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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Big Education Ape: 4-14-11PM TRADITIONAL TEACHERS EDITION

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now


as shared by 6 people on Coopmike48’s Twitter list
niemanwatchdog.org - Miracle schools, vouchers and all that educational flim-flam ASK THIS | April 13, 2011 Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch tells reporters to dig deep when states or school distri...

mikeklonsky
9news.com - DENVER - For the past 13 months, teachers, community leaders, business professionals, and others worked together to come up with a plan for Colorado's first-ever statewide system designed to produc...

DianeRavitch
modeducation.blogspot.com - digg_url="http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/04/hey-liberals-democrats-are-evil-too.html"; The left press and blogosphere have been ranting about the crazy, evil, greedy and/or stupid Republi...

coopmike48
democraticunderground.com - Source: Think ProgressKUCINICH: Let me ask you about some of the specific provisions in your proposals to strip collective bargaining rights. First, your proposal would require unions to hold annua...

coopmike48
sj-r.com - Teachers, administrators, education reform groups and key lawmakers have agreed on a sweeping package of changes in how Illinois teachers are hired, fired, negotiate contracts and move from job to ...

mikeklonsky

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coopmike48 Historic Use of the Term “Failing School” | Federal Education Policy Historyhttp://bit.ly/haYa44 #Eduabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Check this video out -- Rep. Weiner Calls Out Republicans For Hypocrisy On Medicare http://t.co/iWpcjYB via @youtubeabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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leoniehaimson Obama, Duncan want better tests? We need better answers first. « Parents Across America http://bit.ly/hWNFapgreat piece by Julie Woestehoff44 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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#edu Read this paper42 MORE ARTICLES
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Modern School: CTA’s State of Emergency Misses the Mark, But Come Anyway, The Occupation Will Be FunCTA’s State of Emergency Misses the Mark, But Come Anyway, The Occupation Will Be Fun0diggEven af...

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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - On College Debt and the Drop-Out Crisis - Dana GoldsteinOn College Debt and the Drop-Out Crisisby Dana GoldsteinOn Monday the New York Times' published a story about the immense and growing debt bu...

coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Modern School: Californians Support Public Sector, Blame the RichCalifornians Support Public Sector, Blame the Richby Michael DunnHuck/Konopacki Labor CartoonsA recent poll, commissioned by the Cal...

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Media17

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Education160 MORE ARTICLES
suntimes.com - Quinn: Education reform bill will ensure ‘best teachers’ in classroom BY DAVE MCKINNEY Springfield Bureau Chief dmckinney@suntimes.com Apr 14, 2011 02:05PM SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Quinn Thursday endorse...

mikeklonsky
chicagonow.com - I'm a little surprised, frankly, that the CTU has joined reformers in endorsing the seniority/ tenure/strike ban deal finalized yesterday in Springfield -- while business and other interests are ex...

mikeklonsky
blogs.edweek.org - NBC --the originator of the idea that education in America would be improved by a giant national hurricane, to sweep everything clean and let the reformers have at it--is sponsoring a Teachers Town...

DianeRavitch
Politics29 MORE ARTICLES
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Robert Reich (President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky))President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky)2 people liked thisPaul Ryan says his budget plan will cut $4.4 trillion over ...

coopmike48
usatoday.com - By Jackie Kucinich, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum announced Wednesday night that he will explore a run for the Republican presidential nomination, making him the ...

mikeklonsky
news.firedoglake.com - The Wall Street Journal dropped a bit of a bombshell yesterday when it intimated that the reason the Obama Administration hasn’t been able to choose a director of the Consumer Financial Protection ...

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Living12 MORE ARTICLES
bizjournals.com - File Photo Thousands of people rallied to protest Ohio and other states, such as Wisconsin, passing laws that limit collective bargaining rights of public workers.Ohio voters may be set to repeal t...

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sacramentopress.com - The recent shooting of two elderly Sikh men in Elk Grove propelled Sikh Solidarity Day at the state Capitol on April 13, 2011. The long list of speakers included Assemblymembers Logue and Dickinson...

