10-11-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Who is on the Advanced Learning Task Force?

From the Friday Memo to the Board of October 4:Advanced Learning Task ForceAdvanced Learning has contracted with a facilitator, Barbara Grant to help guide two task forces this year. The first is focused on the identification of students for highly capable services, with particular attention to reaching culturally diverse and underserved populations of gifted students. This group begins its work o

by Charlie Mas / 13min 

APP Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)Please note; be useful/polite or be deleted.

by Melissa Westbrook / 17min

Special Education Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

by Melissa Westbrook / 9min mark as read  //  save

SW Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

by Melissa Westbrook / 9min 

SE Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

by Melissa Westbrook / 10min 

NW Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

by Melissa Westbrook / 11min 

Central Growth Boundaries

Let's hear your thoughts (I haven't read them yet.)

by Melissa Westbrook / 12min 

NE Growth Boundaries Open Thread

Let's hear your thoughts on any changes (as I write this, I have not read anything yet). 

by Melissa Westbrook / 13min 

New Growth Boundaries Plan Posted

I have not read one word of it yet.  Read away.Attachment A:  Recommended Growth Boundaries, Feeder Patterns, and Option School GeozonesAttachment B: Reference MaterialsAttachment C: Summary Information on Public Input

by Melissa Westbrook / 14min 

When Will Wealthy People Stop Trying to Run Public Education?

The answer looks like, not anytime soon.   UW College of Education professor, Ken Zeichner, had a column at the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet this week about legislation in Congress to "reform" teacher preparation programs.  It's called "The GREAT Teachers and Principals Act" and naturally, it is nothing of the sort.During the last few years, The New Schools Venture Fund (

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min mark as read  //  save

Fingerprinting Update

I had been told the fingerprinting issue had been postponed until further notice.  Thanks to reader, Lynn, for this update from Superintendent Banda in the Friday update.To: José Banda, SuperintendentFrom: Joseph PapermanDate:October 4, 2013SUBJECT: FRIDAY UPDATE TO SCHOOL BOARDField Trip Procedure RevisionsTo help enhance the safety of our students when they participate in overnight or out of cou

by Melissa Westbrook / 19min 

Friday Open Thread

Still no resolution in the government shutdown.   And they are talking about "temporary" measures. What a great example of dialog and discussion for our children. A violent sex offender from Canada cut off his GPS tracking device and has entered the U.S. at Blaine on Monday.  He has assaulted both children and the elderly.   Check the photo at the link and be aware.What's on your mind?

by Melissa Westbrook / 38min 

10-10-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: I Am Malala - A Study in CourageMalala Yousafzai - the youngest person in the world to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - was on The Daily Show on Tuesday night. A year ago, she was shot in the head as she rode a schoolbus by a Taliban gunman near her home in Pakistan's Swat Valley.  She almost died and it's a miracle that she survived.  The Taliban has vowed t

by mike simpson / 6h 

6th-grader's death adds to fears over Philly layoffs of school nurses | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

6th-grader's death adds to fears over Philly layoffs of school nurses | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

6th-grader's death adds to fears over Philly layoffs of school nurses

by thenotebook on Oct 11 2013 Posted in Latest news

By Sarah-Whites Koditschek for NewsWorks

In late September, a Bryant Elementary School sixth-grader died from asthma complications. Her parents and Philadelphia school administrators have offered conflicting accounts of the incident.

In the wake of the child's death, asthma educators are concerned about the impact reduced staffing will have on medical emergencies that occur at school.

Laporshia Massey's parents say she was in class when the asthma attack began. She called them to say she couldn't breathe -- and someone from the school called to say she was sick, her father told the Philadelphia City Paper.

The school nurse, who works two days a week at Bryant, was not scheduled that day, the paper reported.

According to the report, Laporshia was driven home by school staff, then taken by her parents to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she died Sept. 25.

​Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

10-11-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

From Tim Furman. Byron Sigcho on UNO: Politics and corruption.

Tim Furman is a friend, activist and master of technology. Hi Fred, I’m coordinating a series of talks by the UIC researcher and activist Byron Sigcho in UNO-impacted wards. He’s giving an updated talk about the UNO financial model and its context in the neoliberal phenomenon around the world, as well as the impact of UNO on neighborhoods, and the implications for public education moving forward.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 29min 

For Illinois state retirees. What if my current doctor does not accept Medicare Advantage?

There is a lot about the switch to Medicare Advantage for Illinois state retirees and teachers that is not yet known. That is why I have been hesitant to comment too much. But many readers have expressed concern about one thing they do know – that their current doctor has told them that they will not take Medicare Advantage. This from State University Annuitants Association: Call Governor Pat Qui

1 by Fred Klonsky / 8min 

IEA says it is monitoring the situation with CMS.

