Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education

Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education:

Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library!

 

by Tina Byland / 1h mark as read  //  save

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning

Post written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian Connelly Although research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive effect on school success—has been largely overlooked (Mager & Nowak, 2012; McNulty & Quaglia, 2007; Mitra, 2004). Student voice and academic success are inextricably link

by ASCD Whole Child ... / 1h 

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education: Student Voice and Resilience in LearningOctober 3, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian ConnellyAlthough research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive effect on school success—has

by mike simpson / 14h 

10-2-13 — Whole Child Education

Home Page — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGED Pulse Poll Results: Does More Recess Increase Academic Learning?October 1, 2013 by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently the ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll addressed the debate about recess in elementary schools.READ MORE »Answers to Your Top Six Shu

by mike simpson / 20h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch:

Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch

I haven't heard much from ’60s ultra-radical turned far-right think-tanker Sol Stern since 2008 when he tried to paint Barack Obama as a commie symp and make Bill Ayers the focus of the presidential election debate. He used to write me letters, trying to befriend me. He says he went to the same summer camp as me as a kid but I can't believe that Kinderland would ever turn out a creep like Stern. He even offered to take me to a Yankee game (yuck, I was born with Brooklyn Dodger blue in my veins)  if I would only give him some inside dope about Ayers for a book he was working on.

Last I heard, he had fled the country and was living in Israel. Now I see he's crawled out from under his rock once again, to attack think-tank apostate Diane Ravitch whose new book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools, has his and other former fellows' shorts in a twist.

Back in '08, Stern worked for the right-wing Manhattan Institute (he obviously still does) and raged against progressive and social-justice education, calling it akin to "Stalinism." Stern's job at the Institute included hunting down and “exposing” social-justice teachers, whom he accused of “trashing the American system.” In another post Stern, responding to the UFT'sLeo Casey, called the teachers union "a shill for Obama" and referred to me as a "good 

10-4-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

A retired Bridgeport principal speaks: Leaving the “Education Reform” movement in tatters

Ann Evans de Bernard, Ph.D recently retired as principal of Waltersville School in Bridgeport.  In a two part commentary piece, she asks When is school reform not reform? And then, with the power and authority that only comes from having served on the front lines of the effort to provide Bridgeport’s children with a quality education, […]The post A retired Bridgeport principal speaks: Leaving the

8 by jonpelto / 1h 

Child Abuse in the form of the “No Excuses” education model

The new Jumoke Academy at Dunbar (AKA The Paul Dunbar School, A FUSE Family Urban Schools of Excellence) recently posted job announcements that it was looking for four new teachers. Putting aside why Jumoke, the charter school management company that was hired to take over and run the Dunbar elementary school is looking for four […]The post Child Abuse in the form of the “No Excuses” education mod

8 by jonpelto / 34min 

10-3-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Achievement First’s Teacher Certification Violations lead right into State Department of EducationAchievement First – Bridgeport Academy is among Connecticut’s worst offenders when it comes to charter schools that fail to provide students with properly certified teachers. According to the records filed with the State Department of Education, of the 59 teachers working at Achievement Fi

by mike simpson / 2h 

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison

Filed under: MPS Buildings,Privatization — millerlf @ 11:57 am 

A hearing will be held Wednesday October 9 on legislation that authorizes seizure of MPS buildings. This is a hostile takeover of MPS facilities so that buildings can be leased or sold by private entities for a profit.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

9:30 AM

Capital Building 411 South

Please attend and express your opposition!

Senate Bill 318 proposes:

That any property that is designated as surplus, underutilized, or vacant on any resolution adopted by the MPS board within the previous five year can be taken from MPS and purchased by an “education operator.”

The bill defines “underutilized” as:  

a)      less than 40 percent of the square footage of the school is used for the instruction of pupils on a daily, school day basis;

b)      the school is not staffed on a full-time basis by a principal and instructional staff assigned exclusively to the school; or

c)       the number of hours of pupil instruction offered in the school building in the previous school year was less than 80 percent of the number of hours of pupil instruction required to be offered by MPS.

Under the bill an education operator is:

a)      an entity/company engage in real estate operation, sales, lease or development of schools;

b)      private companies investing in charter schools;

c)       the operator of a charter school established by the common council of the city, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, or the Milwaukee Area Technical College district board;

d)      the operator of a private school;

e)      the operator of a charter school that is not an instrumentality of MPS;

f)       a person that is pursuing a contract with MPS to operate a school as a charter school that is not an instrumentality of the school district;

g)      an entity or organization that has entered into a written agreement with any of the education operators identified in the above items to purchase or lease a building within which that education operator will operate a school.

Senate
PUBLIC HEARING

Committee on Government Operations, Public Works, andTelecommunications

The committee will hold a public hearing on the following items at the time specified below:

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

9:30 AM

411 South

Senate Bill 318

Relating to: authorizing the city of Milwaukee to sell eligible school facilities to eligible purchasers.