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mediaite.com - videoMaybe he’s trying to drum up attention for the launch of his Current TV show, but Keith Olbermann is embroiled in another nasty Twitter fight, this time with Glenn Beck protege´ SE Cupp. Respo...

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Stories9 MORE ARTICLES
sacbee.com - About 60 Sacramento State students are still holding a sit-in inside the lobby of the university's administration building, some of them having camped out overnight after yesterday's protest agains...

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oldschoolteach.wordpress.com - After attending the PLC Summit 2011 in Arizona, I gained a greater insight into how important collaboration is. Not just within my school, but in the U.S., and other countries. With that being s...

coopmike48
sacbee.com - Community college students across California will link hands across hundreds of miles on Sunday during an event designed to raise funds for scholarships.The human line will start at Sierra College ...

coopmike48
Art & Entertainment6 MORE ARTICLES
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Historic Use of the Term “Failing School” | Federal Education Policy HistoryHistoric Use of the Term “Failing School”Politics is about many things—power, money, authority, values, ideas…It also is ...

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theatlanticwire.com - In the proud tradition of ridiculous mayoral proclamations, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have won the day. The Foursquare Day. Hizzoner issued a yuk-filled directive today to proclaim Frida...

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solidaritywisconsin.com - I joined 1,300 people in the Barrymore Theater last night. This crowd needed absolutely no assistance in warming up. While we waited for start, one audience member in the front in green face paint ...

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marketwatch.com - By MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — As far as hoaxes go, it was hilarious. Unless you got caught on the wrong side of the trade. /quotes/comstock/13*!ge/quotes/nls/ge GE 19.94, -0.07, -0.3...

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blogs.forbes.com - Apr. 14 2011 - 5:00 pm | 0 views | 0 recommendations | By E.D. KAIN Will Wilkinson writes: It’s rather less intuitive that fairness demands that the wealthy not only pay more in taxes, but pay a la...

coopmike48
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 12:19 pm, April 14, 2011 Photo Credits: Mexicans Work Most Hours Mexicans work longer days than anyone else in the Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countr...

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maryannreilly.blogspot.com - p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Guest Blog: This blog post was written by Mis...

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Sacramento Press / Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

Sacramento Press / Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

by Hal Silliman, published on April 14, 2011 at 5:14PM

A state budget that makes $25 billion in cuts will drastically impact the Sacramento region—especially the $9.6 billion education industry in six counties.

“The education industry is critical to our region’s economic prosperity,” said Matthew Mahood, Sacramento Metro Chamber president & CEO. “Not only for the work the sector does to educate our residents—but also for the huge injection of dollars into the region. Education institutions employ thousands of people who make consumer purchases throughout the region.”

A newly released Education Industry Cluster Economic Impact Report, commissioned by the Metro Chamber, analyzes everything from elementary schools and universities to private technical colleges. The report pegs the impact on the economy at $9.6 billion—generated by $5.1 billion in direct impacts, $3.1 billion in employee spending and $1.4 billion in industry

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Historic Use of the Term “Failing School” | Federal Education Policy History

Historic Use of the Term “Failing School” | Federal Education Policy History

Historic Use of the Term “Failing School”

Politics is about many things—power, money, authority, values, ideas…

It also is about language. In current school reform debates, the phrase “failing school” and its plural form “failing schools” are used very often.

Below are two Google Ngram charts that depict the rise in the frequency of this term in books appearance between 1900 and 2008. The results are rather eye-popping—use of the terms took off after 1990. (Click on the figures to get a much larger view of them.)