The Illinois Education Association issued a statement today saying that they are monitoring the dependent auditing of Central Management Services (CMS), and have met with CMS abut Medicare Advantage. I’m also monitoring the situation.   Representatives from IEA and other TRIP stakeholder groups met Thursday with the Illinois Department of Central Management Service (CMS) to discuss a number of iss

by Fred Klonsky / 7min mark as read  //  save

Please join us.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 26min 

10-10-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sports section.  Andy Pafko, Don Newcomb and Jackie Robinson, 1951. Andy Pafko is dead. And so are the World Series chances for the Pirates. My Dodgers are still in it. My Pittsburgh Pirates story: In 2008 Anne and I had rented house on the other side of the Lake. I was a delegate to the National Educ

by mike simpson / 47min 

State school board passes student privacy policy in response to common core standards | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

State school board passes student privacy policy in response to common core standards | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com:

State school board passes student privacy policy in response to common core standards

The Alabama Board of Education has adopted a policy that board members said is intended to assure parents and others that protecting students’ privacy is a top priority.

The 5-2 vote came Thursday after state officials received criticism that new common core standards could make student records and other private information available to the public.

State schools Superintendent Tommy Bice said the new policy is intended to relieve the concerns of parents that their private information will be disclosed. The policy says student information will be stored in a private location and only those who need the data to perform their jobs will have access to it.

“I am glad we were able to address concerns about privacy today,” Bice said.

Bice said he understands why the policy worries some parents.

“We want the same things they want. We want to protect the privacy o

Michigan's Top-to-Bottom Ranking: A Measure of School Quality or Student Poverty? [Mackinac Center]

Michigan's Top-to-Bottom Ranking: A Measure of School Quality or Student Poverty? [Mackinac Center]:

Michigan's Top-to-Bottom Ranking: A Measure of School Quality or Student Poverty?

By Audrey Spalding, published on Oct. 10, 2013

Download the full study here.

Executive Summary

To comply with state and federal requirements, the Michigan Department of Education developed a ranking list for schools that attempts to measure school quality. This “Top-to-Bottom” ranking, however, has been repeatedly criticized by educators for appearing to be correlated with school poverty rates: Schools that serve more lower-income students tend to receive lower scores on the TTB list.

This study examines this issue and finds evidence that there is a statistically meaningful relationship between a school’s poverty rate 

Dying to Get a Good Education:

Dying to Get a Good Education

PHILLYACTIVE™ (NEWS THAT GETS PHILLY ACTIVE) Our political mis-leaders have waged war on Education, and innocent boys and girls have become necessary casualties.

www.techbookonline.com

 ”The agenda set by our political mis-leaders is obvious. They have waged war on Education and the innocent boys and girls in the Philadelphia School District have become necessary casualties.”

By Rashuan “DJ Reezey®” Williams

10.11.13: Philadelphia – (Politics/Education): Patches of hair ripped from the skulls of young girls, scattered teeth of pubescent adolescent, and ounces of blood take up more space on a school’s floor than feet walking to and from class.

Neighbors are living in fear, communities are being terrorized, and even worse, children are dying due to gross negligence of school administrators . It’s hard to imagine, but this appears to be what defines public education in the nation’s fifth largest city.

Last year, eight (8) conflict resolution specialists would work the 755 students at Martin Luther King High School to proactively mediate and pacify potentially dangerous situations. This year, however, with the merger of Germantown High, MLK now has 1097 students and all the conflict resolution specialists have been replaced with police officers, five to be exact. With the removal of ALL conflict resolution specialists, the violence at many schools in Philadelphia 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 11, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Sleepy school board elections get a wake-up call

Education Headlines

Friday, October 11, 2013

Greenfield takes community approach to literacy

Greenfield represents a microcosm of many small and rural agricultural communities scattered throughout California. Most of the community's parents are first-generation immigrants, and they share the hopes, dreams and optimism that their children will have opportunities never given to them

Residents clash with district over late-night football practice

Two residents living behind Fountain Valley High School filed a lawsuit that has forced the Huntington Beach Union High School District to stop leasing its practice fields to a nonprofit youth football league.

Sleepy school board elections get a wake-up call

School board elections draw more interest in tight times. Parents don’t want programs cut. Employees don’t want their pay cut. Taxpayers want a frugal eye over it all. This year, better times bring a different problem. More money is coming to San Joaquin Valley schools, with extra for poor kids, English learners and foster children – all of which we have in high numbers – and more local control with it.

Pittsburg High School students suspended for inappropriate comments posted on Instagram

Several students were suspended from Pittsburg High School after sharing a photo posted on the Instagram social network site that included derogatory comments about a girl whom the principal wa

Governor vetoes bill aimed at streamlining teacher dismissals

The governor vetoed a bill Thursday aimed at streamlining the teacher dismissal process -- a bill inspired in part by a Brentwood special needs teacher convicted of child abuse yet not fired.

