solidaridad: Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board?

solidaridad: Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board?:

Reason LA Fund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board?

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago

Reason @lafund feeds expired food to poor children of color—see any color on their board? #LAUSD #ArtsMatter #LA2050 twitter.com/rdsathene/stat… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) April 4, 2013

5th Grade Schoolteacher Monica Ratliff, a LAUSD candidate endorsed by both UTLA and AALA

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago

5th Grade Schoolteacher Monica Ratliff, a #LAUSD candidate endorsed by both UTLA & AALA monicaratliff2013.nationbuilder.com/endorsements twitter.com/rdsathene/stat… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) May 15, 2013

Education Opportunity Network: “Parent Triggers: Another Reform Misfires"

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago

Education Opportunity Network: “Parent Triggers: Another Reform Misfires,” youtu.be/HtTGMqHYaJk #LAUSD #parenttrigger — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) March 16, 2013

PESJA: Breakfast in the Classroom, a tax shelter for firms to dispose of rancid, rotten & otherwise spoiled food

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago

Breakfast in the Classroom, a tax shelter for firms to dispose of rancid, rotten & otherwise spoiled food. #LAUSD twitter.com/PESJA_LA/statu… — PESJA Los Angeles (@PESJA_LA) May 12, 2013

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Education Committee Presents A Free Bike Rodeo

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 4 hours ago

BIKE RODEO by Robert D. Skeels ' The SILVER LAKE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL EDUCATION COMMITTEE presents A Free BIKE RODEO Saturday, May 18th, 2013, From 10:00 am – 2:00 pm MICHELTORENA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PLAYGROUND 1511 Micheltorena Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 Everyone is welcome! For KIDS ages 5 – 12 You DO NOT need a bike or a helmet to participate! LADOT’s SAFE MOVES Bicycle Safety Course Safe Moves allows children to bicycle through a miniature city called “Safe Moves City”. It consists of streets, sidewalks, intersections, crosswalks, traffic signals, traffic signs, residential a... more »

LA Fund uses a dairy for LAUSD BIC that has been fined by the EPA for nitric acid violations

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 5 hours ago

.@lafund uses dairy for #LAUSD #BIC that has been fined by the EPA for nitric acid violations yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.n… twitter.com/rdsathene/stat… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) May 2, 2013

Corporations have even found a way to co-opt words like urban "gentrification"

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 5 hours ago

Corporations have even found a way to co-opt words like urban "gentrification" to deflect attention from what they do twitter.com/rdsathene/stat… — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) May 14, 2013

More evidence corroborating Professor Krashen and exposing the contrived skills and STEM crises

Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene at solidaridad - 5 hours ago

First published on *Schools Matter* on April 06, 2013. ------------------------------ *"...the impending shortage of scientists and engineers is one of the longest running hoaxes in the country" — Gerald W. Bracey* [image: Dr. Krashen has long been a critic of the fact-free Myth: STEM and skills crises]*Schools Matter*'s Professor Stephen Krashen has been a long time critic of the media promulgated mythology that there's a shortage of qualified workers, particularly those in the Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) fields. A quick survey of his posts here reveal his ongoing ... more »

Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten. | Fred Klonsky

Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten. | Fred Klonsky:

Obama is spying on us? I thought the Patriot Act was just for Muslims.

by Fred Klonsky

 

Illinois retirees. Tweet Randi Weingarten.

by Fred Klonsky

From by bro’s Small Talk blog

Tweet from Randi Weingarten ‏@rweingartenThe Illinois Senate pension proposal is a good and fair agreement: http://bit.ly/10FkSub #1u Reply from Mike Klonsky ‏@mikeklonsky It’s that much harder to fight cuts to our pensions and health care when @rweingarten is calling them “good” & “fair”.. But we will.

Tweet from SmallSchoolsWorkshop‏@Smallschools
@rweingarten How can you call SB 2404 which calls for major cuts in retired teachers’ pensions and health care, a “fair solution”?Tweet from Randi Weingarten‏@rweingarten
@Smallschools- have you seen the other proposals? This is the agreed upon bill-and I believe retirees were not impacted
Tweet from fklonsky‏

@fklonsky@rweingarten Retirees face a loss of cost of living increases and access to state health care. How do you not know this?Tweet from Randi Weingarten‏@rweingarten
@fklonsky @smallschools -the bill that was negotiated is huge improvement over what others had 

NYC Educator: AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution

NYC Educator: AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution:

AP Sapenbottom and the Creative Solution

by NYC Educator

 by special guest blogger Curious Teacher

Assistant Principal Ms. Sapenbottom was irked. She was in her office and tired, and trying to take her afternoon power nap. But teachers kept coming in to make copies. She sighed. She made faces. She angrily stomped out to the bathroom and came back and said pointedly, "Can you guys hurry up?" Finally the teachers were done with their xeroxing, and Ms.  Sapenbottom was free to take her nap.

Except this kept happening over and over again. Teachers came in to make copies when Ms.  Sapenbottom was busy arranging a new addition to her kitchen. They came in to make copies when Ms.  Sapenbottom was busy napping. They came in to make copies when Ms.  Sapenbottom was busy exercising her prerogative to do nothing. She felt attacked -- she knew that they were all saying whispering behind her back that she was lazy. Sometimes she felt that the teachers purposely made copies when they knew Ms.  Sapenbottom most needed her power nap or her "nothing time." Things were escalating.

Finally Ms. AP Suit had enough. "The Xerox machine is being moved down the hall," she announced. And so it 

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 5-14-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

CORPORATE ED REFORM

North, South, East, West NPE News Briefs are the BEST ← from The Network for Public Education

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education: *NPE News Briefs* * * * * 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 103 Next » The pieces are all starting to come together. ..and the picture ain’t good | Crazy Crawfish’s Blog MAY 14 2013 by Crazy Crawfish – Thanks to Lefty, Dave Lefkowith, John White’s data scam is starting to take on a clearer shape. I just got another document from good ole Lefty from another new vendor called Cambium Education and Sopris Learning. It appears John White is planning to provide all of our student data to yet another inBloom-like vendor ... read more → **Broad Foun... more »

UPDATE: MAY REVISE Governor Brown Boosts Investment in Schools California State Budget

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago

California State Budget: Governor Brown Boosts Investment in Schools, Continues Call for Fiscal Restraint in Revised State Budget 5-14-2013 SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. released a revised and balanced state budget today that strengthens California’s fiscal integrity by investing in California's schools, chipping away billions from the "Wall of Debt" and maintaining a prudent reserve. "This budget builds a solid foundation for California's future by investing in our schools, continuing to pay down our debts and establishing a prudent reserve," said Governor Brown. "Bu... more »

Separate and Unequal: Sorry, Poor Black Kids, Your School Just Got Closed

Public schools have the legal responsibility to educate all children, but if you head to the home page for Michigan's Buena Vista School District and take glance at the "Upcoming Events" section, you'll see some large print that indicates otherwise: "School will be Closed until Further Notice."

Never mind that school wasn't supposed to get out till June 13th, and never mind that the teachers were even willing to work for free. After the tiny, 450-student Saginaw County district ran out of money last week, all 27 teachers were laid off and three schools were shuttered, leaving the students out of luck.

Over the past few years Buena Vista, like many school districts across America, has struggled with declining enrollment and slashed budgets. District officials accepted $401,962.51 from the state for a defunct youth 

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L.A. Unified continues Breakfast in the Classroom program

by By Dalina Castellanos

The Los Angeles Board of Education approved funding for discretionary programs such as classroom breakfasts at its meeting Tuesday.

Walmart promises to inspect Bangladesh garment factories

by Agence France-Presse

Giant retailer Walmart announced Tuesday that it would conduct in-depth safety inspections of all 279 of its Bangladesh suppliers, in the wake of the building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people. The US retailer said it would release publicly the names and inspection information on each of...

May budget offers big boost to common core

Nearly three years after California formally adopted national common core curriculum standards, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed Tuesday the state’s first major investment in transitioning students to the new classroom

Kansas Common Core critics voice concerns

Opponents of the Common Core standards, which were developed by a national...

Gov. Jerry Brown sticks to controversial K-12 education funding plan, but adds accountability in May revision

After push-back from his own party over his plan to give more money to districts with disadvantaged California students during the next seven years than to others, Gov. Jerry Brown stands firm on plan, saying it's principled and moral.  

Greuel, Garcetti press Los Angeles school district issues

by By James Rainey

 Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti ventured into school district politics Tuesday, lending support to noncontroversial actions and mostly taking a respite from their recent sniping in the Los Angeles mayoral contest.

British College First To Offer Heavy Metal Degree

by aristotlethewise

British College First To Offer Heavy Metal Degree

by Chad Bowar

Imagine getting college credit for studying Metallica and Iron Maiden and playing metal gigs. Sounds like something metalheads might dream up after a long night of partying, but a college in the U.K. is doing just that. Beginning this fall, New College Nottingham will offer a two-year degree in heavy metal, reports the Nottingham Post.

Musician Liam Maloy designed the course, and says it will be academically rigorous. “In the past, heavy metal has not been taken seriously and is seen as lacking academic credibility when compared with genres such as jazz and classical music. But that’s just a cultural construction.”

The coursework will include the history of heavy metal, its relationship with religion and the role of metal music in video games. Practical skills will be taught as well, such as recording, music theory and on-stage performance. 

Karen Lewis for CTU President

by Duke

Up until now, I've stayed out of the internal politics of teachers unions. I outlined my many reservations about the Newark contract, but I didn't feel it was right to tell teachers to vote it up or down. I had my preferences in the New York City teachers union elections as well, but I kept my mouth shut, because I didn't think I had anything to add that was helpful.

But I'm going to make an exception today: Chicago teachers, please re-elect Karen Lewis as the President of the Chicago Teachers Union.

No one has done more to make unions relevant again than Karen Lewis. The Chicago teachers strike was a wake-up call to monied corporate interests everywhere; they learned, the hard way, that organized working people are a force not to be trifled with. That strike never would have happened without the brains, skills, and resolve of Lewis.

Chicago teachers, you need someone who is going to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of the obnoxious and odious Bruce Rauner and the insufferably smug and hypocritical Rahm Enamuel. Karen Lewis has proved, time and again, that she is not in the slightest bit intimidated by these foes of the working class and Chicago's children.

Now, I'm all for a spirited campaign with a sincere debate about the record of the incumbent. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be what Chicago's teachers are getting:

During the contract negotiations last summer, Karen Lewis established the "Big Bargaining Team," and designed it to be inclusive. That team included Tanya Saunders Wolffe and Mark 

Math-test failures in Montgomery raise concerns about policies

by Donna St. George

Montgomery County school board members voiced alarm Tuesday about steep failure rates on last semester’s final exams in high school math courses, saying such problems go back many years and raising questions about school policies that might affect student test performance.

Read full article >>

Mr Portelos Picks the Ottawa Senators and Enjoys Lessons From Richard Nixon

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

 We here at SBSB know this might come off as snarky and a tad sarcastic,  for that is the style here. As should be known, The Crack Team has the utmost of respect, admiration, and love for Francesco Portelos. 

One can learn so much from Francesco Portelos. For instance, if one were to ask Mr Portelos which team were to win this years Stanley Cup he would say with a great degree of self confidence that it

will be the Ottawa Senators. Or, where one can fine a good pastrami sandwich he would declare that it would be Katz's Deli on Houston St.

So when it comes to the New York State law on he legality of recording someone, he is the man to turn

DESE Commissioner Doesn't Like Citizen's Question on Data Gathering

by stlgretchen

Dottie Bailey covered the hearing on SB210 House Education Committee yesterday.  She caught up with Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro after her testimony, wanting to ask her about the state's move from collecting aggregate student data collection to a student level data collection system.  A question that has not been satisfactorily answered in any of the May 2 DESE hearings is if individual student data is being gathered by DESE and if so, where that individual data is being sent.  Dottie attempted to ask the commissioner that question and this is what happened:

*****************************************

From Notes and phone slapped down by Chris Nicastro…for asking a question:

  

On Monday May 13th, 2013 I made my way down to Missouri’s Capitol, Jefferson City.  I 

Third Graders Being Investigated in New York

by Kris Nielsen

On the heels of the largest test boycott in American history, there comes the other testing phenomenon that has swept the media lately.  When kids exercise their rights as citizens, no one cares.  When there’s even the slightest, itsy-bitsy hint that they might be cheating (even without any real evidence), stop the presses!  Call the […]

Community colleges get boost under governor’s budget revise - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

Community Colleges will receive millions more to begin to restore cut classes, rebuild flagging enrollment and strengthen student support services under Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget released Tuesday. Brown would add an additional $30 million to the system’s 2013-14 apportionment, raising it to $226.9 million from the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee. Unlike the January...

DOE agrees to pay legal costs and late fees for not producing records in settlement of LouisianaVoice’s public records suit | Louisiana Voice

by NPE News Briefs

by tomaswell – On most occasions, it is generally accepted that one should be a gracious winner by exhibiting the customary display of humility and sportsmanship. This is not one of those times. Repeated attempts at obtaining what are clearly public records from White and his DOE have met with obstacles and frustrations ranging from ...read more

The most important problem facing American children today | The Answer Sheet | The Washington Post|

by NPE News Briefs

by Valerie Strauss  – What is the most important problem facing American children today? According to the Academic Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is the effects of poverty on the health and well being of young people. But, they concede, there is no sustained focus on childhood poverty, or a unified ...read more

Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren - The Hill's Congress Blog

Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren - The Hill's Congress Blog:

Congress must act now to address mental illness in schoolchildren

By Andrea Spencer - 05/13/13 02:30 PM ET

  

The raft of school shootings across the country is dramatic evidence of the need to provide a better support system for children with mental illness. As schools have focused more and more narrowly on academic performance, early warning signs of mental and behavioral health disorders have been all too frequently overlooked. The Mental Health in Schools Act of 2013 (S. 195) has placed a spotlight on children’s mental health, now at increasingly greater risk given cuts to state education budgets. These cuts threaten to further reduce already limited numbers of school counselors and other support personnel. In a time of “big data,” we cannot ignore the fact that one in five children in the United States suffers from mental illness. Over the past 20 years, suicide rates have nearly doubled among children between ages 10 and 14. 

A recent report by the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford, Conn., identified red flags in school records as early as kindergarten and first grade. More than 70 percent of students in the sample who were diagnosed with mental illness and behavioral health problems by middle school had exhibited warning signs by second grade. Of these, almost 25 percent exhibited risk factors during pre-kindergarten years. Red flags included an array of

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/299335-congress-must-act-now-to-address-mental-illness-in-schoolchildren?utm_content=bufferadb67&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer#ixzz2TJPS0k7H 
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IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections | The Nation

IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections | The Nation:

IRS Fallout: The Real Scandal Is Secret Money Influencing US Elections

Ari Berman on May 14, 2013 - 12:24 PM ET

• 
  
  

The IRS is under siege for investigating conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status. But the real problem wasn’t that the IRS was too aggressive. It was that the agency focused on the wrong people—“none of those groups were big spenders on political advertising; most were local Tea Party organizations with shoestring budgets,” writes The New York Times—and wasn’t aggressive enough. The outrage that Washington should be talking about—what my colleague Chris Hayes calls “the scandal behind the scandal”—is how the Citizens United decision has unleashed a flood of secret spending in US elections that the IRS and other regulatory agencies in Washington, like the Federal Election Commission, have been unwilling or unable to stem.

501c4 “social welfare” groups like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity and Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform—which don’t have to disclose their donors—spent more than $250 million during the last election. “Of outside spending reported to the FEC, 31 percent was ‘secret spending,’ coming from organizations that are not required to disclose the original sources of their funds,” writes Demos. “Further analysis shows that dark money groups accounted for 58 percent of funds spent by outside groups on

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Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/174320/irs-fallout-real-scandal-secret-money-influencing-us-elections#ixzz2TJNtgaWi