Chart 1. Term: “Failing School”

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Modern School: CTA’s State of Emergency Misses the Mark, But Come Anyway, The Occupation Will Be Fun

Modern School: CTA’s State of Emergency Misses the Mark, But Come Anyway, The Occupation Will Be Fun

CTA’s State of Emergency Misses the Mark, But Come Anyway, The Occupation Will Be Fun


Even after California shaved $13 billion off its deficit by slashing Community College, CSU and UC budgets, as well as services for the poor, elderly and disabled, the state is still $12 billion in the hole and is now threatening to cut K-12 education by $4 billion and fire up to 20,000 more teachers. In response, the California Teachers Association’s (CTA) State Council has declared a “State of Emergency” for the week of May 9-13, approving a series of actions including a limited one-week sit-in at the state Capitol, in Sacramento, and local rallies in various cities. Their short-term goal is to pressure lawmakers to approve tax extensions to protect schools,
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So many students, so few counselors. But a student proposal doesn’t call for more. | The Education Report

So many students, so few counselors. But a student proposal doesn’t call for more. | The Education Report

So many students, so few counselors. But a student proposal doesn’t call for more.

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, April 14th, 2011 at 7:00 am in college, high schools, students.

The kids who enter Oakland high schools this fall will need to complete the UC/CSU `a to g’ course requirements to graduate in 2015. A major shift, considering that less than half of the district’s 2009 grads had done so.

But a survey by Californians For Justice found that nearly 1 in 4 of students at Oakland High School didn’t know about those requirements, and that 30 percent had never met one-on-one with a counselor. A counselor quoted in the report, “No Knowledge, No College: Oakland Students Rising to the Challenge,” said there were four counselors for more than 1,800 students.

One section mentions a need for “additional staff support,” especially during high-

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The Destruction of Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog

The Destruction of Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog

The Destruction of Public Education

by millerlf

Posted on Apr 10, 2011 By Chris Hedges TruthDig.com

A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral skill of making money. It churns out stunted human products, lacking the capacity and vocabulary to challenge the assumptions and structures of the corporate state. It funnels them into a caste system of drones and systems managers. It transforms a democratic state into a feudal system of corporate masters and serfs.

Teachers, their unions under attack, are becoming as replaceable as minimum-wage employees at Burger King. We spurn real teachers—those with the capacity to inspire children to think, those who help the young discover their gifts and potential—and replace them with instructors who teach to narrow, standardized tests. These instructors obey. They teach children to obey. And that is the point. The No Child Left Behind program, modeled

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Swanson slams us as “traditional” teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Swanson slams us as “traditional” teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Swanson slams us as “traditional” teachers.

by Fred Klonsky

I was driving home today and listening to WBEZ, the Chicago public radio station.

They were reporting on the sellout agreement between the teachers unions and the anti-union Stand for Children and the corporate Advance Illinois. The agreement, which is now fast tracking its way through the Illinois General Assembly, restricts teacher strikes, making the threat of a strike almost useless as a bargaining tool, and ending Last In, First Out as a policy during reduction in force (RIF) when there are enrollment declines or budget restrictions.

The WBEZ reporter quoted IEA President Ken Swanson as saying that any opposition to this agreement from teachers inside the IEA came from traditional teachers.

Traditional teacher.

That would be me.

I think experience matters.

I think fairness matters.

I think a collegial relationship among

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Robert Reich (President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky))

Robert Reich (President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky))

President Obama's Real Proposal (And Why It's Risky)

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Paul Ryan says his budget plan will cut $4.4 trillion over ten years. The President says his new plan will cut $4 trillion over twelve years.

Let’s get real. Ten or twelve-year budgets are baloney. It’s hard enough to forecast budgets a year or two into the future. Between now and 2022 or 2024 the economy will probably have gone through a recovery (I’ll explain later why I fear it will be anemic at best) and another downturn. America will also have been through a bunch of elections – at least five congressional and three presidential.

The practical question is how to get out of the ongoing gravitational pull of this awful recession without cow-towing to extremists on the right who think the U.S. government is their mortal enemy. For President Obama, it’s also about how to get reelected.

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On College Debt and the Drop-Out Crisis - Dana Goldstein

On College Debt and the Drop-Out Crisis - Dana Goldstein

On College Debt and the Drop-Out Crisis

by Dana Goldstein

On Monday the New York Times' published a story about the immense and growing debt burden on college graduates. In 2003, two-thirds of bachelor's degree receipients had college debt, and their average individual debt load was a whopping $24,000.

