Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/24/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger) - Wait What?

How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger) - Wait What?: How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger)“With all due respect” to Donald Trump’s supporters, there is absolutely no doubt that Trump is a sociopath, psychopathic, lunatic who would quickly destroy what is left of the fundamental ideals that produced what we nostalgically r

by mike simpson / 5:08 PM UTC-8 

Jersey Jazzman: Stronger Than The Swarm

Jersey Jazzman: Stronger Than The Swarm: Stronger Than The SwarmRegular readers have probably noticed two things about this blog:1) Lately, the posts are longer and much more likely to be filled with statistical stuff.2) I've had it with arguing with reformy hacks.This is probably something I should have said as part of a New Years post, but what the hell... I had a lot of time to think today whil

by mike simpson / 4min 

A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal - The New York Times

A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal - The New York Times: A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His PrincipalTom Porton is used to drama: Since arriving at James Monroe High School as an English teacher 45 years ago, he has taught and staged plays. Outside, in the Bronx River neighborhood where the school is, there was plenty of drama in the 1980s, w

by mike simpson / 29min 

Support Don Perl's Billboard Campaign in Colorado - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform

Support Don Perl's Billboard Campaign in Colorado - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: Support Don Perl’s Billboard Campaign in Colorado15 years ago, Don Perl refused to administer Colorado’s first high-stakes test. Since then thousands of parents nationwide have begun to Opt Out of the test.  Let’s keep the dominoes falling as we move toward implementing more humane e

by mike simpson / 30min 

New York Schools Still Underfunded | Schott Foundation for Public Education

New York Schools Still Underfunded | Schott Foundation for Public Education: New York Schools Still UnderfundedNew York Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State address on January 13th, mentioning numerous plans to increase educational opportunities for students in the state. He discussed community schools, preK programs, and increasing education funding. However, some education advocates have a

by mike simpson / 2h 

Julie Goes to Washington Part 2 -Ed Lessons From A Sparkly District

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Julie Goes to Washington Part 2: Julie Goes to Washington Part 2Otherwise known as, It Was Supposed To Be Testimony on ESSA, But Really Was Testimony To The Influence of Gates Money. How's that for a title? Perhaps it's a bit wordy. However, it is how it felt walking into that conference room at USDOE on January 11th. If you missed watching the testimony

by mike simpson / 3h 

DIANE RAVITCH: Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education - Salon.com

Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education - Salon.com:Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public educationGates and his pals talked Washington legislators into an end-around on charter funding. It's a rotten deal for kidsWashington state has a school problem. The legislature confronts two court

by mike simpson / 3h 

A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school funding | Seattle Education

A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school funding | Seattle Education: A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school fundingA message from TRAP:Governor Inslee, you’ve put us in a tight spot.TRAP wants to believe the Governor of the State of Washington would do right by the million stu

by mike simpson / 4h 

Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College. – Save Maine Schools

Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College. – Save Maine Schools: Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College.We know from Rex Tillerson of Exxon-Mobile and Jamie Meristotisof the Lumina Foundation that those at the top of the economic food chain view our children as products to be used by corporations to boost their bottom line.(Sometimes they find those products to be defective, and that’s frustrating for them.)We also kn

by mike simpson / 4h 

Oregon Save Our Schools: An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards

Oregon Save Our Schools: An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards: An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School BoardsOregon Save Our Schools has sent a letter to as many Oregon superintendents and school board chairs as we were able to gather. Our volunteers spent many hours going to district's individual websites in order to reach out to them and ask that they not impede

by mike simpson / 6h 

Can teachers be trusted with a revolution? – @ THE CHALKFACE

Can teachers be trusted with a revolution? – @ THE CHALKFACE: Can teachers be trusted with a revolution?I saw passing mention of this letter the other day, and went to seek it out. It’s an apology from a Detroit teacher to parents on the conditions of their schools. I want to focus on this one paragraph, which I quote below:You’re going to hear in the news, and in the papers, about how I don’t car

by mike simpson / 6h 

Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it - The Washington Post

Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it - The Washington Post: Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse itA new report says that California’s teaching shortage — the supply of new teachers is at a 12-year low even as demand is starting to rise — is likely to get worse unless targeted steps are taken to stem it.California i

by mike simpson / 6h 

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Classroom Update #5: Have you read a good book lately?

