Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/31/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

4LAKids - ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl:ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girlMESSAGE DATED JULY 8 RECEIVED BY  CORTINES VAPA HIGH SCHOOL/CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL #9 PARENTS ON JULY 31ST…and where’s Dr. Vladovic on the letterhead?Eli’s Comin’ meanings: from Urban DictionaryEli's Coming: a 1967 song by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro from her album Eli and

by mike simpson / 0min 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.

Schooling in the Ownership Society: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.McGraw-Hill/CBT is pulling out of the $1.1 billion high-stakes testing market. The reason? Too much volatility. It seems that the wave of political protests and the parent opt-out movement have forced M

by mike simpson / 25min 

World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid | Firedoglake

World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid | Firedoglake: World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As AidEDINBURGH — Private, for-profit schools in Africa funded by the World Bank and U.S. venture capitalists have been criticized by more than 100 organizations who’ve signed a petition opposing the controversial educational venture.A May

by mike simpson / 33min 

College Board bows to critics, revises AP U.S. History course - The Washington Post

College Board bows to critics, revises AP U.S. History course - The Washington Post: College Board bows to critics, revises AP U.S. History courseAfter a year of defending its 2014 framework for the AP U.S. History course against conservative criticism that it was presenting a negatively biased view of American history, the College Board just released a new “clearer and more balanced” course guide

by mike simpson / 33min 

Smarter Balanced (SBAC) Race to the Top Application and 15 of Its State MOUs | deutsch29

Smarter Balanced (SBAC) Race to the Top Application and 15 of Its State MOUs | deutsch29: Smarter Balanced (SBAC) Race to the Top Application and 15 of Its State MOUsOn July 29, 2015, I posted the 1,609-page Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) Race to the Top (RTTT) application.In this post, I offer the 1,294-page Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) RTT

by mike simpson / 33min 

Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the Children | Poetic Justice

Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the Children | Poetic Justice: Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the ChildrenMy friend and fellow CT activist Aggie Kurzyna needs two things from the people of New Britain CT.First, she needs your signatures on her petition to run for the Board of Education. She

by mike simpson / 1h 

Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice | Seattle Education

Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice | Seattle Education: Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social JusticeThis public testimony was given at the The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Education, not Criminalization! Town Hall. If you spoke at this event or have video you would like

by mike simpson / 1h 

Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña | Arthur Goldstein

Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña | Arthur Goldstein: Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen FariñaDear Chancellor Fariña:First of all, I applaud you for acknowledging that a highly-effective rated teacher entering a troubled school may suffer a reduced rating as a result of changing schools. I very much appreciate that you've taken a personal interest in this teacher and p

by mike simpson / 1h 

Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee - TwinCities.com

Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee - TwinCities.com: Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committeeAt least one Minnesota congressman will be at the center of the coming rewrite of the federal No Child Left Behind law.Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, was named Thursday to chair a House-Senate conference committee to draft compromise legislation replacing the public sc

by mike simpson / 4h 

Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times

Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times | Serving South Florida's African American Community since 1923: Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failedSpeaking at the National Urban League Conference on Thursday, Arne Duncan said education isn’t a partisan issue and that it was barely mentioned in previous presidential debatesArne Duncan, United State

by mike simpson / 4h 

Oregon Save Our Schools: Get the Scoop! What You Need to Know About Kindergarten Testing and Opting Out

Oregon Save Our Schools: Get the Scoop! What You Need to Know About Kindergarten Testing and Opting Out: Get the Scoop! What You Need to Know About Kindergarten Testing and Opting OutPlease join Oregon Save Our Schools for an important parent information session  particularly designed for parents of incoming kindergarteners. While geared toward this specific audience, all parents and community mem

by mike simpson / 6h 

Criticize Common Core in AZ, and Dept of Ed Official Might Call You a “F***tard” | deutsch29

Criticize Common Core in AZ, and Dept of Ed Official Might Call You a “F***tard” | deutsch29: Criticize Common Core in AZ, and Dept of Ed Official Might Call You a “F***tard”In September 2013, the Arizona Daily Star noted that then-Governor Jan Brewer “ordered state agencies to stop using the term ‘Common Core’ when referring to the new education standards, in response to hostility from critics ov

by mike simpson / 7h 

Kansas Underfunded Education And Cut Tenure. Now It Can't Find Enough Teachers To Fill Classrooms.

Kansas Underfunded Education And Cut Tenure. Now It Can't Find Enough Teachers To Fill Classrooms.: Kansas Underfunded Education And Cut Tenure. Now It Can't Find Enough Teachers To Fill Classrooms.“In the next three years I think we’ll have maybe the worst teacher shortage in the country -- I think most of that is self-inflicted.”Kansas school superintendent Alan Cunningham has been involved with

by mike simpson / 7h 

BustED Pencils Trending News: 400 miles achieved; 12 year old gets it right; Live at Michelangelo's; | BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils Trending News: 400 miles achieved; 12 year old gets it right; Live at Michelangelo's; | BustED Pencils:  BustED Pencils Trending News: 400 miles achieved; 12 year old gets it right; Live at Michelangelo’s;400 Miles Achieved all in the name of children!  Congratulations Jesse!  Find Jesse Turner in satirical mock trial as Arne Duncan. (44.01 minutes into the trial)Mock Trial LIVE STR

by mike simpson / 8h 

I am Retiring | Taking Note

I am Retiring | Taking Note: I am RetiringI have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.For the past 41 years I have been covering public education mostly here in the USA but also in China, Hong Kong, France and Spain. I began at NPR in 1974 (when it was still known as National Public Radio), and I’ve reported for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, the NewsHour with Jim Lehr

by mike simpson / 8h 

What Did the Senate Just Give Us? Looking at Every Child Achieves (Part II) | Truth in American Education

What Did the Senate Just Give Us? Looking at Every Child Achieves (Part II) | Truth in American Education: What Did the Senate Just Give Us? Looking at Every Child Achieves (Part II) Here is a recap of some of the other important amendments proposed for S.1177, the Every Child Achieves Act, and votes that were largely disappointing for those wanting educational freedom in this now approximately 10

by mike simpson / 8h 

For-Profit Colleges: Marketing to the Desperate, Supported by Our Taxes | janresseger

For-Profit Colleges: Marketing to the Desperate, Supported by Our Taxes | janresseger: For-Profit Colleges: Marketing to the Desperate, Supported by Our TaxesIn the summer issue of The American Prospect, Mark Huelsman profiles the for-profit colleges he calls Betrayers of the Dream.  “The students targeted and affected most by fraudulent operators are disproportionately black, “explains Huelsman. 

by mike simpson / 8h 

Next Move? Parsing What Bill and Melinda Said About Education Funding

Next Move? Parsing What Bill and Melinda Said About Education Funding - Inside Philanthropy: Fundraising Intelligence - Inside Philanthropy: Next Move? Parsing What Bill and Melinda Said About Education FundingBill and Melinda Gates are obsessed with impactful grantmaking and evaluating the outcomes of their foundation's giving. Recently, the heads of the world's largest foundation discussed the i

by mike simpson / 8h 

Chicago Public Schools budget cuts hit special education students | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Chicago Public Schools budget cuts hit special education students | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago: WBEZ/Becky VeveaParents, teachers and students gather in Logan Square to protest the latest round of budget cuts at Chicago Public SchoolsPhillip Cantor got called into an emergency meeting last week at the school where he teaches—North-Grand High School on Chicago’s West Side. The district’s central office had

by mike simpson / 9h 

Why I Kept Firing Teachers in No Pineapple Left Behind - Yahoo Games

Why I Kept Firing Teachers in No Pineapple Left Behind - Yahoo Games: Why I Kept Firing Teachers in No Pineapple Left BehindI was starting my second semester of first grade when the No Child Left Behind Act went into effect. Passed in 2002, the act required states to develop standardized tests for its schools. To receive federal funding, a school had to administer the assessment to its students--a

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Greedy Corporate Education Reformer's Newest Media Blitz: Pre-K and Charter Schools

Greedy Corporate Education Reformer's Newest Media BlitzThe push for  Universal Pre-K has excited the Greedy Corporate Education Profit Mongers. So not to be denied the opportunity to profit from Pre-K, they have begun a nationwide media blitz to assure that they can profit from toddlers as they have from other kids. Of course we will never know how this media blitz really came about due to the se

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/30/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMReality Check - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial VoiceReality Check - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Reality CheckHow many Americans care about preserving the institution of public education?REALITY: Not enough!******Reality******Proof? No Child Left Behind(NCLB) was Introduced in the House by John Boehner on March 22, 2001 and its destruction of public schools

by mike simpson / 1d

4LAKids - ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl:

ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl

MESSAGE DATED JULY 8 RECEIVED BY  CORTINES VAPA HIGH SCHOOL/CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL #9 PARENTS ON JULY 31ST

…and where’s Dr. Vladovic on the letterhead?



Eli’s Comin’ meanings: from Urban Dictionary

Eli's Coming: a 1967 song by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro from her album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, covered by Three Dog Night

1. A phrase signifying a portend of something evil. (source: Three Dog Night, "Eli's Coming")
2. To make reference to an inveterate womanizer who is on his way. (ibid)
3. “Eli” is the Prophet Elijah and his second coming is an apocalyptic portent, similar in the Jewish tradition to the Second Coming of Christ in the Christian tradition.

"I got up this morning and felt weird... I think Eli's Coming."

See also: By the Numbers: How to Tell if your School District is Infected by the Broad Virus | http://bit.ly/ByTheNos

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ELI’S COMIN’ …better hide your heart girl:

Schooling in the Ownership Society: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.

Schooling in the Ownership Society: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.:

McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.

McGraw-Hill/CBT is pulling out of the $1.1 billion high-stakes testing market. The reason? Too much volatility. It seems that the wave of political protests and the parent opt-out movement have forced McGraw to move to greener more peaceful pastures. And, as the common-core tests have rolled out, the overall market for state assessments has largely flatlined

According to EdWeek:

The market has also proved volatile, fraught with legal protests, mounting opposition from parents and politicians to testing, and major disruptions in online assessments for which vendors, including McGraw-Hill Education/CTB, have been blamed.

“Let’s be clear—people in the assessment industry are not living in Schooling in the Ownership Society: McGraw-Hill folds it cards. Can't compete in current high-stakes testing market.:

Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the Children | Poetic Justice

Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the Children | Poetic Justice:

Please Support Aggie Kurzyna for New Britain Board of Education – the Best Choice for the Children

My friend and fellow CT activist Aggie Kurzyna needs two things from the people of New Britain CT.

First, she needs your signatures on her petition to run for the Board of Education. She needs to get 700 signatures of New Britain registered Democrats by August 12th.

The second thing she needs is your vote on primary day September 18th.

Please email Aggie at Aggiekurzyna@hotmail.com or visit her Facebook page if you want to sign her petition, pick up a petition to circulate, or just to get more information.

Also, Aggie will be on The War Report for Public Education Radio Show on Sunday August 2nd at 5 PM to talk about her platform and why she is trying to get elected to the Board of Education.

Below are Aggie’s own words. Please read and take action for the children and families of New Britain.

“My name is Aggie Kurzyna and I am a petitioning candidate for the New Britain Board of Education. I am a parent, a grandparent and a lifelong New Britain resident who cares deeply about my community. I am taking the leap to run for a seat on the BOE as I have found education advocacy is my life’s purpose and passion.

My running mate, Violet Sims and I did not get the endorsement from the Democratic Town Committee this past Thursday, July 24th, 2015. Unfortunately, they chose to stick with the 3 incumbents who are currently sitting on the board. Their reasoning was its tradition to back the incumbents. Sounds like a pretty lame reason to me. Never did we discuss the issues and what everyone’s thoughts were about how to improve our schools. The decision was basically one of relationships and who knows who.

Violet and I are ready to take this race to the next level, which means that we have to petition for a primary election. This means that all registered democrats will be able to vote on Wednesday, September 16th on who they want represented on the New Britain Board of Education. In order for us to get to the vote in September we have to gather 700 signatures from registered democrats that live in New Britain by 4:00 PM Wednesday, August 12th.

For too many years, New Britain parents have struggled with trusting the New Britain school district. My mission once on the board of education will be to rebuild the trust between parents, students and the school district.Clearly, if families and schools are to form partnerships that work, there must first be a foundation of mutual trust, confidence, and respect.”

Here are more of her words from an article in the New Britain Herald:

“Kurzyna, a 40-year-old city native, said Wednesday, “We were not happy with the Democratic Town Committee process. There was no dialogue other than with the nominations committee, and that was a quick 20 minutes. There was no opportunity for me to talk about the issues with the greater town committee.”

With regard to school policies, Kurzyna, who served at various times on the governance councils at New Britain High School, DiLoreto School and Smith Elementary School, said, “I really want to focus on rebuilding parents’ trust. I don’t think the school district is going in the right direction.”

Specifically, Kurzyna, a project manager in IT for Hartford-based Phoenix Companies, said, “The elimination of dual language at DiLoreto was done behind closed doors. There was no transparency and no communication with parents.”

Another issue Kurzyna believes had a negative effect on students was eliminating bus transportation for elementary school students living less than one mile from school.

“There was no direct communication to parents that this was going to happen,” said Kurzyna. “Bus transportation is the best way kids get to school. The school district was trying to save money by doing this. In the winter time, especially, it’s dangerous for kids to walk to school.'”

There is no doubt it. Aggie will work to take our schools back from the corporate reformers and from political parties that have lost touch with the citizens. Please support Aggie as she fights for the children of New Britain CT.

Aggie’s Family:

 
Listen to Aggie this Sunday on The War Report for Public Education radio show. Call in to listen-in only at 1-716-748-0150. Call in to interact live at 1-888-627-6008 toll free.

Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice | Seattle Education

Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice | Seattle Education:

Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice

This public testimony was given at the The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Education, not Criminalization! Town Hall. If you spoke at this event or have video you would like to share, please contact the blog at seattled@icloud.com.

Thank you organizers, panel and everyone here who is working to find an end to the school to prison pipeline.

I’ve been asked to speak of my experience in putting together Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice@UW.  This is hard to do in a couple of minutes so I will try to say a few things about this project. One way to approach this is to see it in contrast to the official Seattle Schools’ policy and action. What we have to keep in mind is that Middle College’s authentic mission no longer exists. It’s gone.

Now what functions as Middle College is what the Seattle District administrators (Asst. Supt. Michael Tolley, with directions from a Supt. and a Asst. Supt. who are products of the Gates and Broad Foundations) has wanted for sometime. Middle College will now be based on a corporate ed reform curriculum where students arrive at a site (Northgate or Seattle U.) and spend their time working on for-profit canned curriculum. Students will be isolated from one another, being trained to take on so-called careers as precarious, low-paid workers- passive and objectified- in the capitalist marketplace.

So it should surprise no one that what was Middle College Humanities, founded on critical examination of the globalized neoliberal world in which we struggle, is being replaced by a Bill Gates funded internet show called “Big History.” This ‘’history’ celebrates technology and some science as the driving force of history. However the history of those who in defense of social justice changed society is erased. Human agency in Gates’ video series is erased. The past and present record of people’s achievement to overcome barricades of conquest, exploitation, racism, sexism, class struggle is wiped out. Learning and teaching using methods of dialectic, critical analysis …gone.  Learning to come to literature, writing, expression through the knowing of past and present voices of opposition in defense of authentic democracy is gone.

Middle College was, especially for students underserved and marginalized by class, race, gender, and ethnicity, a respect and value of them as individuals and of their lived Bill Gates rewrites history for Seattle students: Testimony on the Ida B. Wells School for Social Justice | Seattle Education:

Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña | Arthur Goldstein

Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña | Arthur Goldstein:

Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña

Dear Chancellor Fariña:

First of all, I applaud you for acknowledging that a highly-effective rated teacher entering a troubled school may suffer a reduced rating as a result of changing schools. I very much appreciate that you've taken a personal interest in this teacher and plan to attach an asterisk and follow her ratings. It's inspirational not only to me, but also to teachers nationwide, that the leader of the largest school district in the country would acknowledge that a school's population is a major factor in teacher ratings.

This, in fact, has been a major objection many of us, including experts like Diane Ravitch and Carol Burris, have had toward value-added evaluation programs. In fact, the American Statistical Association has determined that teachers impact test scores by a factor of 1-14%. They have also determined that rating teachers by such scores may have detrimental effects on education.

I am struck by the implications of your statement. If it's possible that a highly-rated teacher may suffer from moving to a school with low test scores, isn't it just as likely that a poorly-rated teacher would benefit from being moved from a low-rated school to a more highly-rated one? And if, as you say, the teachers are using the same assessments in either locale, doesn't that indicate that the test scores are determined more by students themselves as opposed to teachers?

For example, I teach beginning ESL students. Teaching these kids is one of the very best things I've ever done, but I now consider it a very risky business. Kids who don't speak English tend not to achieve high scores on standardized tests. I'm sure you also know that acquiring English takes a few years, varies wildly by individual, and that it can take 5-7 years to acquire academic English. The new NYSESLAT test seems to focus on academic English rather than language acquisition. Still, it would be irresponsible of me to neglect offering basic conversation and survival skills. (In fact, NY state now requires that we offer less standalone ESL., which is neither helpful to my students nor supported by research.)

Special education children also have specific needs and disabilities that can inhibit their ability to do well on tests. It doesn't take an expert to determine that teachers in schools with high concentrations of students with disabilities already are more likely to incur adverse ratings. Who is going to want to teach in these schools? Who will want to teach special education or ESL?

Attaching high stakes to test scores places undue pressure on high-needs kids to pass tests for which they are unsuited. For years I've been hearing about differentiation in instruction. I fail to see how this approach can be effectively utilized when there is no differentiation whatsoever in assessment. It's as though we're determined to punish both the highest needs children and their teachers.

Since the advent of high-stakes evaluations, the morale of teachers I know and represent has taken a nose dive. Teachers, regardless of ratings, are constantly asking me about their ratings, and live in fear of them, as though the Sword of Damocles were balanced over their heads. Though the Danielson rubric is heralded as objective, in practice it's very much in the eye of the beholder. As if that were not enough, ratings are frequently altered by test score ratings. Diane Ravitch characterizes them as junk science. (I concur, and having music teachers rated by the English Regents scores of their students pushes it into the realm of the ridiculous.)

Personally, I found the older evaluation reports to be much more thorough and helpful. Supervisors used to be able to give detailed reports of what they saw, and Open Letter to NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña | Arthur Goldstein:

Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee - TwinCities.com

Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee - TwinCities.com:

Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee

At least one Minnesota congressman will be at the center of the coming rewrite of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, was named Thursday to chair a House-Senate conference committee to draft compromise legislation replacing the public school funding and oversight law signed by President George W. Bush in 2002.

Kline, who also leads the House Education and Workforce Committee, was chief sponsor of the bill passed by the House earlier in July. The Senate also passed its version of the legislation this month.

"There is a lot of work to do in the coming months, and I am confident we will be able to craft a bicameral education bill that reduces the federal role, restores local control, and empowers parents and education leaders," Kline said in a statement.

Kline's bill passed the House without Democratic support and has key differences from the Senate version. That bill received Democratic backing, including support from Minnesota Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who will be Kline's Senate counterpart, signaled he wanted the conference committee to move quickly. Congress is nearing its monthlong August recess and could begin the conference process when it returns after Labor Day.

"Fifty million children and 3.5 million teachers deserve to get a result, and we should be able to achieve that this fall," Alexander said.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who helped Alexander write the Senate bill, said she hopes that bipartisanship will lay the groundwork for a bill President Barack Obama will sign.

"As we head toward conference, I look forward to continuing to improve the final bill to make sure all students have access to a good education, regardless of where they live, how they learn, or how much money their parents make," Murray said in a statement.

The No Child Left Behind law has been up for re-authorization since 2008, but Congress has been unable to reach a consensus. It is the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides federal funding for public schools.

The law was first approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and has been updated about every five years until Bush signed the current law in 2002.

No Child Left Behind greatly expanded the role of the federal government in public schools in an effort to ensure every student receive equal academic opportunities. The law required states to set academic standards, routinely test student proficiency and report the results.

Schools were expected to make annual progress or risk losing funding or state intervention. The law required all students to be academically proficient by 2014, a goal school leaders later said was unrealistic.

Without a re-authorization of the bill, the Obama administration created a waiver system that gave states flexibility in exchange for implementing reforms. Minnesota received a waiver in 2012 and in exchange created a more nuanced way of grading schools and promised to cut in half the achievement gap between poor and minority students and their classmates by 2017.

Christopher Magan can be reached at 651-228-5557. Follow him at twitter.com/chris_magan.Kline to chair No Child Left Behind conference committee - TwinCities.com:

Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times

Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times | Serving South Florida's African American Community since 1923:

Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed

Speaking at the National Urban League Conference on Thursday, Arne Duncan said education isn’t a partisan issue and that it was barely mentioned in previous presidential debates

Arne Duncan, United States Secretary of Education, took on another sub-theme of the National Urban League Conference Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.

Duncan said the education program “No Child Left Behind” was not working, and had not been working for some time.

“No Child Left Behind” was signed into law Jan. 8, 2002 by then President George W. Bush, under the premise that federal funding for education would be given to schools based on performance. It also expected by 2014 that all students pass math and reading.

The law has been re-written and renamed Every Child Achieves Act. It has received bipartisan support and passed mid-July in the Senate and a version of the bill passed earlier in the House. The new law gives states more flexibility to hold schools accountable for students' test scores.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, on July 22 issued a statement expressing disappointment with the rewrite of the bill.

“Over the last two days we have borne witness to one of the most critical debates to touch the Senate floor -- the future of civil rights protections in education. Today the National Urban League is deeply disappointed that the Senate passed the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) in its current form. This law does not include key civil rights protections and will leave children behind.”

President Barack Obama is unlikely to sign the bill as written when it comes out of committee.

Still Duncan said it’s good that both Republicans and Democrats have wrapped their arms around the fact that education is not a partisan issue and it is important to educate the children in our country.

Duncan also said that children in poorer communities seemed to get less money than children in more affluent communities, and pointed to his home state of Chicago as an example. His teachers made less money, class sizes were larger and extra curricula activities were not always present. All three would have an impact on the children's inability to learn. The same held true for technology. Poorer children didn't always have the ability to access it.

"Our kids who need it the most get it the least," said Duncan. "That's unfair and un-American."

Concerning the amount of time that children spent in school, Duncan said some kids needed more attention from teachers, so he was supportive of longer hours and days for children who needed it. If a child was able to spend some extra hours at school, he said, that child might decide to take debate, robotics or chess, classes he or she might not ordinarily take. Duncan also said that schools needed to become gathering places for things other than education.

"They belong to the community," said Duncan. "They need to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They could bring in nonprofits and families. They serve children and their families."

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, asked Duncan what voters should expect and demand from people running for the highest office in the land. Duncan, a self-admitted Democrat, said the candidates coming Friday had to walk the walk, and do more than talk Secretary of Education says “No Child Left Behind” failed | The Miami Times | Serving South Florida's African American Community since 1923:

World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid | Firedoglake

World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid | Firedoglake:

World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid

EDINBURGH — Private, for-profit schools in Africa funded by the World Bank and U.S. venture capitalists have been criticized by more than 100 organizations who’ve signed a petition opposing the controversial educational venture.

A May statement addressed to Jim Kim, president of the World Bank, expressed deep concern over the global financial institution’s investment in a chain of private primary schools targeting poor families in Kenya and Uganda and called on the institution to support free universal education instead.

The schools project is called Bridge International Academies and 100,000 pupils have enrolled in 412 schools across the two nations. BIA is supported by the World Bank, which has given $10 million to the project, and a number of investors, including U.S. venture capitalists NEA and Learn Capital. Other notable investors include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Pierre Omidyar and Pearson, a multinational publishing company.

In a speech delivered in April, Kim praised BIA as a means to alleviate poverty in Kenya and Uganda. Critics responded that many Kenyans and Ugandans cannot afford private education, further arguing that this type of investment merely supports Western businesses at the expense of local public services.

A section of the letter addressed to Kim asserts:

“We, civil society organisations and citizens of Kenya and Uganda, are appalled that an organisation whose mandate is supposed to be to lift people out of poverty shows such a profound misunderstanding and disconnect from the lives and rights of poor people in Kenya and Uganda. If the World Bank is serious about improving education in Kenya and Uganda, it should support our governments to expand and improve our public education systems, provide quality education to all children free of charge, and address other financial barriers to access.”

Opposition to educational neocolonialism

The statement reflects a growing global movement questioning Western policies pushing private education in developing countries. It was written and signed by 30 organizations in Uganda and Kenya and supported by 116 organizations around the world, including Global Justice Now and ActionAid. They claim BIA uses highly standardized teaching methods, untrained low-paid World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid | Firedoglake: