Morning Wink 7-30-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Eva Moskowitz Set to Dominate New York City Charter LandscapeEva Moskowitz has applied to the State University of New York‘s Charter School Institute for permission to open another 14 charter schools in New York City by 2016, a request that seems sure to be approved.   Chalkbeat reports:   “If Success’ proposal to open 14 new schoo

by mike simpson / 0min 

7-30-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Home Visits Lifted Up as Best Practice by U.S. Department of Education”I’ve written a lot about the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project, including our school’s — and my — active involvement in it (see The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits). I’ve also posted about the U.S Department of Education’s “Parent

by mike simpson / 2min 

7-30-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: MORE Caucus Press Release: Teacher Tenure is Good for StudentsBy eliminating teacher tenure, we risk further disconnecting students and teachers, and make it harder for them to have transformational dialogue about what actually needs to be done in our classrooms to further the growth of students... Primi Akhtar (2014 graduate of Queens Metropolitan High School, valedictorian) Real

by mike simpson / 4min 

Answer Sheet 7-30-14

Answer Sheet: Respected science publication is fooled by The OnionIt’s one thing for an Iranian news agency to mistakenly cite as fact a piece in The Onion, a satirical humor publication, as actually happened in 2012 when the Fars News Agency referred in all seriousness to an Onion story about a  Gallup poll that supposedly showed more rural white voters in America would rather […]1 by Valerie Str

by mike simpson / 8min 

7-30-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: An Alternative Narrative on TurnoverThe Seattle Times likes to peddle this story about how a fractious and meddling Board is the driving reason for the turnover of senior staff, including the superintendent, at Seattle Public Schools.It's a good yarn, but it doesn't actually fit the facts. It doesn't fit the facts becauseThe Board isn't all that fractious. Most vot

by mike simpson / 9min 

7-30-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: About Those Terrific School Grade Improvements for Charter Schools USACharter Schools USA boss Jonathan Hage bragged last month in his blog about some remarkable improvements his schools made in the past year: Every single one of our “D” and “F” schools from 2013 improve

by mike simpson / 11min 

7-30-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: July’s Best Posts From This BlogI regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here). Here

by mike simpson / 13min 

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.: Glen Brown. How you benefit from our defined benefit pension.- Glen Brown is a teacher, pension activist and blogger. This post can be found at Teacher/Poet/Musician. Pensionomics 2014: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures reports the national economic impacts of publi

by mike simpson / 14min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 7-30-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Pasadena Unified To File Lawsuit Against Acton-Agua Dulce Unified For Authorizing Charter School In PasadenaBy Hugo Guzman & Sarah Favot, The Pasadena Star-News | http://bit.ly/1lc2Av7 The Pasadena Unified School District school board voted to file a lawsuit against the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District for opening the SCALE Academy Charter S

by mike simpson / 17min 

7-30-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): SC’s Zais MistakePublic education has been under assault and misrepresented by political leaders, the media, and the public since (at least) the mid-1800’s. Over the past couple of years, I have documented numerous times the key role mainstream media have played in the f

by mike simpson / 19min 

7-30-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: BATS and ArneThere's not a lot for me to add to Mark Naison's account of the meeting between six BAT representatives and several Department of Education reps, including Arne Duncan. You should be giving that a read, if for no other reason than it represents a moment when the USDOE paid attention to teachers that they themselves hadn't chosen to talk to.There are just a couple of mo

by mike simpson / 21min 

7-30-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Here's Comes The "Health Care Savings" From City WorkersFrom the NY Times:When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his first labor agreements with New York City unions this spring, he was sharply criticized for granting long-awaited wage increases in exchange for promises of unspecified though sizable savings on health care expenses.Now, some of the specifics are coming

by mike simpson / 23min 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's not to love about Chicago politics?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's not to love about Chicago politics?: What's not to love about Chicago politics?When I think of Chicago politics, one word comes to mind, family. I think of a guy like Joe Berrios, the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, reaching out to help 15 of his relatives including sister Carmen , not only land a job with the county but collect on her disability

by mike simpson / 25min 

New dispute opens over LCAP reporting mandate :: SI&A Cabinet Report

New dispute opens over LCAP reporting mandate :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: JULY 30, 2014New dispute opens over LCAP reporting mandateby Tom Chorneau(Calif.) A festering dispute over how much freedom local officials should have over education spending has reignited, pitting school managers against advocates for low-income families and som

by mike simpson / 30min 

Standards Are Expectations of Learning | WagTheDog

Standards Are Expectations of Learning | WagTheDog: Standards Are Expectations of LearningMany ed reformers who are not experienced educators don’t understand that The Common Core State Standards are cognitive goals and expectations of student learning or “growth”.The Standards demand a fixed set of grade level cognitive skills and abilities that must be acquired by students, rather than imparted 

by mike simpson / 37min 

The Common Core Needs Unicorns and Rainbows | Truth in American Education

The Common Core Needs Unicorns and Rainbows | Truth in American Education: The Common Core Needs Unicorns and RainbowsFiled in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on July 30, 2014 • 0 Comments2113Photo credit: FostersFan-Imp (CC-by-ND 3.0)I had to shake my head reading a piece by Stephanie Simon at Politico entitled “Moms winning the Common Core war.”  The first statement that jumped

by mike simpson / 41min 

Inventor of Portfolio School Reform Confirms It Isn’t Working Well | janresseger

Inventor of Portfolio School Reform Confirms It Isn’t Working Well | janresseger: Inventor of Portfolio School Reform Confirms It Isn’t Working WellPosted on July 30, 2014 by janressegerThe portfolio strategy of school reform embodies the idea of school choice. The provision of a range of privatized charter schools and the elimination of assigned school attendance zones are central to the theory,

by mike simpson / 46min 

Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks: Symbiotc Relationship of Bill Gates, Arne Duncan and Pearson…and the Takeover1Arne Duncan has embraced Bill Gates' vision of education.  Bill Gates has had a hand in crafting the common core standards and has provided grant money to advance the implementation in schools around the country.  It doesn't apparently matter to Arne Duncan these standards are unproven, untested and

by mike simpson / 48min 

Geaux Teacher!: BESE Abdicates Constitutional Authority to PARCC, PEARSON and U.S.ED

Geaux Teacher!: BESE Abdicates Constitutional Authority to PARCC, PEARSON and U.S.ED: BESE Abdicates Constitutional Authority to PARCC, PEARSON and U.S.EDChas, you continue to say "This is a question of who has authority to write the questions for our test."  You are absolutely correct and it is absolutely clear that PEARSON has been given the authority to write the questions by virtue o

by mike simpson / 50min 

empathyeducates – Recover the Recovery School District – Return the Schools to the People

empathyeducates – Recover the Recovery School District – Return the Schools to the People: Recover the Recovery School District – Return the Schools to the PeopleA crowd of about 50 showed up for the charter board meeting. photo: Della HasselleIntroductory Essay By Raynard Sanders, Ed.D.The failure of the corporate education reforms in New Orleans has been clearly documented. Of all the school com

by mike simpson / 52min 

NYC Educator: Before You Buy Campbell's New Line of Soups, Don't Forget to Check the Label!

NYC Educator: Before You Buy Campbell's New Line of Soups, Don't Forget to Check the Label!: Before You Buy Campbell's New Line of Soups, Don't Forget to Check the Label!Imagine a line of soups sponsored by Campbell Brown, set to destroy the due-process rights of teachers,cut down the hard-won rights of workersand promote the privatization of education, promising great profits to those very same p

by mike simpson / 56min 

Q&A: Michelle Rhee On Teacher Tenure Challenges : NPR Ed : NPR

Q&A: Michelle Rhee On Teacher Tenure Challenges : NPR Ed : NPR: Q&A: Michelle Rhee On Teacher Tenure Challenges In Vergara v. California, lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that the state's teacher tenure system hurts poor, minority students because they are more likely to end up with "grossly ineffective" teachers. The case focused on three areas: tenure, cumbersome dismissal pol

by mike simpson / 57min 

National Education Association's Lily Eskelsen Garcia on teaching, testing, and fighting back

National Education Association's Lily Eskelsen Garcia on teaching, testing, and fighting back: National Education Association's Lily Eskelsen Garcia on teaching, testing, and fighting backJul 27, 2014 2:45pm PDT by Laura Clawson7959Both major teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have been moving toward a more confrontational response to the p

by mike simpson / 1h 

YESTERDAY

Here It Is, A Profession Transformed - The Jose Vilson

Here It Is, A Profession Transformed - The Jose Vilson: Here It Is, A Profession Transformedby JOSE VILSON on JULY 29, 2014in JOSEI just got back from three packed-house events in Chicago, Chapel Hill, and Philadelphia in July. In each space, the energy in the room took me aback because I’m still not used to the idea that a bunch of folks with busy lives want to hear my mouth run for two hours. Ye

by mike simpson / 11h 

15-7= Private Profit Taken from Public Education Taxes | Reclaim Reform

15-7= Private Profit Taken from Public Education Taxes | Reclaim Reform: 15-7= Private Profit Taken from Public Education TaxesPosted on July 29, 2014by Ken Previti15-7=8 cannot be copyrighted for profit.This example can be copyrighted for private profit from public education taxes.The content can be copyrighted, the instructional materials (text books, worksheets, computer and online programs, su

by mike simpson / 14h 

The Kvetching of Mona Davids southbronxschool

http://www.southbronxschool.com: The Kvetching of Mona DavidsOh Mona Davids is in an uproar again. Poor, poor, Mona, how her crocodile tears do flow.The Daily News reported today that parents (And rightly so) are upset that the school day has been rescheduled in 450 to accommodate the 80 minutes of PD on Mondays and the 75 minutes of parent involvement on Tuesdays. Surely, Mona is happy with the a

by mike simpson / 14h 

Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association: BATs July 28, 2014 SpeechBy:  Dr. Yohuru WilliamsMr. Duncan in May of 1894, Jacob Coxey, and his Army marched on Washington DC in the wake of a worldwide depression to petition the government for jobs for the unemployed.  Coxey opened his speech, not too far from here, invoking the promise of American democracy“We choose this place of assemblage” he told his audience,

by mike simpson / 15h 

Nite Cap 7-29-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT

James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP7-29-14 Schools Matter All WeekSchools Matter: Evan Bayh Loves Christel DeHaan and Hedge Funders: CORPORATE SCHOOL ALERTby Doug Martin With so many people saying Evan Bayh must come back to Indiana to "save" public education as governor

by mike simpson / 16h 

7-29-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Evan Bayh Loves Christel DeHaan and Hedge Funders: CORPORATE SCHOOL ALERTby Doug Martin With so many people saying Evan Bayh must come back to Indiana to "save" public education as governor, it is time to set the record straight and let Hoosiers know about the real Evan Bayh. Here is just a glimpse (after only a few hours of research) into Indiana’s hero, Fox News' on-air

by mike simpson / 18h 

Trouble in Common Core City: Too Many Music Men, Not Enough Librarians - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Trouble in Common Core City: Too Many Music Men, Not Enough Librarians - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Trouble in Common Core City: Too Many Music Men, Not Enough LibrariansBy Anthony Cody on July 29, 2014 2:12 PMLast week Glenn Beck brought parents to 700 theaters nationwide to warn them of the perils of the Common Core, and the dangers of government brainwashing. Andy Schmookler h

by mike simpson / 19h 

7-29-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Arne Duncan Drops in Unexpectedly on Meeting With BATS at US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and Gets an Earful!

With A Brooklyn Accent: Arne Duncan Drops in Unexpectedly on Meeting With BATS at US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and Gets an Earful!: Arne Duncan Drops in Unexpectedly on Meeting With BATS at US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and Gets an Earful!   On July 28, 2014, following the  BAT Rally outside the US Department of Education, a delegation of BATS went up to  t

by mike simpson / 20h 

7-29-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: A Parent/Filmmaker Comments on Ravitch and UnionsHow is it possible that  the Leadership of Teachers Unions maintains this destructive control of the profession?  And how can that control be altered and in what ways, without destroying the Unions altogether.  .....parent perception is predominantly that the Unions speak for and represent the attitudes of teachers.... If the Unions

by mike simpson / 20h 

To ALEC in Texas: School Vouchers are Poppycock | Cloaking Inequity

To ALEC in Texas: School Vouchers are Poppycock | Cloaking Inequity: To ALEC in Texas: School Vouchers are PoppycockALEC is meeting in Texas right now with a “shameless” agenda to privatize public education. Who is ALEC? In December 2012 Cloaking Inequity first profiled the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a national organization “composed of legislators, businesses and founda

by mike simpson / 20h 

The Charter School Profiteers | Jacobin

The Charter School Profiteers | Jacobin: The Charter School Profiteersby Allie GrossIn Detroit charter schools, mismanagement and opportunistic “education entrepreneurs” thrive.(Beth Fertig / SchoolBook)This is the second installment in our two-part series looking at charter schools in New Orleans and Detroit. The juxtaposition is no accident — these two cities have the highest percentage of chart

by mike simpson / 21h 

Teachers Occupy the US Department of Education in Washington, DC | M. Shannon Hernandez

Teachers Occupy the US Department of Education in Washington, DC | M. Shannon Hernandez: Teachers Occupy the US Department of Education in Washington, DCI boarded the Amtrak early Sunday morning in New York City and headed into Washington, DC. The weekend had finally arrived where teachers from across this nation were going to show our solidarity and use our voices to fight for public education. E

by mike simpson / 21h 

7-29-14 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: LAUSD, teachers at odds over contract talksMorning Read: LAUSD, teachers at odds over contract talks Teachers union, LAUSD at odds over bargaining tactics With just two weeks before school starts, union leaders representing 35,000 teachers have declined Los Angeles Unified’s offer to conduct

by mike simpson / 21h 

Teachers’ due process rights are not the problem | Edwize

Teachers’ due process rights are not the problem | Edwize: Teachers’ due process rights are not the problemRead the full post here.

by mike simpson / 21h 

Common-sense school reform in a post-Vergara world: Guest commentary

Common-sense school reform in a post-Vergara world: Guest commentary: Common-sense school reform in a post-Vergara world: Guest commentary If you are of a certain age, as we are, you will recall the days when your buddies all wanted to put “headers” on their V-8 Chevy, Dodge, or Ford. The effect was a loud, thumping rumble that turned heads in the school parking lot or at the drive-in theater. Hea

by mike simpson / 22h 

7-29-14 The Whole Child Blog — ED Pulse Poll Results: Should Cellphones Be Allowed at School?

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: ED Pulse Poll Results: Should Cellphones Be Allowed at School?ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recent ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers if they believe students should be allowed to bring and use their cellphones at school. While families struggle with the right age for a child

by mike simpson / 22h 

Testing scandal | Deborah Meier on Education

Testing scandal | Deborah Meier on Education: Testing scandalPosted on July 29, 2014 by debmeierDear readers,I have been silent since June fourth because my car, without my consent, left the road and crashed into a field—totaling it, but fortunately not me. I’m very lucky to have escaped with minor damage, but enough to “lay me low” for the past month plus. But, when I read Rachel Aviv’s marvelous

by mike simpson / 22h 

Moms winning the Common Core war - Stephanie Simon - POLITICO.com

Moms winning the Common Core war - Stephanie Simon - POLITICO.com: Moms winning the Common Core warmillions have proved no match for the moms. | AP PhotoSupporters of the Common Core academic standards have spent big this past year to persuade wavering state legislators to stick with the new guidelines for math and language arts instruction. Given the firestorm of opposition that took them by surp

by mike simpson / 22h 

Ohio is the "Wild, Wild West" of charter schools, says national group promoting charter standards | cleveland.com

Ohio is the "Wild, Wild West" of charter schools, says national group promoting charter standards | cleveland.com: Ohio is the "Wild, Wild West" of charter schools, says national group promoting charter standards CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio is taking good steps to rein in its "Wild, Wild West" of charter schools, but time will tell if the state has the backbone to make it

by mike simpson / 22h 

Badass Teachers #HereToStay #BATsDC | Continuing Change

Badass Teachers #HereToStay #BATsDC | Continuing Change: Badass Teachers #HereToStay #BATsDCJuly 29, 2014Education      Rate ThisWhen we started,  people laughed at the name and joined. When we got active,  people worried about the name and hesitated. When we started caucuses in our unions and fought for change,  people objected to our name and attacked. When we went to the Dept of Ed and convince

by mike simpson / 23h 

7-29-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): “Students Today…”: On Writing, Plagiarism, and TeachingPosted at Maureen Downey’s Get Schooled, college instructor Rick Diguette offers a grim picture of first year college writing: Once upon a time I taught college English at a local community college, but not any more.

by mike simpson / 23h 

Marie Corfield: Saving New Jersey's children three zip codes at a time

Marie Corfield: Saving New Jersey's children three zip codes at a time: Saving New Jersey's children three zip codes at a timeYesterday the mayors of New Jersey's three largest cities, Ras Baraka of Newark, Jose Torres of Paterson and Steven Fulop of Jersey City, announced a bold move to collaborate on reducing violent crime in all three cities. The proposal evolved from the Passaic River Corridor

by mike simpson / 23h 

Rigor: A horrible word for schools? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Rigor: A horrible word for schools? | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com: Rigor: A horrible word for schools?I thought this Oregon parent made a good case for abandoning the use of "rigor" in discussing school reform:

by mike simpson / 23h 

Op-Ed: Education Official Who Left Under Ethical Cloud Returns to Washington | CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Op-Ed: Education Official Who Left Under Ethical Cloud Returns to Washington | CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:Op-Ed: Education Official Who Left Under Ethical Cloud Returns to WashingtonBy Melanie SloanEducation, For-Profit Education, Federal Agencies, Department of Education, FOIA, News, Roll Call, Wall Street, Melanie Sloan, Robert Shireman, CREW v. Department of Edu

by mike simpson / 23h 

Morning Wink 7-29-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for allDiane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: David Berliner Responds to Economists Who Discount Role of Child PovertyErik Hanushek, Paul Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann take issue with David Berliner and Gene Glass’s view about how high lev

by mike simpson / 1d 

2nd Banana 7-26-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 7-19-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

2nd Banana 7-12-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

2nd Banana 7-5-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 6-28-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post

2nd Banana 6-21-14 Recap of Last Week's Best Post 

Nite Cap 7-29-14

Nite Cap 7-28-14

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Nite Cap 7-19-14

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Fred Klonsky: The Story the Chicago Press Won’t Touch

Fred Klonsky writes that in 2007, the Chicago Tribune praised CEO Arne Duncan because he would not be content with principals drawn from the ranks. not Arne! He was looking for superstar principals. Duncan was CEO because he lacked the experience as a teacher or a principal to be a superintendent. The Tribune singled out one of Duncan’s “superstars”: Terrence P. Carter. ““Used to be, as long as

4 by dianeravitch / 1h 

The Day: Was New London Superintendent’s Cover Letter Also Plagiarized?

The Day reports that the language in the cover letter submitted by Terrence Carter to be superintendent in New London contained language identical to a cover letter written by another job applicant in Michigan in 2011. When will this charade end? If he fabricated his résumé and plagiarized his job application and cover letter, what more evidence is needed? Here is an excerpt from The Day: “New L

1 by dianeravitch / 20min 

Peter Greene: What He Learned from the BATs Meeting with Duncan

After reading Mark Naison’s account of the BAT’s meeting with DOE staff and the Duncan himself, Peter Green was delighted that staff at the U.S. Department of Education finally had to listen to teachers that were not hand-picked to be deferential. He noted two important points that inadvertently emerged from the talk. “First, Marla Kilfoyle expressed her concerns about the Department’s new policy

1 by dianeravitch / 7min 

Breaking News: North Carolina Court Rules That Voucher $$ May Flow Before Ruling on its Consitutionality

Lindsay Wagner reports in NC Watch that a judge in North Carolina said it was okay to dispense $10 million for private school vouchers before the courts rule on whether vouchers are constitutional. The far-right legislative leader Thom Tilles said the budget for vouchers would grow by another $800,000. Do you think President Obama or Secretary Duncan will speak out against this diversion of publi

1 by dianeravitch / 3min 

The Best Article About Tenure Ever, Explaining Campbell Brown’s Law

We all know, or should know, about Campbell’s Law. That is a social science axiom that says: “The more any quantitative social indicator (or even some qualitative indicator) is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.” The short translation: the more you m

2 by dianeravitch / 10min 

Rick Hess: Why Race to the Top Failed

Among the conservatives who comment on education, Rick Hess is consistently the most thoughtful. I often disagree with him, for example, about choice and for-profit schooling. But I am often impressed by his thoughtfulness and pleasantly surprised by his willingness to question “reform” dogma. Here is a column that is a great example of Rick’s insight. In it, he essentially concludes that Race to

by dianeravitch / 0min 

Eva Moskowitz Set to Dominate New York City Charter Landscape

Eva Moskowitz has applied to the State University of New York‘s Charter School Institute for permission to open another 14 charter schools in New York City by 2016, a request that seems sure to be approved.   Chalkbeat reports:   “If Success’ proposal to open 14 new schools by 2016 is approved by the trustees of the SUNY Charter School Institute, the network will enroll about 35,698 students and c

2 by dianeravitch / 58min hide  //  save

Jeff Bryant: Will Campbell Brown Replace Michelle Rhee as the Face of “Reform”?

Jeff Bryant wonders whether Campbell Brown will replace Michelle Rhee as the public face of “reform”? Bryant describes the movement as “Blame Teachers First.” Bryant suspects that Rhee’s star is fading fast. Bryant describes her as “education’s Ann Coulter.” The lingering doubts about the Washington, D.C. cheating scandal never dissipate, and John Merrow’s latest blog about the millions that Rhee

10 by dianeravitch / 1h 

Rachel Aviv: How NCLB Harmed Children, Teachers, and the Meaning of Education

If you have not read Rachel Aviv’s “Wrong Answer” in The New Yorker, drop everything and read it now. Aviv tells the story of the Atlanta cheating scandal through the ideas of one man, one teacher, who cared deeply about his student. Step by step, he got sucked into the data-driven obsession with test scores, thinking that if he raised the children’s test scores, it was a victimless crime. He kne

8 by dianeravitch / 2h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-29-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: David Berliner Responds to Economists Who Discount Role of Child PovertyErik Hanushek, Paul Peterson, and Ludger Woessmann take issue with David Berliner and Gene Glass’s view about how high levels of child poverty in the U.S. affect our students’ performance on international assessments. In the following post, David Berliner respo

by mike simpson / 7h 

7-30-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

“Home Visits Lifted Up as Best Practice by U.S. Department of Education”

I’ve written a lot about the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project, including our school’s — and my — active involvement in it (see The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits). I’ve also posted about the U.S Department of Education’s “Parent and Community Engagement Framework,” which they released in April and which talks about home visits (see Department of Education Releases New Paren

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h 

7-28-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Raising Readers” Is A Scholastic Program For Teachers To Use With Spanish & English-Speaking ParentsRaising Readers is from Scholastic, and it has a lot of free materials — in both English and Spanish — to help promote activities parents can do with their children to encourage reading. To tell you the truth, I’m not su

by mike simpson / 8h

7-30-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Moaning Mona and Campbell Brown Tenure Suits: An Attack on Special Ed Students

Less than a week after I received the Letter of Possible Discontinuance I received an updated package, which now stated my license could possibly be terminated. Because I voiced concern for the needs of my students I am being dealt a difficult card and an ultimatum.  I am alarmed and concerned for my future as an educator.  As I mentioned earlier, this is where I see myself until retirement, in a

by ed notes online / 1min

Daily Howler Takes down Recent Ivy League Grad Ed Journalists

Impressive diplomas to the side, have you ever seen these new and slightly older kids challenge the prevailing theme about our floundering public schools? Have you ever seen them push back against this ubiquitous, billionaire-favored theme with the most elementary statistical work?.... People from the finest schools putter around on the public schools beat, failing to identify the groaning conflic

by ed notes online / 34min 

MORE Caucus Press Release: Teacher Tenure is Good for Students

By eliminating teacher tenure, we risk further disconnecting students and teachers, and make it harder for them to have transformational dialogue about what actually needs to be done in our classrooms to further the growth of students... Primi Akhtar (2014 graduate of Queens Metropolitan High School, valedictorian) Real parents and students as opposed to astroturf creations  support tenure. Primi

by ed notes online / 1h hide  //  save

MORE Summer Series Today: Life Under the New UFT Contract

I can't make this today - taking soon to be demised Rockaway ferry into city for matinee - but this is only a first shot at life under the new contract. How about the health care cost savings?http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/nyregion/de-blasios-plans-to-save-on-worker-health-costs-come-into-focus.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0 Life Under The New UFT Contractby morecaucusnyc The Social Justice

by ed notes online / 1h 

7-29-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: A Parent/Filmmaker Comments on Ravitch and UnionsHow is it possible that  the Leadership of Teachers Unions maintains this destructive control of the profession?  And how can that control be altered and in what ways, without destroying the Unions altogether.  .....parent perception is predominantly that the Unions speak for and represent the attitudes of teachers.... If the Unions

by mike simpson / 4h 

Answer Sheet 7-30-14

Answer Sheet:

Campbell Brown’s anti-union group uses union slogan

Campbell Brown doesn’t hide her disdain for teachers unions. She has frequently railed against them, and formed an anti-union advocacy group that filed a lawsuit in New York this week seeking to eliminate job protections for teachers in the state. That’s why it is somewhat amusing that her group, the Partnership for Educational Justice, describes itself […]

by Valerie Strauss / 11min 

Respected science publication is fooled by The Onion

It’s one thing for an Iranian news agency to mistakenly cite as fact a piece in The Onion, a satirical humor publication, as actually happened in 2012 when the Fars News Agency referred in all seriousness to an Onion story about a  Gallup poll that supposedly showed more rural white voters in America would rather […]

1 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

Answer Sheet 7-29-14

Answer Sheet: School puts nearly 100 kindergartners in one class in a teaching experiment(No, the headline is not from The Onion.) Brenda Scott Academy of Theater Arts is a high-poverty preK-8th school in east Detroit that is part of the Education Achievement Authority, a district run by Michigan authorities for schools identified as being the lowest-performing. Brenda Scott has an extended calend

by mike simpson / 8h