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Classroom Update #5: Have you read a good book lately?: Classroom Update #5: Have you read a good book lately?Howdy, long time, no write. I apologize, but life has been happening and that leads to less writing. Can you tell I’ve been teaching cause and effect lately? I’m doing Colonial American history with the class, and that will be the topic of this post

by mike simpson / 7h 

Teacher observations may be less helpful afterall – @ THE CHALKFACE

Teacher observations may be less helpful afterall – @ THE CHALKFACE: Teacher observations may be less helpful afterallDuring the height of debate on value-added modeling and using test scores to evaluate teacher performance, I was a champion for the tried and true teacher observation. Objective measures of teacher performance are elusive because of all the variables outside of our control. This is

by mike simpson / 7h 

Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignment - The Washington Post

Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignment - The Washington Post: Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignmentKindergarten, as anyone paying attention knows, is not what it used to be. I’ve published a number of posts about just how academic it has become, with kids asked to sit in their seats and do academic work often with little or no recess or

by mike simpson / 7h 

How the Color of Money - McLeary Crime Scene Coloring Contest Came to Be - Living in Dialogue

How the Color of Money - McLeary Crime Scene Coloring Contest Came to Be - Living in Dialogue: How the Color of Money - McLeary Crime Scene Coloring Contest Came to Be By Carolyn Leith.Back in September, parents were blindsided when Seattle Public Schools (SPS) proposed staff cuts at “25 or something” schools across the district. Emergency meetings were held, letters were sent to the school board,

by mike simpson / 8h 

Vouchers and the Destruction of America’s Public Schools

Vouchers and the Destruction of America’s Public Schools: Vouchers and the Destruction of America’s Public SchoolsIt’s hard to believe that vouchers are being promoted across the country and are once again being considered in the State of Tennessee. Voters there have made it known time-and-again that they don’t like vouchers.Here the Tennessee Momma Bears give information to speak out against vouc

by mike simpson / 8h 

An Epic Battle for Public Education: A Frontline View | LucidWitness.com

An Epic Battle for Public Education: A Frontline View | LucidWitness.com: AN EPIC BATTLE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: A FRONTLINE VIEWGovernor Tom Wolf is battling for fair funding for Public Education. It’s an epic battle in Pennsylvania and part of the war on Public Education across America.  It involves us all.In spite of the facts that legislators have failed to propose an acceptable budget, and that

by mike simpson / 8h 

Don’t Call It Activism | South Side Weekly

Don’t Call It Activism | South Side Weekly: Don’t Call It ActivismTroy LaRaviere on racial realities and the responsibilities of a schoolTroy LaRaviere, principal of Lakeview’s Blaine Elementary School, has made a name for himself as the CPS employee who speaks out. Heavily critical of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, standardized testing, charter schools, and much more, LaRaviere was formally reprimanded by t

by mike simpson / 8h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Transactions and Transformations

CURMUDGUCATION: Transactions and Transformations: Transactions and TransformationsMy wife is taking a professional development course this weekend, and one of her classmates (a football coach) brought up one the truly genius models of distinguishing between types of coaching. If you're active in the world of coaching, you may know these terms, but for the rest of us, let's talk about transactional

by mike simpson / 9h 

EXCLUSIVE: How Does ESSA Affect Teacher Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog

EXCLUSIVE: How Does ESSA Affect Teacher Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog: EXCLUSIVE: How Does ESSA Affect Teacher Education? EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1QlmO8KEXCLUSIVE: Senator Alexander’s Staff: ESSA and Teacher Evaluation, Part 2 | Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1RzT9KjEXCLUSIVE: What Does ESSA Say About Bottom 5% of School

by mike simpson / 9h 

Sylvia Simms, the SRC member who changed the fate of a school

Sylvia Simms, the SRC member who changed the fate of a school: Sylvia Simms, the SRC member who changed the fate of a school Sylvia Simms rarely speaks publicly at School Reform Commission meetings.But nearly five hours into a contentious session on Thursday night, the former Philadelphia School District bus aide dropped a bombshell, offering a walk-on resolution that altered the fate of a struggl

by mike simpson / 9h 

Ed Notes Online: How a Friedrichs Loss Can Become a Win, Making Taylor Law Unconstitutional

Ed Notes Online: How a Friedrichs Loss Can Become a Win, Making Taylor Law Unconstitutional: How a Friedrichs Loss Can Become a Win, Making Taylor Law Unconstitutional...labor... needs more people engaging in a debate about what, in theory, could come the day after an adverseFriedrichs decision. That shouldn’t be limited to toying with the legal implications of the Court’s logic, but also what kin

by mike simpson / 9h 

Why Aren't Kids Being Taught Cursive in School Anymore? | PJ Media

Why Aren't Kids Being Taught Cursive in School Anymore? | PJ Media: Why Aren't Kids Being Taught Cursive in School Anymore?To me, there is a certain beauty in a handwritten document. There is a certain romanticism in a letter, and power in the ability to read historical documents such as the Constitution, or simply being able to sign your name. I happen to believe that good penmanship helps to tea

by mike simpson / 10h 

Local charter schools worth taxpayer money?

Local charter schools worth taxpayer money?: Local charter schools worth taxpayer money?Attentive kindergarten students sit at a classroom table with Jeff Castleberry on a mid-week morning as he rolls dice and dabs spots for a Do-A-Dot Art math assignment.One of the highlights each school day for the Pensacola Beach Elementary School principal is teaching math to Jennifer Neal’s kindergarteners. T

by mike simpson / 10h 

Alan J. Borsuk - Arne Duncan on Milwaukee's chronic woes: 'A national disgrace'

Alan J. Borsuk - Arne Duncan on Milwaukee's chronic woes: 'A national disgrace': Arne Duncan on Milwaukee's chronic woes: 'A national disgrace'I don't know how anyone can look at the results from last year on how Milwaukee kids are doing in reading and math and not think we need fresh, bold steps aimed at getting better.As I noted sarcastically last week, the testing itself and then the statewide

by mike simpson / 10h 

It’s only fair that every teacher contribute to the cost of negotiating benefits and protections | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

It’s only fair that every teacher contribute to the cost of negotiating benefits and protections | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com: Teachers should pay fair share for representationOral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case took place on Jan. 11, with hundreds of educators, firefighters, social workers and nurses gathering on the steps of the hi

by mike simpson / 10h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Why Didn’t PARCC Issue a Press Release About Skandera as Chair? | deutsch29

Why Didn’t PARCC Issue a Press Release About Skandera as Chair? | deutsch29: Why Didn’t PARCC Issue a Press Release About Skandera as Chair?David Connerty-Marin is the communications director for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).  That’s his title on the PARCC web page. It is also his title according to his Linkedin bio and his Twitter page.  David Conner

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/22/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMMembers of Unions and Progressive Groups Back Sanders. When the Chiefs Pick, Clinton Gets the Nod. - TruthdigMembers of Unions and Progressive Groups Back Sanders. When the Chiefs Pick, Clinton Gets the Nod. - Truthdig: Members of Unions and Progressive Groups Back Sanders. When the Chiefs Pick, Clinton Gets the Nod.Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sa

by mike simpson / 1d 

How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger) - Wait What?

How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger) - Wait What?:

How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger)

“With all due respect” to Donald Trump’s supporters, there is absolutely no doubt that Trump is a sociopath, psychopathic, lunatic who would quickly destroy what is left of the fundamental ideals that produced what we nostalgically refer to as The Great United States of America.

That said, for a clue about the Trump juggernaut, one need only read the Washington Post’s article entitled, Charting Trump’s rise through the decline of the middle class.  The Post wrote,

“For anyone trying to understand the emergence of Donald Trump as a force in this pre-election year, the Pew Research Center this past week provided some valuable insight. There’s little doubt that what has happened to America’s middle class has helped to create the climate that has fueled Trump’s sudden rise.”

The entire political dynamic is, of course, more complex than can be explained by a single circumstance but there is a disturbing truism about Trump and the Middle Class that can’t be denied.

Trump taps into the bitterness about what can best be described as people’s hatred of “politics as usual.

It is a form of politics we know well here in Connecticut.

Eight years ago, in April 2008, before Barak Obama upended Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President, I wrote a “controversial” commentary piece in the Hartford Courant that led the How can Donald Trump be so wrong (and yet so right about middle class anger) - Wait What?:

Jersey Jazzman: Stronger Than The Swarm

Jersey Jazzman: Stronger Than The Swarm:

Stronger Than The Swarm

Regular readers have probably noticed two things about this blog:

1) Lately, the posts are longer and much more likely to be filled with statistical stuff.

2) I've had it with arguing with reformy hacks.

This is probably something I should have said as part of a New Years post, but what the hell... I had a lot of time to think today while pushing the snow blower around, and it's become increasingly clear that I want to change direction in 2016:

As I said before: the reformy side really has nothing. If the best response you have to charter skepticism -- which is not, by the way, the same as saying there is no place for choice or charter schools in our education system; it's actually saying that the claims of vastly superior results in the charter sector are largely nonsense -- is to make thinly veiled accusations of racism, you're really running on fumes.

If the best response you have to the legitimate concerns of parents who, among other actions, opt their children out of standardized tests is to say that they are merely coddling their kids, you really have nothing to contribute to the conversation about America's schools.

If you spend your days beating up teachers unions while ignoring the serious problem of - See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2016/01/stronger-than-swarm.html#sthash.JbnhuvkQ.dpuf

A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal - The New York Times

A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal - The New York Times:

A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal

Tom Porton is used to drama: Since arriving at James Monroe High School as an English teacher 45 years ago, he has taught and staged plays. Outside, in the Bronx River neighborhood where the school is, there was plenty of drama in the 1980s, when AIDS and crack ravaged the area. His response then was to establish a group of peer educators who worked with Montefiore Medical Center to teach teenagers about H.I.V. prevention. His efforts earned him awards, including recognition from the City Council and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and led to his induction into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Now he is at the center of drama: Last month he clashed with Brendan Lyons, the school’s principal, who disapproved of his distributing H.I.V./AIDS education fliers that listed nonsexual ways of “Making Love Without Doin’ It” (including advice to “read a book together”). This month, he said the principal eliminated his early-morning civic leadership class, which engaged students in activities such as feeding the homeless, saying it was not part of the Common Core curriculum. Mr. Porton was already skeptical of that curriculum, saying it shortchanged students by focusing on chapters of novels and nonfiction essays rather than entire works of literature.

So, next month Mr. Porton — a 67-year-old educator whom students praised as a lifesaver and life-changer — is walking away from teaching. He handed in his retirement papers on Friday.

“My career has always been based on the emotional and social well-being of the child,” he said, inside an office whose walls were decorated with awards, proclamations and photos of him alongside several school chancellors, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the rapper DMC. “Now, I don’t know where teaching is headed. I just know I can’t anymore. I find it torture. I’d rather separate myself from the classroom doing something that is distasteful and try to spend my days doing things that are important.”

