Friday, March 26, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Friday, March 26, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

Biden Says Schools Are On Track To Open As Promised, But Will Kids Go? https://www.scpr.org/news/2021/03/25/97183/biden-says-schools-are-on-track-to-open-as-promise/ via @kpcc

Does the African American Need Separate Charter Schools? | Cloaking Inequity - https://wp.me/p2D92I-5vO via @ProfessorJVH

Philadelphia to welcome back another group of students to in-person learning on April 26 - Chalkbeat Philadelphia - https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/25/22351348/philadelphia-to-welcome-back-another-group-of-students-for-in-person-learning-on-april-26 on chalkbeat

Leonie Haimson: NYC Squandered Millions on Charter Rentals | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-tVp via @dianeravitch

Rutgers To Require Vaccine Proof For 'All Students Planning To Attend This Fall' http://feeds.scpr.org/~r/893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews-Education/~3/iFSRmoSlgJs/

Education Matters: DCPS has a total failure of leadership - https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2021/03/dcps-has-total-failure-of-leadership.html

If You Want Student Loan Debt Cancellation, the Time to Act Is Here - Starting next week, the Debt Collective will embark on a week of action to tell the Biden administration that it’s time to cancel every cent of student debt. Join us. https://inthesetimes.com/article/student-loan-debt-cancel-biden-jubilee

State board examining accreditation of Western Heights Schools https://nondoc.com/2021/03/25/state-board-accreditation-western-heights-schools/ via @nondocmedia

Students need more than a citizenship test to prepare for civic engagement https://nondoc.com/2021/03/26/students-need-more-than-citizenship-test/ via @nondocmedia

SUNO changes procedures after multiple students report that scholarships were not honored https://thelensnola.org/2021/03/25/suno-changes-procedures-after-multiple-students-report-that-scholarships-were-not-honored/

The precarious state of American child care https://www.vox.com/2021/3/25/22345214/child-care-covid-19-daycare-american-rescue-plan

NJ schools will get $636M to combat learning loss. How should they spend it? https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/03/636m-federal-aid-combat-nj-learning-loss-spend-priorities-norma-fernandez-eileen-shafer-carly-robinson-roger-leon-scott-rocco-aaron-p-dworkin/

Northern Virginia schools divided over CDC’s new three-feet guidance https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/arlington-alexandria-fairfax-loudoun-schools-three-feet-distance/2021/03/26/c40fe82c-8dab-11eb-a730-1b4ed9656258_story.html

D.C. and Maryland say that schools can shrink social distancing to 3 feet. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/maryland-dc-schools-three-feet-distance/2021/03/25/1670fee8-8d94-11eb-9423-04079921c915_story.html

Gary Rubinstein: How to Pretend to Reform Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-tSf via @dianeravitch

Celebrating Heroic Women Breaking Glass and Winning Gold - ED.gov Blog - https://blog.ed.gov/?p=29673

Board approves paying $1,000 bonuses to Georgia teachers - https://apnews.com/article/teacher-pay-georgia-richard-woods-9b531afd454f8450ed197c936f504bee#new_tab on @ap

House panel OK's tighter school sex education rules - https://apnews.com/article/arizona-phoenix-gender-identity-sex-education-73ac34c4c499c1750b4acff498d51ad7#new_tab on @ap

Iowa House approves charter school expansion bill early Thursday after lengthy debate | State and regional news | siouxcityjournal.com - https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa-house-approves-charter-school-expansion-bill-early-thursday-after-lengthy-debate/article_6ea4fed1-2036-5ce0-80b0-7fa0ba4e7a65.html#new_tab on @scj

HB 563 Diverts Public School Dollars to Unaccountable Private Entities - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy - https://kypolicy.org/?p=16179

Boston Public Schools plan to delay full-time education for K-8 students until April 26 approved - masslive.com - https://www.masslive.com/boston/2021/03/boston-public-schools-plan-to-delay-full-time-education-for-k-8-students-until-april-26-approved.html#new_tab on @masslivenews

Firing of Fort Worth high school teacher Georgia Clark upheld | Fort Worth Star-Telegram - https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article250161645.html#new_tab on startelegram

School choice proposal wins approval in Missouri House | Politics | stltoday.com - https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/school-choice-proposal-wins-approval-in-missouri-house/article_6764f27a-2a52-5f45-a0bf-7a526cd7551e.html#new_tab by @https://www.twitter.com/@KurtEricksonPD on @stltoday

Detroit schools need 1,000 more teachers to continue in-person education - https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/detroit-schools-need-1000-more-teachers-to-continue-in-person-education#new_tab via @fox2news

Rantz: WA schools used COVID survey to ask middle schoolers if they're trans or 'something else' - https://mynorthwest.com/?p=2715772 via @mynorthwest

West Virginia House passes transgender athlete bill | Wv | wvnews.com - https://www.wvnews.com/newsfeed/wv/west-virginia-house-passes-transgender-athlete-bill/article_5dc0f11e-f9b4-5f58-a732-0d8c2033b8a5.html#new_tab on @WVNews247

As 21-person elected school board bill gains momentum, calls grow in Chicago for another option https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/25/22351382/chicago-elected-school-board-bill-gains-momentum-calls-grow-for-another-option via @ChalkbeatCHI

Georgia House votes to expand school voucher program - https://www.ajc.com/education/georgia-house-votes-to-expand-school-voucher-program/K2FYVYOC2JHIDDWWMPM4DMIMKU/#new_tab on @ajc

'Not babysitters:' Elementary school specialists frustrated with district teaching plans | KSNV - https://news3lv.com/news/local/not-babysitters-elementary-school-specialists-frustrated-with-district-teaching-plans#new_tab on http://www.twitter.com/news3lv

S.F. school board votes no confidence in commissioner over racist 2016 tweets - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/S-F-school-board-approves-no-confidence-vote-on-16054193.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

Oklahoma State Board Of Education Flips Public School Funding On Its Head | KOSU - https://www.kosu.org/node/94913

Measure granting Tennessee school boards sole authority to close schools heads to Lee | Tennessee | thecentersquare.com - https://www.thecentersquare.com/tennessee/measure-granting-tennessee-school-boards-sole-authority-to-close-schools-heads-to-lee/article_9f3c91e4-8da6-11eb-a672-a3fc9713b43a.html#new_tab on @thecentersquare

Arkansas to ban trans women competing in women's sports | thv11.com - https://www.thv11.com/article/news/politics/arkansas-bill-transgender-women-sports-ban/91-f3ce17e1-91cc-43ad-acbc-e8c572346fba#new_tab on THV11

Low-Income School Districts Saw Greatest COVID Attendance Dip | WBEZ Chicago - https://www.wbez.org/stories/low-income-school-districts-saw-greatest-dip-in-attendance-during-pandemic/37e0e6ef-cfbc-423a-b50b-a28ac458f20e

Report: 30% of Milwaukee public high schoolers failed last fall | Wisconsin | thecentersquare.com - https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/report-30-of-milwaukee-public-high-schoolers-failed-last-fall/article_d85a37f6-8d7e-11eb-8644-974fb33d4ada.html#new_tab on @thecentersquare

High-poverty schools start to reckon with unprecedented federal funding heading their way https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/3/25/22350474/unprecedented-federal-funding-high-poverty-schools-how-spend via @Chalkbeat

Some Oakland Elementary Schools to Remain Closed Next Week as Many Teachers Choose to Stay Home https://www.kqed.org/news/11866418/some-oakland-elementary-schools-to-remain-closed-next-week-as-many-teachers-choose-to-stay-home

Toxic CPS-CTU feud simmers under surface of latest reopening talks https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2021/3/25/22337200/chicago-teachers-union-public-schools-negotiations-contract-coronavirus-vaccine-remote-learning

Big Education Ape: Stickin’ to the Union- Teacher in a strange land - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/stickin-to-union-teacher-in-strange-land.html

Big Education Ape: Class of 2021: Win a $1,000 #PublicSchoolGrad Scholarship | Schott Foundation for Public Education - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/class-of-2021-win-1000-publicschoolgrad.html

Big Education Ape: WATCH THE VIDEO: Biden demands resumption of in-person learning in “school reopening summit” - World Socialist Web Site - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/watch-video-biden-demands-resumption-of.html

Big Education Ape: CURMUDGUCATION: Do Rising Charter Tides Lift All Boats? - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/curmudgucation-do-rising-charter-tides.html

Tom Loveless: Why Common Core Failed | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Tom Loveless: Why Common Core Failed Tom Loveless is an experienced education researcher who taught sixth grade in California. He has long been skeptical of top-down solutions to classroom-level problems. In this post, he explains why Common Core failed. The theory of standards-based reform is that if everyone has the same curriculum and the same instruction, no one will fall behind. Thirty year

Teacher Tom: Setting Ourselves, and Others, Free

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Setting Ourselves, and Others, Free I want the children themselves to tell me their stories, in their own words, reticences, giggles, and gestures. I want to listen to them, not just with my ears, but my combined senses; the one comprehensive sense which is, in the end, the only way to really "listen" to anything. I want to know them, as much as I can, as they know themselves, not filtered throu

Cancel the Tests and More! - Network For Public Education

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Cancel the Tests and More! Join NEA’s national campaign to cancel the tests. Here is what they suggest. 1. Take Action . S ubmit a comment to the Department of Education . The proposed waiver template does not go far enough to offer states and districts the flexibility we believe they need to support students and rebuild schools. 2. Spread the word. Help get as many folks as possible to sign ont

Educational Researchers Demand Cancellation of Spring 2021 Tests: Secretary Cardona Won’t Cancel, but Says In Future He May Reexamine Role of Testing | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Educational Researchers Demand Cancellation of Spring 2021 Tests: Secretary Cardona Won’t Cancel, but Says In Future He May Reexamine Role of Testing On Tuesday, in remarks at the annual legislative conference of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the new Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona declared that he will not bow to pressure and will instead continue demanding that standardize

Whatever Happened To the Dalton Plan? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Whatever Happened To the Dalton Plan? When, where, and why did the Dalton Plan arise? Begin with Helen Parkhurst . A 20th century educator much taken with the Progressive approach to schooling, she designed the Dalton Plan after World War I as a way of organizing instruction consistent with Maria Montessori’s and John Dewey’s ideas of individualizing all academic work and building school communi

Lawmakers Backing Standardized Tests Should Practice What They Preach | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Lawmakers Backing Standardized Tests Should Practice What They Preach When it comes to the whip, one side is definitely better than the other. Everyone wants to hold it by the stock. No one wants to get hit by the lash. That’s why politicians as diverse as Donald Trump and Joe Biden have struggled so desperately to defend standardized testing. They want to keep control of the torture device they

Education Matters: Why does Greene struggle with race relations? (draft)

by Mike Simpson / 33min

Why does Greene struggle with race relations? (draft) Why does our African American superintendent struggle so mightily with race relations? Well, the answer is simple, she doesn't see children as black, brown, or white, she sees them as test scores and she probably thinks everyone else should as well. On the heels of the districts disastrous mental health rollout, which sought to co-op black hi

Strategies for Safe In-Person Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

by Mike Simpson / 33min

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Joins Educators and Experts to Discuss Strategies for Sustaining Safe In-Person Learning SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a statewide webinar today for school leaders and other educational stakeholders designed to help schools successfully navigate the challenges of not only returning students to the classroom, but safe

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER

by Mike Simpson / 33min

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/03/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_20.html Left of Black S11 · E20 | Haki Madhubuti on the Black Arts Movement by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h What are the deep, foundational philosophies that have undergirded the creation of Black art and fuel

More than $1 billion for 56 Black charter graduates!? | Cloaking Inequity

by Mike Simpson / 3h

MORE THAN $1 BILLION FOR 56 BLACK CHARTER GRADUATES!? I think this table is very self explanatory. Feel free to spread widely. H/t to my source that passed this along. Stop saying these large charter chains are about Black students. Just stop. See also the post NEW: DOES THE AFRICAN AMERICAN NEED SEPARATE CHARTER SCHOOLS? Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discuss

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Thursday, March 25, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

by Mike Simpson / 20h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES NYC public schools shorted on funds for renovations: report - New York Daily News - https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-charter-school-

Big Education Ape

Stickin’ to the Union- Teacher in a strange land

Teacher in a strange land | Public Education. America's Best Idea.

Stickin’ to the Union

I should start by saying this: My dad was a Teamster, a union guy all his working life. At our house, the union protected the little guy—made sure he was paid fairly, had a benefit package, kept him from spiteful bosses (plenty of those).

When I became a public school teacher, and thus automatically a union member–this was Michigan, flagship union state, in the 1970s–my dad (who didn’t finish high school) was reassured. The union would protect me. He also wouldn’t let me park the first car I purchased on my extravagant $9050 salary, a Toyota Corolla, in the driveway. He had his non-negotiables, and one of them was Made in America.

It came as a surprise to me to learn just how differently teachers in other states viewed the union. A friend who grew up in South Carolina told me teachers there tended to see themselves as ‘above’ a union—to them, he said, the kinds of people who need a union are chicken-processors, or folks who work at the textile mill. People without college degrees. Low-class.

Working in education policy, one of my side hustles was with a dynamic woman who created and ran a professional development non-profit for educators. She began work as a teacher (in the South, in a right-to-work state). She had a distaste for unions. She CONTINUE READING: Teacher in a strange land | Public Education. America's Best Idea.

Class of 2021: Win a $1,000 #PublicSchoolGrad Scholarship | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Class of 2021: Win a $1,000 #PublicSchoolGrad Scholarship

The Schott Foundation launched the Proud #PublicSchoolGrad campaign to highlight the positive outcomes from our nation’s public schools and students.

As a member of the Class of 2021 you are facing extraordinary challenges of a global pandemic, closed schools, remote learning, while likely missing the in-person graduation ceremony you and your family have been looking forward to for years.

You’re tackling these challenges—as you have overcome other hurdles throughout your school years—and the Schott Foundation celebrates your determination and your resilience.

This scholarship is our way to help one proud #PublicSchoolGrad take the next step in continuing their education.

What you’ll need to enter:

Information about you: (name, city, name of the school you’re graduating from, how to contact you)
A photo of you holding this Proud #PublicSchoolGrad sign – or you can make your own with the same text
A few sentences describing a teacher or others in your community who helped you achieve this important milestone in your life
If you’re under 18, permission from your parents

The deadline is midnight Eastern Time on April 22, 2021.

The Schott Foundation will review all entries and pick a winner for the $1,000 scholarship and will announce the winner April 30.

Class of 2021: Win a $1,000 #PublicSchoolGrad Scholarship | Schott Foundation for Public Education

WATCH THE VIDEO: Biden demands resumption of in-person learning in “school reopening summit” - World Socialist Web Site

Biden demands resumption of in-person learning in “school reopening summit” - World Socialist Web Site

Biden demands resumption of in-person learning in “school reopening summit”

On Wednesday, the US Department of Education hosted a “National Safe School Reopening Summit,” bringing together figures from the Biden administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and handpicked school district superintendents, union officials, teachers and students to advance the ruling class campaign to reopen schools before the pandemic is contained.

The three-and-a-half hour event, chaired by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, had an Orwellian and highly contradictory character, in which the various speakers distorted science and sought to sugarcoat the reckless drive to reopen schools. Everyone at the summit participated remotely, with only one occupant visible on each screen, in stark contrast to the packed classrooms into which educators and students are being sent.

The current state of the pandemic and the horrific experiences of mass death and suffering over the past year were glossed over with vague references to “trauma,” while every speaker referred to school reopenings as “safe” and “scientifically based.” The entire event was designed to suppress science and chloroform educators and the broader population into accepting the reopening of schools. CONTINUE READING: Biden demands resumption of in-person learning in “school reopening summit” - World Socialist Web Site

CURMUDGUCATION: Do Rising Charter Tides Lift All Boats?

Do Rising Charter Tides Lift All Boats?

So lately we've been getting the charter-pushing return of the notion that the rising tide lifts all boats. Here's Fordham Institute's head honcho Mike Petrilli at The Hill, throwing in a side of "follow the science" because Petrilli is great (and I say this with all sincerity) at working the angles.

The "science" that he's referring to is a 2019 study-ish thing that Fordham put out (with Walton financing), authored by David Griffith, entitled Rising Tide: Charter School Market Share and Student Achievement. The idea he sets out to prove is that when charters open up, the resulting competition causes all students in all schools--both public and charter--to do better. The rising tide lifts all boats.

Griffith's background is a BA in Politics and Philosophy; later on he went back to school for a Master's in Public Policy. He worked as a political aid for a couple of years, worked briefly as a "research assistant" at two different outfits, did some TA work after grad school, taught for one whole year at a DC charter prep school, then landed a job at Fordham as a Research and Policy Associate. Make of that what you will.

The "study" depends, as always, upon Big Standardized Test data. Its finding included a claim that "high charter market share is associated with" big gains for Black and Hispanic students, but no CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Do Rising Charter Tides Lift All Boats?

Tom Loveless: Why Common Core Failed | Diane Ravitch's blog

Tom Loveless: Why Common Core Failed

Tom Loveless is an experienced education researcher who taught sixth grade in California. He has long been skeptical of top-down solutions to classroom-level problems. In this post, he explains why Common Core failed.

The theory of standards-based reform is that if everyone has the same curriculum and the same instruction, no one will fall behind. Thirty years ago, I wrongly believed that, and I supported the idea of national standards written by those in the field. But it is perfectly obvious that students in the same school with the same teachers using the same curriculum and having the same instruction do indeed have different outcomes. Having the same standards, curriculum, and instruction does not assure equal outcomes for all students. David Coleman, the architect of the Common Core, and Bill Gates, who funded the standards, did not know that.

He writes:

More than a decade after the 2010 release of Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics, no convincing evidence exists that the standards had a significant, positive impact on student achievement. My forthcoming book next month—“Between the State and the Schoolhouse: Understanding the Failure of Common Core”—explores Common Core from the initiative’s promising beginnings CONTINUE READING: Tom Loveless: Why Common Core Failed | Diane Ravitch's blog

Teacher Tom: Setting Ourselves, and Others, Free

Setting Ourselves, and Others, Free

I want the children themselves to tell me their stories, in their own words, reticences, giggles, and gestures.

I want to listen to them, not just with my ears, but my combined senses; the one comprehensive sense which is, in the end, the only way to really "listen" to anything.

I want to know them, as much as I can, as they know themselves, not filtered through the "knowing" of the important adults in their lives. That this is how I should strive to know all people is not lost on me, it's just simpler with young children. I suppose it's because they lack the layers of subterfuge and denial with which most of us adults armor ourselves. We call it "innocence," but I think it's also freedom: freedom from the shame that plagues too many of us. What will the others think if they know who I really am? That's not a question young children know to ask until they are taught it through the judgements of others. We teach it when we criticize and equally when we follow them around chirping, "Good job."

We teach children to be ashamed in both overt and subtle ways. It's too bad, of course, because lessons learned CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Setting Ourselves, and Others, Free

Cancel the Tests and More! - Network For Public Education

Cancel the Tests and More!

Join NEA’s national campaign to cancel the tests. Here is what they suggest.

1. Take Action. Submit a comment to the Department of Education. The proposed waiver template does not go far enough to offer states and districts the flexibility we believe they need to support students and rebuild schools.

2. Spread the word. Help get as many folks as possible to sign onto the open letter at www.nea.org/CancelTheTests. Signing on begins with you.

Keep in touch with what is happening. Sign up for our new blog.

The best blogs of the day will be delivered to your mailbox every day when you sign up at: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/best-posts/

Charter schools are underfunded? Ummm, this new report from Class Size Matters Leonie Haimson says, “not so fast.”

Read about how New York City charter facilities are overfunded with enhancement grants, while co-located publics are underfunded here.

NPE’s latest report, Chartered for Profit, is in the news.

Read this excellent analysis of our report by Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post here. If you have not read our report, click this link:https://networkforpubliceducation.org/chartered-for-profit/

Cancel the Tests and More! - Network For Public Education

Educational Researchers Demand Cancellation of Spring 2021 Tests: Secretary Cardona Won’t Cancel, but Says In Future He May Reexamine Role of Testing | janresseger

Educational Researchers Demand Cancellation of Spring 2021 Tests: Secretary Cardona Won’t Cancel, but Says In Future He May Reexamine Role of Testing

On Tuesday, in remarks at the annual legislative conference of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the new Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona declared that he will not bow to pressure and will instead continue demanding that standardized tests be administrated this year again as usual, despite that COVID-19 has utterly upended another school year. Last year Betsy DeVos cancelled the tests as schools shut down in March.

The Washington Post‘s Valerie Strauss reported on Wednesday: “A day after more than 500 education researchers asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona not to force school districts to administer federally mandated student standardized tests this year during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardona said Tuesday that policymakers needed the data obtained from the exams…. (H)e said student data obtained from the tests was important to help education officials create policy and target resources where they are most needed… Cardona said Tuesday that he would be willing to ‘reexamine what role assessments’ play in education—but not immediately. ‘This is not the year for a referendum on assessments, but I am open to conversations on how to make those better,’ he said.”

On Monday, 548 researchers from the nation’s colleges of education sent a joint letter urgently asking Secretary Cardona to cancel the federally required standardized achievement tests in grades 3-8 and once in high school. America’s standardized testing regime was mandated in January of 2002 in the No Child Left Behind Act and, in 2015, folded into that law’s successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act. The federal government set up the testing regime as the foundation of a massive school accountability scheme that ranked and rated America’s public schools and set out to turnaround (mostly through a cascade of sanctions) the poorest CONTINUE READING: Educational Researchers Demand Cancellation of Spring 2021 Tests: Secretary Cardona Won’t Cancel, but Says In Future He May Reexamine Role of Testing | janresseger

Whatever Happened To the Dalton Plan? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Whatever Happened To the Dalton Plan?

When, where, and why did the Dalton Plan arise?

Begin with Helen Parkhurst. A 20th century educator much taken with the Progressive approach to schooling, she designed the Dalton Plan after World War I as a way of organizing instruction consistent with Maria Montessori’s and John Dewey’s ideas of individualizing all academic work and building school community. The core of the Plan was students making contracts with their teachers to study and learn content and skills.

Deeply concerned by the grouping and lock-step movement of children and youth in American schools, Parkhurst sought to reorganize classroom work so that teachers would be able to convert traditional age-graded schools and classrooms where whole-group teaching, 55-minute periods, textbooks, and tests prevailed into laboratories where individual students contracted with their teachers to work on topics that interested them. Students then would have to make decisions on what to study when, finishing assignments, and meeting the terms of the contract to complete the teacher designed work (see below for description of Dalton Plan).

Parkhurst named the Plan after the public high school in Dalton, Massachusetts where it was first put into practice in 1920. She also was the founder of a New York City private school named after the Plan where it was the primary means of CONTINUE READING: Whatever Happened To the Dalton Plan? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Lawmakers Backing Standardized Tests Should Practice What They Preach | gadflyonthewallblog

Lawmakers Backing Standardized Tests Should Practice What They Preach

When it comes to the whip, one side is definitely better than the other.

Everyone wants to hold it by the stock. No one wants to get hit by the lash.

That’s why politicians as diverse as Donald Trump and Joe Biden have struggled so desperately to defend standardized testing.

They want to keep control of the torture device they’ve inherited from their predecessors without feeling its sting, themselves.

Take the current Covid crisis in our public schools.

Educators are scrambling to teach safely and most lawmakers stand aside unsure how to help.

We can’t figure out which students to assist, they say, without first giving them all a CONTINUE READING: Lawmakers Backing Standardized Tests Should Practice What They Preach | gadflyonthewallblog

Education Matters: Why does Greene struggle with race relations? (draft)

Why does Greene struggle with race relations? (draft)

Why does our African American superintendent struggle so mightily with race relations? Well, the answer is simple, she doesn't see children as black, brown, or white, she sees them as test scores and she probably thinks everyone else should as well.

On the heels of the districts disastrous mental health rollout, which sought to co-op black history month and led to several school walkouts, the district doubled down by allowing racists to spread their hate at meetings about changing the names of schools named after confederate era figures and then allowed a teacher to be targeted by them. Rather than stand up for the teacher, they inexplicably later suspended her.

This change the name of schools named after slavers and traitors has just about reached the ten-month mark, which has done nobody any good. I believe it wasn't done last summer because the district didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the referendum.

They reasoned it was okay with letting black and brown children continue to attend schools named after people who thought they were sub-human if ignoring it brought in extra revenue. But JC, the referendum vote CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Why does Greene struggle with race relations? (draft)

Education Matters: DCPS has a total failure of leadership - https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2021/03/dcps-has-total-failure-of-leadership.html

Strategies for Safe In-Person Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Joins Educators and Experts to Discuss Strategies for Sustaining Safe In-Person Learning

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a statewide webinar today for school leaders and other educational stakeholders designed to help schools successfully navigate the challenges of not only returning students to the classroom, but safely keeping them there for the long-term.

The webinar, “How to Keep Classrooms Safe for All: Lessons and Successes from California Schools,” featured school superintendents, health experts, and leaders in the field presenting on successful strategies for sustaining safe in-person learning in the months ahead, including available state resources for ventilation upgrades, implementing robust COVID-19 testing, and more.

“We’re at a pivotal moment for our schools. With vaccination rates increasing, and COVID-19 cases declining, it’s encouraging to see more and more classrooms welcoming students and educators back to in-person instruction,” Thurmond said. “There are many schools that are still figuring out how to make this transition, and we’re all learning this together. I am proud to continue connecting our schools with the science, support, and strategies needed to not only open classrooms, but keep them safe moving forward.”

Thursday’s virtual event was an opportunity for school districts across California to gain a deeper understanding of how phased, multi-layered safety measures applied effectively and consistently—masking, distancing, proper ventilation, COVID-19 testing, and more—can keep students, staff, and school communities safe during the pandemic. Participants heard from schools in Napa County, for example, where students have had options for in-person learning since the fall.

One critical issue is the importance of proper ventilation at schools to help reduce the risk of transmission. Schools have new resources through Assembly Bill 841, which created the “School Reopening Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification and Repair Program.” The bill directed upwards of $600 million in energy efficiency funding to test, adjust, and repair heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (HVAC) systems in public schools over the next three years. Even prior to the pandemic, poor ventilation in schools posed a significant health risk to students. UC Davis researchers recently found 85 percent of California classrooms lack proper ventilation.

Another strategy to sustain in-person learning is robust COVID-19 testing. Earlier this month, the California Department of Education (CDE) announced a plan to deploy millions of COVID-19 antigen tests at no cost to select California school districts. Many of the tests will be delivered to school districts in regions hardest hit by the pandemic and serve greater numbers of high-risk students and families, such as households in poverty, farmworkers, and communities of color.

“Being able to quickly identify who is positive and who is not will be critically important for day-to-day operations on a school campus and will help protect not only students, but teachers and support staff,” Thurmond said.

Today’s webinar included the following speakers:

Dr. Barbara Nemko, County Superintendent, Napa County Office of Education
Dr. Rosanna Mucetti, District Superintendent, Napa Valley Unified
Chris Ruch, Director of Training at the National Energy Management Institute
Natalie Lee, Deputy Director of the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy Division
Paula Villescaz, Assistant Secretary, California Health and Human Services

The webinar “How to Keep Classrooms Safe for All: Lessons and Successes from California Schools” can be viewed at any time on the CDE’s Facebook page

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Strategies for Safe In-Person Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

More than $1 billion for 56 Black charter graduates!? | Cloaking Inequity

MORE THAN $1 BILLION FOR 56 BLACK CHARTER GRADUATES!?

I think this table is very self explanatory. Feel free to spread widely. H/t to my source that passed this along. Stop saying these large charter chains are about Black students. Just stop.

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Photo credit: IDEA public schools (but no credit because they don’t actually graduate Black students despite their optics and rhetoric)

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Friday, March 26, 2021