Thursday, September 18, 2014

9/18/2014 – What’s The Matter With Kansas Education Policy?

9/18/2014 – What’s The Matter With Kansas Education Policy?:



Education Opportunity Network -

9/18/2014 – What’s The Matter With Kansas Education Policy?


September 18, 2014
THIS WEEK: Americans Want Highly-Qualified Teachers … Teachers Find Greener Pastures … Schools Arming Up … High School Rankings Make No Sense … Student College Loan Debt Hits Elderly Too

TOP STORY

What’s The Matter With Kansas Education Policy?

By Jeff Bryant

“Since the nation’s Great Recession, public education in Kansas has seen state funding cut repeatedly … Kansas is not the only place … Even now, as some state budgets see some recovery, and national leaders agree on new appropriations (the few times they can), most public school budgets are still unable to get back to funding levels they were prior to the recession … The American populace is increasingly angered by the financial calamity that has befallen their schools, and there are signs some politicians may have rude awakenings in upcoming elections this November and beyond.”
Read more …

NEWS AND VIEWS

Americans Want Teachers To Take A Bar Exam

The Atlantic

“In a new poll out today, Americans say they want teacher preparation programs to raise the bar for entrance, provide longer training periods for practice teaching, and require new teachers to pass a rigorous certification exam … Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans said they had ‘trust and confidence’ in public-school teachers … The percentage of Americans who say they favor tying a teacher’s evaluation to her student’s test scores has been steadily declining, to 38% this year from 52% in 2012 … There’s been a steep plummet in the percentage of Americans who said a college education was ‘very important’: 43% this year, down from a high of 75% in 2010.”
Read more …

Half Of Those Leaving Teaching Report Better Working Conditions In Other Jobs

Education Week

“Of the 3.4 million public school teachers teaching in 2011-12 … 84% stayed at their schools, 8% went to a different school, and 8% left the profession … Teachers in years 1-3 of teaching were more likely to move to a different school (13%), but actually less likely to leave the profession altogether (7%) … Teachers who left the teaching profession in 2012-13, 51 percent said they had a more manageable work load and 53% reported better working conditions in their current positions.”
Read more …

Schools Acquire Grenade Launchers, MRAPs and Other Military Equipment – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Alternet

“More than 20 school districts across the county have been acquiring surplus military equipment from the Pentagon … The school districts and campus security forces range in size from small Saddleback College in southern California, whose nine-member squad received a MRAP – mine resistant ambush protected – vehicle … to Los Angeles Unified School District, which received 61 M16 assault rifles, three grenade launchers and one MRAP … San Diego’s school district also requested and received an MRAP …In Edinburg, Texas, the district has its own SWAT team … ‘It is frankly difficult to imagine how a grenade launcher, or any of these items, could be safely used in any scenario involving schools,’ the [NAACP] wrote in a letter to the federal program’s administrators.”
Read more …

Ranking High Schools Tells You Which Schools Are Rich Or Selective

Vox

Education journalist Libby Nelson writes, “The recent spread of rankings mania to high schools makes no sense … The public schools that top these lists are mostly selective magnet schools that get to pick which students they educate. If they’re not, they’re much likely to enroll fewer poor students than public schools as a whole … Knowing what the best high school is doesn’t matter if you can’t afford to live in its attendance area or if you don’t have the test scores to get in … The problem is that most of this isn’t about what the schools themselves are doing … Nobody should take these rankings seriously.”
Read more …

Student Debt Collections Are Leaving The Elderly In Poverty

Businessweek

“Elderly Americans have more student loan debt than ever and are more likely to become chronically unable to make payments than younger borrowers … Federal student debt among Americans 65 and older increased six-fold since 2005 … Over 80% of elderly borrowers were still struggling to pay off loans they took out to pay for their education … Some 31% of the student loans held by Americans aged 65 and older were in default last year. That makes the elderly about twice as likely to hold defaulted loans as Americans under the age of 50 … Most of those who saw Social Security payments slashed to repay student loans in 2013 were living on benefit income that was under the poverty line.”
Read more …
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Charter School Law & Authorizer Practices Need Upgrades & Strengthening to Address Rapid Growth & Expansion (9/17/14) | Annenberg Institute for School Reform

Charter School Law & Authorizer Practices Need Upgrades & Strengthening to Address Rapid Growth & Expansion (9/17/14) | Annenberg Institute for School Reform:



Charter School Law & Authorizer Practices Need Upgrades & Strengthening to Address Rapid Growth & Expansion (9/17/14)

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CONTACT:
Barbara Gross
AISR Principal Associate
212/328-9258 (ofc)
347/410-2749 (cell)		or     Phil GloudemansAISR Director, Communications
401/863-3552 (ofc)
401/338-6385 (cell)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 17, 2014)

New Report from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform Cites Lack of Access, Transparency & Accountability
Charter report cover image
PROVIDENCE – A new report on charter schools from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) recommends changes to state charter legislation and charter authorizer standards that would reduce student inequities and achieve complete transparency and accountability to the communities served.  
“It is time to revisit and tune-up state charter laws and authorizer practices to allow the best features of chartering to flourish while weeding out the practices and loopholes that have cost states and taxpayers so much in both dollars and public trust,” notes the report, titled “Public Accountability for Charter Schools: Standards and Policy Recommendations for Effective Oversight,” issued today.
The report is the result of a two-year study by grassroots organizers and education leaders nationwide who, under the auspices of AISR and Communities for Public Education Reform (CPER), examined the impact of rapid charter expansion on parents, students and communities.
“The group found some common concerns: Uneven academic performance; practices that pushed or kept students out of charter schools; overly harsh discipline policies; funding patterns that destabilized traditional schools; and a lack of representative governance, transparency, and adequate oversight, leading to potential conflicts of interests and instances of fraud and other problems,” the report stated.   
According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, in 2013-14, there were 2.57 million students enrolled in over 6,000 public charter schools nationwide; in contrast, there were 1.29 million students enrolled in 2007-08.  All but eight states have enacted legislation allowing charters.  The report notes that nearly 2,000 new charter schools have opened during the past five years. 
“State charter laws, regulations and oversight have not stayed abreast with the rapid growth of the charter school sector,” said Richard Gray, director of AISR’s Community Organizing & Engagement practice.  “While most charter operators diligently work to meet their students’ needs, the lack of effective oversight means there is no guarantee of academic innovation or excellence – which was the charter school’s original intent – and too many cases of fraud and abuse, and far too little attention to equity.” 
The report advances seven standards, followed by detailed recommendations to state legislatures, charter authorizers and other policy makers tasked with charter oversight.  The standards include:
  • Traditional school districts and charter schools should collaborate to ensure a coordinated approach that serves all children
  • School governance should be representative and transparent
  • Charter schools should ensure equal access to interested students and prohibit practices that discourage enrollment or disproportionately push-out enrolled students
  • Charter school discipline policy should be fair and transparent
  • All students deserve equitable and adequate school facilities.  Districts and charter schools should collaborate to ensure facility arrangements do not disadvantage students in either sector
  • Online charter schools should be better regulated for quality, transparency and the protection of student data
  • Monitoring and oversight of charter schools are critical to protect the public interest; they should be strong and fully state funded
“The common-sense recommendations outlined in this report are meant to ensure that there is a level playing field between traditional public schools and public charter schools, and charters are fully transparent and accountable to the communities they serve,” adds Gray.  “Furthermore, charter authorizers are required and empowered to monitor compliance with all laws and regulations guiding charter schooling.  Most importantly, charters should serve an equitable cross section of students and provide the supports necessary to help all students achieve.”  
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About AISR
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform is a national policy-research and reform support organization affiliated with Brown University that focuses on improving conditions and outcomes for all students in urban public schools, especially those attended by traditionally underserved children.
About CPER
Communities for Public Education Reform is a national funding initiative that supports community-driven efforts working to guarantee educational excellence, equity, and opportunity for every child in low-income communities of color.
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9-18-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:







Operations/Executive Committee of the Whole
Update:  the Discipline Appeals Council has been set with a couple of issues.One big one is that they did not get any volunteers to represent Sped.  It was stated they asked internally but it was unclear to me if any Sped parent organizations were contacted.  They would like a Sped teacher.  Peaslee wants SPed in there.  Peters said SPed is important because of disproportionality and Sped issues i
by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Seattle Schools having issues with websites
I see this at 2:51 pm but I don't know how long this has been going on.  I'll let you know if anything changes.  You can see the homepage for SPS but I assume they mean school websites.
by Melissa Westbrook / 19min 

Student Data Privacy: Where's Your Line?
From Marketplace:Meet the most measured, monitored and data-mined students in the history of education.  Your children.How about this district in California, tracking every kid who uses social media.  From Tech Dirt:The Glendale School District in California is facing some backlash from the recent news that it has retained the services of Geo Listening to track its students' social media activity.
1 by Melissa Westbrook / 13min 




9-17-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Constitution DayConstitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who, are born in the U.S. or by naturalization, have become citizens.Our Constitution still stands as our country's guide.   I don't think that it's some kind of "in stone" document.  I belie
1 by mike simpson / 20h 
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The Role of Public Schools in the NFL Scandal

The Role of Public Schools in the NFL Scandal:



scaredkid

The Role of Public Schools in the NFL Scandal

 BY  LEAVE A COMMENT
The NFL is in a tight spot right now. They don’t want to lose their talent and the dollars that might come with a championship. But they are in danger of losing their image. Domestic and child abuse are ugly topics, when they surface. They provoke intense emotions. It’s been difficult to watch the different reactions. There have been many tough, but critical, debates surrounding these incidents.
What has been especially troubling to me has been the difference in beliefs, on the part of some, towards Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. As a society, we pretty much despise domestic abuse, of course, but corporal punishment, not so much. Children, however, cannot usually run. They are stuck in situations that leave them open to abuse that could endanger their lives. Some like Boomer Esiason and Cris Carter have spoken out passionately on this.
NBA Hall of Famer and Turner sports analyst Charles Barkley demonstrated the different thinking between domestic and child abuse that I am referring to. I disagree with him, but I respect his honesty. He was glad to see the issue of domestic abuse discussed, but as far as hitting children: it’s a black Southern thing. That is the way many parents feel. Leave the way I discipline my kids alone.
In the meantime, America’s public schools are silent. They should be offering advice to the NFL about different methods of discipline relating to children that are more appropriate than hitting. But they can’t, because many of them think hitting kids is fine. Many schools in this country resort to corporal punishment.
In fact, America is one of the only countries left in the world whose schools still make it a practice to hit kids. Don’t look at charter schools to display good disciplinary guidance either. Many are proud of their chain gang strictness.
How do you discipline? Are you one of the 81% who spank? Or the 19% who say it is not alright? If you aren’t going to spank what do you do to help your child learn how to The Role of Public Schools in the NFL Scandal:

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Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do - The Atlantic

Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do - The Atlantic:



Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do

New research shows that girls are ahead in every subject, including math and science. Do today's grading methods skew in their favor?




 As the new school year ramps up, teachers and parents need to be reminded of a well-kept secret: Across all grade levels and academic subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. Not just in the United States, but across the globe, in countries as far afield as Norway and Hong Kong.

This finding is reflected in a recent study by psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer at the University of New Brunswick. The Voyers based their results on a meta-analysis of 369 studies involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls from 30 different nations. The findings are unquestionably robust: Girls earn higher grades in every subject, including the science-related fields where boys are thought to surpass them.
Less of a secret is the gender disparity in college enrollment rates. The latestdata from the Pew Research Center uses U.S. Census Bureau data to show that in 2012, 71 percent of female high school graduates went on to college, compared to 61 percent of their male counterparts. In 1994 the figures were 63 and 61 percent, respectively. In other words, college enrollment rates for young women are climbing while those of young men remain flat.
This begs a sensitive question: Are schools set up to favor the way girls learn and trip up boys?   
Let’s start with kindergarten. Claire Cameron Ponitz from the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia has dedicated her career to studying kindergarten readiness in kids. She’s found that little ones who are destined to do well in a typical 21st century kindergarten class are those who manifest good self-regulation. This is a term that is bandied about a great deal these days by teachers and psychologists. It mostly refers to disciplined behaviors like raising one’s hand in class, waiting one’s turn, paying attention, listening to and following teachers’ instructions, and restraining oneself from blurting out answers. These skills are prerequisites for most academically oriented kindergarten classes in America—as well as basic prerequisites for success in life.
As it turns out, kindergarten-age girls have far better self-regulation than boys. A few years ago, Ponitz and her colleagues confirmed this by putting several hundred 5 and 6-year-old boys and girls through a type of Simon-Says game called the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task. Trained research assistants rated the kids’ ability to follow the correct instruction and not be thrown off by a confounding one—in some cases, for instance, they were instructed to touch their toes every time they were asked to touch their heads. Curiously enough, Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do - The Atlantic:
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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-18-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:







L.A. UNIFIED SURVEY FINDS LITTLE USE OF iPADS’ PEARSON CURRICULUM + Executive Summary + Full Report
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1s8Nsaz Tiannah Dizadare smiles as she and a school mate explore the possibilities with their new LAUSD provided IPads. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times) The Pearson curriculum, costing $200 per device over three years, was among the biggest problems Four out of five high schools reported that they rarely used the tablets
by smf / 18min 

Editorial: THE BAD OLD DAYS AT LAUSD …and 2¢ more or less
By The LA Times Editorial Board |  http://lat.ms/1suH7jR LAUSD Supt. John Deasy delivers his address at the Superintendent's Annual Administrators Meeting held at Garfield High School. (Los Angeles Times) 18 Sept 2014  ::  At L.A. Unified, tensions are high and crisis is in the air. The relationship between Supt. John Deasy and the school board that oversees him is at what is perhaps an
by smf / 10min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-17-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS CLAIM WALKOUT OVER HEAT; DISTRICT REPAIRING A/C + smf’s 2¢By Veronica Rocha, LA Times | Caption Heat wave | Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times The setting suns sets clouds aglow as they pass over the Los Angeles skyline. Franklin High student tweets about students walking out amid intense heat Old air conditioners are malfuncti
1 by mike simpson / 17h 


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Cali Education Headlines 9-18-14

Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team | CSIS – California School Information Services:







Education Headlines

  • Coast Unified superintendent is ready for a new challenge

    • The new superintendent of Coast Unified School District faces such tasks as improving English language learner skills, attracting young families to a district with significant declining enrollment, and building a new Santa Lucia Middle School athletic field.
       

    Homeless ranks in Salinas schools on upswing

    • This past year, the district saw the biggest increase in its homeless students in seven years — a whopping 807 additional children, figures show.
       

    Long Beach school board gets earful from parents angry about hot classrooms

    • The district said this week that measures were taken to move kids into cooler buildings and limit physical activity, but that it would be cost-prohibitive to air condition every building.
       

    School police stock up on free military gear

    • School police departments across the country have taken advantage of free military surplus gear, stocking up on mine resistant armored vehicles, grenade launchers and scores of M16 rifles.
       

    Coachella boy: ‘They left me alone’ on school bus

    • According to the district, an autistic boy was left alone on a bus for 30 minutes before he was spotted by another bus driver about 9 a.m. The bus driver ensured the student was unharmed, then took him to a district office.
       

    Schools boss exceeds double-dip cap

    • San Ysidro schools Superintendent George Cameron, who has been drawing a simultaneous pension and paycheck since April, will halt the dual-track payments on Oct. 1 after exceeding state limits on the practice.


  • Richmond: District criticized for cost to house charter school for one year


    West Contra Costa school board members are taking heat for an April decision to spend $600,000 in voter-approved construction bond funds to place a charter school in a location that will only be available for one year.
     

  • EdSource: Fate of high school exit exam undecided


    While the state’s standardized testing program is being revamped during the transition to the new Common Core State Standards, the fate of the high school exit exam – the one test students must pass – remains murky.
     

  • Morgan Hill: Federal appeals court refuses to rehear challenge in American flag T-shirt case


    Rejecting free speech arguments from parents, Republican lawmakers and conservative groups, a federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to reconsider a ruling that found a South Bay high school had the legal right to order students wearing American-flag adorned shirts to turn them inside out during a 2010 Cinco de Mayo celebration.
     

  • L.A. schools police will return grenade launchers but keep rifles, armored vehicle


    Los Angeles Unified school police officials said Tuesday that the department will relinquish some of the military weaponry it acquired through a federal program that furnishes local law enforcement with surplus equipment.
     

  • New report on L.A. Unified’s iPads reflects problems with curriculum


    An evaluation of the iPads-for-all project in Los Angeles schools found that only 1 of 245 classrooms surveyed even used the costly curriculum. The analysis, conducted by an outside firm, also highlighted other problems, including the pace of the rollout last year at 47 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
     

  • Early literacy program expands in the Salinas Valley


    Just as in a library, students in the program check out a book each Monday and are expected to read to their siblings every day.
     

Note: FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.
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solidaridad: PCL: Legal Rights of Linguistic Minorities

solidaridad: PCL: Legal Rights of Linguistic Minorities:



PCL: Legal Rights of Linguistic Minorities

First submitted September 13, 2014 to Peoples College of Law
40th Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision on Rights of Linguistic Minorities
"We therefore live in a period where the prevailing Zeitgeist is at least receptive to the notion that we do not have to be identical ethnically or linguistically." — Dr. Fernand de Varennes

In an era where right-wing millionairesuse their obscene wealth to finance arch-reactionary legal firms like Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to craft deceptive causes of action to destroy academic freedom, students' access to experienced instructors, and workers' rights in the shape of the horrific Vergara decision, it's somewhat hard to recall that occasionally the law is used to help, rather than harm, the remaining institutions of public education.

In the past, when civil rights were more vigorously defended than David F. Welch's "corporate rights," a public interest attorney represented one of our most marginalized groups: English Language Learners (ELL) in a landmark case — Lau v. Nichols. The case and its implications for the rights of linguistic minorities are discussed below ["infra" in legal parlance]. Today, we see ongoing attacks against both ELLs and any language program besides mainstream English. A perfect example is that of neoliberal reactionary Marshall Tuck, a candidate for California State Superintendent of Instruction. Tuck, a graduate of anti-public education activist billionaire Eli Broad's Broad Residency, is best known for shuttering all the heritage language academic programs, and most of the dual language immersion programs at the schools he ran.

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on rights of linguistic minorities. While the promise of Lau is still yet unrealized, the recognition of language rights in the midst of our "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" is still something to take notice of. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Bilingual Education Committee commissioned the following public service announcement flyer, the text of which is also reproduced here. The prose was written by UTLA's Director of Bilingual Education, Cheryl Ortega. Flyer design was by solidaridad: PCL: Legal Rights of Linguistic Minorities:
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