Monday, August 4, 2014

Tim Meegan, The Shock Doctrine, our schools, and our children | Reclaim Reform

Tim Meegan, The Shock Doctrine, our schools, and our children | Reclaim Reform:



Tim Meegan, The Shock Doctrine, our schools, and our children

Tim Meegan is a teacher at Theodore Roosevelt High School who explainedThe Shock Doctrine to school board members and parents alike. As a father and teacher he is living the reality of watching a school board intentionally starve his public schools in order to justify privatization for the profits of multinational corporations and worldwide investors.
Tim Meegan
Tim’s article in the Chicago Sun-Times is brief, thorough and eloquent.
“It is abundantly clear that CPS’ budget crisis, underutilization crisis and now the pension crisis are manufactured to force a situation so acutely painful that the solutions of venture philanthropists will seem the only logical options. They are quietly proceeding with mass privatization against the wishes of Chicagoans and CPS parents.”
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his pro-privatization friends want to blow up the public education system in this city by implementing CRPE’s vision. All they lacked was the crisis to justify radical change. Solution? Make one.”
Timothy Meegan
“The formula for privatizing districts is the same all over the country: Open charters operated by private organizations. Simultaneously defund neighborhood schools, declare them “failing,” and then close them. Fire certified professional teachers and replace them with temporary, unskilled TFA recruits.”
“Parents and students have been calling for a boycott of school this fall. Only parents can stop this madness.”

Choosing Democracy: Welcome to Sacramento Superintendent José Banda

Choosing Democracy: Welcome to Sacramento Superintendent José Banda:



Welcome to Sacramento Superintendent José Banda




Welcome to Sacramento.  We hope that you can establish a positive working relationship with the Board, the community, and the teachers.  Developing a positive relationship and sustained, consistent leadership is required for school improvement.

We regret the prompt attacks on your character and your contract by the Sacramento Bee editorial board.  You see they were staunch advocates for the prior Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, a Broad Foundation assisted superintendent.  He left promptly without an explanation. It is unusual for the Bee to attack a new superintendent before he has an opportunity to make some decisions. 
Duane Campbell, Director.
Democracy and Education Institute


8-4-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:






Would Elizabeth Green Approve of A Book I Might Write on the Art and Craft of Journalism?
Somehow I doubt it, especially since I am not a journalist, haven't studied or practiced journalism, and know almost nothing about the origins, history, theoretical base, or conceptual understanding and shared knowledge of the craft and art of journalistic writing.I hope Elizabeth will forgive me, then, for being skeptical about her finally-published Columbia journalism research paper on pedagogy

Profiteers on the Move in MA to Expand Charters in 2016
From Lisa Guisbond at CPS:Charter proponents may have been shocked to be handed a rare legislative defeat, but they are not sitting back on the heels of their designer shoes. The State House News Service reported this week that charter advocates "are already eyeing the 2016 ballot" and "reaching out to supporters in the business and education communities, as well as potential donors

Campbell Brown Clip from Colbert Show
The Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

8-3-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: From Korea to KIPP: "production, performance, and obedience"Reading the essay by Se-Woong Koo on the South Korean system of educational child abuse, I was struck by how much of what he said could have come from former teachers of KIPP who have since let their conscience be their guides: incredible stress, diminished affect, clumps of hair falling out, physical and psychol


8-4-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:







Update on McCleary and Fully-Funding K-12 Education in Washington State
From Washington State Budget&Policy Center: Today, Pacifica Law Group filed an amicus brief with the Washington State Supreme Court on our behalf that makes it clear that legislators cannot responsibly address the requirements of the McCleary decision to fully fund education without raising new revenue.Joining us as co-signers on the brief are Centerstone, Equity in Education Coalition, Elderc

Washington State Gets "Mixed" Review in Rankings for States for K-12 Education
From the Huffington Post, a report about a ranking list from a personal finance site, Wallethub, for K-12 education in the 50 states.  Washington state ranks 15th overall (kind of surprising) but 29th in spending, giving our state their "mixed" ranking.  They give our state a 50 for "Education output and safety."Education Output & SafetySafest Schools (Percentage of Public

Seattle Schools and Title IX
I asked the Department of Education spokeperson about issues around Title IX and Seattle Schools and here was their statement:We can confirm that OCR is currently investigating a Title IX sexual violence case involving the Seattle Public Schools. As this is an open investigation, we cannot share any additional information. For more on how OCR handles civil rights complaints, please see our Web sit

PE at Your Neighborhood Community Center?
This was in the Northgate Community Center activities schedule.  Apparently, you can get a high school (maybe middle school) PE credit for this class.  Have you seen this elsewhere?  (Credit to Carolyn Leith for pointing this out.)




8-3-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Reminder to Our ReadersThis is a community forum blog.  To me and Charlie, that means anyone can come and discuss anything relevant to public education from national right down to specific Seattle schools/programs.  We try to guide the conversation but not define it. You can opine/inform on topics on just about anything in public education.  We provide open threa

8-4-14 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):





State legislatures are moving ahead on K-12 issues
State legislatures are moving ahead on K-12 issues In a year when 46 states will hold legislative elections and 36 will select governors, lawmakers in various states pushed ahead on education priorities, including pre-K education, teacher evaluation, and revisions to school funding formulas. Those issues and others managed to break through despite continued ferment around the Common Core State Sta


Low voter turnout predicted in LAUSD board race
Low voter turnout predicted in LAUSD board race Even as the runoff election appears to be tightening to fill the vacant LA Unified school board seat in south LA, the question is not only who will win, but just how low can voter turnout go? Set for August 12, the stand-alone election not only falls in the dog days of summer, but also hits on the first day of school, when parents tend to have their

Ridley-Thomas voter group going all out for Johnson
Ridley-Thomas voter group going all out for Johnson Mark Ridley-Thomas Alex Johnson has no greater supporter in his bid for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat than Mark Ridley-Thomas, the LA County Supervisor he has served as an education aide. But it’s more than Ridley-Thomas’s vocal support that’s helping Johnson in his quest to beat George McKenna in the Aug. 12 runoff after McKenna outpolled h

Morning Read: Renowned trial lawyer takes on teacher tenure
Morning Read: Renowned trial lawyer takes on teacher tenure Celebrated trial lawyer to head group challenging teacher tenure David Boies, the star trial lawyer who helped lead the legal charge that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban, is becoming chairman of the Partnership for Educational Justice, a group that former CNN anchor Campbell Brown founded in part to pursue lawsuits challengi

8-2-14 This Week in 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):LAUSD holding a conference to help black, Latino boysLAUSD holding a conference to help black, Latino boys LA Unified is joining President Obama’s initiative to help improve educational outcomes for African American and Latino boys. At Loyola Marymount University on Monday, the district will conduct a day-


8-4-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:



About the radio show
Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 
LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 
on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 
You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.
Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.




James Heckman’s Research Argues Against Test-Driven Accountability

The Myth of Achievement Tests, by James Heckman, John Eric Humphries, and Tim Kautz is more than a meticulous work of social science. It also is an objective, but hard-hitting, analysis of the testing that has driven school reform, and a warning about the unintended harm done by ill-conceived policies. One of the best things […]


All Week 8-3-14 @ THE CHALK FACE - preview with Linda Darling Hammond
@ THE CHALK FACE: About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursd


Conference report part 2! | Parents Across America

Conference report part 2! | Parents Across America:



Conference report part 2!



Our second day started out with breakout sessions to discuss how PAA can better support our chapters and affiliates. We came up with a number of great ideas and some volunteers to work on them.
2014retreatNate
PAA Board member Nate Harris
The final session began with a presentation on Poverty and Education by PAA Board member Nate Harris. Nate shared some statistics on the issues confronting low-income students and a review of some of the federal programs that are designed to address some of these needs. Nate put this data in context by noting that we all love our children and need to do whatever we can to care for them. He strongly advocates for more wrap around services for students.
Nate also introduced Dr.  Paul Thomas, who joined us via Skype. Dr. Thomas teaches in the Education Department at Furman University.
Dr. Thomas asserted that the national narrative that education is the one true way out of poverty is unfortunately not true for too many students today. He referred to research showing that 60% of the people in the top fifth of wealth tend to stay there, as do 60% of those in the bottom fifth, with social mobility decreasing over the last decades.  The data shows that if you are born wealthy and do not attend college, you earning power will still be higher than someone born into poverty who graduates from college. Education has not proven to be the ticket out of poverty.
While Dr. Thomas isn’t claiming that public education has no impact, he urges us to consider how schools may reflect and perpetuate inequities. We must first acknowledge the realities about poverty inequity and then create social and education policies to address them. Otherwise we are chasing the same solutions but never identifying what the problems are. Strategies like overcrowding, overtesting, creating more charter schools, and firing teachers are just making things worse.
Dr. Thomas urged us to adopt an  action agenda for equity. We need to be clear that schools need reform,
- See more at: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/conference-report-part-2/

Who can access K-12 students' personal data? No one really knows « Watchdog.org

Who can access K-12 students' personal data? No one really knows « Watchdog.org:



Who can access K-12 students’ personal data? No one really knows

By   /   August 4, 2014  /   No Comments
By Mary C. Tillotson | Watchdog.org
Students at many public schools are having personal data collected, stored and distributed to third parties without their parents’ knowledge.
“I had a conversation with my high school assistant principal and asked him how much data was being collected. He chuckled and slapped his knee and he said, ‘It’s a lot. It’s getting to be more and more,’” said Dawn Sweeney, a Pennsylvania mother.
DATA PRIVACY: Parents ought to be informed and give consent before a school allows third parties access to a student’s sensitive private data, a new organization says. The federal law protecting privacy was crafted in the 1970s.
Sweeney has two children in public schools and she homeschools her younger three. She had planned to enroll them in public schools when they reached seventh grade, as she did with her two oldest, but because of the data collection, she’s reconsidering.
“Nobody can say exactly what is being collected, but it’s a lot, and it concerns me that every time my kids are on the computer, their person is connected to data,” Sweeney said. “You don’t need parent permission for that. However, you do need parent permission to hang artwork in the hallway.”
That data collection makes plenty of parents nervous and is a growing reason more parents homeschool their children, said Will Estrada, staff attorney and director of federal relations for Home School Legal Defense Association.
“The concern for parents is, good grief, this record is going to follow my kid through higher education. If they punched another kid in second grade or had emotional problems in sixth grade, that’s going to follow them,” Estrada said. “You can’t be a child and grow and learn.”
Other concerns include identity theft, data security, a child’s physical safety if a sex offender gains access to the data and the government or big businesses having access to the data.
Emmett McGroarty, executive director of the Preserve Innocence Project at the American Principles Project, said if government is able to collect information in an unfettered manner on individuals, it will change their relationship.
“If I have a wealth of private information on you, on what you buy, what you read, what you watch on TV, your voting records, and how much you make…If you’re walking Who can access K-12 students' personal data? No one really knows « Watchdog.org:

Shanker Blog » Social Capital Matters As Much As Human Capital – A Message To Skeptics

Shanker Blog » Social Capital Matters As Much As Human Capital – A Message To Skeptics:



Social Capital Matters As Much As Human Capital – A Message To Skeptics

Posted by  on August 4, 2014


This is the third post in a series on “The Social Side Of Reform”, exploring the idea that relationships, social capital, and social networks matter in lasting, systemic educational improvement. For more on this series, click here.
In recent posts (here and here), we have been arguing that social capital — social relations and the resources that can be accessed through them (e.g., support, knowledge) — is an enormously important component of educational improvement. In fact, I have suggested that understanding and promoting social capital in schools may be as promising as focusing on personnel (or human capital) policies such as teacher evaluation, compensation and so on. 
My sense is that many teachers and principals support this argument, but I am also very interested in making the case to those who may disagree. I doubt very many people would disagree with the idea that relationships matter, but perhaps there are more than a few skeptics when it comes to how much they matter, and especially to whether or not social capital can be as powerful and practical a policy lever as human capital.
In other words, there are, most likely, those who view social capital as something that cannot really be leveraged cost-effectively with policy intervention toward any significant impact, in no small part because it focuses on promoting things that already happen and/or that cannot be mandated. For example, teachers already spend time together and cannot/should not be required to do so more often, at least not to an extent that would make a difference for student outcomes (although this could be said of almost any policy).
Some might even add additional force to this argument by portraying social capital as a kind of unaffordable luxury – i.e., poor kids are way behind, and need all the attention and time they can get. “Are you are telling us that teachers need time to hang out with their colleagues?,” they might contend.
My first response is pretty straightforward: Yes, one of the things I am saying is that teachers should spend more (and better) time together and interact more. And I am of course not the only one saying this. In fact, the idea is catching on. Just a few days ago the New York Times published a pieceShanker Blog » Social Capital Matters As Much As Human Capital – A Message To Skeptics:

Gates Funds NBC & NPR Education & Common Core Coverage » Politichicks.com

Gates Funds NBC & NPR Education & Common Core Coverage » Politichicks.com:



Gates Funds NBC & NPR Education & Common Core Coverage

August 2, 2014 at 5:00 am / by 
About Kathryn Porter
Colorado PolitiChick Kathryn Porter is a freelance writer and educational consultant for homeschooling families. Specializing in “outside the box” students, she encourages public school parents and hom… More



Is there a Common Core bias in mainstream media? And if yes, could it be due to the generous flow of money from Bill Gates? Bill Gates, known for his support of Common Core has been pumping millions through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation into media outlets towards education coverage.
In September of 2013, NBC under the name NBCUniversal, received a 1.3 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation “to support the 2013 Education Nation Summit’s Teacher Town Hall and expand education coverage.” That’s $1,340,000, to be exact. The Gates Foundation shows it also awarded NBC $1,000,000 in 2012 to support the Education Nation Summit and $2,033,500 in 2010 to support the “National Education Summit”
EDweek reported that the 2011 summit opened with Brian Williams stating this:
“Gates Foundation, one of the sponsors of this event, and the largest single funder of education anywhere in the world. It’s their facts that we’re going to be referring to often to help along our conversation.”
Select education articles from NBCnews.com ends with this note: “Education coverage for NBCNews.com is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. NBC News retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.”
NBC is not the only news outlet accepting money from Gates. NPR has been receiving Gates money for education coverage since 2006, plus millions more for increased coverage of health issues—including a 2013 4.5 million grant “to advance global health and development coverage”.
NPR is not as transparent in reminding its audience of its support from the Gates Foundation. In an article highlighting the benefits of the software Course Signals, a disclosure statement was only added after a commenter posted the Gates connection. “Disclosure: As a commenter points out below, the Gates Funds NBC & NPR Education & Common Core Coverage » Politichicks.com: