Friday, August 23, 2013

Diane in the Evening 8-23-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

BATS to Michelle Rhee: You Are Not Leading a Civil Rights Movement

I received the following letter from two BAT teachers who heard that Michelle Rhee is planning to speak in Birmingham and intends to portray herself as “a civil rights leader” in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is well-known that Dr. King worked closely with labor unions–not against them–to improve the lot of working men and women. It may have been forgotten by now that when Dr. King w

8 by dianerav / 34min

Chancellor Tisch Promises Higher Test Scores Next Year

The head of Néw York state’s Board of Regents Merryl Tisch says everyone should calm down about the collapse of test scores across the state. Next year, she promised, the scores will go up. You can count on that, because the state commissioner can lower the cut score if he wants to avoid another embarrassment like this year. What you can also count on, sadly, is the humiliation that 70% of the chi

3 by dianerav / 26min

Education Bloggers Are the Best!

Ken Previti was puzzled that the U.S. Department of Education paid someone to “monitor” what I wrote. Here is his response to the latest effort to discredit my criticism of corporate reform. Why should the government monitor critics? How does it feel to know that the U.S. government is watching you and monitoring what you write? At the time, I heard rumors about it, but I didn’t believe it. Now I

3 by dianerav / 1h

Petition: It Is Time for Commissioner John King to Go!

This petition was written by supporters of public education in New York State called the Coalition for Justice in Education. They object to King’s insistence on high-stakes standardized testing, especially the Common Core testing that recently led to a collapse of student scores across the state. They seek a commissioner who cares about public education, cares about the quality of education–not ju

7 by dianerav / 2h

Indiana Governor Pence Defiles Democracy: LINK ADDED

Last fall, educator Glenda Ritz trounced Indiana state superintendent Tiny Bennett, who outspent her 10-1. Ritz collected more votes than newly elected Governor Mike Pence. Ritz is a Democrat, meaning that Pence and the legislature want to nullify her election. Controlling the state board of education was not enough. Pence announced today the creation of a new state agency–the Center for Educat

300+ by dianerav / 2h

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-23-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: A Hero Superintendent in Long Island Says: “To Hell with These Scores. They Do Not Matter”William Johnson is the superintendent of public schools in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. He is an experienced educator. He can tell the difference between education and miseducation. For his willingness to speak truth to power, to d

by mike simpson / 2h

The Undermining of Democracy | Deborah Meier on Education

The Undermining of Democracy | Deborah Meier on Education:

The Undermining of Democracy

Posted on August 23, 2013 by nicholasmeier

Reblogged from Nicholas Meier:

I just got one of those "Surveys" from the Democratic National Party, asking my opinion about the Republican Party and Obama's record. It also asked me to prioritize my top issues. The issue it did not include is the undermining of and attack on democracy itself in our country.

These attacks come in many forms. While the Republican party and corporate America has led these attacks, the Democrats and Obama have been complicit in most of them as well.

US Ed Secretary to DeKalb Schools: Nation is in awe of what... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

US Ed Secretary to DeKalb Schools: Nation is in awe of what... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

US Ed Secretary to DeKalb Schools: Nation is in awe of what you did.

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John Spink

McNair Discovery Learning Academy students returned Thursday morning to the campus they fled Tuesday after a gunman slipped into the building and terrorized the DeKalb County school.

Do we need more guns in schools: Retired principal says no.
August 23, 2013
President Obama thanks McNair bookkeeper for courage, calm
August 22, 2013
Georgia Tech wunderkind learns that Internet fame is followed by Internet excoriation. Now accused of plagiarism.
August 22, 2013

By Maureen Downey

U.S. Education Arne Duncan beamed into the DeKalb Board of Education today via teleconference this morning to discuss the drama at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy where an armed intruder threatening to kill police gained entry and forced the school into lockdown mode.

Heavily armed, 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill fired at police but ultimately surrendered. No one was injured.

“As a parent, I have two young children in elementary school. I want to thank you for your extraordinary work this week,” said Duncan. “We go into education to transform lives, not to save lives, but your team this week saved lots and lots of lives.”

Speaking over the phone to a hastily assembled meeting of school board members and McNair school leaders, Duncan referenced the call he and President Obama made to McNair hero bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff last night prior to her appearance on CNN.

A calm and collected Tuff is credited with talking Hill out of a rampage, sharing with him her own bouts with depression and thoughts of suicide while also keeping a 911 operator abreast of his movements and mood. She has become a national hero for her amazing performance under

Get Schooled: Was there any silver lining to segregated schools?

Media Matters takes pundit Pat Buchanan to task for finding a "silver lining" in segregation. With the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington next week, here is what Buchanan wrote this week in his syndicated column: If we go back to the end of World War II, ...

1 40min

8-23-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Passive Radicals: The Manufactured Myth — Writers on Writing — Medium

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by plthomasedd / 2h mark as read // save

Haslam, Bush, WGU, and McGraw-Hill

In 2002 Stephen Metcalf documented the financially incestuous relationship between the Bush family and McGraw-Hill that resulted from a long-established familial system of mutual back-scratching and “cross-pollination and mutual admiration” between the the two fiefdoms. Today that system of good ole boy corruption, cronyism, and corporate welfare continues in State Houses and governors’ mansions

by Jim Horn / 5h

8-21-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: PARCC: A buffet of answers.PARCC promised us a “next-generation assessment” to help assess whether our children are “college and career ready”. These new super tests must be vastly improved: some of the questions give students six choices instead of the standard four! Here is the full release of new prototypes. Follow Chris Cerrone on twitter: @Stoptesting152 by

by mike simpson / 17h

Department of Education Proposes to Eliminate "2 Percent Rule" in Assessing Students with Disabilities | U.S. Department of Education

Department of Education Proposes to Eliminate "2 Percent Rule" in Assessing Students with Disabilities

August 23, 2013

Contact:

Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

The U.S. Department of Education has proposed regulations, published today, to transition away from the so-called "2 percent rule," thus emphasizing the Department’s commitment to holding all students to high standards that better prepare them for college and career. Under the existing regulations, States have been allowed to develop alternate assessments aligned to modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAAS) for some students with disabilities and use the results of those assessments for accountability purposes under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In making accountability determinations, States currently may count as proficient scores for up to 2 percent of students in the grades assessed using the alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards.
Under the Department's proposed regulation, students with disabilities who have been taking the AA-MAAS will transition to college and career ready standards and general assessments that are aligned to those standards and accessible to all students. Research has shown that struggling students with disabilities make academic progress when provided with appropriate supports and instruction. More accessible general assessments, in combination with such supports and instruction for students with disabilities, can promote high expectations for all students, including students with disabilities, by encouraging teaching and learning to the academic achievement standards measured by the general assessments.
"We have to expect the very best from our students and tell the truth about student performance, to prepare them for college and career," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "That means no longer allowing the achievement of students with disabilities to be measured by these alternate assessments aligned to modified achievement standards. This prevents these students from reaching their full potential, and prevents our country from benefitting from that potential."
Uunder the proposed regulations, a State already administering alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards could no longer administer such assessments after the 2013–14 school year. The Department stands ready to provide technical assistance to States as they transition away from the 2 percent standards and assessments. The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2013 and can be viewed here.

Are high-risk and district No Child waivers illegal? - Caitlin Emma - POLITICO.com

Are high-risk and district No Child waivers illegal? - Caitlin Emma - POLITICO.com:

Are high-risk and district No Child waivers illegal?

Arne Duncan's plan, critics say, is at least an overreach and at worst illegal. | AP Photo

By CAITLIN EMMA | 8/23/13 5:02 AM EDT

An unprecedented set of recent Education Department decisions about No Child Left Behind waivers is at the least an overreach and at the very worst illegal, a chorus of critics say.

Last week, the department declared NCLB waivers for Kansas, Oregon and Washington state “high-risk” because each state has more work to do in tying student growth to teacher evaluations – a major requirement for states that want out of the more arduous provisions of the law. And in early August, the department granted waivers to eight districts in California, the first time the department bypassed states on No Child Left Behind flexibility.

Latest on POLITICO

Observers and analysts say the department’s high-risk waiver decision simply isn’t allowed under federal law. And they say Education Secretary Arne Duncan broke with what he told Congress in February about a preference not to grant district waivers, which these critics think are just plain bad policy. NCLB is long overdue for reauthorization. With that renewal nowhere in sight, Duncan has granted more than 40 waivers of the law to states, D.C. and the group of California districts, freeing states from requirements such as having all students reading and doing math at grade level by the 2013-14 school year.

(WATCH: White House unveils education plan)

“Why deal with pesky Congress when you get to make all the rules?” said Michael Petrilli, executive vice president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The department doesn’t have the authority to declare waivers high-risk, he said, and one of the states should call Duncan’s bluff.

“One of these states should sue,” Petrilli said. “It’s absolutely nuts.”

Kansas, Oregon and Washington state received one-year, conditional waivers in 2012 that could be extended for another year if they complete the necessary work on their evaluation

Big Education Ape is Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Big Education Ape is Experiencing Technical Difficulties

We are working to get things back in order

Should be back by 3PM Pacific Daylight Time with any Luck

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 23, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

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Education Headlines

Friday, August 23, 2013

Fresno, Clovis school districts on economic upswing but face large class sizes

A review of California's 30 largest school districts shows two Valley districts are successfully digging out of the Great Recession, even as they contend with large class sizes and high numbers of impoverished students.