Mr. Porton has been teaching and coordinating student activities long enough to see Monroe go from a large urban high school to one housing several smaller schools, including his, the Monroe Academy for Visual Arts and Design. Mr. Lyons — who repeatedly replied “no comment” to questions during a telephone conversation — arrived at the school at the start of the academic year. A previous tenure at a Manhattan high school was marked by his replacing paper hall passes with toilet plungers, which students used to wreak havoc on property and one another.

In December, on World AIDS Day, Mr. Porton handed out his flier, as he had for almost 25 years. Mr. Lyons sent him an email saying the flier was “inappropriate,” and asked that he collect those already distributed. Though Mr. Lyons said he would discuss the matter later with him, Mr. Porton said that conversation never took place.

H.I.V. and AIDS may have faded from the public mind, but they remain a danger in places like the South Bronx, especially among young blacks and Latinos. Mr. Porton said the school has failed to meet Department of A Beloved Bronx Teacher Retires After a Conflict With His Principal - The New York Times:

Support Don Perl's Billboard Campaign in Colorado - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform

Support Don Perl's Billboard Campaign in Colorado - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform:

Support Don Perl’s Billboard Campaign in Colorado

15 years ago, Don Perl refused to administer Colorado’s first high-stakes test. Since then thousands of parents nationwide have begun to Opt Out of the test.  Let’s keep the dominoes falling as we move toward implementing more humane educational policies that include all of our children. Please consider making adonation to his billboard campaign.

From the “Jan. 27, 2001 Denver Post article  “Teacher won’t administer CSAP tests”

A middle-school teacher in Greeley said Friday that he refuses to administer the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests to his students because they clash with his beliefs as an educator. 
This is the first time a teacher has refused to administer the tests, officials believe. State law requires teachers to give the exams, a fact that hasn’t escaped Donald Perl, 58.
“I’ve anguished over this for a long time, and I cannot administer these tests, knowing the population here and seeing how discriminatory the test is,” said Perl, a Greeley resident who teaches eighth-grade Spanish, reading and language arts at John Evans Middle School.”
Perl said he is prepared to face the consequences of his refusal.” 
“You know what? I have to look at myself in the mirror, and I know these tests are wrong,” he said. “Frankly, I’m not a teacher when I teach to a test like this, when I administer a test like this.”
“If I have gotten some people to think about this, then I have done my job as a teacher.”

See more on Don’s story here and please donate – thank you!

Support Don Perl's Billboard Campaign in Colorado - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform:

Help fund the 2016 UOO Conference

Your contribution at United Opt Out's GoFundMe helps with conference expenses!

New York Schools Still Underfunded | Schott Foundation for Public Education

New York Schools Still Underfunded | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

New York Schools Still Underfunded

New York Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State address on January 13th, mentioning numerous plans to increase educational opportunities for students in the state. He discussed community schools, preK programs, and increasing education funding. However, some education advocates have argued that the proposed funding increase still falls under what New York owes its public schools. One of our grantees, The Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), has released a new report that talks about the now decade-old Supreme Court case that mandated New York fully fund its education system, and shows what steps are really necessary to ensure that happens.

In his address, Governor Cuomo didn't spend too much time on education, but he did make some significant promises to New York schools: a one billion dollar funding increase, a preK program that includes three year olds, and an increase in community schools. This indicates a shift in focus from Governor Cuomo's now-embattled position on standardized testing, and appears to support some of the education initiatives Mayor Bill de Blasio has been implementing in New York City. But these plans do not seem substantive enough to AQE and their allies, or to many parents, students, and educators. The day before Cuomo's address, AQE helped organize a rally in the capitol building to try and encourage Cuomo to dedicate more funding to their public schools.

Cuomo's announcement failed to meet these hopes, as the one billion dollar funding increase still falls far short of what schools really need to provide a fair and equitable education to all their students. AQE lays out the history behind their fight New York Schools Still Underfunded | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

Julie Goes to Washington Part 2 -Ed Lessons From A Sparkly District

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Julie Goes to Washington Part 2:

Julie Goes to Washington Part 2

Otherwise known as, It Was Supposed To Be Testimony on ESSA, But Really Was Testimony To The Influence of Gates Money. How's that for a title? Perhaps it's a bit wordy. However, it is how it felt walking into that conference room at USDOE on January 11th. If you missed watching the testimony on their livestream, I've posted a link to the day's testimony at the bottom of this post.

The synopsis of most of the testimony was, not surprisingly, test so there is equity, test so students with disabilities and English language learners have their civil rights upheld, test because we need accountability and without testing we won't have accountability, test so we have more data, test so we know which teachers suck, and when all else fails, what the heck, just test some more.

That's your plan? Testing, pseudo-accountability, and test some more? Could anything possibly be lazier? 

I'm going to piss off a few people by what I say next, but here's the deal, standardized tests are not going close educational gaps. It's not a civil right to be tested. If anything, it is a Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Julie Goes to Washington Part 2:

DIANE RAVITCH: Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education - Salon.com

Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education - Salon.com:
Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education
Gates and his pals talked Washington legislators into an end-around on charter funding. It's a rotten deal for kids

Washington state has a school problem. The legislature confronts two court decisions that it doesn’t like.

First, the highest state court ordered the legislature to fund the schools fairly. For every day the legislature fails to do so, it pays a fine of $100,000. This affects 1,070,000 children.

Second, the court ruled that charter schools are not public schools and cannot receive public funding. This was a direct rebuff of Bill Gates, who lives in Seattle and spent millions on a referendum supporting charters that won by less than 1%. He and his friends want the legislature to bypass the court ruling so charters can get public money. This affects 1,000 children.

Which issue do you think the legislature acted on? 

The one that mattered to Bill Gates and 1,000 students, of course.

The State Senate voted 27-20 in favor of a “fix” that allows charters to get public funding that helps 1,000 children. The legislature has done nothing to increase the fair, equitable funding of 1,070,000 children.

The dissident senators understood what an epic fail this vote was:

“Yet some legislators disagreed that the bill was the measure that was needed when the legislature is being fined $100,000 a day by the state Supreme Court for failing to fully fund education. Referred to as the McCleary lawsuit, legislators questioned whether that sweeping imperative should take priority over the fate of charter schools. Some proposed amendments to the charter school bill, which would have added language to confirm the precedence of fully funding K-12 education.

“We have a systemic divestment in public education in this state,” said Sen. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle. Jayapal said she didn’t look to pit one issue against the other, but argued that the Senate needed to address its paramount duty.

“Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, agreed, adding that a move to create smaller Bill Gates should be ashamed: His back-room, charter-school power play hurts kids, public education - Salon.com:

A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school funding | Seattle Education

A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school funding | Seattle Education:

A new coloring page: Sorry, Governor Inslee, there’s no disguising your lack of leadership on school funding

A message from TRAP:

Governor Inslee, you’ve put us in a tight spot.

TRAP wants to believe the Governor of the State of Washington would do right by the million students who are having their constitutional rights violated, on a daily basis, in underfunded public schools.

BUT your continued foot dragging – when there’s any movement at all – requires TRAP to apply the heat.

TRAP also remembers when you called a special session to give Boeing a $8.7 billion dollar tax break, but refused to call a special session to solve the school funding crisis.

Here at TRAP Headquarters, we’ve developed a theory. We think you’ve been wearing a disguise down in Olympia, hoping no one will notice your lack of leadership.

Well, Governor Inslee, TRAP is blowing your cover. Time to take off the glasses and funny mustache and get to work. The students of Washington State deserve nothing less.

-Carolyn Leith co-founder of TRAP

-Shawna Murphy co-founder of TRAP

Get your coloring sheet, by clicking on the: Inslee_coloring_sheet

Find us on Twitter:

McCleary Crime Scene

@McClearyCrime

Facebook: The Color of Money – McCleary Crime Scene

Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College. – Save Maine Schools

Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College. – Save Maine Schools:

Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College.

We know from Rex Tillerson of Exxon-Mobile and Jamie Meristotisof the Lumina Foundation that those at the top of the economic food chain view our children as products to be used by corporations to boost their bottom line.

(Sometimes they find those products to be defective, and that’s frustrating for them.)

We also know that there is big, huge, major money to be made in the student loan industry, and that if we could just get every kid to take to take out a loan, well then…

So what happens when you combine the agendas of the widget-makers with that of the student loan predators?

You get videos like this, which encourage students not to go to Hey Kids, Don’t Go To College. – Save Maine Schools:

Oregon Save Our Schools: An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards

Oregon Save Our Schools: An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards:

An Open Letter to Oregon Superintendents and School Boards

Oregon Save Our Schools has sent a letter to as many Oregon superintendents and school board chairs as we were able to gather. Our volunteers spent many hours going to district's individual websites in order to reach out to them and ask that they not impede parents' right to opt their children out of high stakes standardized tests as well as asking them to join us in speaking out and fighting for the schools our children deserve. We apologize to any districts we may have missed and are posting the open letter here in the hopes that all will get our message.

We would also ask that parents, teachers, and community members who want a better assessment system for Oregon schools send a copy of this letter to your local school board, superintendent, state legislator, or anyone else you think needs to hear this message. Let's get together and create an assessment system that works for Oregon's students and teachers!

                              

Dear Superintendents and School Board Chairs of Oregon school districts,

As testing season approaches, Oregon Save Our Schools would like to address you on behalf of the many parents in Oregon who will be choosing to opt out their children out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment this year. 

As you know, HB 2655 was passed last legislative session. Undoubtably you have received instruction from the Oregon Department of Education regarding participation and informing parents of their right to opt their children out of the assessment. While we understand the need for you to attempt to comply with ODE directives, we write to urge you to respect parental rights as outlined in this bill which was a hard won battle led by parents who did not wish to have their religious beliefs nor their right to direct their children’s education questioned by local school districts. 

With that in mind, we ask that you not put up roadblocks that are not required by the law. Parents are not required by law to meet with anyone in the school district to obtain approval to opt their children out of testing. Further, asking principals to do anything other than accept forms handed in places a problematic burden on them which can result in a mistrust of the principal by parents. That could also be a recipe for division among parents at a school site. This was happening prior to the HB 2655 and the hope was that it would end with its passage.

While the Department of Education encourages parents to submit the form no later than February 1 in order to help districts plan, there is nothing in the law that requires parents to do so. ODE representatives, when questioned, have confirmed for  OSOS members on more than one occasion that it is a parent’s right to opt their child out of testing at any time, even if the child has already begun testing and the parent does not wish their child to continue. We have also been forwarded an email by a founder of Eugene Parents Concerned About High Stakes testing in which Holly Carter, ODE’s Interim Director of Assessment states that crossing out any statements on ODEs form about the value of testing which parents do not agree with should not prohibit parents from exercising their rights.

Additionally, opt out forms should be easily obtainable in school offices, not just available to download, and in parents’ native languages to assure equal access for all parents.

The intent of the law was to stop making it difficult and onerous for parents to exercise those parental rights. If that is at all in doubt,  you can read letters from HB 2655 co-sponsor Representative Lew Fredrick to Dr. Noor here and from co-sponsor Representative Chris Gorsek here.  We urge you to follow the spirit of the law and allow parents who wish to opt their children out to do so without interference. 

We would also like to call on any of you who feel so moved to speak out publicly against the Smarter Balanced Assessment and high stakes standardized testing in general. Note that you would not be alone. In Vermont, the State Board of Education sent this letter to parents in November of last year.  Back in 2011, a Florida school board member took their state assessment and, after seeing his results, felt it was imperative that he speak out.  And more recently, Idaho’s Superintendent of the Year gave a TEDX talk about his concerns regarding high stakes standardized testing. The full talk can be seen here.

We share the concerns of Oregon teachers regarding SBAC and look forward to all of us working together to finish the work begun by OEA and ODE towards a better assessment system.  We hope you will question assessments that do not follow the guiding principles found in the linked "New Path for Oregon" document nor "Student Assessment Bill of Rights" found on page 18 of the document. Our students deserve quality assessments that their teachers can use to inform instruction. We hope you will join us in advocating for that.

In the meantime, we hope you will heed our recommendations, made in the interest of respecting parent and student rights and minimizing divisiveness in local school communities. The new ESSA gives us great opportunity to make local decisions and while it continues to require a 95% participation rate, we believe there is no legal basis for either the federal or state government to withhold funds from a district or school based on parental decisions.

We ask you to join us in advocating for creating an assessment system that works for teachers and students and respects and restores the power of local school communities. 

Thank you for all you do for your students and families.

Respectfully yours,

Oregon Save Our Schools

http://oregonsaveourschools.blogspot.com

Can teachers be trusted with a revolution? – @ THE CHALKFACE

Can teachers be trusted with a revolution? – @ THE CHALKFACE:

Can teachers be trusted with a revolution?

I saw passing mention of this letter the other day, and went to seek it out. It’s an apology from a Detroit teacher to parents on the conditions of their schools. I want to focus on this one paragraph, which I quote below:

You’re going to hear in the news, and in the papers, about how I don’t care about the students. You’re going to hear that taking days for sick-outs is selfish of teachers. I agree I have been selfish but it was my inaction that was selfish. It was me sitting in my position of authority in your children’s life and doing nothing to protect them. I am sorry I let this get so far. I promise that although I want a living wage that is not what brings me to action today. What makes me fighting mad is that your child, who I call “one of my kids”, is learning in an environment that is in total chaos.

The conditions observed in Detroit schools did not happen overnight. And it is absolutely certain that, as is the case in Flint, complaints may have been ignored. But the author of this letter above is courageously admitting a very important truth: that teachers on the whole speak up and out very little, even when problems are obvious.

There are numerous accounts online, mainly on personal blogs, of award-winning teachers overflowing with activism, idealism, and optimism. Fans fawn over those individual teachers with glowing comments and, for those most deserving, their own hashtags. Yes, by all means, pump that optimism and maybe more Can teachers be trusted with a revolution? – @ THE CHALKFACE:

Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it - The Washington Post

Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it - The Washington Post:

Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it

A new report says that California’s teaching shortage — the supply of new teachers is at a 12-year low even as demand is starting to rise — is likely to get worse unless targeted steps are taken to stem it.

California is just one of the many states dealing with a teacher shortage that has been growing in recent years because of a combination of several factors, including that school reform has left many teachers feeling as if they have been scapegoated for problems in public education.

[The real reasons behind the U.S. teacher shortage]

The U.S. Education Department maintains an annual state-by state listshowing the subject areas in which teachers are in short supply, and this is what it says about California:

In the 1990-91 and 1991-92 school years, California had K-12 shortages in bilingual education, life science and physical science. In 2015-16, there are statewide shortages in English/Drama/Humanities, History/Social Science/ Math/Computer Education/ Science/Self-Contained Class/Special Education (including State Special schools).

A new study says that the supply of new teachers in California is at a 12-year low, with enrollment in educator preparation programs having dropped by more than 70 percent over the last decade and lower than the estimated hires by school districts around the state.

The study, titled “Addressing California’s Emerging Teacher Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions” and written by Linda Darling-Hammond, Roberta Furger, Patrick Shields and Leib Sutcher, was just published by the Learning Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that does independent research and advance solutions to improve education.

The report says that the shortage is “most acute in mathematics, science, and special education”  and that “California must take purposeful steps now if the state is to avoid more acute, widespread shortages of teachers.” Here’s the Report: Why California’s teaching shortage could worsen — and how to reverse it - The Washington Post: