the Constitution.”
The issue wasn’t necessarily settled because the decision didn’t prevent districts from challenging school finance plans at the state level under their own state constitutions – which explains why virtually every state in the nation has at one time been embroiled in a funding lawsuit.
The number of cases has multiplied over the past few years, however, because of state and local governments’ fiscal problems since the Great Recession. Schools in lower-income communities feel the brunt of these budget

Teaching Controversial Texts Under the Common Core

by twalker

A high school teacher in Thornton, Colorado, explains why she will continue to have her students read books that are often challenged – if not outright banned – by some schools or parents. “The Common Core State Standards require texts with higher complexity for language arts classrooms. We are being asked to help students learn how to analyze and apply information in a variety of ways. As we select books of appropriate difficulty that are both engaging and applicable, we will be reading fiction with mature themes, which often also

Christian Isaac- Good Riddance: 3 Small Steps for Mankind Student Voice

Student Voice:

Christian Isaac- Good Riddance: 3 Small Steps for Mankind

by admin

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education” ~ Albert Einstein

**

Education is a simple virtue. Teachers teach, and we students learn. That is the envisioned goal of education, specifically public education; to give knowledge to individuals; and by this, give them power. Education’s mission in its existence is to enrich our minds, give us the steps necessary for both extrinsic and intrinsic advancement, and to give us the tools we need to complete the tasks of life that we want to complete.
This contrasts the reality of public school, however. In my school, whose walls enclose a roaring symphony of motivation towards college, teachers hand me data and processes, then expect me to memorize them so that I can then repeat the data and processes for a test – the same way a retail manager instructs a clerk to use a cash register. I learn nothing. In my school, who boasts success behind the ramparts of a mistaken agenda, I am taught that to be a person who has a life that matters in society, I have to absorb all the words and numbers spat on me by my classes to punch grades into a grade book, and go on to college, then to a vain career whose complacency lies in its paycheck. In this present state of logic for our school districts and school boards, life is 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Running covert ops at City Hall and CPS

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Running covert ops at City Hall and CPS:

Running covert ops at City Hall and CPS

by Mike Klonsky

Col. Tyrell

A desperate and seemingly dispirited Barbara Byrd-Bennett, faced with a bubbling community revolt, is now relying on a highly-paid retired Marine colonel with a staff of 40 to organize her covert-ops Chicago's mass school-closing fiasco. His name is Tom Tyrell and his preparation for this coming assault on the city's black and Latino communities is his "prisoner-exchange" work in Kosovo. Metaphors abound.

No they didn't, you say? Yes they did.

“I’m not saying it looks similar to now, but there was great distrust to the process on both sides but there was a lot of chaos and stress,” Tom Tyrrell told the Chicago Sun-Times. What is similar, he continued: “It requires you to plow through the noise and get the planning done and get it done in detail and then be flexible enough to adapt as the plan unfolds.” 

Tyrrell moves from the military to Wall St.. Here he  rings the opening bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City on May 27, 2005 (File:US Navy 050527-N-2114S-002 )

Actually, Col. Tyrell's work went far beyond what the S-T calls "prisoner-exchange" work. In his own words,

"It was determining how to integrate the weapons systems and training routines to transform the 

Can We Trust Teachers To Successfully Manage Whole Schools? (Kim Farris-Berg) Part 1 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Can We Trust Teachers To Successfully Manage Whole Schools? (Kim Farris-Berg) Part 1 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Can We Trust Teachers To Successfully Manage Whole Schools? (Kim Farris-Berg) Part 1

by larrycuban

Can we trust teachers with authority to manage whole schools? Would teachers even want the opportunity to manage schools? And, when they are in the position to manage schools, will it make any difference in student achievement? Kim Farris-Berg explores these questions in this three-part guest blog .
 Farris-Berg is a Senior Associate with Education Evolving, a policy design shop based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and an independent education policy strategist. Her Twitter handle is @farrisberg.
Everyone knows that many K-12 public schools are not producing desired results. The big question is: how will we improve them? The dominant assertion today is that if we can just get better at telling teachers what to do, and how to do it, then improvement will follow. In this climate, “getting tough” with teachers appears to be the only solution. Fortunately for those of us not fond of one-bet strategies,   other assertions are entering the discussion. One of these assertions is that trusting teachers, and not controlling them, is the key to school 

The Quick and the Ed » The Student Loan Problem is Worse than I Thought

The Quick and the Ed » The Student Loan Problem is Worse than I Thought:

The Student Loan Problem is Worse than I Thought

by Andrew Gillen

Over at Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden highlights the findings of a new FICO report on student loans (available at the very bottom of his post).  With all the news stories about the crushing weight of student loans, it would be hard to underestimate the magnitude of the problem. And yet that is precisely what I’ve done. I don’t put a lot of weight on anecdotes and extreme outliers, so while I thought the student debt problem was bad and getting worse, I wasn’t prone to hyperbole about it.
Before reading the answer, ask yourself: Out of all the individuals with student loans, what percent has a student loan balance of greater than $100,000?
I would have bet good money that this figure was under 1%. I was way off. The FICO numbers show that it is 

Shanker Blog » Why Nobody Wins In The Education "Research Wars"

Shanker Blog » Why Nobody Wins In The Education "Research Wars":

Why Nobody Wins In The Education “Research Wars”

by Matthew Di Carlo

In a recent post, Kevin Drum of Mother Jones discusses his growing skepticism about the research behind market-based education reform, and about the claims that supporters of these policies make. He cites a recent Los Angeles Times article, which discusses how, in 2000, the San Jose Unified School District in California instituted a so-called “high expectations” policy requiring all students to pass the courses necessary to attend state universities. The reported percentage of students passing these courses increased quickly, causing the district and many others to declare the policy a success. In 2005, Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second largest district, adopted similar requirements.
For its part, the Times performed its own analysis, and found that the San Jose pass rate was actually no higher in 2011 compared with 2000 (actually, slightly lower for some subgroups), and that the district had overstated its early results by classifying students in a misleading manner. Mr. Drum, reviewing these results, concludes: “It 

New on-line only charter school, Connections Academy, gobbles up New Mexico

New on-line only charter school, Connections Academy, gobbles up New Mexico:

New online-only charter school, Connections Academy, gobbles up New Mexico state

by Danny Weil

This fall public school students across New Mexico could start getting their education completely online by the largest member of the text book cartel, Pearson, out of England.  Pearson also recently bought the GED tests many students take in order to graduate from high school and are buttoning up their takeover of public education at alarming speed.

Education Secretary Designate Hanna Skandera recently approved the New Mexico Connections Academy.  Connections Academy is owned by Pearson as of last year when the giant text book cartel bought the ´business´.  The school still has to get a few more approvals and pats on the back before it opens its retail charter chain operations this coming August. The online ´school´ would be the state’s second virtual charter school retail chain.  Connection Academy, however,  would 

Alabama Pulls Out of PARCC and SBAC | Truth in American Education

Alabama Pulls Out of PARCC and SBAC | Truth in American Education:

Alabama Pulls Out of PARCC and SBAC

by Shane Vander Hart

Edweek reported late Friday that Alabama has pulled out of both testing consortia that it was involved in.

In an email to EdWeek, the state’s assessment director, Gloria Turner, confirmed that Alabama has bowed out of both the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, orPARCC, and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. She said the department of education “has decided to go in another direction,” but didn’t offer any more detail.

The move wasn’t yet official within the two consortia, since the requisite processes haven’t yet been completed. The decision leaves PARCC with 22 members and Smarter Balanced with 24.

Alabama, you might recall, has been one of the dwindling number of states that have been playing 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Daisy Rittgers, 105 year-old retired teacher depends on her 3% pension COLA to survive. (E. Jason Wambsgans)

Daisy Rittgers

"Why should anybody take it away from me? Right's right, and wrong's wrong." -- Chicago Tribune, "Pension reform could hit oldest retired teachers the hardest"

Sun-Times Editorial

Crime grows like a weed from the ground up; cops and prosecutors can only lop off the ugly blooms. If we as a city are truly fed up with the killing, no longer able to look away, we must pour our energies like never before into all those ways in which an enlightened society grows a beautiful flower — better schools, more after-school programs, greater economic investment in the 

UPDATE: teachers on strike + Tell Speaker Madigan on Friday: You must talk to the unions to find real pension solutions. « Fred Klonsky

Tell Speaker Madigan on Friday: You must talk to the unions to find real pension solutions. « Fred Klonsky:

Tell Speaker Madigan on Friday: You must talk to the unions to find real pension solutions.

by Fred Klonsky

There is no question that Michael Madigan is a rich and powerful man.
He is Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party.
He is Speaker of that motley bunch we call members of the Illinois House.
But does he have the power to ignore the leaders of the state’s public employee unions when talking about our

West Chicago District 33 teachers on strike.

by Fred Klonsky

Popout.
Information on ways to support  the Elementary Teacher Association of West Chicago can be found here.

UPDATE: MORE Blogging Team Goes Head to Head With Unity Caucus + Ed Notes Online: Arne Duncan Gets Push-Back on Closing Schools

Ed Notes Online: Arne Duncan Gets Push-Back on Closing Schools:

Arne Duncan Gets Push-Back on Closing Schools

by ed notes online

JAISAL NOOR: PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS AND STUDENTS FROM 18 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY GATHERED IN WASHINGTON, DC THIS WEEK TO DEMAND A NATIONWIDE MORATORIUM ON SCHOOL CLOSINGS.

FEDERAL PROGRAMS LIKE RACE TO THE TOP OFFERED FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO CITIES AND STATES FOR RADICALLY CHANGING THEIR SCHOOLS, INCLUDING FIRING STAFF AND SHUTTING SCHOOLS DOWN. WHILE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TOUTED THE COMPETITIVE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROGRAM AS A WAY TO IMPROVE EDUCATION AND BETTER PREPARE STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE AND THE WORKFORCE, MANY PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SAY THE CHANGES ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.

The counter revolution is getting up steam. MORE is also gearing up to push the UFT into more action at the closing schools hearings coming up this month. We ought to have a leaflet unveiled in the next day or two.

Here are some reports, video and print.

Jaisal Noor video report (See below the break for text of his report).

Parents and Students Demand Nationwide Moratorium on Schools Closings

MORE Blogging Team Goes Head to Head With Unity Caucus

by ed notes online

UFT Elections: MORE vs Unity/New Action

The UFT election goes into full swing starting this Weds. Tonight's Ex Bd meeting (where I may get a bite to eat) will ratify the procedures. Petitions will be available on Weds. Feb. 6 before the Delegate Assembly, after which Unity Caucus is holding a 6:30 meeting at Fashion Industries HS so they all can get their petitions signed. MORE is working on its own plans -- and you are invited to help.

Well, with the election season, comes the Unity defense.

Have you checked out the MORE blog recently (Morecaucusnyc)?

Some of our city's top bloggers have volunteered their time to work with MORE and the writing has been fantabulous. I am supposed to be part of this crew but I have a very tough time trying to write in the voice of an 

“What Is the Matter, My Lord?” – @ the chalk face

“What Is the Matter, My Lord?” – @ the chalk face:

“What Is the Matter, My Lord?”

by plthomasedd

The virtual connectedness of the Internet era—through the magic of blogs, online publications, Twitter, and other social media—I often find myself in discussions by email, Twitter, or online discussions with advocates for and leaders in the corporate education reform movement, what I have labeled “No Excuses” Reform.
A disturbing aspect of that reform movement is that an inverse correlation exists between expertise/experience and power/influence in education: Those with the most power and influence have the least expertise and experience; those with the most expertise and experience have the least power and influence.
In my soul I remain an English teacher so when I find myself in these debates and discussions, I cannot avoid thinking of one of my favorite characters and scenes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a clash in Act 2, Scene 2between Hamlet and Polonius:

Polonius. How does my good Lord Hamlet?
Hamlet. Well, God-a-mercy.
Pol.  Do you know me, my lord?

3 Websites for High School Teachers to Try in 2013 - High School Notes (usnews.com)

3 Websites for High School Teachers to Try in 2013 - High School Notes (usnews.com):

3 Websites for High School Teachers to Try in 2013

By KELSEY SHEEHY

February 4, 2013 RSS Feed Print

Teachers can tap into free Web resources to incorporate tech into their lessons.

Technology continues to make inroads into high school classrooms via bring-your-own device initiatives, 1:1 proposals that put a tablet or laptop in front of every student, and blended learning models that mix online courses with in-class instruction.

But teachers don't need a classroom stocked with iPads to start incorporating tech into their lesson plans. In fact, 40 percent of educators say online apps and games are the most effective way to engage students, according to a reader survey by SmartBrief for EdTech, an industry newsletter.

[Discover why student engagement nosedives in high school.]

Below are three Web-based resources for high school teachers 

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: ‘Probably’ Shouldn’t Have Fired School Principal on National TV - ABC News

 Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: ‘Probably’ Shouldn’t Have Fired School Principal on National TV - ABC News:

 Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: ‘Probably’ Shouldn’t Have Fired School Principal on National TV

During her three years as Washington D.C. public schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee raised eyebrows with her tough-love approach to fixing a failing school system.

And when I sat down with Rhee on “This Week,” the controversial education reformer made no apologies for her rough-and-tumble philosophy.

“My style is very deliberative and very focused on doing what’s right for kids.  And so I wouldn’t change that so much,” Rhee told me.  “Should I have fired ineffective principals?  Absolutely.  Should I have done so on national TV?  Probably not.”

Rhee’s tenure in D.C. was met with plenty of controversy: Unions and city residents criticized her for ending teacher tenure and closing 23 schools in one year alone. Rhee left her position after the mayor who hired her to lead 

Joy Resmovits: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Regrets, School Voucher Fight: Ed Today

Joy Resmovits:  Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Regrets, School Voucher Fight: Ed Today:

 Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Regrets, School Voucher Fight: Ed Today

Posted: 02/04/2013 8:06 am

Rhee-grets, She Has A Few? Former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is out with a new memoir this week (called "Radical"), and she's making the talk show rounds to promote it. Yesterday, she told George Stephanopolous on "This Week" that maybe she shouldn't have fired that principal on TV. "My style is very deliberative and very focused on doing what's right for kids.  And so I wouldn't change that so much," Rhee said.  "Should I have fired ineffective principals?  Absolutely.  Should I have done so on national TV?  Probably not." Here's a Times interview, in which she says sheregrets initially not taking test security questions seriously. Also, Rhee is scheduled to be on The Daily Show tonight, so that should be fun!

Voucher Wars? On Friday, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) led a group of three House Republicans in