A Revolution Against Corporate Education Focuses On Its Achilles Heel | PopularResistance.Org

A Revolution Against Corporate Education Focuses On Its Achilles Heel | PopularResistance.Org:

A Revolution Against Corporate Education Focuses On Its Achilles Heel

UNCATEGORIZED EDUCATION 
By Roshan Bliss, www.PopularResistance.org
April 10th, 2014

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Above: Education protest in Chicago

Denver Gathering Seeks to Galvanize Corporate Education Reform Resistance

Late last month, over 100 teachers, students, and parents from across the country gathered in Denver for the United Opt Out National Spring Action, a conference aimed at growing the resistance to corporate education reform and high stakes standardized testing across the nation. Throughout the weekend, the education activists brainstormed and planned in area-focused work groups, interspersed with talks from, among others, a Finnish teacher and education scholar, a parent turned education activist, and a high school senior. All of it revolved around one central theme: organizing resistance to the global corporate education reform movement.

The event was organized by United Opt Out (UOO), an all-volunteer organization of parents, teachers, and students dedicated to ending the use of high stakes standardized testing in schools by creating organized, large-scale refusal to participate in high stakes testing regimes. UOO originally formed with the intention to increase the number of people “opting out” of high stakes standardized tests – whether parents preventing their students from taking them, students refusing to take them, or teachers refusing to administer them – but it has become much more.

While the opt out strategy remained central, the conference attendees participated in weekend-long discussion groups focused on devising even broader strategies to build a broad-based movement aimed not only at stopping the corporate education reform machine, but at transforming and democratizing public education as a whole. The groups focused on a number of areas from winning back local control of school boards to strengthening teacher unions to educating the broader public about the effects of corporate reform on their communities and their children’s futures. Their aim is nothing short of a revolution in the public education system.

Revolutionary Transformation of Education Developing

“This is the education revolution,” said high school senior and conference speaker Alex Kacsh. “We are creating a better tomorrow.”

How is not taking or administering a school test part of the revolution? High stakes A Revolution Against Corporate Education Focuses On Its Achilles Heel | PopularResistance.Org:

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, April 10, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Sacramento City Unified to abandon high-profile consortium plan - Education - The Sacramento Bee

Education Headlines

Thursday, April 10, 2014

FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Preliminary deal reached in Oxnard Union contract talks

The Oxnard Union High School District and its union leaders have reached a tentative deal, ending a contract negotiations process that packed a couple of school board meetings.

Contract approved for new Tracy Unified chief

A three-year contract naming Brian Stephens as the next superintendent for Tracy Unified schools was approved Tuesday night by the district school board, with one abstention and one absence.

Embezzle charge for ex-district worker

The District Attorney's Office filed charges against a former school district bookkeeper Wednesday for allegedly embezzling from Linden Unified.

El Monte school district censures board member for buying booze, meals for others with district credit card

The El Monte Union High School District school board voted Monday to censure one of their colleagues for using district funds to buy booze, pay for friends’ meals and get reimbursed for meals that came free.

Alisal teachers get raise

Teachers in the Alisal Union School District received a long-awaited pay raise from the school board Wednesday night but not without getting an earful from two of their biggest adversaries.

Teachers want better wages, district says it can't afford it

After years of going without salary increases, teachers at the North Monterey County Unified School District say it's time for a raise. But after years of grappling with decreased funding, district officials say they're not ready to grant big hikes just yet.

POLA High executive director reinstated after being placed on paid leave

In the latest development of what has been a murky personnel matter, the governing board of the Port of Los Angeles charter high school in San Pedro has reinstated the executive director who has been on paid leave for several weeks.

Department of Education blasts Colton Unified over gifts, ‘unreasonable’ spending

Colton Joint Unified officials used the district’s cafeteria fund to illegally pay for more than $730,000 in utilities, salaries and benefits, and accepted inappropriate gifts from vendors, according to a scathing report from the California Department of Education.

Fresno Unified board continues budget talks

Fresno Unified trustees on Wednesday continued discussions over next school year's budget, including a measure to boost operations funding by $3.6 million and spend an additional $1.3 million on special education services.

Video prompts use-of-force investigation in Santa Ana

The Santa Ana Unified School District Police Department has launched an investigation into video footage apparently showing a school police officer restraining a sobbing 14-year-old boy with a headlock.

Sacramento City Unified to abandon high-profile consortium plan

 The Sacramento City Unified School District announced Wednesday it will abandon a plan to work with seven other California school districts on employing new performance standards that were intended to satisfy federal education officials.

Former trustee gets fine, probation

A former Sweetwater schools trustee was sentenced on Wednesday to probation and community service and fined $4,500 for not reporting gifts she received from a contractor while on the board.

Embattled Centinela Valley Superintendent Jose Fernandez placed on paid leave

The Centinela Valley school board on Wednesday night placed Superintendent Jose Fernandez on paid administrative leave, saying an investigation needs to be conducted with regards to his extraordinary compensation package.

Antioch school board votes to close RAAMP Academy

Antioch school trustees decided Wednesday night not to renew RAAMP Academy's charter, citing its underachieving academic performance.

Quake-damaged school was on state seismic-warning list

The Brea elementary school damaged by a 5.1 earthquake March 28 has never been upgraded for seismic safety despite years of warnings by state and district experts that it doesn’t meet current building codes.

EdSource: Los Angeles Unified’s draft accountability plan shows promise of new funding law

The potential of the state’s new education funding system was on full display this week when Los Angeles Unified School Superintendent John Deasy presented a draft accountability plan that included a dizzying array of new and expanded programs.

Teacher removed for 'dangerous' science projects; supporters rally

A popular Los Angeles high school science teacher has been suspended after students turned in projects that appeared dangerous to administrators, spurring a campaign calling for his return to the classroom.

As California standardized testing gains steam, help center 'inundated' with teacher calls

It's week three for California’s new web-based standardized tests and some schools are reporting hair-pulling moments.

Fensterwald: Sacramento City Unified won’t renew No Child Left Behind waiver

Faced with intense opposition from teachers, Sacramento City Unified announced Wednesday it would not join other California districts in reapplying for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law.

California approves three different high school equivalency exams

The state Board of Education has approved three options for those seeking to earn high school equivalency certificates, which include both computer-based and paper and pencil tests.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Stockton USD hit with age bias claims

Several former Stockton Unified School District principals told the Board of Trustees on Tuesday that they are in the early stages of filing age discrimination lawsuits claiming Superintendent Steve Lowder has unfairly pushed them out of their jobs.

Fensterwald: Deal in L.A. Unified designed to protect 37 high-needs schools from layoffs

The parties in a 4-year-old lawsuit challenging mass layoffs of teachers at low-income middle schools in Los Angeles Unified announced a settlement Tuesday that an attorney called a potential model for creating a stable work force in schools beset by teacher churn.

Coachella Valley Unified votes to layoff 96

The Coachella Valley Unified School Board approved termination of dozens of employees Tuesday night over the impassioned objections of school workers, who said layoffs could jeopardize state funding, the iPad program for students, and other district programs.

Fallbrook Union High School District superintendent to retire in September

After serving six years as superintendent of the Fallbrook Union High School District, Dale Mitchell announced Monday night that he will retire Sept. 1.

Contract eludes Sweetwater, teachers

Bargaining teams for the Sweetwater Union High School District and its teachers union resumed contract negotiations Tuesday but failed to reach an agreement on a pact involving health benefits, salary and class size.

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Repost widely.

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