Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/8/15 #FightForDyett

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

UTLA's Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad - LA School Report

UTLA's Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad - LA School Report:UTLA’s Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli BroadEver since billionaire Eli Broad and a few other powerful figures in the school reform movement announced plans of a massive investment in new charter schools for LA Unified, the district’s teachers union has been aggressively mobilizing opposition to it.Tha

by mike simpson / 39min 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn'tFrom KPLU:A network of donors will step up if necessary to keep Washington state's nine charter schools open through the school year, a leading charter advocate said Tuesday, even if public dollars stop flowing in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision void

by mike simpson / 2h 

AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter'

AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter': AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter'Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks after a rally in front of the Chicago Public Schools headquarters on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images)Our union is our members, and on this Labor Day weekend, I couldn’t be prouder of the 1.6 million hardworking

by mike simpson / 3h 

Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas? | EduShyster

Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas? | EduShyster: Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas?Writer Andy Spears says that continued fallout from the Achievement School District’s takeover of a Nashville middle school could prompt legislators to put the brakes on the ASD.By Andy SpearsLast year, I reported on the latest education reform game﹘Thunderdome﹘bei

by mike simpson / 3h 

Jersey Jazzman: Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale Russakoff

Jersey Jazzman: Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale Russakoff: Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale RussakoffDale Russakoff’s The Prize – a chronicle of the education “reform” efforts in Newark, NJ that were supposed to be a model for the nation -- is as remarkable for what it doesn’t report as it is as for what it does.Russakoff, formerly a reporter for the Washington Post, tells the

by mike simpson / 3h 

The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds - The Washington Post

The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds - The Washington Post: The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-oldsWho is New York Mayor Bill de Blasio talking to about early childhood education?De Blasio (D) was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday morning to talk about, among other things, his program to bring universal pre-kindergart

by mike simpson / 3h 

#FightForDyett Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.Labor Day at Dyett...We gathered in support of the hunger strikers, now in the 23rd day of their strike. We heard Jitu Brown's progress report along with a reading of the demands the strikers a

by mike simpson / 5h 

Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher - LA Times

Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher - LA Times: Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisherTribune Publishing Co., parent of the Los Angeles Times, has fired Austin Beutner, the civic leader and former Wall Street investment banker who became publisher and chief executive of the newspaper last year.Tribune executives met with Beutner on Tuesday morning.A Tribune spokesman declined to c

by mike simpson / 6h 

The new charter school scheme: This is how GOP and privatizers have bled Pennsylvania schools - Salon.com

The new charter school scheme: This is how GOP and privatizers have bled Pennsylvania schools - Salon.com: The new charter school scheme: This is how GOP and privatizers have bled Pennsylvania schoolsTeachers work for free in a school district bled by charter schools and state government neglectAs schools across Pennsylvania open their doors for the new school year, there’s one district in the sta

by mike simpson / 6h 

Article: Battle Scarred Schools | OpEdNews

Article: Battle Scarred Schools | OpEdNews: Battle Scarred SchoolsElmwood Classroom with whiteboard material covering old blackboards(image by Carl Petersen)   DMCA"The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gif

by mike simpson / 7h 

#FightForDyett Chicago's Hunger Strike for Dyett High Passes Day 22 - Living in Dialogue

Chicago's Hunger Strike for Dyett High Passes Day 22 - Living in Dialogue: Chicago's Hunger Strike for Dyett High Passes Day 22By Michelle Gunderson.We sit under the trees at Dyett High School yet again on Sunday night. The Dyett 12 hunger strikers sit in a tight circle while a crowd of over a hundred of Chicago’s activists listen in. I know almost every face in this crowd. They are people who und

by mike simpson / 7h 

Cerf, Christie’s man in Newark, tells principals to spend only 25 percent of approved budgets. | Bob Braun's Ledger

Cerf, Christie’s man in Newark, tells principals to spend only 25 percent of approved budgets. | Bob Braun's Ledger: Cerf, Christie’s man in Newark, tells principals to spend only 25 percent of approved budgets.The joke’s on Newark–public schools can spend only 25 percent of their approved budgets.Newark’s public schools face an unprecedented financial crisis because of an edict from the state-con

by mike simpson / 7h 

Parents Across America Washington: Statement on the Supreme Court decision that charter schools are unconstitutional | Seattle Education

Parents Across America Washington: Statement on the Supreme Court decision that charter schools are unconstitutional | Seattle Education: Parents Across America Washington: Statement on the Supreme Court decision that charter schools are unconstitutionalAs Parents Across America Washington stated 3 years ago, the initiative and subsequent law is unconstitutional for the reasons stated in December,

by mike simpson / 7h 

Bill Gates has spent $440M to push charter schools: Here is the list of recipients | Seattle Education

Bill Gates has spent $440M to push charter schools: Here is the list of recipients | Seattle Education: Bill Gates has spent $440M to push charter schools: Here is the list of recipientsPer a previous post title, “Before you can fund the charter school, you have to fund an advocacy organization that can create a climate for the charter school to exist”.To follow is a list of organizations and scho

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: No Zip Code Tyranny + Don't Fix Your Building

CURMUDGUCATION: No Zip Code Tyranny: No Zip Code TyrannyA John Hopkins researcher says that the wealthy do not choose choice.The conclusion comes from research by Julia Burdick-Will who has a joint appointment in Sociology and the School of Education. "Neighbors but not Classmates" has just been published, and while the conclusions we can draw from it are pretty narrow, it offers an inte

by mike simpson / 7h 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Whatever happened to the Zuckerberg's $100M 'gift' to Newark schools?

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Whatever happened to the Zuckerberg's $100M 'gift' to Newark schools?: Whatever happened to the Zuckerberg's $100M 'gift' to Newark schools?The Hechinger Report carries an interview today, with journalist Dale Russakoff, author of “The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools?” The book tells the story of Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million &q

by mike simpson / 8h 

Letter to Fordham Snake Oil Peddlers Part 1 » Missouri Education Watchdog

Letter to Fordham Snake Oil Peddlers Part 1 » Missouri Education Watchdog: Letter to Fordham Snake Oil Peddlers Part 1Gretchen Logue wrote about the Recent op ed piece by Mike Petrilli and Robert Pondiscio, president and vice president for external affairs respectively of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which appeared in the Post Dispatch about the poor performance of our students on the SBAC tes

by mike simpson / 8h 

When Will I Love Charters? | Peter Greene

When Will I Love Charters? | Peter Greene: When Will I Love Charters?I'm probably a liberal. Or at least liberalish. I've never worried too much about what political label I'm supposed to wear. But I feel liberal enough to respond to Jonathan Alter's piece in the Daily Beast, "Why Liberals Should Learn To Love Charter Schools."If you want to read a fact-based takedown of Alter's piece wi

by mike simpson / 8h 

Teachers Aren’t Dumb - The New York Times

Teachers Aren’t Dumb - The New York Times: Teachers Aren’t DumbONE of my colleagues at the University of Virginia, a world authority on how culture influences personality, almost didn’t become a professor. He wanted to teach high school, but went for his Ph.D. because it seemed easier; he thought he would fail the exacting admissions test for teacher candidates. Perhaps I should mention that my co

by mike simpson / 8h 

Sacramento City Council ethics reform is a must | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento City Council ethics reform is a must | The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento City Council ethics reform is a mustAs Sacramento’s elected officials hem and haw, a local watchdog group has set the bar on transparency and ethics reform.After holding public forums with the League of Women Voters, Eye on Sacramento is calling for four major changes at City Hall:▪ An open government ordinance that g

by mike simpson / 8h 

“Right-to-Work” Threat in Public Sector: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association | Socialist Alternative

