League of Women Voters in Florida bust charter school myths and the legislators who stand to profit | Seattle Education

League of Women Voters in Florida bust charter school myths and the legislators who stand to profit | Seattle Education:

Join us in opposing the corporate takeover of our schools tomorrow morning

PLEASE SHOW YOUR OPPOSITION TO CHARTERS AND THEIR CORPORATE, BILLIONAIRE AND RIGHT-WING BACKERS!   JOIN US THIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4TH, FOR A DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOR OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND AGAINST THE PLANS FOR THE GRADUAL PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION!   We’ll keep this short and to the point. We only found out within the […]

by seattleducation20... / 6min 

League of Women Voters in Florida bust charter school myths and the legislators who stand to profit

From a press release provided by the League of Women Voters:

State-Wide Study on School Choice

Tallahassee, Fla — Twenty percent of the state’s charter schools close because of financial mismanagement or poor academic standards, according to the League of Women Voters of Florida after a year-long study of charter schools in 28 Florida counties.

“Charter schools could fill a niche in Florida’s educational spectrum, but for many, their biggest contribution may be to corporate bottom lines,” said Deirdre Macnab, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida.

With over 576 charter schools in the state, the League of Women Voters of Florida conducted a study in order to better understand the oversight, management, accountability and transparency of charter and private schools in Florida.

The study found that:

Approximately one-third of charters are run by for-profit management companies. Many screen students, then drop those who are not successful, which public schools are prohibited from doing. Charters also serve particular socio-economic groups, increasing segregation in schools.

Although charters tend to be smaller than traditional schools, there is no consistent difference in achievement for charter school and public school students.

Many charters blur the distinction between religious and non-secular schools. Some churches receive as much as a million dollars in lease payments annually for their facilities from charter schools.

In areas with declining enrollments, neither the charters nor regular public schools are large enough to adequately provide support for staff like nurses or counselors. Retaining teachers is also a problem; most charters offer lower salaries and benefits League of Women Voters in Florida bust charter school myths and the legislators who stand to profit | Seattle Education:

#AskArne Sixth-graders bill education officials for time spent as standardized test guinea pigs

Sixth-graders bill education officials for time spent as standardized test guinea pigs:

 Sixth-graders bill education officials for time spent as standardized test guinea pigs

Jun 02, 2014 10:14am PDT by Laura Clawson

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After students in two sixth-grade math classes spent a week's worth of class time field-testing a new standardized test, they're demanding payment for their time. The Ipswich, Massachusetts, students have sent a letter to United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Matthew Malone, and the group developing the test, asking for that payment.The students were randomly chosen to try out the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test. That meant spending 150 minutes in March and 180 minutes in May taking a trial test rather than being taught math. After hearing another teacher joke that they should be paid for that time, students approached their math teacher, Alan Laroche:

"The kids proceeded to tell me that PARCC is going to be making money from the test, so they should get paid as guinea pigs for helping them out in creating this test," said Laroche. "So I said, ‘OK, if that’s the case and you guys feel strongly then there are venues and things you can do to voice your opinion, and one would be to write a letter and have some support behind that letter with petition." [...]"I thought it was unfair that we weren’t paid for anything and we didn’t volunteer for anything," said [student Brett] Beaulieu. "It was as if we said, ‘Oh we can do it for free.’"

Beaulieu used his math skills in the letter, determining that the two classes would collectively earn $1,628 at minimum wage for their 330 minutes of work. He then went on to figure out how many school supplies that amount could buy: 22 new Big Ideas MATH Common Core Student Edition Green textbooks or 8,689 Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils.

"Even better, this could buy our school 175,000 sheets of 8 ½" by 11" paper, and 270 TI-108 calculators," Beaulieu wrote.

Students and administrators signed on to a petition, and Laroche sent the request off to Duncan, Malone, and PARCC. They're waiting for a response.These kids are effectively drawing attention to the amount of time students are spending on testing; that this test was just a trial compounds the injury of 330 minutes out of two months of school being spent on testing. And the call for pencils, paper, or calculators as payment for the time spent taking the test highlights how, as money has been poured into testing, schools have often been starved of the basic supplies of education, with teachers forced to spend significant amounts of their salaries on things needed in the classroom.