Fensterwald: Most districts say they're equipped and ready for new Common Core tests

A majority of the school districts and charter schools responding to a state survey indicated they’ve got the technology to offer computer-based testing for the new Common Core standards. But the one-third to 40 percent of districts that said they have only some or little confidence they can pull it off could signal trouble complying with a new state law requiring all districts to give the Common Core math or English language arts field test six months from now.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Somis school board decides to build new school instead of renovating

Voting unanimously, the Somis Union School District board agreed to move forward with plans to buy property to build a school. The decision means leaving the 90-year-old Somis School on North Street, which sits on four pipelines.

Simi Valley school board gives superintendent new, longer contract

After heated debate, the Simi Valley school board Tuesday night approved a new superintendent's contract that gives her an additional year on the job. Kathryn Scroggin, superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District, has been at the center of a controversy that helped spark a recall effort against two board members.

Fresno Unified hires Florida woman as communications chief

The Fresno Unified School Board voted 6-1 Wednesday to hire a public schools spokeswoman from Palm Beach, Florida, to fill the district's top communications slot recently vacated by Jamilah Fraser.

The GED Test is about to Get Much Harder, and Much More Expensive | Dissident Voice

The GED Test is about to Get Much Harder, and Much More Expensive | Dissident Voice:

The GED Test is about to Get Much Harder, and Much More Expensive

The new version of the exam has tougher questions and a higher registration fee--plus it requires computer proficiency

by Kavitha Cardoza / October 11th, 2013

Kiana Rucker dropped out of school when she was 15 years old to look after her younger brothers and sisters. Five years later she had a baby herself. For years, she relied mostly on food stamps, medical assistance, and subsidized housing to get by. But it always bothered her. “I don’t want to rely on anyone,” Rucker, now 35, says. “I don’t want government help.”

So in 2010 Rucker decided to get her General Educational Development certificate. She took classes at Southeast Ministries, a nonprofit in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. This past June–three years and five attempts later–she got a phone call saying she had finally passed the GED test. “The first thing I said was, ‘Are you sure you have the right person?’” Rucker says, laughing. For the first time she feels she has a future. “So many things I can do now,” she says. “Go to college, get into a trade, just get a job period. Because that’s the first thing they ask: ‘Do you have a high school diploma or GED?’ Now I can say, ‘Yes, I do.’”

For Rucker and for millions of other students, the GED certificate has offered a promise of a better life, a path from poverty into college or a more promising career. Next year, though, the GED test will get much harder, and adult educators are worried that they—and their students—aren’t ready for the changes.

There are approximately 30 million adults in the U.S. without a high school diploma. And almost 700,000 of them, like Rucker, take the GED test each 

Parents & Educators Executive Order Against Common Core | Truth in American Education

Parents & Educators Executive Order Against Common Core | Truth in American Education:

Parents & Educators Executive Order Against Common Core

Filed in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on October 11, 2013 • 0 Comments

A group of Florida parents who are supported by parents and educators nationwide released an executive order demanding an end to the Common Core State Standards and student data mining that is taking place in every state.  They also released a longer document entitled “Welcome to the new Common Core fuzzy math: CC = Conditions + Coercion + Conflict of Interest.”

Some excerpts:

We also changed the way we do business at the Department of Education. Instead of issuing top-down edicts, we provided incentives for and supports for states districts, schools and local communities to undertake reform themselves, including offering more flexibility to states in the form of waivers from No Child Left Behind … The Obama Record in Education, Secretary Duncan’s Remarks to the Mom Congress, April 30, 2012…

…“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 

 Impending Disaster in American Education: Exxon Mobil Ad Supports a Failed Promise

Below is a press release that was sent out by American Principles Project.Washington, DC – Today, the American Principles Project responded to a new ad aired for the National Education Association (NEA) and funded by Exxon Mobil. “It is ironic that Exxon is supporting the Common Core even though those standards undermine the goals of preparing more children for STEM (science, technology, engineeri

by Emmett McGroarty / 1min 

10-11-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

School Nurses Need to Be Back on the Job

"The school only has a nurse on staff two days a week. Like many schools around the country, the city’s dire funding situation has hit school nurses especially hard."At Alternet:This story is getting some attention it deserves. School nurses need to be back on the job.Sixth Grader’s Father Says She Wouldn’t Have Died If A School Nurse Had Been On DutyBudget cuts have left Philadelphia's

by Judy Rabin / 1min 

The Common Core and Snake Oil

by Susan Ohanian I don't look at Edutopia very often because  nearly every glance provokes great annoyance. Now, not surprisingly, Brain-based Learning, that catch-all wonder-phrase, seemingly a direct descendant of ads for Charlie Bigelow's snake oil, Kickapoo Indian Sagwa: the Great Indian Medicine (WILL CURE Constipation, Liver Complaint, Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Loss of Appetite, Scrolnia, Rhe

by Susan O / 10min 

MisEducation Nation Gives Jesse Hagopian 60 Seconds

. . .but Real News has more:

by Jim Horn / 20min 

No Money for School Nurses Just Tests

Ill children in schools need nursing care, not more tests, or the common core curriculum. They need common sense and common healthcare. This is how far removed education policy written by  Walmart has gotten us. I suppose they forgot the "humane" standard.A West Philadelphia sixth grader was sent home and she died. The school district spokesman, talking policy, said "nurses do not a

by Judy Rabin / 21min 

NYC Labels Neediest HS Students "OTC" and Dumps Them into Schools Targeted for Closure

 We have known for a long time that Bloomberg's team of thin-lipped Brits running the NYCity Schools have been using various unethical manipulations to increase graduation rates and test score performance.  The McKinsey drones have been very effective in making sure the schools they want to look good do so, while delivering on the plan to shutter targeted schools for the benefit of high rol

1 by Jim Horn / 2min 

10-10-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Calling Wendy Kopp!With the government shutdown, a great opportunity exists for those entrepreneurs who see education as fertile ground for their innovative innovations.Wendy Kopp, here is an idea for you—free of charge:Govern for AmericaCall on bright young college grads with no expertise or experience in government to commit to 2-year (House) or 6-year (Senate) stints in the U.S.

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Education Revolution Will Not Be Standardized | Cloaking Inequity

The Education Revolution Will Not Be Standardized | Cloaking Inequity:

The Education Revolution Will Not Be Standardized

Education films/documentaries have come fast and furious in recent years, but none of them have recieved as much attention and publicity as Waiting for Superman. I don’t know about you, but I was disappointed with the film.  What I liked about Waiting for Superman was the opening conversation about the structural inequality and poverty in the US. However, about halfway through the film, it turned to cheerleading of charters, KIPP, and Teach For Americaas the silverbullet solutions. My disappointment with the vast majority of “education reform” films is probably not surprising being that the Gates Foundation and other corporate style reformers have deep pockets to fund projects that focus on trickle-down reform.

Are there critical indie films out there that aren’t funded by deep pockets? I received email from Shannon Puckett, a filmmaker and former teacher, who is seeking to fund a film via crowdsourcing about a topic that I have written extensively— high-stakes testing. Her bio reads:

In 2004, after attending New York Film Academy in Manhattan, Shannon began making a documentary film about high-stakes testing. She never finished it. Over the years, the stakes have become higher for educators, students and public schools and the timing is now right for Shannon to continue production. How appropriate that “Defies Measurement” will be completed a decade after it began…the year that “all children will be proficient in reading and math”

Shannon asked to profile her film for the public to see if folks might be interested in supporting the production. Several prominent ed policy experts have already participated in her film project. What did they have to say in their 

Education Nation IV | Taking Note

Education Nation IV | Taking Note:

Education Nation IV

by JOHN MERROW on 11. OCT, 2013 in 2013 BLOGS

What to make of “Education Nation,” which took over the magnificent New York Public Library for two days earlier this week and focused a great deal of national attention on a topic most of us care about?   In all, Education Nation consisted of 29 separate segments[1], generally organized around the theme “What It Takes.”  I made it to 15 in person[2] and watched three more online.

If you are doing the math, you’ve figured out that cramming all those sessions into two days means they had to be short because this was an event made for television and the web.  And from what I saw online, it worked very well.

Education Nation has come a long way since the first one in 2010, which old NBC hands remember as “Evacuation Nation,” because a torrential downpour and windstorm forced everyone to flee Rockefeller Center for the halls of NBC’s headquarters.

These two days had some highlights and surprises.  I thought at least two stars emerged: Delaware Governor Jack Markell, who spoke forcefully about the importance of early education, and Joshua Starr, the Superintendent of Schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, who argued persuasively for multiple 

This Week In Education: Update: Only A Third Of Co-Located Charters Pay District Rent

This Week In Education: Update: Only A Third Of Co-Located Charters Pay District Rent:

Update: Only A Third Of Co-Located Charters Pay District Rent

For charter schools operating in buildings owned by school districts only about a third are paying some sort of facility costs nationally, says NAPCS. (Forty-two percent pay nothing.)  Here's the breakdown:

This is from NAPCS, a breakout of data from its survey of charter schools nationally.  It's a followup to the argument in NYC over the Bloomberg administration's no-rent charter school co-location policy.  

Yesterday, NAPCS told me that only about 25 percent of charters nationally are located in district buildings, though obviously that varies widely from district to district (based in part on facility payments