“Right-to-Work” Threat in Public Sector: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association | Socialist Alternative: For a Mass Mobilization to Stop This Attack and Rebuild Labor!Workers protest in March 2015 inside the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, a state which has pioneered so-called ?right-to-work? legislation widely seen as an attack on unions. Photograph: Amber Arnold/APIn late June, while

by mike simpson / 9h 

What Wisconsin & Arizona Should Teach Us about School Vouchers | Nonprofit Quarterly

What Wisconsin & Arizona Should Teach Us about School Vouchers | Nonprofit Quarterly: What Wisconsin & Arizona Should Teach Us about School VouchersLong before the second Bush administration launched “No Child Left Behind,” individual states were creating policies to use market forces as a driver toward stronger public education systems. While much attention has been given to the growth of

by mike simpson / 9h 

A Teacher's Labor Day Plea to School Reformers | John Thompson

A Teacher's Labor Day Plea to School Reformers | John Thompson: A Teacher's Labor Day Plea to School ReformersEven an oil field rookie, "a worm," knows that his life is in the hands of his tool pusher. So, in my first day as a roughneck in the oil patch, it was unnerving to hear Dwayne shout into the radio, "Frack after dark! Frack after dark! Call Western! Eddy Chiles (subsequently

by mike simpson / 9h 

What the new SAT scores reveal about modern school reform - The Washington Post

What the new SAT scores reveal about modern school reform - The Washington Post: What the new SAT scores reveal about modern school reformThe newly released scores on the SAT college admissions test turned out to be the lowest since the exam was redesigned in 2005. My Post colleague Nick Anderson wrote in this story that the “test results show that gains in reading and math in elementary grades ha

by mike simpson / 9h 

A Door-to-Door Push to Get Parents Involved at Struggling Schools - The New York Times

A Door-to-Door Push to Get Parents Involved at Struggling Schools - The New York Times: A Door-to-Door Push to Get Parents Involved at Struggling SchoolsTameka Carter, left, and Bliss Requa-Trautz, went building to building in the Edenwald housing projects in the Bronx, knocking on doors of families with children in Public School 112. Credit Karsten Moran for The New York TimesAt Public School 298

by mike simpson / 9h 

The surprising conservative roots of the Common Core: How conservatives gave rise to ‘Obamacore’ | Brookings Institution

The surprising conservative roots of the Common Core: How conservatives gave rise to ‘Obamacore’ | Brookings Institution: The surprising conservative roots of the Common Core: How conservatives gave rise to ‘Obamacore’When Jeb Bush announced he was exploring a run for President, TIME warned that Bush was “going to have to win over the Republican conservative base, which hates Common Core with the

by mike simpson / 9h 

Washington Court Strikes Down Public Funding for Charter Schools

Washington Court Strikes Down Public Funding for Charter Schools: Washington Court Strikes Down Public Funding for Charter SchoolsThe state's high court rules that because charter schools are not public institutions, they don't qualify for taxpayer money.One of the more grotesque attacks on the concept of an American political commonwealth has been the steady – and, sadly, bipartisan – assault on

by mike simpson / 9h 

How the Billionaire Kingpins of School Privatization Got Stopped in Their Own Back Yard

How the Billionaire Kingpins of School Privatization Got Stopped in Their Own Back Yard: How the Billionaire Kingpins of School Privatization Got Stopped in Their Own Back YardThe debate over public schools in Arkansas has been, for decades, ongoing and often fraught. In 1957, the Arkansas school year began with white mobs viciously attacking nine black teenagers as they attempted to desegregate L

by mike simpson / 9h 

Marie Corfield: Debunking Reformy Logic One Tweet At A Time Part 2

Marie Corfield: Debunking Reformy Logic One Tweet At A Time Part 2: Debunking Reformy Logic One Tweet At A Time Part 2As I reported in Part 1 of this 3-part series, I recently got into a Twitter debate with Laura Waters, Derrell Bradford and Ryan Hill which turned into an all-day affair, with Save Our Schools NJ, Jersey Jazzman and a few other pro-public education advocates chiming in. It was a 3-

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Charter School Operators Deserve the Blame for Rushing to Open Charters Before Court Ruled | HorsesAss.Org

Charter School Operators Deserve the Blame for Rushing to Open Charters Before Court Ruled | HorsesAss.Org: Charter School Operators Deserve the Blame for Rushing to Open Charters Before Court RuledWA Supreme Court jumps the shark, waiting 11 months to release opinion invalidating schools that already started. https://t.co/YXZURRTlvp— Jonathan Martin (@jmartin206) September 4, 2015Oh, please.I hav

by mike simpson / 18h 

Students' return to school is marred by renewed segregation across US | Education | The Guardian

Students' return to school is marred by renewed segregation across US | Education | The Guardian: Students' return to school is marred by renewed segregation across USExperts say a ‘substantial majority’ of black and Latino students attend schools segregated by race and poverty, which are linked to poorer educationMillions of students around the US have started autumn with familiar rituals: waitin

by mike simpson / 20h 

Data Wars in New Orleans | The Progressive

Data Wars in New Orleans | The Progressive: Data Wars in New OrleansMark WeberHas "reform" helped the students of New Orleans? Does the data show that school effectiveness has improved following Katrina? Is the conversion of the city's school district into a "portfolio" system a model for the rest of the nation?If you listen to the reformsters, the answer is an unequivocal &quo

by mike simpson / 20h 

Third Circuit Finds Teacher's Blog Comments About Students Not Protected By First Amendment Issue - Constitutional Law Prof Blog

Constitutional Law Prof Blog: Third Circuit Finds Teacher's Blog Comments About Students Not Protected By First Amendment IssueIn its opinion in Munroe v. Central Bucks School District, a divided panel of the Third Circuit found that a public school teacher's blog posts about students did not "rise to the level of constitutionally protected expression" under the First Amendment and thus

by mike simpson / 21h hide  //  save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/7/15 #FightForDyett

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMWith A Brooklyn Accent: Do Teachers Unions Need to Fight Harder for Their Members? Labor Day Reflections by Dr Patricia Robinson-LinderWith A Brooklyn Accent: Do Teachers Unions Need to Fight Harder for Their Members? Labor Day Reflections by Dr Patricia Robinson-Linder: Do Teachers Unions Need to Fight Harder for Their Members? Labor Day Reflections by Dr Patri

by mike simpson / 23h 

UTLA's Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad - LA School Report

UTLA's Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad - LA School Report:

UTLA’s Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad

Ever since billionaire Eli Broad and a few other powerful figures in the school reform movement announced plans of a massive investment in new charter schools for LA Unified, the district’s teachers union has been aggressively mobilizing opposition to it.

That response took an interesting turn yesterday when Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), challenged Broad to a public debate.

Caputo-Pearl even has a time and place picked out, telling KABC’s Adrienne Alperton her “Eyewitness Newsmakers” program that he wants to debate Sept. 20 at the grand opening ceremony of Broad’s new 120,000-square-foot, $140 million art museum, The Broad, in downtown Los Angeles.

While not entirely clear, Caputo-Pearl also suggested that UTLA would be staging a protest at the museum’s opening.

“I’ll be there, and I will have a bunch of my friends there, and I’d like to actually debate [Broad] publicly,” Caputo-Pearl said.

With the likelihood that Broad would be interested in such a debate at his star-studded gala running quite low, Caputo-Pearl followed up with a suggestion that showed while he may be joking about the gala, he is serious about wanting a public debate .

“We could do it on (Alpert’s) show if you want, about charter schools, about unregulated charter schools, about public school accountability,” he said. “So we’d like very much for that public debate to happen.”

The Broad Foundation did not respond to a message, seeking to learn if Broad had any interest in the debate.

Check out the attached YouTube video to see Caputo-Pearl’s full appearance on the show.UTLA's Caputo-Pearl throws down debate challenge to Eli Broad - LA School Report:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't:

Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't

From KPLU:

A network of donors will step up if necessary to keep Washington state's nine charter schools open through the school year, a leading charter advocate said Tuesday, even if public dollars stop flowing in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision voiding Washington's charter school law.

Tom Franta, who heads the Washington State Charter Schools Association, said his organization has reached out to a network of something like 50 donors — whom Franta declined to identify — that can help cover the estimated $14 million necessary to cover all nine schools' operating costs through the end of the year.

Here's some remaining mysteries:

- First Place Scholars never seems to get a mention in all these but they, too, are scheduled to open tomorrow (according to their Facebook page).
- how do nine schools need over a $1M each?  Most are under 300 students.

I spoke with the Charter Commission's Executive Director, Joshua Halsey, this morning.  He said that the Commission may be winding down its work if they have no funding.  Who then, would oversee these schools that remain open?  He said he didn't know the answer to that or even if it would be legal for them to stay open.  

The court's ruling — which held charter schools are not entitled to any public funding because they lack the oversight of elected boards — could potentially cut off state funding to the schools as soon as Sept. 24, according to the state's top charter official, Joshua Halsey.
  
But Franta says his organization is exploring legal maneuvers that would Seattle Schools Community Forum: Private Donors Set to Fund Charters if State Doesn't:

AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter'

AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter':

AFT's Randi Weingarten: Unions 'Still Matter'

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks after a rally in front of the Chicago Public Schools headquarters on September 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images)

Our union is our members, and on this Labor Day weekend, I couldn’t be prouder of the 1.6 million hardworking nurses, teachers, paraprofessionals, higher education faculty and public employees who work day in and day out to teach our kids, keep our families healthy and improve our communities. They deserve our thanks and our gratitude.

Even though, as we celebrate this Labor Day, the attacks on labor are unrelenting, it should go without saying that a robust American labor movement remains essential to our nation’s democracy and economy. Here’s the truth: Unions built the American middle class, and the benefits of being in a union continue to be undeniable. Union workers make an average of 30 percent more than nonunion workers; 92 percent of union workers have job-related health coverage, compared with 68 percent of nonunion workers; and union workers are more likely to have retirement security. And a new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research shows that a union contract significantly reduces the wage gap between men and women.

Our union has been on the forefront of advocating for great neighborhood public schools regardless of wealth or race. We have made incredible strides in turning around struggling schools and advancing our community schools agenda, and in pushing for better practices for safe patient handling and better staffing ratios for health professionals. And we will continue to press for hardworking Americans to have the right to collectively bargain so they can negotiate for the fair wages and benefits they deserve.

AFT members dedicate themselves every day to improving the lives of those they serve. We are a union that believes in creating a better future for ourselves, our families and our communities, which is why we champion fairness, democracy and economic opportunity. So on this Labor Day, thank you, sisters and brothers, for who you are, for having each other’s back and for having the community’s best interests at heart. We are our union."

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers.


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/weingarten-teachers-union-president/2015/09/04/id/673584/#ixzz3lBL61ntf
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Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas? | EduShyster

Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas? | EduShyster:

Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas?

Writer Andy Spears says that continued fallout from the Achievement School District’s takeover of a Nashville middle school could prompt legislators to put the brakes on the ASD.

By Andy Spears

Last year, I reported on the latest education reform game﹘Thunderdome﹘being played in Nashville. In this version of school disruption﹘organized by the state’s Achievement School District (ASD)﹘two schools compete for the privilege of being taken over by a charter operator. Yes, that’s right, two schools enter and everyone loses. Everyone, that is, except the charter operators.

As reported, Neely’s Bend Middle School (grades 5-8) was the *winner* of last year’s Thunderdome fight for survival and is now in the process of being converted to a LEAD Public Schools charter grade-by-grade.

I bet you’re wondering what fun is in store now that Neely’s Bend has been declared the winner and is in the process of claiming its prize.

