Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/9/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL: Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-electionCampbell High School teacher Corey Rosenlee HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -Different election, same result.Campbell High School teacher Corey Rosenlee has won a repeat election to become the next president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. He beat union Vice President Joan Lewis both time

by mike simpson / 1min 

Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city 'compact' | Capital New York

Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city 'compact' | Capital New York: Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city ‘compact’American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten will announce a compact with five cities to increase career and technical education offerings in New York City this Thursday, and will be joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio and United Federation of Teachers president M

by mike simpson / 1h 

US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse | US news | The Guardian

US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse | US news | The Guardian: US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapseAbout $3.6bn paid in federal loans to students of for-profit Corinthian Colleges since 2010 and critics worry that even partial bailout sets worrying precedent The education secretary, Arne Duncan, announced that the govern

by mike simpson / 2h 

Study Reveals Pro-Charter School Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public: Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting“There are few things more dangerous than propaganda disguised as journalism,” reads one conclusion from a study by SUNY Buffalo State professor Dr. Andrea B. Nikischer, who has delved into the past year of reporting on education by the Buffalo News.If we extrapolated her find

by mike simpson / 2h 

BustED Pencils' Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers | BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils' Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers | BustED Pencils: BustED Pencils’ Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachersIn case you’ve been living under a rock you might not know that my great state of Wisconsin—under the fascist like leadership of pseudo-conservatives—is subverting democracy and using the budget process to ram through oligarchic sponsored legislatio

by mike simpson / 3h 

The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Turning Kids into Cash

School-to-Prison Pipelines: The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Turning Kids into CashFor too many children, public school is just a “GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL” card.Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.The institution that should be raising kids to the skies is chaining them to the ground.It’s called the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and it disproportionately affects students of color and the poor.School policy

by mike simpson / 3h 

Student poverty, lack of parental involvement cited as teacher concerns - The Washington Post

Student poverty, lack of parental involvement cited as teacher concerns - The Washington Post: Student poverty, lack of parental involvement cited as teacher concernsStudent poverty is a major barrier to learning, according to teachers polled in a new national survey of educators released Tuesday.Lack of parental involvement and overtesting were also identified as big problems, as well as student

by mike simpson / 4h 

41 Years Later… | Taking Note

41 Years Later… | Taking Note: 41 Years Later… For nearly all of the 41 years I have been covering public education, the people in charge have been focused on competition, most often with other nations. Of course, educational competitiveness didn’t start when I began reporting in 1974; In 1957 the Soviet space satellite Sputnik got America’s juices flowing and led to the National Defense Education

by mike simpson / 4h 

Self-delusion Reigns: Bobby Jindal and His 2016 Presidential Unreality | deutsch29

Self-delusion Reigns: Bobby Jindal and His 2016 Presidential Unreality | deutsch29: Self-delusion Reigns: Bobby Jindal and His 2016 Presidential UnrealityOn Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Louisiana’s lame-duck governor, Bobby Jindal, plans to announce his run for 2016 President of These United States at 4 p.m. at the Ponchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana.I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Jindal fo

by mike simpson / 4h 

Stealing the Joy of Reading—How Common Core Destroys Reading Pleasure

Stealing the Joy of Reading—How Common Core Destroys Reading Pleasure: Stealing the Joy of Reading—How Common Core Destroys Reading PleasureJUNE 9, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY 2 COMMENTSWho would have believed that it would come to this?Education Week is having a webinar on new approaches to reading aloud in K-2nd grade (New Strategies for Reading Aloud to K-2 Students, Thurs. June 18, 2-3 p.m ET). The u

by mike simpson / 5h 

How Mayor Kevin Johnson continues using public resources for his private gain - Sacramento News & Review

How Mayor Kevin Johnson continues using public resources for his private gain - Page Burner - June 9, 2015 - Blogs - Sacramento News & Review: How Mayor Kevin Johnson continues using public resources for his private gainby Cosmo GarvinBites has been banging pots and pans for a while now about Mayor Kevin Johnson’s use of public resources to advance his many personal and political interests.K.J

by mike simpson / 5h 

Chris Christie - On K-12 Education in Goffstown, NH - 6-8-2015

Chris Christie - On K-12 Education in Goffstown, NH - 6-8-2015

by mike simpson / 5h 

Corinthian Colleges: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

Leon Panetta Quits Corinthian Colleges Board; Marc Morial Should, Too | David Halperin:The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing 09/23/2013 5:12 am EDTOn April 30, I published an article criticizing former Obama Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and National Urban League President Marc Morial for joining the board of Corinthian Colleges, one of the most irrespo

by mike simpson / 6h 

Chicago Teachers Union plans rally amid contract talks - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Teachers Union plans rally amid contract talks - Chicago Tribune: Chicago Teachers Union plans rally amid contract talksThe Chicago Teachers Union's scheduled rally Tuesday outside the James R. Thompson Center is intended as a public display of power as bargaining teams continue to work on a new contract.CTU fired up its members with a similar gathering in May 2012, deploying a show of for

by mike simpson / 11h 

School board to discuss contracts for charter schools

School board to discuss contracts for charter schools: School board to discuss contracts for charter schoolsThe operating contracts for two of Lee County's 24 charter schools are up for renewal at Tuesday's Lee County school board meeting. They are Pivot Charter School, which serves middle and high school students in , and The , a K-5 elementary school on Gasparilla Island.According to board docum

by mike simpson / 11h 

YESTERDAY

Summer Meal Map Updated - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education)

Summer Meal Map Updated - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education):State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils Map to Help Families Find Places Serving Free Meals to Students this SummerSACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that low-income families can find a place to take their hungry children for free meals this summer by visiting the California Department of

by mike simpson / 20h 

Non-renewed Knox County teacher speaks to school board | WATE 6 On Your Side

Non-renewed Knox County teacher speaks to school board | WATE 6 On Your Side: Non-renewed Knox County teacher speaks to school boardKNOXVILLE (WATE) – There was a large show of support Wednesday night for a teacher whose contract was not renewed for next year by Knox County Schools.Christina Graham taught kindergarten for three years at Copper Ridge Elementary. Last year she spoke out against SAT-

by mike simpson / 20h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 6/8/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMNew York Times op-ed: Is this the worst op-ed ever written about student loans?Lee Siegel New York Times op-ed: Is this the worst op-ed ever written about student loans?: New York Times op-ed: Is this the worst op-ed ever written about student loans?Lee Siegel is an award-winning critic and an unrepentant leech. After pursuing not one, not two, but three degrees

by mike simpson / 23h 

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL:

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election

Campbell High School teacher Corey Rosenlee 

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -Different election, same result.

Campbell High School teacher Corey Rosenlee has won a repeat election to become the next president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. He beat union Vice President Joan Lewis both times. 

The results of the original vote were thrown out after Lewis said the HSTA board was worried about a significant number of teachers not getting ballots on time.

Some failed to get email links to vote electronically, while others didn't get paper ballots in time, said Lewis.

Rosenlee contended the actions were motivated by the board not liking that he and other dissidents had won.

Outgoing HSTA president Will Okabe announced the results. A three year term for the new officers will begin July 9, 2014, and continue through June 30, 2018. Okabe stated current officers will serve through July 8, 2015.

The winners, as announced by the HSTA:

HSTA State President:

Corey Rosenlee, a social studies teacher, Campbell High School

HSTA State Vice President:

Justin Hughey, a special education teacher, King Kamehameha III Elementary School on Maui

HSTA State Secretary-Treasurer:

Amy Perruso, social studies teacher, Mililani High School

NEA Director:

Cliff Fukuda, social studies teacher and coach, Aiea High School

NEA Alternate Director:

Jonathan Gillentine, early learning specialist, Windward District office

Related Links:

Teacher who won HSTA election threatens court action

Public school teachers vote for new HSTA leadership

Corey Rosenlee wins HSTA re-election - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL:

Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city 'compact' | Capital New York

Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city 'compact' | Capital New York:

Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city ‘compact’

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten will announce a compact with five cities to increase career and technical education offerings in New York City this Thursday, and will be joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio and United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew.

The initiative will be funded by the national teacher union's "Innovation Fund," and will use the New York C.T.E. programs as a model for expansion in New York, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Miami-Dade County, and Peoria, Illinois. Peoria mayor Jim Ardis will also attend Thursday's press conference, which will be held at the U.F.T.'s headquarters in lower Manhattan.

The "compact" will require leaders of the five cities to create more C.T.E. offerings in their public schools, and more details will be released on Thursday.

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made C.T.E. a priority in his administration's education agenda, securing a variety of public-private partnerships to provide computer science and engineering courses to city schoolchildren. Bloomberg oversaw the opening of P-TECH, a C.T.E. high school in Brooklyn, which President Barack Obama has praised as a national model for a modern career and technical education school.

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The de Blasio administration has also relied on partnerships to boost C.T.E. offerings.

City schools chancellor Carmen Fariña has been Weingarten, de Blasio to announce five-city 'compact' | Capital New York:

US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse | US news | The Guardian

US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse | US news | The Guardian:

US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse

About $3.6bn paid in federal loans to students of for-profit Corinthian Colleges since 2010 and critics worry that even partial bailout sets worrying precedent

 The education secretary, Arne Duncan, announced that the government would make it easier for students who attended Corinthian Colleges to erase their debt. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

A government plan to wipe out loans for many of the students who attended the now-disgraced for-profit Corinthian Colleges raises serious questions about whether the White House or Congress should have done more to prevent the debacle.

The education secretary, Arne Duncan, announced that the government would make it easier for former Corinthian students to erase their debt. About $3.6bn in federal loans has been given to these students since 2010. That potentially puts the taxpayer on the hook for that amount, although officials say it is unlikely that every loan will qualify for relief.

At the very least, the government is looking at footing the bill for hundreds of millions of dollars in student debt in what has become a major consumer bailout. Some advocates say the government should have done more sooner to intervene, while others are questioning the latest approach.

“Students have been hurt, but the department is establishing a precedent that puts taxpayers on the hook for what a college may have done,” said Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who chairs the Senate education committee.

Alexander said one of the problems has been an inherent conflict of interest with having the Education Department provide loans and regulate colleges.

“If your car is a lemon you don’t sue the bank that made the auto loan; you sue the car company,” he said.

Corinthian Colleges was one of the largest for-profit schools when it nearly collapsed last year and became a symbol of fraud in the world of higher education and student loans. According to investigators, Corinthian schools charged exorbitant fees, lied about job prospects for its graduates and, in some cases, encouraged students to lie about their circumstances to get more federal aid.

In a plan orchestrated by the Department of Education, some of the Corinthian schools closed while others were sold before the chain filed for bankruptcy this spring. The biggest question has been what should happen to the debt incurred by students whose schools were sold. The law already provides for debt relief for students of schools that close, so long as they apply within 120 days.

The latest plan expands debt relief to students who attended a now-closed school as far back as a year ago. And it streamlines the process for students whose schools were sold but believe they were victims of fraud. The Education Department will soon appoint a “special master” to oversee much of the program, who will support students at other for-profit schools who feel they have been victimized.

“We will make this process as easy as possible for them, including by considering claims in groups wherever possible, and hold institutions accountable,” Duncan said in a statement on Monday.

The amount of debt relief could be staggering. Officials estimate that some 40,000 

 US to forgive thousands of student loans after disgraced colleges' collapse | US news | The Guardian:

Study Reveals Pro-Charter School Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public:

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting

“There are few things more dangerous than propaganda disguised as journalism,” reads one conclusion from a study by SUNY Buffalo State professor Dr. Andrea B. Nikischer, who has delved into the past year of reporting on education by the Buffalo News.

If we extrapolated her findings—and borrow the phrase quoted above—we could conclude that there are in fact few things more dangerous than the News’s education reporting.

“Propaganda and Policy: An Investigation into Alleged Anti-Teacher’s Union and Pro-Charter School Bias in the Buffalo News” is the title of Dr. Nikischer’s report, which takes a deep look into the reporting done by the News with regard to charter schools and Buffalo Public Schools. 

The study demonstrates that two distinct stories are being told: The first gives readers an uncritical look at charter schools, promoting them as the answer to the perceived failure of the city’s so-called failing public schools, while the second gives an overwhelmingly negative portrayal of Buffalo Public Schools, along with their teachers and union.

“As Buffalo has only one traditional newspaper, and virtually no other mainstream media sources in the county provide detailed coverage of the Buffalo Public Schools or school reform, the power of articles published on these issues is immense,” notes Dr. Nikischer, an assistant professor at Buff State’s Adult Education Department.

