NYC Council proposes $250 million for class size reduction next year | Class Size Matters

NYC Council proposes $250 million for class size reduction next year | Class Size Matters  | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

NYC Council proposes $250 million for class size reduction next year

In their Preliminary Budget Response, the NYC Council proposes that next year $250 million should be allocated to lowering class size, especially targeted towards struggling schools with vulnerable student populations. This would allow the Department of Education to hire an additional 2,500 teachers, which could lower class size in as many as 10,000 classrooms, as each new class that is formed can reduce class sizes in as many as four classes per school in the same grade and/or subject.

As the Council points out, when students return to full-time, in person learning, reducing class size will be imperative to provide additional learning support and help them catch up after a year of remote or blended learning.

The Council budget proposal also includes fully funding Fair Student Funding at about $605 million and $110 million to ensure that every public school has at least one full-time school counselor and one full-time social worker, as well as other programs and initiatives.

Council Member Danny Dromm, Chair of the Finance Committee said, “When I was a fourth-grade teacher at P.S. 199, I knew that with my class of 35 plus I was simply unable to meet the needs of all my students.  The fact that NYC teachers CONTINUE READING: NYC Council proposes $250 million for class size reduction next year | Class Size Matters  | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

UFT Endorsement Process | JD2718

UFT Endorsement Process | JD2718

UFT Endorsement Process

The United Federation of Teachers just picked a candidate to endorse for Mayor (Scott Stringer – he received 90% of the up or down vote).

Better Process

This has been a better process than previous campaigns – by far. Apparently the leadership took everyone who volunteered. That’s a change from the past. The Town Halls were like infomercials – but slick and well-run, and informative.

I did not participate (other than watching the final town hall – which Mulgrew ran nicely). I did not realize that the process was changed to allow all of us to participate (last time I had checked, members of other caucuses had a hard time getting in the door). But more than that, with ten serious candidates and many more not as serious candidates, this was going to be an enormous time sink. I chose to put my time into my chapter and my teaching.

This was very different from eight years ago. In 2013 I went to meetings with Mulgrew and the candidates – but we weren’t really participating – and there wasn’t much attempt to get input from us. But 2013 was already an improvement over what had come before.

Low Bar

But doing a better job than in the past is a pretty low bar.

Everyone knows the UFT’s track record with CONTINUE READING: UFT Endorsement Process | JD2718

Student privacy HB256 – Fred Klonsky

Student privacy. HB256 – Fred Klonsky

STUDENT PRIVACY HB256

Update.

Hi Fred! 

Thank you for posting about the edTPA videotaping bill. It was HB256, but that bill disappeared with the end of lame duck session. 

So, the current incarnation is SB808-SFA1. (= the language is in an education shell bell that’s being amended.)

People can put in a witness slip at this linkas a proponent of SFA1 for the hearing scheduled for tomorrow at 2pm.

It still has the same chief sponsor in the Senate, Laura Murphy (D-Park Ridge); she is a big advocate for protections for domestic violence victims, which is why she took on this bill. 

It doesn’t have an equivalent bill in the House, but with any luck it should move over there as SB808.

Best,

Cassie

Support HB256, Rep. Will Guzzardi and Sen. Laura Murphy

Senate Chief Co-Sponsors: Iris Martinez, Bill Cunningham. Senate Co-Sponsors: Craig Wilcox, Dale Righter, Julie Morrison, Robert Peters, Robert Martwick.

House Co-Sponsors: Steven Reick, Mary E. Flowers, Tony McCombie, Sue Scherer, Linda Chapa LaVia, Katie Stuart, Michael Halpin, Robyn Gabel, Yehiel M. Kalish, Jonathan Carroll and John Connor.

Student teachers in Illinois must videotape themselves and their students to pass CONTINUE READING: Student privacy. HB256 – Fred Klonsky

Senate Bill 138: Universal Meal Service + Proposition 12 FAQs for Stakeholders - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

Senate Bill 138: Universal Meal Service - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

Senate Bill 138: Universal Meal Service

Senate Bill 138 (McGuire), School Meal Programs: Free and Reduced-price Meals: Universal Meal Service (Chapter 724, Statutes of 2017) was signed into law on October 12, 2017. You can view this law on the California Legislative Information web page.

The law requires that local educational agencies (LEA) that have very high poverty schools, apply to operate a federal universal meal service provision each school year. LEAs must provide breakfast and lunch free of charge through the universal meal service to all pupils at the very high poverty schools upon state approval to operate that service. For additional information, please refer to Management Bulletin SNP-01-2018, which is posted on the California Department of Education web page.

Additionally, the law requires public school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to directly certify children for both free and reduced-price meals, through the Medi-Cal data now available in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. The California Department of Health Care Services utilizes Medi-Cal Records to capture family size and income data. The data exchange between state departments and LEAs takes place securely without disclosing a student’s Medi-Cal status, health information, or specific income data.

Federal Waivers

Based on the public health emergency due to COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) established a nationwide waiver to support the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) while schools are responding to COVID-19. This waiver allows an extension to the CEP application deadline. The deadline to apply for CEP is now September 30, 2021. To review the complete language of the FNS CEP Waiver, please visit the USDA web page. Please note that LEAs may submit applications for the CEP or Provision 2 electronically.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the subject, please contact your county’s School Nutrition Programs (SNP) Specialist. A list of SNP Specialists is available in the Download Forms section of the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System, Form ID Caseload. You can also contact Jeremy Partsch, SNP Unit Office Technician, by phone at 916-322-3005 or 800-952-5609, Option 2, or by email at jpartsch@cde.ca.gov to be directed to your SNP Specialist.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609

Senate Bill 138: Universal Meal Service - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

Proposition 12 FAQs for Stakeholders

The California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division (NSD) would like to share the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) newly posted Frequently Asked Questions for Stakeholders (FAQ) related to Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative. This proposition effects raw egg and pork products received in California through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foods program or a commercial vendor. Processors and Child Nutrition Program Operators are required to ensure that both raw and procured finished products are compliant with the provisions established by the State proposition.

The FAQ document and additional information on the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative can be found on the CDFA Proposition 12 Implementation web page.

The NSD will send a future notification once the CDFA announces their 45-day comment period at the commencement of their official rule-making process.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Augie Aguilar, Food Administration Unit Manager, by phone at 916-445-4850 or by email at aaguilar@cde.ca.gov.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609

Proposition 12 FAQs for Stakeholders

JEFF BRYANT: How the federal government’s charter school program went wrong - Alternet.org

How the federal government’s charter school program went wrong - Alternet.org

How the federal government’s charter school program went wrong

From the outset, charter schools were somewhat of a blind man's elephant—people saw in them whatever they wanted—but two competing theories that helped propel the charter movement were that the schools would serve as laboratories for experimenting with new education approaches that could be shared with public school districts, or that charters were created to disrupt the public school system by giving parents an alternative to district-run schools.

When the federal government got involved in creating new charter schools, beginning formally in 1994, it leaned into the former of those theories rather than the latter. The bill that led to the forming of the Charter School Program (CSP) under the Department of Education described charters as "a mechanism for testing a variety of educational approaches," and to this day, part of the mission of the CSP, as defined by the education department's Office of Innovation and Improvement that oversees it, is to "increase public understanding of what charter schools can contribute to American education."

Since its inception, the CSP has given out more than $4.1 billion to create and expand charter schools, according to a December 2019 report by the Network for Public Education (NPE).

Yet somewhere along the way, the CSP forgot its duty to create and oversee a charter sector that benefited the public system and instead has chosen to reward schools that give narrow slices of children and families a publicly funded alternative to their local schools. NPE has CONTINUE READING: How the federal government’s charter school program went wrong - Alternet.org

A QUESTION ON NUANCE – Dad Gone Wild

A QUESTION ON NUANCE – Dad Gone Wild

A QUESTION ON NUANCE

“A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.”
― Thomas Edison

 

“When are you getting your vaccination shot?” My wife asked early last week.

“I don’t know. Sometime soon.”

“Why haven’t you already gotten it? What are you waiting for?”, she testily responded.

“I don’t know. Just been busy with other things. I’ll get it this week.”

“You’re not turning into one of “them’ are you?”, she asked half-jokingly.

“No. I’m not turning into one of “them”. I’m one of “those”. You know, those lazy people that just haven’t figured out when and where. You gotta remember I’ve been out and about since the beginning. Taking precautions, but still going about business. I’ll get it this week.” (which I did btw)

The conversation was a lighthearted one about a heavy subject. It was also a glimpse into how we process and hold conversations about public policy. Gone are the days when there was any kind of nuance involved. Instead, we demand adherence to one manifest or another.

This morning I was reading an article in the Washington Post about the podcast “Rhinestones and Cocaine”, created by the son of country singer David Allen Coe, which seeks to give an honest history of country music. Coe launched his first season to critical acclaim in 2017 but is just now releasing season two. Insisting on doing everything himself, and refusing to cash in on his success CONTINUE READING: A QUESTION ON NUANCE – Dad Gone Wild

A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #tBATs

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

A VERY BUSY DAY

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The latest news and resources in education since 2007 -  http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_17.html

Webby Award Nominees Announced – Here Are A Few Useful To Educators

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h

The annual Webby Awards are supposed to honor the best in web design. They’ve just announced this year’s nominees and, as usual, there are a zillion of them and, as usual, it’s not easily-designed to go through them. Here are a few that were new to me that I think educators might find useful: NASA At-Home For Kids has tons of activities. If you click on “Students,” you can find activities for all

Don’t ‘Make the Math Classroom a PBL-Free Zone’

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

is the headline of my latest Education Week column. Three educators share advice on incorporating project-based learning in math classes, including asking the question “What’s nearby?” Here are some excerpts:

Tuesday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING (& SHOWING) WHAT SCHOOLS LOOK LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC (you might also be interested in SCHOOLS WENT REMOTE A YEAR AGO – HERE ARE MY CHOICES FOR THE BEST PIECES WRITTEN ABOUT SCHOOL REOPENING SINCE THEN): ‘We Need To Be Nurtured, Too’: Many Teachers Say They’re Reaching A Breaking Point is from NPR. ‘The first

Coolest Video You’ll See Today: “First Video of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

WikiImages / Pixabay Ingenuity flew today! Here are some articles about it: NASA flies a helicopter on Mars, the first time an aircraft has flown on another planet is from The Washington Post. NASA’s Mars Helicopter Completes First Flight on Another Planet is from The NY Times. Nasa successfully flies small helicopter on Mars is from The BBC. I’m adding this post to NOT NECESSARILY THE “BEST,” BU

Words Matter – Biden Administration Orders Changes When Discussing Immigrants

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

In February the Biden Administration began the process of stopping government agencies from using dehumanizing terms when talking about immigrants (see QUOTE OF THE DAY: BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STOPS USING TERM “ILLEGAL ALIEN” ). They expanded that effort today. You can read more at The Washington Post story, ICE, CBP to stop using ‘illegal alien’ and ‘assimilation’ under new Biden administration or

Lessons For The Derek Chauvin Trial & Its Aftermath

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

GDJ / Pixabay With the Derek Chauvin trial nearing its conclusion, here are some lists with lessons that might be particularly timely and helpful: New & Revised: A Collection Of Advice On Talking To Students About Race &

 Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007