By Senators Darling, Farrow, Vukmir, Lazich and Grothman; cosponsored by Representatives Sanfelippo, Stone, Hutton, Kooyenga, Craig, Kapenga, Kuglitsch, LeMahieu, Jagler, Ballweg, Bernier, Knodl, Pridemore and Kleefisch.

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate:

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher

By LINDSEY ZILIAK, Kokomo Tribune

Updated 8:10 am, Friday, October 4, 2013

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — Markanna Huffer panicked last week when she left her 10-month-old son with a stranger for the first time.

She ran down the staircase at South Side Christian Church to where a group of women were caring for him. Huffer scooped baby Jeorge up in her arms and returned to her class upstairs at Baby University.

If it were anywhere else, Huffer said people probably would have judged her. Not there, though.

"They gave me no problems with my separation anxiety," she told the Kokomo Tribune(http://bit.ly/174ZFgx ).

Baby University is a nine-week parenting class developed five years ago by Kokomo Urban Outreach. It touches about 600 people in the Kokomo community each year.

Great emphasis is placed on the importance of the parent's role as their child's first teacher. Curriculum is designed to stimulate discussions about various parenting topics.

The program's director Sue Bond said it's a safe place for moms and dads to go to ask child-rearing questions — even tough ones — without being judged.

In a past class, a family asked Bond how to deal with an abused child. A couple had adopted
 

Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global | NEA Today

Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global | NEA Today:

Movement to Raise Teacher Voices Goes Global

October 4, 2013 by twalker  
Filed under Featured News, Top Stories

Leave a Comment

By Tim Walker

In July, NEA launched “Raise Your Hand,” a national campaign to empower educators across the nation to lead the charge for students and quality public education. A loud and strong teacher voice, however, is needed  wherever schools are being undermined by economic and political forces – and that’s everywhere. On Friday, the eve of World Teachers Day (October 5), Education International (EI) launched Unite for Quality Education, a campaign to ensure that universal, free quality education remains at the top of the political agenda.  EI is the world’s largest federation of unions, representing more than 30 million educators in 170 countries.

The purpose behind Unite for Quality Education is to call on educators everywhere to pressure politicians and education officials to put in place the three essential elements of a quality education: universal and free access to quality teachers, modern teaching tools and resources and supportive, safe and secure environments for teaching and learning.

“The evidence shows us that the international focus must be widened beyond mere access to education,” said EI General Secretary Fred Van Leeuwen. “Access to quality education is critical and can no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, millions of students around the world who have been enrolled in school, even for a 

CDE urges cautious administrators to spend LCFF money SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

CDE urges cautious administrators to spend LCFF money
By Tom Chorneau
Friday, October 04, 2013

More than $2 billion in new state funding targeting educationally disadvantaged students arrived at California schools in August. But sources in the field said this week that more than a few school administrators have been reluctant to spend any of the money just yet.

The Local Control Funding Formula, a ground-breaking restructuring of state support for K-12 services, was put into law as part of the 2013-14 budget although key accountability elements – including regulations governing spending – have yet to be developed by the California State Board of Education.

Some school officials have expressed concern that state regulators could raise compliance questions tomorrow about spending done today given that the  rules won’t be published for months – some not until March, 2014.

Others have pointed to the risk of lawsuits – especially by civil rights groups – that may have been given new opportunity to challenge district decisions through the Uniform Complaint Procedures.

Asked to respond to such fears – officials at the California Department of Education issued a clear statement urging schools to use the money and use it now.

 “While full funding of LCFF is predicted to take up to eight years, the time to start implementation is now,” said Erin 

10-4-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Seattle Schools Family Symposium Rescheduled

From SPS:The fall Family Symposium originally scheduled for Oct. 12 has been rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 because of conflicts in scheduling and availability.Seattle Public Schools is committed to preparing all of our students to graduate ready for college, careers and life. The goal of the Family Symposium is to support our families as critical partners in their students' academic success. A

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h mark as read  //  save

Growth Boundaries Work Session Announced

Coming just one day after the Introduction of the new boundaries to the Board, the Work Session on on the Growth Boundaries will be Thursday, Oct. 17th from 4:30-6:00 pm in the JSCEE auditorium.There is an Operations Committee meeting right before the Work Session in the Board conference room from 4-6 p.m.

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Split Classes - What's Your Experience?

From reader Seeking Feedback: I'd love to see a thread sometime on split classes (2 or more grades in one classroom) in elementary school. What are parents opinions? Do they work? Are they better, and if so what are the advantages? Or- is the teacher having to cover too much ground and are kids missing some content? With the capacity crunch and the SEA contract on overages, it seems that SPS is pu

by Melissa Westbrook / 19min 

Friday Open Thread

The Times reports on new state standards for Science which sound great (except they left out Computer Science and I think that's a mistake).  But the story really misses one huge thing: Common Core which is likely to come out with its own standards.  What happens then?   Hmm.No director community meetings for Saturday but there is a candidate debate on Sunday the 6th sponsored by the Rainier Chamb

by Melissa Westbrook / 32min 

10-3-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools seeks members for Math Adoption CommitteeFrom SPS:Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is accepting applications from SPS families and community members interested in serving on the District’s Math Adoption Committee.The committee will advise SPS on the selection of mathematics instructional materials for kindergarten through Grade 5 students that meet the

by mike simpson / 2h 

20,000 TEACHERS on the COMMON CORE | Scholastic Inc.

Primary Sources 2013 Preview | Scholastic Inc.:

20,000 TEACHERS on the COMMON CORE

The third edition of Primary Sources is in final preparations and features 20,000 of our nation’s public school teachers sharing their thoughts on teaching in an era of change. In advance of the full report, teachers’ views are now available on the Common Core State Standards, a set of clear, consistent guidelines for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level in math and English language arts to ensure they are prepared for success in college and careers.

AWARENESS Teachers’ awareness of the Common Core State Standards is now universal.	IMPACT Teachers expect the Common Core to enhance students’ ability to think critically and use reasoning skills. This is especially true of teachers who have the most experience with the standards including math and English language arts teachers, and those who teach elementary grades.
IMPLEMENTATION Teachers are enthusiastic about implementation. At the same time, teachers share the realistic view that implementation is going to be challenging and have concerns for specific student populations, but are able to point to supports and resources needed to help these students succeed.	TEACHERS Despite the numerous challenges in this era of change, teachers agree about the rewards of teaching.

The Primary Sources Common Core Preview is also available as a PDF.
Further details are in the press release.
Questions? Contact Anne Sparkman at asparkman@scholastic.com.

Next: Awareness of the CCSS

Stop This Madness

Stop This Madness - Dudley aka Origin:

This is the official music video for "Stop This Madness" by Dudley aka Origin. For a FREE download of the song or to learn more about the symbolism, interact with the hash tags, and link up with others who are fighting for the best interest of children around the country please visit: http://www.originalrap.com/stop-this-...Support is always appreciated so please share the message and further the cause. Thank you

SYMBOLISM
The pineapple and hare were used to symbolize the madness of standardized testing.  For those who are unfamiliar with pineapplegate you can learn more about it at this link.  

The neon green laces that are seen throughout the video are in support of a silent protest known as Lace to the Top.  You can learn more about it by visiting their Facebook page at the link below.

The Batman references and various bat related logos in the video are in support of the Bad Ass Teacher Association.  You can learn more about them at this link.

Stop This Madness was born out of the frustration of being a passionate teacher at a time when teachers are blamed more than celebrated.  Increasingly they are being mandated to do things that don't align with their professional judgment by people who are not educators and/or those who seek to profit from education.  Below you will find Twitter hash tags from various fights around the country as well as feeds from bloggers and reporters.  You will also find links to Facebook groups, articles about the song, a copy of the lyrics and a free download of the song for you to listen to and share.  Please tweet to these hash tags and help build awareness as we continue the fight do better for our children.  Thank you.

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 4, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Report: California school districts spend less on students than before recession

Education Headlines

Friday, October 4, 2013

Report: California school districts spend less on students than before recession

California school districts spend an average of $873 per student less now than they did in 2008, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Walters: Two California school bills show teacher union power

Two bills demonstrate the immense influence that the teachers union enjoys in the Legislature and the lengths to which ambitious politicians will go to endear themselves to the powerful union.

Bid for state-owned Agnews land submitted by Santa Clara Unified, city of San Jose

Anticipating thousands of new students from 32,000 freshly built homes, the Santa Clara Unified School District and the city of San Jose renewed their efforts Thursday to buy land vacated by a former state mental hospital to build two schools and create a regional park.

Newport-Mesa superintendent shares district's goals, shortfalls

Superintendent Frederick Navarro on Thursday shared a few of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s goals this year and the challenges he and other administrators are trying to overcome.

Anaheim school apologizes for making girl remove NRA T-shirt

A high school student who grabbed a National Rifle Assn. T-shirt in her hurry to find something to wear to school was later confronted outside class by campus officials who forced the student to remove her shirt or face possible disciplinary action, the girl’s parents said.

Fensterwald: School police under greater focus

A new law that encourages alternatives to police involvement in school discipline matters was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this week, just days after the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $44 million to beef up the number of police officers in schools nationwide, including California.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Critics blast Sonora High School pool project

Concerned community members attending the Sonora Union High School District’s board meeting Tuesday questioned whether the district is legally allowed to spend bond money on building a new aquatics center.

State won't hear appeal of Cayucos student transfer decision

The California Department of Education won’t even consider ruling on a petition to transfer Cayucos high school students to the San Luis Coastal Unified School District from Coast Unified School District in Cambria, effectively killing that transfer movement by parents.

Santa Ana Unified reveals contract for new superintendent

Santa Ana Unified School District officials were reluctant last week to share their new superintendent's salary contract, one that makes Rick Miller one of the highest-salaried school district superintendents in California, based on the latest figures from the state Department of Education.