Well, for starters, last year’s principal, who many parents and teachers credit for creating a new attitude at the school, was reassigned. Additionally, only six of last year’s teachers are back for this year. That’s because as the process proceeds, teachers are *invited* to reapply for their jobs. In most conversions administered by the ASD, fewer than one in five teachers return to their school.

Of course, all of this disruption must be necessary, right? After all, Neely’s Bend was performing poorly and there was no hope of turning it around until a charter hero took it over and set it on the right path.

Turns out advocates for Neely’s Bend who claimed that the school was making impressive gains were right.

In fact, one of the reasons parents and teachers gave for wanting to keep their community school last year was that they believed Neely’s Bend was turning a corner on its own. The story they told was that the school, under new leadership and with a new attitude, was making impressive gains.

Turns out, those advocates for Neely’s Bend were right. An analysis of recent test score data shows: *Neely’s Bend is showing a growth rate well above the district average and has posted consecutive years of growth in both Math and Science, with some pretty solid numbers in Science over the past two years.*

This data confirms what parents and teachers were saying back in December of 2014. So, this means the ASD will now put a stop to the conversion process and let the Is the Tennessee School Takeover Machine Running Out of Gas? | EduShyster:

Jersey Jazzman: Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale Russakoff

Jersey Jazzman: Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale Russakoff:

Book Review: "The Prize" by Dale Russakoff

Dale Russakoff’s The Prize – a chronicle of the education “reform” efforts in Newark, NJ that were supposed to be a model for the nation -- is as remarkable for what it doesn’t report as it is as for what it does.

Russakoff, formerly a reporter for the Washington Post, tells the story of the effort to remake Newark’s schools following a highly publicized donation in 2011 from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The $100 million gift (which was nearly doubled by matching grants) provides a catalyst for Newark’s Mayor, Cory Booker, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to implement a series of changes in the city that are often referred to as “corporate education reform”: charter school expansion, teacher merit pay, and the closing or reconstitution of “failing” schools.

This trio, aided by NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, take advantage of Newark’s status as a state-operated district to impose their agenda on the city’s schools. Confident that parental “choice” and promises of transformation will be enough to generate local support for their plans, they recruit a small army of consultants, pollsters, and advisers, all happy to get their share of Zuckerberg’s money.

While Russkoff does a good job of documenting the political plays and backroom deals that follow from the donation, she does miss a few critical details. Cerf, for example, had led a consulting firm, Global Education Advisors, just prior to his appointment as commissioner by Christie. GEA was the firm that drafted the initial plan for transforming Newark into a “portfolio” district of both charter and district schools.

At first, Cerf claimed that he was only minimally involved in drafting the blueprint; later, when confronted by the Star-Ledger (Newark’s hometown newspaper), he changed his story and admitted he had much more say than he originally let on. The potential conflict of interest, along with Cerf’s changing story, instantly called into question the credibility of

- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-prize-by-dale-russakoff.html#sthash.3pUaN9ko.dpuf

The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds - The Washington Post

The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds - The Washington Post:

The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds

Who is New York Mayor Bill de Blasio talking to about early childhood education?

De Blasio (D) was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday morning to talk about, among other things, his program to bring universal pre-kindergarten to families in his city. It wasn’t the plan that was surprising, but what he said about the Common Core State Standards for pre-K and about early childhood education in general.



Here’s what de Blasio said:

“To provide this quality of pre-K to every child takes real work. It takes choosing the right teachers, training them constantly. Look, we are using a Common Core curriculum at the pre-K level. I believe in Common Core . I think the question with Common Core always is are we providing the teacher training and support to actually live up to the quality of the curriculum.

But in the 21st century America, we need a rigorous curriculum. And at the age of 4, kids can learn in a way they can’t learn later. They are particularly receptive to learning. So we have a rigorous curriculum, highly-trained teachers. We are going to keep evaluating it and improving it.

But I can tell you this, the difference between a child who has had full day pre-K with the Common Core curriculum and one who hasn’t, that child in the first instance has such a leg up and a love of learning they go into the rest of their education with.”