It'll be interesting to see if the students get a meaningful response.

My First ALEC Conference - Journey Into a Parallel World » Resist the Privatization of America

My First ALEC Conference - Journey Into a Parallel World » Resist the Privatization of America:

My First ALEC Conference – Journey Into a Parallel World

 Monday, 02 June 2014

Corporate agenda is clear at ALEC conference

Taking the baton from Marc Pocan (now in the U.S. House),  State Rep. Chris Taylor is now the progressive WI democrat in ALEC. This report is written by her about her experience at the recent ALEC meeting in Kansas City.

I recently traveled to Missouri to attend my second American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference.As a state legislator from Wisconsin, I joined ALEC last year. That was the beginning of my journey into a parallel world. In the ALEC otherworld, the three branches of government are: 1. Multinational corporations, including Anheuser-Busch and Koch Industries, 2. Rightwing think tanks networked together through the State Policy Network, and 3. State legislators like me — although, as a progressive Democrat, I don’t fit the mold. Most of my colleagues who belong to ALEC are Republicans and many are tea partiers.The three branches work together to construct and advance model bills in state legislatures throughout the country to further ALEC’s agenda of corporate dominance.The gathering in Missouri was smaller and more intimate than last August’s annual conference. But it started the same way. I received no pre-conference materials and had to ask the hotel clerk when and where to check in.Strict conference rules applied. One attendee registering next to me was denied entrance because she did not have a photo ID. Signs throughout the conference reminded participants that ID badges “were required at all sessions,” with sign-in sheets and, in smaller sessions, individual introductions.

Secrecy reigned supreme.

When I asked one of my fellow attendees to take my picture, an ALEC employee forbade it.

But unlike my first experience at an ALEC conference, this time I no longer had anonymity. This conference was dominated by individual workgroups and subcommittees rather than large workshops and receptions. According to a right-wing blogger, an unidentified ALEC staffer had divulged that they were expecting me. For an organization that depends on secrecy to function, including refusing to disclose its members and member fees, revealing attendees was extraordinary.

In this smaller setting, ALEC’s internal inconsistencies were more evident.

A part of ALEC’s battle is to preserve an old economy, where coal, oil and gas remain supreme. Their defense of these industries represents the will of corporate members Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil and Peabody Energy. Yet their regressive approach to energy policy conflicts with their professed allegiance to Jeffersonian “free market” principles and consumer choice.

Though the renewable energy sector is growing, is popular with the public, and is generating new jobs — and the solar industry now employs 140,000 more people than our nation’s coal mines (I did not know that, so take that Mitch McConnell and your crocodile tears for your constituents) — conference attendees focused on hindering this sector, especially solar. Minnesota Rep. Pat Garofalo, who recently received national attention about a racist tweet My First ALEC Conference - Journey Into a Parallel World » Resist the Privatization of America:

6-3-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

Tonight: Live election returns for school board race

LA School Report will bring readers live updates of today’s race to win the LA Unified school board’s District 1 seat tonight with up-to-the-minute returns. Starting at about 9:15 p.m., as results come in, LA School Report will bring you fresh updates via Twitter: @laschoolreport; our FB page and posts to this site.  STAY TUNED.    

2 16min 

LA School Report nominated for 5 SoCal journalism awards

In case you missed it, LA School Report has been honored with five nominations for the Los Angeles Press Club’s 56th Southern California Journalism Awards. The awards recognize Los Angeles area journalists and publications as well as excellence in new and emerging media. Of the five nominations, two go to LA School Report commentator Ellie Herman, a writer/teacher who has spent the last year foll

3min 

LAUSD school board candidates vote, then drum up support

Click to view slideshow. As voters head to the polls today, candidates running for LA Unified District 1 board seat were making last-minute pushes to reach voters and promote their message. Seven candidates are competing for a seat that has been vacant since December, and only an outright winner, with more than 50 percent of the vote, can assume board duties right away. Otherwise, the top two vote

2 by Aaron Stella / 20min 

UTLA wants more than 8 percent, or else (maybe a strike)

In a show of unity, UTLA‘s current and incoming presidents waved the prospect of a teachers strike in the coming school year if LA Unified offers anything less than an eight percent raise for the next school year, building to 17.6 percent in years to follow. Appearing together at an afternoon news conference yesterday, Warren Fletcher and his in-coming successor, Alex Caputo-Pearl, rejected the di

by Vanessa Romo / 19min 

Morning Read: Education primary focuses on reform and spending

This Primary election in education: Reform and spending Voters in today’s primaries are faced with a laundry list of education issues as they head to the polls. School boards from some larger districts have vacant seats that are set to be filled, and bond measures ranging from $60 million to $650 million for school renovations will be decided on throughout the state. The key race in education, how

7min 

6-2-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: Suspension rates in LAUSD fall, raising questionsL.A. Unified suspension rates fall but some question accuracy In the heart of Watts, where violence in nearby housing projects can spill over onto campuses, two of the city’s toughest middle schools have long dealt with fights, drugs and even

by mike simpson / 21h 

Illinois Requires Public Reporting of School Discipline Data | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Illinois Requires Public Reporting of School Discipline Data | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Building Consensus to Reform School Discipline

The newly released School Discipline Consensus Report is a powerful catalog of promising strategies for reforming school discipline. The report draws on hundreds of experts from the fields of education, health, law enforcement and juvenile justice and offers a consensus framework to address the overuse and misuse of harsh school discipline. Millions of students are removed from their

by jocelyn / 13min 

Illinois Requires Public Reporting of School Discipline Data

Posted on: Tuesday June 3rd, 2014

Thanks to the organizing work of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, the Illinois legislature has passed a new law requiring public reporting of school discipline data. SB2793 is a huge victory and a step toward ending the discriminatory use of suspensions and expulsions. 

Students of color and students with disabilities are far more likely to be barred from the classroom, often for minor, nonviolent misbehaviors. In the 2009-2011 school year, one out of every six black students were suspended at least once, compared to one in twenty white students. For black students with disabilities, the suspension rate jumps to one in four. 

Once a student is suspended, it increases the likelihood that they become disengaged from school and drop out, which in turn can increase the chances of them getting involved in the juvenile justice system. This discriminatory "school-to-prison pipeline" is a critical factor in the achievement gap facing students of color across the nation. 

The new Illinois law is the first of its kind in the nation. It requires public reporting of suspension and expulsion data, broken down by race and ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, limited English proficiency, incident type, and discipline duration. Additionally, the districts that fall in the highest 20 percent of discipline rates will have to create an improvement plan to address the overuse and disparate use of school discipline. 

To learn more about the new law, read this editorial from the Chicago Sun Times.

Building a Beloved Community

A new report by the Open Society Foundations and the Foundation Center is a must-read for anyone who cares about the rectifying the disparities in our society that impact young men and boys of color. A new report by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Foundation Center is a must-read for anyone who cares about the rectifying the disparities in our society that impact boys and y

by jocelyn / 44min 

Understanding the Common Core: Resources from AR Ally | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Understanding the Common Core: Resources from AR Ally | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity: Understanding the Common Core: Resources from AR AllyPosted on: Friday May 23rd, 2014The Common Core State Standards have been adopted by 44 states and the District of Columbia. To say they're contentious is to put it mildly. For various reasons, a nationwid

by mike simpson / 21h 

Common Core: Why the curriculum doesn't match the standard | 89.3 KPCC

Common Core: Why the curriculum doesn't match the standard | 89.3 KPCC:

Common Core: Why the curriculum doesn't match the standard

Cory Turner | NPR | June 3rd, 2014, 7:58am

Cory Turner/NPR

Just some of the more than 700 math books that have been reviewed for Common Core alignment by professor William Schmidt and his team at Michigan State's Center for the Study of Curriculum.

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Right now, America's schools are in a sprint. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards. That means new learning benchmarks for the vast majority of the nation's young students — millions of kids from kindergarten through high school. And, for many of them, the Core will feel tougher than what they're used to. Because it is tougher.

It's a seismic shift in education meant to better prepare kids for college, career and the global economy. But new standards as rigorous as the Core require lots of other changes — to textbooks, lesson plans, homework assignments. In short: curriculum and the materials needed to teach it. And that's the problem. Right now, much of that stuff just isn't ready.

Before we get further into the problem, let's be clear: The Common Core is a set of standards, not curriculum. There's a difference. Standards are goals we set for kids. For example, one Common Core math standard says fifth-graders should be able to use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.

Curriculum is what teachers do every day in the classroom to achieve that goal. Again, different. But, if you change standards, you've got to change curriculum too. And that's the challenge right now with the Common Core. Because most states have made big changes to their standards, forcing districts and schools to do the same to their curricula.

"There's been no time in American history where this number of school districts wanted to swap out all their reading and math materials at all grades for new things," says Jay Diskey, with the Association of American Publishers.

This race to update and upgrade all that stuff ends next year, when those millions of kids take their first Common Common Core: Why the curriculum doesn't match the standard | 89.3 KPCC:

Who Benefits From Teacher Turnover? | Taking Note

Who Benefits From Teacher Turnover? | Taking Note:

Who Benefits From Teacher Turnover?

by JOHN MERROW on 03. JUN, 2014 in 2014 BLOGS, TEACHING

 Because complex stories invariably involve both winners and losers, journalists are schooled to ask ‘“Who benefits?” when doing their reporting.  Even in the worst of situations, some people and organizations seem to end up benefiting. For example, in a city with badly maintained roads, more cars are damaged and auto repair shops make more money; in a town with inadequate or unsafe drinking water, those who sell bottled water profit. And when reporters dig deeper, they often find that the beneficiaries are the major obstacles to remedying unfair situations.

However, I cannot recall anyone asking that all-important question about the exceptionally high rate of turnover–some call it churn’–in our teaching force.

So let’s ask it now: Who benefits from teacher turnover?

Precise “churn” numbers are hard to come by, but somewhere between 30% and 50% of all new teachers leave the profession within their first five years. Turnover is not evenly or randomly distributed: teachers in low-income neighborhoods leave in much larger numbers. I’ve been in schools with annual turnover rates of 25-35% every year.

Turnover is not inherently bad, of course.  When older teachers ‘age out’ of the profession, they retire and are replaced. Alternate-certification programs like Teach for America operate from the premise that most of its ‘graduates’ will not make a career out of teaching, adding to the churn.  Some new teachers turn out to be pretty bad and are let go, and others discover that teaching is a lot harder than they expected and look for greener pastures.

The churn, which seems to be increasing, has had a profound impact on our teaching force. As recently as 1987, schools were hiring only about 65,000 new teachers a year.  By 2008, the last year I found data for, schools were hiring 200,000 new teachers.  As a consequence of the churn, one-quarter of our Who Benefits From Teacher Turnover? | Taking Note:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Labor vs. Labor: WFP's Endorsement of Gov. Cuomo stinks

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Labor vs. Labor: WFP's Endorsement of Gov. Cuomo stinks:

Labor vs. Labor: WFP's Endorsement of Gov. Cuomo stinks

Cuomo at pro-charter rally in Albany, joins with charter hustlers & hedge-funders in attack on Mayor de Blasio.

“It’s very simple at these political conventions: you either win or you lose. Uh, and I won...” -- Gov. Cuomo

The ability of the system to buy-off some union leaders is nothing new. It's been going on since unions were invented. But it's still stunning to watch the process unfold as it has this past week in New York and Chicago. 

N.Y. union leaders, including the UFT's, threatened to blow up the Working Families Party unless the group endorsed Gov. Cuomo for re-election. WFP delegates took the warning seriously and  endorsed Republicrat Cuomo over progressive challenger Zephy Teachout, 59%-41% at Sunday's WFP convention. They did so at the risk of doing irreparable damage to the movement that had won impressive victories in N.Y.C. and Newark mayoral races in the past year and an important school board victory in Connecticut. While it's electoral strategies may not be applicable everywhere, WFP is seen by progressives nationally as a model for united, independent alliance of community groups, led by organized labor (an oxymoron?).

Cuomo didn't even attend the meeting for fear of being booed off the stage. He didn't have to. He had already cut his deal with his labor lieutenants by promising to do nothing more, asMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Labor vs. Labor: WFP's Endorsement of Gov. Cuomo stinks:

Reform for Other People's Children - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Reform for Other People's Children - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Reform for Other People's Children

By Guest Blogger on June 3, 2014 10:28 AM

Author and advocate Mike Klonsky again writes to Deborah Meier today. This his final post before Bridging Differences takes its annual summer break. Deborah Meier will reply on Thursday.

"What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy." —John Dewey

Deb,

I'm sad, in a way, that this will be our last exchange before Bridging Differences takes its annual summer break. After some early burning-bridges trepidation, I've come to enjoy our dialogue as I hope our readers have. I'm not complaining, though. I could use a little vacation, and I'm sure you could, too.

I hope you enjoyed the FairTest presentation of the Deborah Meier Award to Michelle Fine. Wish I could have been there. There's no one I can think of who's more deserving of an award named after you than Michelle, one of my heroes, whose work as a researcher and education activist has been an inspiration for so many in the field.

You made some great points in your last post about how America views urban and rural culture and schools, and how the term "urban" has taken on new meaning since the days of Blackboard Jungle. The point isn't lost on us here in Chicago, where the mayor sends his kids to the expensive, private, and "progressive" University of Chicago Lab Schools, created by John Dewey himself over a century ago.

Lab is certainly not seen as an urban (code for failing, poor, black, or Latino) school, even though it sits on the city's South Side. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who holds autocratic power over our public school system, wouldn't dream of sending his own children to an "urban" school—not even one of his pet, privately run charters or his chi-chi selective-enrollment schools that are popping up faster than Starbucks in gentrifying neighborhoods.

He sends the kids to Lab (Arne Duncan's alma mater) because he is a wise enough and wealthy enough parent to know the benefits of a small, well-staffed school with a highly qualified, Reform for Other People's Children - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Chetty Et Al…Are “Et” It “Al” Again! |:

Chetty Et Al…Are “Et” It “Al” Again!

As per a recent post about Raj Chetty, the fantabulous study he and his colleagues (i.e., Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff) “Keep on Giving…,” and a recent set of emails exchanged among Raj, Diane, and me about their (implied) nobel-worthy work in this area, given said fantabulous study, it seems Chetty et al are “et” it “al” again!

Excuse my snarkiness here as I am still in shock that they took it upon themselves to “take on” the American Statistical Association.” Yes, the ASA as critqued by Chetty et al. If that’s not a sign of how Chetty et al feel about their work in this area, then I don’t know what is.”

Given my already close proximity to this debate, I thought it wise to consult a colleague of mine–one who, in fact, is an economist (like Chetty et al) and who is also an expert in this area–to write a response to their newly released “take” on the ASA’s recently released “Statement on Using Value-Added Models for Educational Assessment.” Margarita Pivovarova is also an economist conducting research in this area, and I value her perspective more than many other potential reviewers out there, as she is both smart and wise when it comes to the careful use and interpretation of data and methods like those at the focus of these papers. Here’s what she wrote:

What an odd set of opponents in the interpretation of ASA statement, this one apparently being a set of scholars who self-selected themselves to answer what they seemingly believed others were asking; that is, “What say Chetty et al on this?”

That being said, the overall tone of this response reminds of a “response to the editor” as if, in a more customary manner, ASA would have reviewed [the aforementioned] Chetty et al paper and Chetty et al were invited to respond to the ASA. Interestingly here, though, Chetty et al seemed compelled to take a self-assigned “expert” stance on the ASA’s statement, regardless of the fact that this statement represents the expertise and collective stance of a whole set of highly regarded and highly deserving scholars in this area, who quite honestly would NOT have asked for Chetty et al’s advice on the matter. 

This is the ASA, and these are the ASA experts Chetty et al also explicitly marginalize in the reference section of their critique. [Note for yourselves the major lack of alignment between Chetty et al.'s references versus the 70 articles linked to here on this website]. This should cause others pause in terms of why Chetty et al are so extremely selective in their choices of relevant literature – the literature on which they rely “to prove” some of Chetty Et Al…Are “Et” It “Al” Again! |: