Monday, February 25, 2013

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Legislation To Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults « New York City Parents Union

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Legislation To Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults « New York City Parents Union:

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Legislation To Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults

by admin

“We Are Glad You Heard Us, Mr. Speaker!”

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Legislation
To Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults

“We are pleased that the power of parents has pushed New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver tointroduce legislation that would protect $250 Million in education funding that Governor Cuomo is threatening to take from New York City’s children. It is clear that last week’s court decision granting parents’ request for an injunction against Governor Cuomo has changed the political climate regarding the issue of teacher evaluations. We are glad you heard us, Mr. Speaker!

Accordingly, we are pleased that our injunction has prompted Speaker Silver to take legislative action. We

The Quick and the Ed » The Full Weight of a Moratorium on Testing

The Quick and the Ed » The Full Weight of a Moratorium on Testing:

The Full Weight of a Moratorium on Testing

by Kris Amundson

Like most people who have struggled with weight, there was a time when I decided to deal with the problem by simply refusing to get on the scale.
I know I am not alone in this behavior. But eventually, other evidence (outgrowing a favorite pair of jeans, a bad blood pressure reading) usually brings people back to the recognition that, however unpleasant they may be, regular weigh-ins promote accountability.
That’s true for school systems as well, particularly for high-performing systems. It’s all too easy for high average test scores to mask some real problems.
In an op ed in The Washington Post yesterday, I pointed out that although Montgomery County, Md., has, on

UPDATE: Upcoming Elections and Public Education in Seattle Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This Week:

Upcoming Elections and Public Education in Seattle

by Melissa Westbrook

This fall the citizens of Seattle will be voting for mayor. As of now, I believe there are seven candidates. I have interviewed one of them - Peter Steinbrueck - and have Kate Martin on tap. I will reach out to Mayor McGinn but from working with him over the last several years, I have a good idea of his views.

One of the candidates is Councilman Tim Burgess. The Councilman has been deeply involved in Seattle public education and was a big supporter of the Families & Education levy. He also has shown a propensity for behind-the-scenes con-fabs with high-level SPS leaders and it is unclear to me whether he ever shared any of this information with other councilmembers. (We have public disclosure e-mails to thank for this info.)

Now I see that Councilman Burgess is being thrown a fundraiser this week by the following people:
Michael and Marie DeBell, Sherry Carr, Clover Codd, Bree Dusseault , Chris Eide, David Elliot, Christina Gonzalez, Chris Korsmo, Peter Maier, Lisa Macfarlane, Harium Martin-Morris and Steve Sundquist.

I'm assuming the other Board members weren't invited but who knows?

I have a request into the Councilman's campaign office to ask about this fundraiser vis a vis his vision for Seattle

Seattle Schools This Week

by Melissa Westbrook

Monday, Feb. 25th
Open Enrollment starts today and ends on March 8th. Info on enrollment.

Wednesday, Feb 27th
Oversight Work Session: Technology Services - 4 pm - 5ish

Work Session: Budget - 5:30- 6:30 pm

Saturday, March 2nd
Board Retreat - no details available about where or when.

A few words on the retreats. The Alliance for Education has been gracious enough to sponsor Board retreats, probably for the last several years. Usually this has been in the form of finding a site (although I don't know why they pay for an off-site rather than using one of the many SPS sites for free), food, printing, etc.

However, at the last Board retreat, the Alliance staffer sat at the table, with the Superintendent and the Board. This was not the norm. She then gave input during the discussion.

I was completely dumbfounded as this retreat is for the Board, the Superintendent and the staff. I asked the

How Sequester Cut Will Hurt Public Education

by Melissa Westbrook

From our friends at The Stranger Slog:

Washington will lose approximately $11,606,000 in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 160 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 11,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 50 fewer schools would receive funding. In addition, Washington will lose approximately $11,251,000 in funds for about 140 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.

Meanwhile in Bridgeport, the Vallas no-bid contract gravy trains chugs along - Wait, What?

Meanwhile in Bridgeport, the Vallas no-bid contract gravy trains chugs along - Wait, What?:

Meanwhile in Bridgeport, the Vallas no-bid contract gravy trains chugs along

by jonpelto

As Connecticut’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor faces more and more criticism about his use of no-bid contracts, Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas continues to remind people that it was Pryor who recruited him to Connecticut.

Vallas has been mired in his own no-bid contract controversy since his arrival in the state, but with a Board of Education, where five of the nine Bridgeport Board of Education members are in Mayor Finch’s camp on all votes, the plan to extend Vallas’ contract continues to take shape.

Despite growing opposition from parents and others, the Board is presently completing their “evaluation” of Vallas and the plan appears to be to push through the contract

And in Windham… Non-approved Operations Plan for the Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy filed with the state

by jonpelto

Two weeks have passed and the State Department of Education still hasn’t responded to a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the Operations Plan that Windham filed for the new Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy, but a staff person at the Department of Education has confirmed that the document filed IS NOT the version approved by the Windham Board of Trustees.

Wait, What? readers will remember the issues surrounding Windham’s new STEM Magnet School.

The Operations Plan approved by the Board of Education included a restriction limiting students from transferring into the new school if they were not reading at grade level by

SI&A Cabinet Report – LAO calls for Title I-like compliance on extra state money for disadvantaged

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

LAO calls for Title I-like compliance on extra state money for disadvantaged

To better ensure school districts spend billions of dollars in support of disadvantaged students – as proposed by the governor – lawmakers should adopt compliance requirements similar to the federal Title I program, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst recommended late last week.

The suggestion is one of many contained in an overall favorable review of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to replace the state’s existing system for funding K-12 schools with a formula that is far less complex and convoluted.

Brown’s proposal, which failed to win support last year, is aimed at streamlining the system by removing spending restrictions on some $6.1 billion in categorical money and bundling it with general revenue and local property tax dollars now going to schools.

Currently, districts receive varying amounts of money through the categorical programs – but under Brown’s plan all districts and charter schools would receive the same per-pupil rates, adjusted by grade level.

Additional money would be given to districts based on the number of disadvantaged students they serve – that is, English learners, students eligible for subsidized meals and foster youth.

Brown’s proposal for supporting disadvantaged students would provide supplemental funding equal to 35 percent of the base grant.

And, for districts with 50 percent or more of their student populations designated disadvantaged, the state would

The Ends Do Not Justify the Mean(ness) – @ the chalk face

The Ends Do Not Justify the Mean(ness) – @ the chalk face:

The Ends Do Not Justify the Mean(ness)

by plthomasedd

Amputation is an instant and effective weight-loss strategy, but I don’t recommend it.
Mathematica Policy Research releases a new report on Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools Tuesday, February 26, 2013: “The new KIPP evaluation covers 41 KIPP middle schools in 13 states and in the District of Columbia.”
Let me state for the record, and using a George W. Bush-style pre-emptive strike, that regardless of Mathematica’s conclusions about whether or not KIPP middle schools are succeeding, regardless of the myriad of data points, metrics, or outcomes upon which the report bases those conclusions, I remain steadfast in my rejecting KIPP charters, along with their relationship with Teach for America (TFA), their obsession with college-readiness grounded in test-prep, and their most corrosive commitments to “no excuses” and zero-tolerance practices.
I welcome reviews of the Mathematica study, and I anticipate that Mathematica, KIPP, and the media will offer less credible conclusions from the data than the reviews (and I suspect those reviews will receive far less coverage by the media). But, all in all, I cannot support KIPP and KIPP-like “no excuses” charter schools

Are teachers permitted to have expertise and credentials?

by Chalk Face, PhD

This isn’t necessarily a rhetorical question, although the reader might have a different opinion. I’m happy to hear it. But the short answer to the title question is, “No, teachers are not permitted their expertise and credentials.”
Probably one of the best things I’ve ever read in education was this book-length study by sociologist Dan Lortie called Schoolteacher. It may have been originally published in the 1970s with some updates as recent as 2002. And there may be some better stuff out there, I don’t know. Ingersoll is another sociologist that seems to cut right to the heart of teacher professionalism, calling “teacher bashing” our new national pastime.
At one point, Lortie argues that teachers no longer have, or perhaps never had, a technical culture inaccessible to the layperson. For the sake of argument, let us assume that at some point, perhaps an unknown golden age in education, teachers were well-respected professionals with skills and knowledge only accessible to those who’ve undergone a period of training and apprenticeship. So, the detailed knowledge of planning, teaching, and

Only Whole Children Can Make Schools Safe — Whole Child Education

Only Whole Children Can Make Schools Safe — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Only Whole Children Can Make Schools Safe

February 25, 2013 by Thom Markham

In the long term, there is just one answer to the problem of school safety: more love. The short term solution, on the other hand, lies in the unhealthy mix of force, fear, guns, security, locks, and other devices meant to barricade our children from a small, but obviously lethal, subset of the population.

I'll leave the short-term answers to parents and politicians. Instead, let's support advances in education that take us closer to the ultimate goal of raising, nurturing, and educating children who feel psychologically safe. That, really, is the sole purpose of whole child education.

The formula is simple. Feeling safe is the central feature of feeling secure. Secure people do not feel afraid, except in the face of dire circumstances. In the absence of fear, positive emotions bloom. When positivity reigns, the brain responds by becoming more expansive, creative, and open to ideas. Emotions stabilize. The terrible effects of isolation, loneliness, depression, withdrawal, and other outcomes of emotional dysfunction disappear or are resolved. Many fewer people feel compelled to murder a child. Those who do receive

Doctors oppose automatic school suspensions, expulsions

Doctors oppose automatic school suspensions, expulsions:

Doctors oppose automatic school suspensions, expulsions

Gregg Toppo, USA TODAY9:47a.m. EST February 25, 2013

Automatically suspending or expelling misbehaving students is an "increasingly questionable" response to school disruptions, the nation's largest group of pediatricians says in a policy statement released Monday.

So-called zero-tolerance suspension and expulsion policies are a "drastic" response that can actually keep schools from dealing with underlying reasons for students' misbehaving, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

The academy is a professional organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, specialists and pediatric surgeons. It regularly publishes policy statements on medical issues such as obesity as well as on school-related issues.

The group criticizes zero-tolerance suspensions and expulsions that were originally intended to keep

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, February 25, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Brown's school funding plan draws mixed reactions

Education Headlines

Monday, February 25, 2013

Coordinated effort to push math, science education is paying off

About 44 percent of Kern students scored proficient in math in state testing last year, up from 34 percent five years ago. Statewide, 51 percent of students were proficient in math last year. During the same period, Kern students who scored proficient in science rose from 25 percent to 41 percent, compared with 46 percent of California students last year.

Gov. Jerry Brown's new "Robin Hood" school funding formula funnels more tax dollars to poorer districts

It doesn't necessarily rob from the rich, but Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed school funding formula would definitely give more to the poor. And that has officials from some well-to-do districts crying foul.

Parents protest plan to close Montvue Elementary campus in Pomona

More than 150 parents of students at Montvue Elementary School got it straight from the top - the campus may close at the end of school in June.

After vote to close 7 Sacramento schools, parents ask: 'Now what?'

Darlene Abbott made the short walk to Maple Elementary School in south Sacramento with her granddaughter Friday, weighed down by a heaviness reflected in their eyes. After staying at Thursday's Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting until past midnight, Abbott listened as trustees vote 4-3 to close Maple and six other elementary schools, effective in June

Menifee, Lake Elsinore school districts refute ACLU claim

Contrary to a claim made last month by the Southern California division of the American Civil Liberties Union, officials with the Menifee Union and Lake Elsinore Unified school districts say they do indeed provide services to all of their students who are learning English.

Improperly assigned teachers a problem

Public schools across California have assigned thousands of teachers to classes without the proper credentials or legal authorization, a persistent problem that state and local education officials blame on mismanagement, budget shortages and a limited pool of qualified specialists.

Safety concerns aired over high school ballfield

A new baseball diamond in a $12 million complex is ready for the high school baseball season. But the coach, players and parents at Riverside’s Arlington High School are concerned about safety and worried about playing there.

Turlock school bond move to save $1.1 million

Property owners should see some savings in their next tax bill thanks to a bond refinancing by the Turlock Unified School District. The school board unanimously approved a measure Tuesday night to refinance a 2002 bond, which will save taxpayers about $1.1 million.

Modesto City Schools to hear about security, enrollment

The Modesto City Schools board will get a rundown tonight on recommended campus security measures and be told enrollment likely will drop a little more next year.

Brentwood school board to decide fate of Superintendent Wednesday

Two days after Brentwood schools Superintendent Merrill Grant was placed on paid administrative leave, the school board president said Sunday the district is seeking "new leadership" and will decide whether to dismiss Grant at Wednesday night's board meeting as well as select an interim leader.

Brown's proposed school funding formula would aid poorer districts

Fensterwald: Bill would open the door to undergraduate teaching credentials

For the first time in decades, aspiring teachers in California would be able to major in education as undergraduates and get both a preliminary teaching credential and a baccalaureate degree in four years if a bill in the Legislature becomes law.

Brown's school funding plan draws mixed reactions

The governor's proposal would funnel more money to low-income, English-learning or foster-care students. Not everyone thinks that's fair.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Measure K funds spent according to plan, Lodi Unified School District officials say

The Lodi Unified School District is congratulating itself on a job well done after disbanding the Measure K oversight committee on Tuesday.

Most Marin schools to see big jump in state funding

The majority of Marin school districts would receive big funding increases under a new state formula, but the amounts vary widely and some districts would see no gains, according to state estimates.

California schools chief to promote health initiative in Monterey County

Torlakson will promote Team California for Healthy Kids, an initiative he launched in 2011 to spread the word about healthy eating and physical activity in schools.

Shanker Blog » School Choice And Segregation In Charter And Regular Public Schools

Shanker Blog » School Choice And Segregation In Charter And Regular Public Schools:

School Choice And Segregation In Charter And Regular Public Schools

by Matthew Di Carlo

A recent article in Reuters, one that received a great deal of attention, sheds light on practices that some charter schools are using essentially to screen students who apply for admission. These policies include requiring long and difficult applications, family interviews, parental contracts, and even demonstrations of past academic performance.
It remains unclear how common these practices might be in the grand scheme of things, but regardless of how frequently they occur, most of these tactics are terrible, perhaps even illegal, and should be stopped. At the same time, there are two side points to keep in mind when you hear about charges such as these, as well as the accusations (and denials) of charter exclusion and segregation that tend to follow.
The first is that some degree of (self-)sorting and segregation of students by abilities, interests and other

» Media Matters identifies greatest threat to education — John Stossel - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

» Media Matters identifies greatest threat to education — John Stossel - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion:

Media Matters identifies greatest threat to education — John Stossel

Posted by William A. Jacobson Monday, February 25, 2013 at 9:44am

You know the greatest threat to American education as Media Matters wants it?
John Stossel. Libertarian.

Possibly the greatest threat to the children ever, The Right-Wing Money Putting John Stossel In School Classrooms:

Two foundations that have been described as “the dark money ATM of the right” have spent more than $1 million combined funding a non-profit organization whose primary function is distributing libertarian education materials featuring Fox Business host John Stossel.

Sounds ominous, right? The foundations described as the ”dark money ATM of the right” are funding this. Who uses that description? Well, the embedded link is to Mother Jones Magazine! That’s proof enough, a far left magazine uses an ominous description which then is used by Media Matters as proof of the description.
Media Matters continues:

The program now offers hundreds of free clips from Stossel’s shows and specials that claim to seriously address a range of academic subjects, including Art (“Why does Hollywood Hate Capitalism?”), Biology (“Debunking Food Myths”), and History (“The

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center:

Larry Ferlazzo

February 21, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

“We Are Glad You Heard Us, Mr. Speaker!”

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s LegislationTo Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults

Only Whole Children Can Make Schools Safe

Doctors oppose automatic school suspensions, expulsions

Education Headlines

Best of the Ed Blogs

New York City Parents Union Statement on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Legislation
To Reverse Governor Cuomo’s $250 Million Punishment Of Children For Failures By Adults