Four-year-olds really need “rigorous” curriculum? (Many early childhood education experts don’t agree.)

Four-year-olds really need Common Core curriculum? (Ditto.)

“At the age of 4, kids can learn in a way they can’t learn later.” (The way kids learn best at the age of 4 is through structured play, not rigorous academic standards, experts say.)

Common Core curriculum sparks a love of learning in kids? (In some kids, perhaps, but from where does he get this information?)

“The question with Common Core always is are we providing the teacher training and support to actually live up to the quality of the curriculum.” (There are many, many questions surrounding the Common Core standards, which are not, actually, a curriculum. They are simply standards, around The surprising things New York’s mayor said about Common Core and 4-year-olds - The Washington Post:

#FightForDyett Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.:

North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.

Labor Day at Dyett...We gathered in support of the hunger strikers, now in the 23rd day of their strike. We heard Jitu Brown's progress report along with a reading of the demands the strikers are making which include greater community decision-making in all things Dyett. They say they're hoping for a quick resolution with Rev. Jesse Jackson handling the negotiations with CPS.

That won't be easy. Negotiations in this city are basically warfare without guns. Remember, CEO Forrest Claypool is already on record refusing to negotiate with the hunger strikers. That's what led to a continuation of the strike in the first place.

He's also blown up the Board's negotiations with the CTU as his first act in office. This, just as Karen Lewis was reporting that they were thisclose to a contract agreement.

This is obviously a man with white entitlement issues. Doesn't work well with people of color.

But shit happens. Remember in 2005, even though he was campaign geniusMike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: North Side/South Side. The pot is boiling over. Hunger strikers ask Obama to intervene.:

Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher - LA Times

Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher - LA Times:

Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher

Tribune Publishing Co., parent of the Los Angeles Times, has fired Austin Beutner, the civic leader and former Wall Street investment banker who became publisher and chief executive of the newspaper last year.

Tribune executives met with Beutner on Tuesday morning.

A Tribune spokesman declined to comment on the firing or on who would succeed Beutner.

Within the past few weeks, Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad approached Tribune with an offer to purchase the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune and operate the two papers as a separate company. The proposal was rejected.

Beutner had engineered Tribune’s purchase of the San Diego paper in May, part of a strategy to consolidate Southern California newspapers under common ownership as a way to reduce production and distribution costs and generate revenue for digital initiatives. The two papers comprised the newly formed California News Group under Beutner.

Beutner, 55, was named publisher of The Times in August 2014. In seeking to offset the decline of print advertising revenue, he launched multiple initiatives: email newsletters on topics such as the California drought, public events centered on Times journalism and coverage initiatives known as “verticals,” narrowly focused on such subjects as public education and California politics.

Beutner said these ventures were intended to develop an audience of regular, deeply engaged visitors to latimes.com, the paper’s website, in the belief that advertisers would pay more to reach passionate “communities of interest.”

Beutner surrounded himself with outside talent, often from the world of Los Angeles and national politics. His hires included Benjamin Chang, a former U.S. Foreign Service officer who had worked at the National Security Council; Johanna Maska, who served in the White House Press Office under President Obama; and Nicco Mele, an Internet strategist and entrepreneur who served as the digital advisor to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign.

Chang was brought in to organize public events for The Times, Maska is vice president for communications and Mele is deputy publisher, responsible for various digital initiatives.

The Chicago Tribune, one of the newspapers within Tribune Publishing, reported Tuesday morning that leaders of the company were unhappy with the financial performance of The Times and with Beutner’s high-profile hires.

During Beutner’s 13 months as publisher, The Times won two Pulitzer Prizes — for cultural criticism and for feature writing — along with other national journalism awards for coverage of the California drought, the plight of Mexican farm workers and other stories. The California Newspaper Publishers Assn. awarded The Times its 2015 general excellence award.Austin Beutner is out as L.A. Times publisher - LA Times: