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Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES #REDFORED #tbats #COVID-19 #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDOUTBREAK #BIDENWINS #46

Big Education Ape


THE TOP BANANA

TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES


Homeless families sue NYC over Wi-Fi installation, demand internet - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-homeless-families-shelters-wifi-internet-remote-school-de-blasio-20201124-imulnd36cvfwvhdbvebxthf6yi-story.html#new_tab via @nydailynews


New resolution would urge Utah schools to retire ‘hurtful and racist’ Native American mascots - The Salt Lake Tribune - https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2020/11/24/new-resolution-would/#new_tab on @sltrib



Philly’s Black-led charter schools are treated unfairly, new group says - https://www.inquirer.com/education/african-american-coalition-charter-schools-philadelphia-20201124.html#new_tab via @PhillyInquirer

NYC gives parents coping skills for COVID remote learning - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-nyc-parent-virtual-classes-covid-20201124-5ixqmctnjbbexdsf5elago6gsu-story.html#new_tab via @nydailynews

U.S. Unwinds In-Person Education With Closings in Over 30 States - Bloomberg - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/u-s-unwinds-in-person-education-with-closings-in-over-30-states#new_tab on @business


Tennessee takes overturned school voucher law to state’s highest court - Chalkbeat Tennessee - https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/24/21612706/tennessee-appeals-overturned-school-voucher-law-to-states-highest-court#new_tab on chalkbeat

State to reopen applications for remote learning grants - https://idahoednews.org/L5ZJw via @idahoednews

Home-schooling or dropping out? Indiana law presses schools to check. - Chalkbeat Indiana - https://in.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/24/21656203/new-indiana-law-high-schools-to-reduce-home-school-withdrawals-hidden-dropouts#new_tab on chalkbeat

School systems across the US report increased rates of failure from virtual learning https://washex.am/3fvbaJn

Public school enrollment plummets statewide amid coronavirus pandemic - The Boston Globe - https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/24/metro/public-school-enrollment-plummets-across-massachusetts-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/#new_tab on @BostonGlobe

A vast divide: Newark’s magnet schools excel while traditional high schools struggle https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2020/11/24/21683672/newark-magnet-comprehensive-high-schools via @ChalkbeatNWK




The Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest Is Back! – Have You Heard
by Mike Simpson / 21h
The Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest Is Back! Are you a graduate student whose research on K-12 or higher education is ready for the podcast limelight? Then we have 30 minutes of prime audio real estate with your name on it. Have You Heard is a biweekly education policy podcast, featuring scholar Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire. Seeking to move past the headlines
What Joe Biden actually promised about replacing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post
by Mike Simpson / 21h
What Biden actually promised about replacing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos On July 5, 2019, while talking with a crowd of K-12 teachers, Joe Biden promised that he would hire a teacher to replace Betsy DeVos as education secretary. Biden wasn’t the only Democratic presidential candidate to make such a promise. But now that he is the one who is going to be president, there is high interest abou
THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES #REDFORED #tbats #COVID-19 #REOPENSCHOOLSSAFELY #COVIDOUTBREAK #BIDENWINS #46
by Mike Simpson / 21h
Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Connecticut teachers unions call for all schools to move online-only after Thanksgiving unless coronavirus safety, transparency criteria are met - Hartford Courant - https://www.courant.com/coronavirus/hc-news-coronavirus-teacher-unions-call-for-remote-learning-20201123-zs5b5osjr5dt3ilp6bugvpwsyu-story.html#new_tab via @hartfordcourant
J4J Open Letter to President-Elect Biden | Schott Foundation for Public Education
by Mike Simpson / 1d
J4J Open Letter to President-Elect Biden The Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J), a grassroots education justice organization with dozens of local chapters across the country, highlighted candidate Joe Biden’s pledge to be “the best friend of public education” as they urged the President-Elect to choose a Secretary of Education committed to education justice. J4J’s open letter emphasizes the impo
Teacher Tom: Something That Always "Works"
by Mike Simpson / 1d
Something That Always "Works" A two-year-old was standing at the gate, his fingers through the slats, crying after his mommy who had left. The grandmother of another child was sitting with him. I wanted to go take her place, not because she was doing anything wrong, but it was the first day of a summer session, I imagined she was there to enjoy it with her own grandson, and I see it as a big par
Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog
by Mike Simpson / 1d
Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education I recently had the pleasure of reading Kevin Welner’s terrific new Onion-like book, “Potential Grizzlies: Making the Nonsense Bearable.” In tweets, I described Kevin as the Stephen Colbert and Groucho Marx of American education. Kevin and I had fun discussing the book on a Zoom sponsored by the Network for Public Education. ( WAT
ANDRE PERRY: Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy
by Mike Simpson / 1d
Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy Dear Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy ‘The upholders of white supremacy have always tried to control us by obstructing our path to the schoolhouse through law, propaganda and duplicity. They are doing it again.’ Dear Black students, The last seven months have presented you with a whirl
What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate? | Diane Ravitch's blog
by Mike Simpson / 1d
What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate? You may recall the iconic painting of little Ruby Bridges, a first-grader, who was the first African American student to enroll in a previously all-white segregated school in New Orleans. If you don’t, be sure to read this article, which tells what happened to the William Franz Public School. Three scholars–Connie L. Schaf
To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question | Diane Ravitch's blog
by Mike Simpson / 1d
To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the mandated federal tests should be administered this spring. When the pandemic was first acknowledged last March, Betsy DeVos offered waivers to states that wanted to suspend the testing. Although Biden has publicly expressed disdain for standardized testing, there has been no hint of whether he will a
Shawgi Tell: Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice
by Mike Simpson / 1d
Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds While they have constantly been at it, every now and then charter school advocates self-servingly complain more vociferously than usual about how they are unable to funnel even more public funds from public schools into the h
CURMUDGUCATION: The False God Data Fails Again
by Mike Simpson / 1d
The False God Data Fails Again The dream of the Cult of Data is that for any issue, we simply design an instrument for collecting the data, analyze the Data, and select a solution suggested by the Data. Phrases like "data driven" or "data informed" are used to express the assumption that decisions backed by Data are inherently smarter, better, stronger, and wiser than Those Other Kinds of decisi
NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020
by Mike Simpson / 1d
UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020 By special guest Mindy Rosier UFT President Michael Mulgrew % PM Thank you for coming on. Thank you for all you are doing. I want to use today to explain what we are dealing with. We have a lot to cover. I really wanted to do this Town Hall this week because it's Thanksgiving. Be safe, follow advice of the medical professionals. You all heard about instances of fa
This Giving Tuesday Support NPE - Network For Public Education
by Mike Simpson / 1d
As giving Tuesday approaches, please give generously to NPE and help us advocate for the public schools that you love. DONATE NOW In 2020, on our shoestring budget, here is some of what we accomplished. Important Investigations and Reports Broken Promises : This report is the first comprehensive examination of charter failure rates from 1999 to 2017. It documents that nearly 1 million schoolchil
WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS? – Dad Gone Wild
by Mike Simpson / 1d
WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS? “The future is called ‘perhaps,’ which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you.” ― Tennessee Williams, Orpheus Descending I’ve been struggling this weekend with organizing some thoughts. Thoughts connected through two disparate sources – the release of ACT scores and my reading of Ka
NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER
by Mike Simpson / 1d
NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/11/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile_21.html Inside the Libertarian Plot to Tear Down Public Education by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h 'Historian Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire explore the right's systematic, decades-long attack on p
A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007
by Mike Simpson / 1d
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/11/this-week-in-

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Tuesday, November 24, 2020

The Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest Is Back! – Have You Heard

The Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest Is Back! – Have You Heard
The Have You Heard Graduate Student Research Contest Is Back!




Are you a graduate student whose research on K-12 or higher education is ready for the podcast limelight? Then we have 30 minutes of prime audio real estate with your name on it.

Have You Heard is a biweekly education policy podcast, featuring scholar Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire. Seeking to move past the headlines and the talking points, the show presents important academic research in a humorous, easy-to-listen-to format. It may not be peer-reviewed, but Have You Heard does reach thousands of listeners with each episode, giving graduate students an audience many times larger than even the biggest AERA conference room.

To learn more about the show, check out the Have You Heard blog. Or better yet, pick your way through the show’s archives on iTunes, Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts. You may be particularly interested in episodes we did with previous winners and runners-up: #69, #75, #95, #96.

To apply, send a brief (200-300 word) description of your research. Then, in no more than two sentences, make the case for why you think it belongs in a podcast. Tell us, too, where you’re in school and what program you’re enrolled in. A round of finalists will be invited to submit full versions of their research, and the winner of the Graduate Student Research Contest will appear on a spring 2021 episode.

Deadline: January 31, 2021

Contact: Karalyn_McGovern@student.uml.edu (our great grad assistant!)


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What Joe Biden actually promised about replacing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post

What Joe Biden actually promised about replacing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos - The Washington Post
What Biden actually promised about replacing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos



On July 5, 2019, while talking with a crowd of K-12 teachers, Joe Biden promised that he would hire a teacher to replace Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

Biden wasn’t the only Democratic presidential candidate to make such a promise. But now that he is the one who is going to be president, there is high interest about his pick, who will lead the administration’s efforts to roll back DeVos’s agenda of pushing school choice and for-profit education. Biden’s choice will also signal how far he plans to deviate from the education policies of President Barack Obama, under whom he served for eight years as vice president.

Biden was at a candidates event in Houston with National Education Association members in July 2019 when he said: “First thing, as president of United States — not a joke — first thing I will do is make sure that the secretary of education is not Betsy DeVos. It is a teacher. A teacher. Promise.”

That promise has led many K-12 teachers from public schools to expect that he would pick an education secretary from their ranks, and many will be disappointed if that doesn’t happen.

Obama’s long-serving education secretary Arne Duncan infuriated teachers with school overhauls that used standardized test scores as key metrics for evaluating schools and teachers as well as other measures. They are expecting a different education agenda from Biden, whose platform includes big supports for teachers and public schools.

But Biden’s promise of a teacher as education secretary could also mean someone from higher education — even though the word “teacher” usually refers to the K-12 world. Speculation that the nomination might come from the higher education sector was fueled on Oct. 22, when Stef Feldman, the Biden campaign’s national policy director talked about education issues during a conversation with CONTINUE READING: 




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J4J Open Letter to President-Elect Biden | Schott Foundation for Public Education

J4J Open Letter to President-Elect Biden | Schott Foundation for Public Education
J4J Open Letter to President-Elect Biden




The Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J), a grassroots education justice organization with dozens of local chapters across the country, highlighted candidate Joe Biden’s pledge to be “the best friend of public education” as they urged the President-Elect to choose a Secretary of Education committed to education justice. J4J’s open letter emphasizes the importance of the moment to undo the damage caused by years of disinvestment and privatization and to enact a positive vision of equity and education justice. Like J4J, Schott has been clear that the next Department of Education should center community voices and work to undo the effects of resource inequity and structural racism on our public education system. (Click here to see Biden's education promises at the historic grassroots education forum.)

J4JFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 23, 2020
Contact Jitu Brown (773) 317-6343

Letter to President-elect Joe Biden

President-elect Joseph Biden
1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230
 
Dear President-elect Biden,

On behalf of the parents, students and community organizations that make up the Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J) in over 30 cities across the United States, we congratulate you on your historic election victory. Your incoming administration has an enormous opportunity to prioritize equity for Black, Brown, and Indigenous families to address deep-rooted systemic racism in housing, health care, policing, the environment, and especially public education. 

Over the past 20 years, our communities have suffered through thousands of school closures, punitive standardized testing, students funneled into the school to prison pipeline and the expansion of the for-profit and non-profit charter industry as the government ignored the harm to our students and as the inequity created an apartheid system of education in our communities. The evidence is clear; 5 out of 6 Americans want their neighborhood public schools improved and not closed and an overwhelming majority of the public want fully resourced, equitably funded public schools as opposed to the charter industry and vouchers that have drained billions from our public schools.

The next Secretary of Education should not only be an educator but firmly committed to racial justice and uniting education expertise with community wisdom to finally create education equity in the United States.  Appointing another pro-privatization Secretary of Education would cause more harm to Black, Brown, Indigenous and LGBTQIA students and would be disrespectful the struggle and sacrifices of the education justice movement. J4J co-sponsored the historic presidential forum that you attended last December in Pittsburgh, Public Education Forum 2020; Equity and Opportunity for All which was attended by over 1000 people and viewed on MSNBC. It was clear from the forum that Black, Brown, and Indigenous parents, students, and educators across the U.S. are calling for equity: not the illusion of school choice.

At that forum, you told us that if you were in the White House, we would “not ever have a better friend for education.” We are eager to see the results of that promise, beginning with the critical selection of the Secretary to lead the Department of Education.

We are recommending the following people for Education Secretary as they have the expertise and the track record that would be a beacon of light for our communities.

  1. Dr. Judith Browne Dianis-Executive Director of the Advancement Project.  Dr. Browne Dianis has consistently championed the civil rights of public education students and stood with communities in the struggle for education equity.  Dr. Browne Dianis is hailed as an expert on voting rights, education equity and is a pioneer in the struggle to end the school to prison pipeline. The Title VI Civil Rights complaint that her office filed with parents from Newark, New Jersey successfully proved that school closings harmed Black students.
  2. Dr. Julian Vasquez Helig, University of Kentucky College of Education Dean-Dr. Vasquez is an award winning, teacher, researcher, leader, and dynamic voice for equity in public education.  Dr. Vasquez is a leader in the NAACP as well as a board member of the Network for Public Education. 
  3. Dr. John H. Jackson-President of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Dr. Jackson has been a leader in moving philanthropy to support Black-led community organizing for education justice.  He has been a leader in the NAACP and was appointed by President Clinton to be a senior advisor for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.  He is from Chicago, a product of Chicago Public Schools and a graduate of HBCU, Xavier University of Louisiana.
  4. Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers-Representing over 1.7 million educators across the United States, Mrs. Weingarten has over 30 years in the classroom and stood side by side with Black and Brown communities to expand evidence based education strategies such as sustainable community schools and resisting harmful practices such as school closings and the expansion of the charter industry.  She has demonstrated the ability to hear our communities appeals for racial justice and education equity and responded as a friend to public education.      

President-elect Biden, Black Lives Matter must mean more than slogans, marches or the take down of confederate statues. For us, it means transforming how institutions function in Black communities and dismantling educational racism. You have an enormous opportunity to transform public education and we humbly, yet vehemently assert that any of these selections would be a courageous step in the right direction. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with you and your team.

Onward!
Jitu Brown
National Director
Journey for Justice Alliance


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Teacher Tom: Something That Always "Works"

Teacher Tom: Something That Always "Works"
Something That Always "Works"



A two-year-old was standing at the gate, his fingers through the slats, crying after his mommy who had left. The grandmother of another child was sitting with him. I wanted to go take her place, not because she was doing anything wrong, but it was the first day of a summer session, I imagined she was there to enjoy it with her own grandson, and I see it as a big part of my job to be with the kids when they struggle with the transition into their time with us. That said, there were some 30 other kids to be welcomed, along with their parents, and I had several other things to do to get things launched, so I left them there, knowing that at least the poor boy wasn't abandoned, even if he was feeling a bit that way.

It took about 10 minutes in order to carve out the time to get to them. He was still crying. This was the first time we had spoken, other than me saying, "I'm happy to see you," when he first arrived in his mother's arms. I sat beside him on the steps, used his name, and asked by way of confirmation, "Are you sad because your mommy left?"

He nodded.

Several of my old friends had followed me, excited to see me after a break, wanting to be in my sphere for a bit to start CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Something That Always "Works"
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