Monday, October 4, 2010

Julie Woestehoff: Will #Parents Be Next to Get School "Reformers'" Broom?

Julie Woestehoff: Will Parents Be Next to Get School "Reformers'" Broom?

Julie Woestehoff

Public school parent advocate in Chicago

Posted: October 4, 2010 06:11 PM

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Will Parents Be Next to Get School "Reformers'" Broom?

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Once Bill Gates, D. C. Supt. Michelle Rhee and theWaiting for "Superman" crowd are done drawing and quartering teachers, are they going to come after us parents?

After all, we're just the flip side of the same coin.

What if, after all the millions of dollars that have been poured into marketing and movies promoting charter schools, turnaround companies, vouchers, mayors running the schools, etc., parents still refuse to play?

What if the public opinion polls continue to show, as the Gallup/PDK report did this year, that:

Americans oppose school turnarounds -- 58% support helping existing local school

More on the CTU court victory this afternoon. � Fred Klonsky's blog

More on the CTU court victory this afternoon.

by preaprez

Loser in court: Ron Huberman

We were among the first to report the story of the CTU’s victory in Federal court against CPS and their illegal firing of tenured teachers.

Catalyst says,

A federal ruled today that CPS wrongly dismissed hundreds of teachers in a bid

The Associated Press: Ill. governor: Education is solution to deficit

Ill. governor: Education is solution to deficit

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS and DEANNA BELLANDI (AP) – 1 hour ago

CHICAGO — While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and then move Illinois forward.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Quinn said he would solve the state's budget crisis by spending more on education. He hopes "investing in people" will help the Illinois economy grow and fill the budget hole when coupled with unspecified spending cuts and the possibility of more federal aid.

The Chicago Democrat had little to say about what he'd like to accomplish once the budget is balanced, listing ideas like expanded college scholarships and better Internet access.

"We have to have a governor who understands these basics," he said.

Quinn, 61, has aspired to lead the state for much of the past two decades. He got his chance

Texas Forgoes Federal Funds for Comprehensive Sex Ed — Health and Human Services Commission | The Texas Tribune

Texas Forgoes Federal Funds for Comprehensive Sex Ed

by Reeve Hamilton
October 4, 2010 | 6

text size A A A

photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman

At the end of the summer, Texas quietly opted to forgo yet another pot of federal money — specifically, $4.4 million that would have gone toward educating youth on abstinence and contraception to prevent teen pregnancy.

The Department of State Health Servicesbegan drafting the application for the Personal Responsibility Education Program funds, but the decision was made not apply before the Aug. 30 deadline. Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for DSHS said, "The [Health

Schools Matter: Can't Find a Good Place for Your Political Dollars This Fall? Look No Further

Can't Find a Good Place for Your Political Dollars This Fall? Look No Further

by Jim Horn

From Free Speech for People:

Bipartisan Group of Former Attorneys General and Law Professors Calls on Congress to Examine Constitutional Amendment To Reverse Citizens United

As the Supreme Court returns today for its new term, a bipartisan group of law professors and prominent attorneys, including seven former state attorneys general, issued a letter criticizing the Court’s ruling in January in Citizens United v. FEC, which equated corporate spending in elections with free speech rights, and calling on Congress to consider a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision.

Free Speech for People and People For the American Way announced the release of the letter

The Answer Sheet - What public school teachers really need

What public school teachers really need

This post was written by Dan Brown, a teacher at SEED Public Charter School in Washington D.C., which was featured in the movie “Waiting for Superman.” He is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network and this appeared on his blog, “Get in the Fracas.” By Dan Brown Waiting for Superman [is now in theaters and] moviegoers everywhere will be transfixed by the emotional journeys of five families seeking a great education for their vulnerable kids. I saw the film twice this summer— opportunities I received because I teach at the SEED Public Charter School, one of the schools celebrated in the film. The five students followed by Waiting for Superman all hope to get into charter schools, which admit by lottery. Not every kid gets what he or she wants; it’s heartbreaking. When the lights come up, I think a lot of people will be flooded with feeling, bu

Chicago Teachers Union beats the board in teacher firing suit. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Chicago Teachers Union beats the board in teacher firing suit.

by preaprez

Just in: In the case of the Chicago Teachers Union v Board of Ed, a Federal District Court judge has ruled in favor of the union. The CTU was seeking an injunction to stop the firing of tenured teachers.

The judge ruled,

The Court orders the Board to rescind the discharges of tenured teachers under the Board’s June 15, 2010 resolution and to promulgate, in consultation

Teacher Rene Diedrich Adds Her Voice To Mine. Will You? (Maestro Ren�Diedrich a�ade su voz a la m�a. �Lo har�s?) - Perdaily.com

Teacher Rene Diedrich Adds Her Voice To Mine. Will You? (Maestro René Diedrich añade su voz a la mía. ¿Lo harás?)

by Leonard

(en español después) The following is an email I received from Rene Diedrich, a fellow teacher under attack for exhibiting the uncompromising values of what should be rewarded as a good teacher. It is my belief that LAUSD administration seeks to marginalize teachers like us and the somewhere between 80 and 200 teacher who share our fate, because LAUSD is incapable of reforming its clearly failed practices and, therefore, must kill the messenger.

It is my belief that even if a fraction of teachers had the motivation to speak about what they are subjected to on a daily basis, LAUSD would come crumbling down, since there is nothing but fear holding it up. You are the majority who can turn things around if you finally speak out either in your own name or anonymously. If not, don't blame anybody else when your union disappears and you no longer have a job as a

Edujobs Aplenty � The Quick and the Ed

Edujobs Aplenty

by Kevin Carey

If you live in New York City–or want to–and you’re interested in working at nifty organizations like Achievement First, KIPP, or New Leaders for New Schools, check out those and other positions at the new Gotham Schools Job Board.

QUICK Hits

by Forrest Hinton

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.

What Do For-Profits Colleges and The World’s Worst Dictators Have in Common?

by Kevin Carey

Former Clinton aide and current for-profit higher education lobbyist Lanny Davis–whose other clientsinclude Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, a man who Foreign Policyranked as the 14th-worst dictator in the world after he “amassed a fortune exceeding $600 million

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: TRAGIC, TEACHABLE MOMENT: What will Rigoberto Ruelas' students learn from his suicide?

TRAGIC, TEACHABLE MOMENT: What will Rigoberto Ruelas' students learn from his suicide?

BY SANDY BANKS LA TIMES COLUMNIST | HTTP://LAT.MS/BICGIR

Grief

Perla Cruz, one of Rigoberto Ruelas' students at Miramonte Elementary School, listens to testimonials at a Mass for the teacher who took his life. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times / September 29, 2010)

October 2, 2010 – Maybe it seems pointless to say now what a dedicated teacher Rigoberto Ruelas was.

He tutored his students after class, visited their homes and met their families, steered them away from gangs and toward college. He arrived early for work every morning at Miramonte Elementary, and had near perfect attendance for 14 years, right up until last week, when he disappeared.

Ruelas' body was discovered on Sunday in a ravine beneath a Big Tujunga Canyon bridge. He left no note, but the Los Angeles County coroner

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