Public school supporters have been critical of the News’s coverage, which has, they believe, unfairly and loudly echoed the agenda of Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Buffalo Board of Education majority, and the nationwide school privatization and high-stake testing movements. Now, for the first time, they can point to a qualitative study to back these claims.

To undertake the study, Dr. Nikischer evaluated News articles published from October 1, 2013 to November 30, 2014. All articles—190 in total—were culled from the paper’s regularly published articles, SchoolZone blog posts, and opinion pieces. Each article was coded in three respects: 1) for content and tone (What is the article about? What is the tone—positive, negative or neutral?); 2) for general themes; and 3) whether to include the article in the study or not. The idea is to compare large sets of data and draw general conclusions based on the tone and content of the articles. Disqualified articles were those outside of the researchers’ ken and which had no relevance to the themes undertaken.

Nikischer and her graduate assistant Vanessa Ludwig undertook the coding process separately in order to prevent bias contamination, finishing with a 99 percent inter-rater reliability—a measure which indicates the degree of agreement between independent coders. The articles that made it through the initial coding process were then moved  to the content analysis portion of the study, in which the researchers identified positive signifiers (e.g. words such asgood, effective, valuable, cost-saving, affordable, innovative, hard-working, etc.), and negative signifiers (e.g. expensive, ineffective, old, stubborn, broken, etc.). Tracking such signifiers while pairing them with previously identified themes allowed the researchers to judge with a reliable degree of objectivity Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public:

Media[edit]

In 1977, Berkshire Hathaway purchased the Buffalo Evening News and resumed publication of a Sunday edition of the paper that ceased in 1914. After the morning newspaper Buffalo Courier-Express ceased operation in 1982, the paper began to print morning and evening editions, currently printing only a morning edition.^[42] In 2006, the company bought Business Wire, a U.S. press release agency.

The company began its BH Media Group subsidiary with a purchase of the Omaha World-Herald in December 2011,^[43] which included six other daily newspapers and several weeklies across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.^[44] In June 2012, Berkshire purchased 63 newspapers from Media General Inc., including the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem Journal, for $142 million in cash.^[45]

In 2012, Berkshire bought Texas dailies The Eagle in Bryan-College Station and the Waco Tribune-Herald.^[46] In 2013, the company purchased the Tulsa World, the Greensboro, North Carolina-based News & Record, Virginia's Roanoke Times, and Press of Atlantic City. As of March 2013, BH Media owned 28 daily and 42 non-daily newspapers.^[47]

On March 12, 2014, it was announced that Graham Holdings Company would divest its Miami television station WPLG to BH Media in a cash and stock deal.^[48]

BustED Pencils' Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers | BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils' Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers | BustED Pencils:

BustED Pencils’ Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers

In case you’ve been living under a rock you might not know that my great state of Wisconsin—under the fascist like leadership of pseudo-conservatives—is subverting democracy and using the budget process to ram through oligarchic sponsored legislation.  However, the slash and burn approach to anything remotely connected to public education is particularly maddening.

In the post below, my colleague and BustED Pencils co-host—Jed Hopkins—addresses one of the nastier provisions contained in the budget that essentially dismantles the state’s responsibility to “credential” professional teachers.

Consider what the provision in the state budget that would allow individuals without education credentials to teach our children will put into effect. This move, approved by the Joint Finance Committee, is an audacious policy move indeed. But its extremity can only be matched by its foolishness and danger.

Why? Investing in education means investing in something that, for the sake of our children and our children’s children, needs to be done as well as possible. Doing education well is not technically simple, is not a quick study, is not something that can be mastered readily, isn’t simply something driven by hard performance data, is not replaceable by online instruction, and is even much more than a matter of enthusiasm, talent and effort.

We are talking about education, not training. Education is the very thing that can sustain this great country’s future, and that will depend upon teachers who measure up.

And what grounds do we have for claiming this? Look no further than the immense intellectual traditions of educational thinking that this country can rightly be proud of (that barely get the light of day in the common media), traditions of research that challenge us to “think education” and are the envy of less free nations. In this country, we have educators who know how to think education which, unlike the way it is for some 

BustED Pencils' Jed Hopkins: The danger of uncredentialed teachers | BustED Pencils: