LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-5-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Bombshell Report: $100 Million in Taxpayer $$ Wasted or Stolen by Deregulated Charter Industry

A new report reveals massive waste, fraud, and corruption in the charter industry, where private corporations control public funds with minimal oversight or accountability. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2014 CONTACT: Kyle Serrette: KSerrette@populardemocracy.org, 202-304-8027 Sabrina Stevens: media@integrityineducation.org, 720-295-0238 A new report released today reveals that fraudulent charter

1 by dianeravitch / 5min 

Politico: DFER Meets “Pickets in the Pines” at Camp Phalos

On Politico this morning: “OF PHILOSOPHERS AND PICKETS: Democrats for Education Reform planned a nice quiet retreat this week at the luxurious Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y. where top strategists of the education reform movement could map out their next moves at seminars such as “Living to Tell the Tale: Changing Third-Rail Teacher Policies” and “Rocketships, Klingons and Tribbles: Charters

15 by dianeravitch / 1h 

NYC “Charter School Gold Rush” Begins, Thanks to Governor Cuomo

A story in today’s New York Daily News reports that charter schools will flock to New York City, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s preferential treatment of them in a state law that applies only to New York City. Charter students account for only 3% of the state’s enrollment, and only 6% in the Big Apple, but Cuomo made clear that he was taking care of the hedge fund managers who put $800,000 into his ca

7 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Good News from Philadelphia!

Helen Gym sent the following report. The parents at Steel Elementary School voted to remain a public school, despite an aggressive campaign to turn the school over to a charter chain. But the school’s advisory council voted 9-8 to hand the school over to privatization. The final decision will be made by the city’s School Reform Commission. “Happy news for Monday morning! “On May 1, 176 parents at

2 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Tennessee: “Parents Know Best”—–Help This Letter Go Viral

Today I came across a letter from a Tennessee parent that went viral. The theme, quite simply, is: Parents know best. In it, this parent explains why she is opting her child out of state testing. Please click on the link so that Alicia Maynard and other Tennessee parents know you support them in their determination to end the testing madness. **************************************************** “

4 by dianeravitch / 19min 

NYC Parents, Elected Officials To Protest Preferential Treatment for Charters on May 6

Another protest against the law sponsored by Governor Cuomo to give preferential treatment to the billionaire-sponsored charter schools. the Cuomo law was enacted at the same time that New York City’s public schools are overcrowded, with class sizes at their highest point in fifteen years. The Cuomo law guarantees that privately-managed charters get free public space; that the city must pay for th

1 by dianeravitch / 11min 

Warning Alarms at Camp Phalos! Infiltrators Within!

I usually don’t worry about the hedge fund managers when they are hanging out with VIPs like Andrew Cuomo, but I just received inside information that the Camp has been infiltrated!   Hedge fund managers! Watch what you say! Trust no one!   There is a public school teacher—more than one, actually–who has entered the sacred grounds of Camp Phalos.   I know you have security. But they slipped up and

2 by dianeravitch / 42min 

Jonathan Pelto Reports on Wendy Lecker’s Critique of Governor Malloy’s Failed Teacher Evaluation System

Jonathan Pelto here reports on a great new piece by civil rights lawyer Wendy Lecker.   He writes: “In her latest MUST READ commentary piece, fellow public education advocate, Wendy Lecker, lays out the facts about Governor Malloy’s unfair, inappropriate and fatally flawed teacher evaluation system. Like the junk bonds that helped take down Wall Street, Connecticut’s teacher evaluation system is b

7 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Obama Selects Robert Gordon, Early Proponent of VAM, for Top Policy Post in Department of Education

President Obama chose Robert Gordon, who served in key roles in the first Obama administration, as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development in the U.S. Department of Education. This is a very important position in the Education Department; he will be the person in charge of the agency that basically decides what is working, what is not, and which way to go next with pol

15 by dianeravitch / 2h hide  //  save

Lloyd Lofthouse: Obama ‘s Mindless Education Reforms

Reader Lloyd Lofthouse finds President Obama’s education reforms to be as unrealistic as those of George W. Bush. The basic theory of action is to set I reachable goals and to punish those who can’t reach them. He writes: “The Common Core high stakes testing that judges teachers, gets them fired and public schools closed took public education systems that operated based on individual state legis

6 by dianeravitch / 3h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-4-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Anti-Teacher Book Is Not Selling, ExplainedAt first I thought that Paul Peterson’s new book about how teachers are blocking school reform was selling poorly, despite a vigorous public relations campaign, because people actually like teachers. Now, I am not so sure. Look at the recommended reading levels and grade levels for

by mike simpson / 8h 

5-5-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Charter WaitList Balderdash Exposed - Show Us the Names

WAIT, WAIT. DON’T MISLEAD ME! - NINE REASONS TO BE SKEPTICAL ABOUT CHARTER WAITLIST NUMBERS.”I have always challenged the charter lobby wait-list bullshit - challenging them to show is the names. They won't. So with the lobby releasing info today that there are billions and billions of parents clamoring to get their children into the charter plantations so they can be treated like serfs, it was go

by ed notes online / 1h hide  //  save

WAIT, WAIT. DON’T MISLEAD ME! - Charter Wait List Balderdash Debunked

I've always maintained the charter wait lists are a bunch of lies -- ask them to show you their lists. With Obama proclaiming National Charter Week, the charter lobby is going to trumpet some more phony numbers. A message from the Ravitch bloggers network:Fellow Education Bloggers,This is “National Charter Schools Week.”Even the President is rejoicing with a proclamation: http://www.whitehouse.gov

by ed notes online / 1h 

The contract: Ravitch Raves, MORE Friendly Critic Asks Why 'NO"?

Hi Norm, In face of Diane's latest I see that MORE is planning lots of action to get folks to vote no on the contract.  I wonder if this is such a good idea.  Does anyone consider this is helping to isolate MORE?  I have been following most of the discussion. It is hard to see where MORE's priorities truly lie except against what ever the leadership says or does... a concerned contact Well, I don'

by ed notes online / 2h 

5-4-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Advice to MORE on Contract StrategyNorm, you strike me as a realist. What are your thoughts on getting this voted down?... Roseanne McCosh PS 8xRoseanne asks a good question. Before trying to respond I want to lay down some historical points because being out of schools for a decade I don't have the best feel for the mood of the members, other than the fact that some old supporter

by mike simpson / 3h 

5-5-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:

What's Happening With B4K?

So, at the first glance, it looks like B4K is up to their old tricks again: putting money from billionaires David Tepper and Alan Fournier into local politics under the guise of education reform. They've done it before in Jersey City and Perth Amboy; now it's Trenton.But hang on -- something seems different...TRENTON — A nonprofit that gives free backpacks to school children has slung mud at mayor

7 by Duke / 2h 

 

5-4-14 Jersey Jazzman NJ Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman: The One Thing You Must Remember During NJ's Testing SeasonTomorrow, the 2014 NJASK testing season continues as Grades 5 and 6 give up a week of instruction -- all so politicians can moan and charter schools can brag and teachers can be fired and tablets can be sold.It's all about the kids, dontcha know...Let me make my little contribution to the chaos: here are three graphs to keep

by mike simpson / 14h 

5-5-14 Wait What?

Wait What?:

What the Frack is going on with Senate Bill 237 that would ban Fracking Waste in Connecticut

As the clock counts down toward the end of the 2014 session of the Connecticut General Assembly, Senate Bill 237, AN ACT PROHIBITING THE STORAGE OR DISPOSAL OF FRACKING WASTE IN CONNECTICUT, appears to be withering on the vine. In other words, some important people or constituencies are trying to kill the vital piece of […] The post What the Frack is going on with Senate Bill 237 that would ban Fr

9 by jonpelto / 53min 

Re-posting Malloy’s Teacher evaluation system is fundamentally and fatally flawed

Public education advocate Wendy Lecker’s latest column is reaching a national audience thanks to Diane Ravitch’s blog. Here is a re-post of Saturday’s Wait, What? post about Lecker’s commentary piece. In her latest MUST READ commentary piece, fellow public education advocate, Wendy Lecker, lays out the facts about Governor Malloy’s unfair, inappropriate and fatally flawed teacher evaluation […] Th

by jonpelto / 36min hide  //  save

‘The Other Guy is Worse’ Is A Tired Strategy (By Sarah Darer Littman)

In her latest CT News Junkie commentary, fellow education advocate Sarah Darer Littman confronts THE ISSUE that faces Connecticut voters in 2014.  Are we left with the “choice” of voting for one candidate over another — because we are told the other is “worse” or do we break out of the trap that the two […] The post ‘The Other Guy is Worse’ Is A Tired Strategy (By Sarah Darer Littman) appeared fir

7 by jonpelto / 3h 

5-4-14 Wait What?

Wait What?: One more gimmick laden State Budget before the 2014 election for governorWhen Dan Malloy was running for governor in 2010 he wrote, We have to be committed to getting our fiscal house in order…the current budgeting is a perfect example of irresponsible budgeting…Why?  Because this administration, once again, took the easy way out…the current budget was balanced on phantom cuts and one-

by mike simpson / 9h

5-5-14 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

‘There are common hypocrites. There are spectacular hypocrites. And then there are Florida legislators.’

“There are common hypocrites. There are spectacular hypocrites. And then there are Florida legislators.” That’s how John Romano, a writer for the Tampa Bay Times, started this column expressing his disgust over legislation that the Florida legislature just rammed through with procedural tricks that expands the state’s controversial voucher program. What got him so exercised? […]

by Valerie Strauss / 18min 

Virginia’s SOL exams: what students need to know to pass (and graduate on time)

Today is the day when Virginia students will start running what teacher Mary Tedrow calls the state’s ” testing gauntlet” which seems to test endurance at least as much as knowledge. In this post, Tedrow looks at the sample questions of Standards of Learning tests and explains what students need to know about these exams […]

by Valerie Strauss / 15min hide  //  save

Pearson, of course, wins huge Common Core testing contract

I noted recently that two years ago the nonprofit group FairTest predicted that despite promises by policymakers that competition and innovation would result from school reform,  it would be the same old education firms that would wind up with the big Common Core-related contracts. FairTest got that right. Pearson, the largest education company in the world, […]

15 by Valerie Strauss / 3h 

What teaching is and isn’t

The first week in May is Teacher Appreciation Week, so declared back in 1984 by the Parent Teachers Association, and the 2014 observation of this is upon us.  It couldn’t have come at a better time, given that teachers aren’t feeling especially appreciated these days, what with school reform policies targeted right at them. In […]

41 by Valerie Strauss / 6h 

5-4-14 The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: ‘Today was the first day I was ever ashamed to be a teacher’Students around the country are taking high-stakes Common Core-aligned standardized tests now and some teachers are expressing unhappiness about having to administer them.  Some are refusing to administer them and others are going public with their concerns about the nature of the tests and the emphasis being placed on t

by mike simpson / 6h