2-17-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

NYSED Admits Cuomo's APPR Teacher Evaluation System Is A Mess

Governor Cuomo threatened the Board of Regents last week if they made any adjustments to his APPR teacher evaluation system.A day later, the Regents backed off and decided to table any changes to teacher evaluations for a few months.Today we learned the following about Cuomo's "state of the art" APPR teacher evaluation system: State education officials for the first time are acknowledgin

by reality-based edu... / 18min hide  //  save

New York City Democrats Must Not Vote For Andrew Cuomo

Fred Dicker in today's Post:Gov. Cuomo’s re-election strategy is to sacrifice New York City’s interests, take on Mayor de Blasio and pander to anti-tax and pro-business sentiments upstate, where he’s politically the weakest, angry Democrats from the city charge. Whether it’s Cuomo’s battles with de Blasio over pre-K funding or the city’s ability to hike the minimum wage on its own, his support for

4 by reality-based edu... / 18min 

Andrew Cuomo's Hypocrisy Over SUNY

Governor Cuomo announced the following plan yesterday: ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Sunday the state will expand the opportunity for inmates to get college degrees as a way to keep them from returning to prison and save tax dollars. Cuomo said the state pays $60,000 a year to keep a prisoner incarcerated and 40 percent return to prison. Current college programs in prison cost taxpayers just

by reality-based edu... / 58min 

2-16-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: UFT Stands For - Utterly Failing TeachersJames Eterno posts that he received the following note from a teacher passing along an administrator's demands to the staff for Danielson walk-throughs:Dear Staff,Please note that I will be looking at the following in a walk through tomorrow.Please have these items labeled in a central location where I do not have to interrupt instruc

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

2-17-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

Professors as Public Intellectuals: A Reader

With Professors, We Need You!, Nicholas Kristof makes a case for professors as public intellectuals: Professors today have a growing number of tools available to educate the public, from online courses to blogs to social media. Yet academics have been slow to cast pearls through Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, it was TED Talks by nonscholars that made lectures fun to watch (but I owe a shout-out t

6 by plthomasedd / 1h 

2-16-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): The Mistrial of Jordan Davis: More Evidence Problems for Denying RacismIn On the Killing of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn, Ta-Nehisi Coates confronts the injustice of simply being born an African American son: Jordan Davis had a mother and a father. It did not save him. T

by mike simpson / 8h 

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com:

 Common Core now has critics on the left…

Al Baker in The New York Times… “The Common Core has been applauded by education leaders and promoted by the Obama administration as a way to replace a hodgepodge of state standards with one set of rigorous learning goals. Though 45 states and the District of Columbia have signed on to them since 2010, resistance came quickly, mostly from right-leaning states, where some leaders and political acti

by GPS / 1h hide  //  save

Vergara lawsuit bad for teachers and students

Ann Katzburg in The Contra Costa Times… “Once again, the funding sources for those who are attacking teachers are coming from millionaires and billionaires whose real agenda is to privatize public schools. Public schools serve the public. Excluding the voices of the community and real education stakeholders by using the courts to rewrite education laws and scapegoat teachers is unfair. The exclus

by GPS / 1h 

How ‘data walls’ in can humiliate young kids…

Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post… “Today’s version: data walls, where teachers are making lists of all kinds of data — very often student test scores and grade data — and putting them up for display so everybody can revel in the glory of data. The use of ‘data’ to ‘drive instruction’ has become a mantra among many school reforms in recent years, and, as one manifestation, teachers in states

by GPS / 1h 

Outdoor learning: Education’s next revolution?

Laura Smith at Salon.com… “If you’ve been out of school for a while, your memory of time spent in classrooms may be bathed in a nostalgic glow. In reality, though, you probably spent a lot of your time looking at the clock, bored out of your mind. Most students are expected to sit in chairs and pay attention for as many as eight hours per day — and that’s even before taking homework into account.

by GPS / 1h 

Schools should be teaching kids how to use the internet well…

Abigail Walthausen in The Atlantic… “As schools begin to plan for the benefits of improved connectivity, it is important to consider the responsibility of giving students guidance in becoming productive citizens of the web. New curricula must acknowledge the many-headed hydra that is social media: Its forms range from the mundane distraction to be overcome to the 21st century communication skill t

by GPS / 1h 

New England slow to adopt virtual schools…

Paige Sutherland in The Boston Globe… “While hundreds of thousands of students across the country attend virtual public schools, New England has been slow to adopt the high-tech education model as states weigh how to manage the schools and judge their performance.” Read it. What do you think? Read and share comments here… The post New England slow to adopt virtual schools… appeared first on GoPubl

by GPS / 1h 

2-17-14 empathyeducates – Common Core Curriculum Now Has Critics on the Left

empathyeducates:

Common Core Curriculum Now Has Critics on the Left

Photograph; Kimberly Celifarco with one of her kindergarten students, Gerson Perez, 5, at Public School 253 in Brooklyn. Victor J. Blue for The New York Times By Al Baker | Originally Published at The New York Times. February The Common Core has been applauded by education leaders […]

by empathy / 5h  

2-16-14 empathyeducates – The School-To-Prison-Pipeline – It’s an Economic Decision

empathyeducates – The School-To-Prison-Pipeline – It’s an Economic Decision: The School-To-Prison-Pipeline – It’s an Economic DecisionPhotograph; In a frame grab from video obtained by The Associated Press, an inmate attacks fellow inmate Hanni Elabed at the privately-run Idaho Correctional Center just south of Boise, Idaho. Elabed suffered brain damage and persistent short-term memory loss after

by mike simpson / 8h 

Candidates piling on as deadline nears for LA school board special election | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Candidates piling on as deadline nears for LA school board special election | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Candidates piling on as deadline nears for LA school board special election

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | February 17th, 2014, 5:45am

Mary Plummer/KPCC

The Los Angeles Unified school board discusses the district's arts education plan during a meeting Feb. 11, 2014.

Eight candidates have thrown their hats in the ring to fill the Los Angeles Unified school board seat left vacant after Marguerite LaMotte died in December. The office represents Palms, Koreatown, Crenshaw, and South Los Angeles on the seven-member board.

That may not be the final number. Tuesday is the last day to file the paperwork at the Los Angeles City Clerk to run in the June 3rd special election - and district-watchers said there could be a last minute flurry of filings.

The race has sparked interest from high-profile African American politicians, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Two of the eight candidates, George McKenna and Genethia Hudley-Hayes, are well known in L.A. Unified circles.

McKenna worked as a principal and administrator for L.A. Unified and several other 

Weigh in: new national arts education standards almost final

Los Angeles Unified School District elementary students practice during a music class. ; Credit: Ken Scarboro/KPCC The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is nearing completion of a new set of PreK-12 arts standards - the first revamp since 1994. The public review period on the latest draft opened Friday, and the group is inviting public feedback until February 28. A first look at the fina

by Mary Plummer / 1h 

Real Discipline in School - NYTimes.com

Real Discipline in School - NYTimes.com:

Real Discipline in School

By ROBERT K. ROSS and KENNETH H. ZIMMERMANFEB. 16, 2014

 LAST month, Maryland became one of the first states to tackle the widespread injustice of overly harsh discipline policies in our schools, adopting regulations that require an end to practices that have doubled the number of out-of-school suspensions for African-American students in the past decade.

The new regulations came just three weeks after Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. warned school districts that a continuation of the large disparities in suspension and expulsion rates constituted a possible civil rights violation and could trigger a federal investigation.

But too many schools still use severe and ineffective practices to address student misbehavior. Large numbers of students are kicked out, typically for nonviolent offenses, and suspensions have become the go-to response for even minor misbehavior, like carrying a plastic water gun to elementary school or sometimes simply for talking back. The Civil Rights Project at U.C.L.A. found that the number of secondary school students suspended or expelled increased by some 40 percent between 1972-73 and 2009-10.

Rather than teaching kids a lesson, these practices increase dropout rates and arrest rates — with severe social and economic consequences. They alsodisproportionately affect students of color and students with learning disabilities. A study of nearly one million Texas students found that those suspended or expelled for violations at the discretion of school officials were 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Jordan Davis' mother, Lucia McBath leaves the courtroom with her husband Curtis McBath.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

The most mendacious phrase in the American language is "black on black crime," which is uttered as though the same hands that drew red lines around the ghettoes of Chicago are not the same hands that drew red lines around the life of Jordan Davis, as though black people authored North Lawndale and policy does not exist. -- On the Killing of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn

Bill Daley 

“Rahm misjudged the public on this. What he didn’t seem to grasp was that the only good, middle-class jobs left for blacks in most of the neighborhoods are teaching positions in the schools. The closures cut deeply into whole 

UPDATE: Jordan Russsell’s Mother Speaks Out Against “Stand Your Ground Law” | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Jordan Russsell’s Mother Speaks Out Against “Stand Your Ground Law” | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Jordan Davis Murder Trial, Stand Your Ground and the Anti-lynching Movement of Our Time

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by millerlf / 11min

Jordan Russsell’s Mother Speaks Out Against “Stand Your Ground Law”

Filed under: American Injustice,Racism,Trayvon Martin — millerlf @ 8:42 am 

Photo from the January 14 cover of Jet Magazine

Words of Jordan’s Mother, Ms. Lucia McBath, at a hearing before the  United States Senate on “stand your ground” laws:

Some will tell you that the argument was about music, but I believe that it was about the availability of guns and the eagerness to hate. People like Mr. Dunn feel empowered to use their gun instead of their voice to reason with others. Now I face the very real possibility that my son’s killer will walk free, hiding behind a statute that lets people claim a threat where there was none.  

This law declares open season on anyone that we don’t trust for reasons that don’t even have to be true. In essence, it allows any armed citizen to “self-deputize” themselves and establish their own definition of law and order. It lets one and all define their own criteria for right and wrong and how justice will be carried out.  

Even the Wild West had more stringent laws governing the taking of life than we have now. “Stand Your Ground” defies all reason. It goes against the sound system of justice established long ago on this very Hill.

Jordan was named for a change in the tide, a decision to try harder and do better. He was my only child. He was raised with love and learning and a clear understanding of right and wrong. I have been without Jordan now since Thanksgiving weekend 2012, without him last Christmas and on his birthday in February. 

I never got to take his prom picture or see him graduate from high school. I can tell you all about him-about his easy smile, his first girlfriend, and his plans to join the Marines. I can tell you how he loved his 

Teachers as Trustees, Part 1 | InterACT

Teachers as Trustees, Part 1 | InterACT:

Teachers as Trustees, Part 1

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

tags: Chiang, guest posts, school board

by ACT Guest Blog Posts

Christopher Chiang (photo courtesy of the author)

InterACT guest blog post by Christopher Chiang

InterACT features many blog posts on the topic of teacher leadership, but this guest post is the first that provides the perspective of a teacher whose leadership comes through elected office.

Christopher Chiang is a teacher at the Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, CA, and a school board trustee in the Mountain View Whisman School District. He holds a BA in Political Science from the UC Irvine, an MA in Teaching from Stanford, and an MA in Educational Leadership from Columbia University. He wrote this guest post for InterACT, and it will be followed by two others posts by teachers with current or recent positions on school boards.

I ran for school board because I worried that education conversations at the district level focused too much on test scores and paid too little attention to teachers. Standardized tests are a useful data point, but so are the professionals working daily with the children, but so little attention is given to their input.

I think being an actively teaching educator on the board, allowed me to see, and point out, when our energies or resources were not about to help change things in the classroom, or worse, make it harder for teachers to teach. I was shocked how often complex instructional issues are discussed without teachers in the room, or worse when teachers do give input, it is given little weight. During the open session, you have your district leaders, who collectively have a great deal of education experience. But behind closed doors when choosing or evaluating 

Lessons from abroad: If Republicans controlled U.S. education policy? Australia offers a sneak peek | HechingerEd Blog

Lessons from abroad: If Republicans controlled U.S. education policy? Australia offers a sneak peek | HechingerEd Blog:

Lessons from abroad: If Republicans controlled U.S. education policy? Australia offers a sneak peek

What would happen if conservative ideas for improving education were given free reign in the United States? If Republicans take over the Senate and then the White House, a possibility, Americans might find out in the near future.

Australia, similar in many ways to the U.S., provides a glimpse of what a transfer of power might mean for schools.

Photo: Marco Antonio Torres

In 2013, Australia’s conservative party won control of Parliament, ousting a progressive Labor Party majority. The significant left-to-right swing has left many parts of the nation in flux, including the education sector. Like the U.S., Australia has significant urban and rural student populations and struggles with balancing state and federal authority.

Both countries have a significant portion of children living in poverty – roughly 17 percent in Australia and about 22 percent in America. And Australians, too, are concerned with how they rank on international assessments.

Their main strategies for fixing schools, such as providing more choice to students and addressing standards, are also similar to ours. As the new conservative government launches its education policy, it could offer clues to how their strategies might play out here.

I spent the past week in Australia and nearly every educator that I talked to mentioned how many uncertainties the country’s schools are facing right now – and were generally pessimistic about the new government. The current unknowns also show just how difficult it can be to install lasting changes in an education system when the balance of power keeps shifting. Here’s some of what’s at stake:

•    School funding. In both K-12 schools and at universities, educators are anxiously awaiting a final budget from the new government. The previous government pledged more than $944 million between 2013 and 2017 to the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program. All of the country’s universities were charged with designing programs to attract and support disadvantaged students in exchange for the funding. Now, no one knows if they’ll have the federal money to continue these programs. If not, institutions may have to scale back or scrap them all together.

At the primary and secondary level, the government originally planned to create its own funding formula, but committed to the liberal Labor Party’s previous funding levels for at least the next four 

Redefining Honors in High School Starts With a Good Grilled Cheese Sandwich | Connected Principals

Redefining Honors in High School Starts With a Good Grilled Cheese Sandwich | Connected Principals:

Redefining Honors in High School Starts With a Good Grilled Cheese Sandwich

by Brian Stack • February 17, 2014 • 0 Comments

This article was co-authored by Brian and his colleague Ellen Hume-Howard, the Curriculum Director of the Sanborn Regional School District

The Need For Change: Brian’s “Uh-Huh Moment”

Photo taken from www.closetcooking.com

Thinking back to that Food Network competition, it made me think more deeply about the shift our school has made over the past three years when it comes to working with students who regularly exceed the competencies we set for them. Consider these to be the kids who are ready to enter their grilled cheese sandwiches into a competition. In years past we had a separate track called “honors” for these students. In the honors track we expected students to perform at a “higher level” than their peers.  Unfortunately for us, we used to define that higher level of performance in terms of the academic behaviors that students exhibited – things like meeting deadlines, actively participating in class discussions, producing “more” work than non-honors students, and working independently. The honors track at our school did little to challenge our students to learn at higher levels, and explains why for many years our top students failed to keep pace with top students from other high school on measures such as the NECAP, SAT, ACT, AP, NAEP or PSAT assessments. Three years ago we realized that we had to start thinking differently about what honors work looks like at our school because despite the honors distinction, they were still making mediocre grilled cheese sandwiches. We needed to get some of them ready to compete at the elite level.

What Defines Honors Work?

In a traditional high school, honors course work is defined by a course you take. At Sanborn our focus has been to personalize the pursuit of honors work and to focus on the work produced by students.  Sanborn provides students with the opportunity to contract for honors consideration. This means that students who elect to participate and then produce honors level work will receive honors 

Kansas City schools’ plight reflects larger issues urban districts face | Al Jazeera America

Kansas City schools’ plight reflects larger issues urban districts face | Al Jazeera America:

Kansas City schools’ plight reflects larger issues urban districts face

by Diana Reese February 17, 2014 5:00AM ET

Missouri considering takeover or privatization of public schools struggling with poverty, leadership instability

Topics:

 

Education

 

Missouri

 

Poverty

A sign of Kansas City Public Schools' problems was the closure of Westport High School and several other schools in 2010.

G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jamekia Kendrix is frustrated with the “status quo of experimentation” in the troubled Kansas City Public Schools.

“How did my kids become lab rats in an experiment?” she said, referring to efforts, past and present, to fix the school district which lost state accreditation two years ago, and serves as the latest example of the challenges facing public school districts in urban areas across the United States. Issues of poverty and general instability in such areas, experts say, are often magnified in the educational systems.

“These out-of-school factors have such a powerful impact on what kids are able to learn, how they behave in schools, their stability,” said Lynn Beck, dean of the Gladys L. Bernard School of Education at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., a city whose largest school district has faced similar issues. “The children who attend city schools, often — not always — tend to be children whose lives have really been heavily impacted by family issues, parental loss of job, incarcerated family members. That’s part of the story.”

The other part of the story, Beck said, is reflected in Kansas City, where Superintendent R. Stephen Green is the 27th person to lead the district in the last 40 years.

“The other more challenging issue is the stability of leadership and stability of the work force,” Beck said. “That’s something a strong school board can do things about. This is the kind of perfect storm of challenging situations in places like Kansas City or Stockton that tends to lead to really difficult