LAUSD has deal for ad-free Bing searches

Students and staff at L.A. Unified School District can now use the Microsoft Bing search engine without having to see ads or adult-content links in their search results.

LAUSD charged with violating union contract in teacher evaluation

Los Angeles Unified’s teachers union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the school district, saying administrators failed to negotiate key changes to a controversial performance evaluation system now being used to review educators.

L.A. schools top lists of California’s best charters

High Tech High in Lake Balboa was named Thursday as the top charter high school in California by the University of Southern California, which included 11 other Los Angeles-area campuses in its annual ranking of the best independent schools.

Key education bills await action as session deadline looms

Whatever education bills the Legislature passes in the next four weeks will pale in importance compared to its monumental achievement of 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula, Gov. Jerry Brown’s sweeping school finance and accountability plan that legislators enacted as part of the state budget in June.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Survey suggests Conejo Valley voters would support school bond

A survey of Conejo Valley voters has found modest support for a $229 million school bond measure to raise money for science and technology upgrades, infrastructure repairs and campus safety.

Chico district being cautious in face of enrollment dip

A report that was going to highlight some of the rosy fiscal news in the Chico Unified School District was shelved Wednesday night when an entirely unexpected dip in enrollment hit during the first days of the new school year.

Supervisors reject school bonds due to district’s financial woes

As Garden Grove school officials stare down a major structural budget deficit, the Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday rejected their request to issue $120 million in bonds for infrastructure repairs.

Private police for public schools?

They huddled in coffee shops, diners, and conference rooms – former cops itching, on some level, to get back in the game. One guy knew another who knew another. Soon, a loose affiliation of ex-law enforcement types congealed into about a dozen. What brought them together? The horror of Dec. 14, 2012, when a madman armed for slaughter fatally shot 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Philly teachers: We won't stop until we get fair schools funding | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philly teachers: We won't stop until we get fair schools funding

by thenotebook on Aug 23 2013 Posted in Latest news

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by Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks

More than 1,000 Philadelphia teachers, parents, students and supporters marched through a rainstorm in Center City Thursday to protest school budget cuts and thousands of layoffs.

The peaceful crowd walked from the Comcast Center to City Hall, and eventually to the school district's headquarters, waving signs and chanting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Corbett has got to go!" When they arrived at their final destination, the rain finally let up. A series of School District employees, students and union leaders gave speeches outside where the School Reform Commission was meeting.

Ted Kirsch, president of the American Federation of Teachers' state chapter, had a simple message: "We have one thing to say to the people inside: Shame on you!"

The School District laid off nearly 4,000 employees earlier this year. Superintendent William Hite said he will only be able to hire back about 1,600 of those workers with the money currently in hand.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said that budget cuts are cheating the city's schoolkids.

"It is a disgrace that the SRC, the governor, the mayor are allowing this to happen," he said. "We cannot stop, we will not stop, until we get full funding and a sustainable funding formula for this school district."

The PFT is currently negotiating a new contract with the district, which is asking for pay and benefit givebacks.

After the SRC meeting, Hite told reporters that he, too, is upset about the funding cuts.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

Missouri Education Watchdog: Story Hour In Rockwood

Missouri Education Watchdog: Story Hour In Rockwood:

Story Hour In Rockwood

Last night I attended a district sponsored meeting about Common Core. They announced it in advance to the high school parents and planned it for the hour before the Open House began, thus ensuring that the meeting had a limited time frame. Parents were treated to about 40 minutes of a lovely fable about where Common Core standards came from and what they would do for our children. It went something like this.

Somewhere in a distant land not too far or too different from here, a group of teachers (like us) and parents (like you) and researchers (who are undefined but obviously brilliant) sat around a table and thought about what we should be teaching our children. It is a good thing they did this too, because this had never been done before. To reinforce that point they showed a short video about two peole getting stuck on a stalled escalator who could not think of an alternative way to get to the top of the stairs. This was meant to show what education had formerly done. It taught students one set of facts. When presented with a different problem, they were incapable of applying their knowledge to find a solution. We parents could all laugh at the characters on the stairs and recognize them as the requisit simpletons in many folktales. In doing so, we were expected to accept the premise of education before common core.

This description of students obviously does not explain how we got to the moon, a place we had never been before under conditions that were in many ways theoretical. It does not explain the invention of the cell phone, or this child's invention of a new test for pancreatic cancer at age 15 but, hey, this was a fable.

Then we were introduced to a new character, the Modern Learner. The Modern Learner can solve "real world problems." Again, an example was shown of a very young child who needed to recharge a vacuum. Not knowing where the vacuum's charge cord was, she stuck a cell phone charger into the motor vents of the vacuum. This is how the

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