As the piece, by Tamar Lewin, notes, most economists still consider student debt "good debt" because a college degree raises a worker's lifetime earnings. But what about those young Americans who take out loans to pursue higher education, yet drop out before receiving any kind of degree? Afterall, just 53 percent of students who enter four-year colleges graduate within six years. At two-year community colleges, half of all students drop-

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“Phased-Out”: Voices from Students on the Inside « EdVox

“Phased-Out”: Voices from Students on the Inside « EdVox

“Phased-Out”: Voices from Students on the Inside

by edvoxny

Since the year 2000, the New York City Department of Education has closed 21 high schools serving 33,000 students. A recent report by the Urban Youth Collaborative demonstrated the destructive impact that these closings has had on graduation and dropout rates of students in those schools. These statistics represent actual students, who have experienced these shocks first-hand, but all too often their voices have not been heard. Below are the voices of three students speaking about how being in a phase-out school has affected them and their school.

*********

Wilvin Lopez, Samuel Gompers High School

I attend Samuel Gompers High School and I’m a leader at Sistas and Brothas United. The schools currently being targeted on the closing and PLA list (Persistently Lowest-Achieving schools) have high percentages of Black and Latino students, low-income students, English Language Learners, students with special needs, overage students and students who entered high school below grade level. New York State Education Department reviews of 17 PLA schools report that in 14 PLA schools, the DOE has not provided the assistance and support necessary for improvement.

In my opinion, the DOE doesn’t really give us the opportunity to show them what we have. They just close our schools down based on what they want to see. They don’t want to pay attention to all those students who are constantly fighting and working hard to keep their schools

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why ? MORE CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers *POOR ACHIEVEMENT BRINGS CLOSURE OF DC HIGH SCHOOL*; August 8, 2010; Washington Examiner (D.C.) The D.C. Public Charter School Board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to shut down Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers, a charter high school ...
McDonogh City Park Academy *NEW ORLEANS PARENT SAYS HER EIGHTH-GRADER WAS PUT IN A 'CAGE' AT SCHOOL;*March 16, 2011; The Times Picayune (New Orleans, LA) Here's a question most school administrators rarely encounter: When does a detention area for misbehaving students amount ...
New Roots Charter School ***ITHACA CHARTER SCHOOL LEARNS COST OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH SUNSHINE LAWS - NEW ROOTS NOW WELL-VERSED IN FOIL*; March 11, 2011; Ithaca Journal (NY) Two years ago Pat Ehrich knew virtually nothing about the state Freedom of Information Law and Open ...

Paramount School of Excellence *CHARTER SCHOOL CO-FOUNDER FACES NEW ALLEGATIONS - LAWSUIT ACCUSES DIMITRI SNOWDEN OF $45K IN FRAUD*; March 17, 2011; WRTV Indianapolis INDIANAPOLIS -- The co-founder of an Indianapolis charter school is facing new allegations he defrauded schools ...
Paterson Charter School for Urban Leadership *PATERSON CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSED AMID PROTEST*; July 22, 2003; NY Times A group of angry parents and school administrators gathered today to protest the state's closing of their charter school here, and vowed to fight to keep the school open. The ...
George Washington Carver Academy *EX-TREASURER OF HIGHLAND PARK CHARTER SCHOOL CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT*; March 11, 2011; The Detroit News (MI) Highland Park— The former treasurer of a charter school has been charged with embezzlement for allegedly writing herself a $25,000 check ...
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If they are so great why are there so many CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS AND WHY DO THEY KEEP PUSHING THEM?

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS
Trenton Community Charter School *TWO N.J. CHARTER SCHOOLS PLACED ON PROBATION, THIRD FACES SHUTDOWN IF STUDENT SCORES DON'T IMPROVE*; March 10, 2011; Star Ledger (NJ) Two of New Jersey’s most well-established charter schools are on probation and a third was warned to improve its ...
University Academy Charter School *TWO N.J. CHARTER SCHOOLS PLACED ON PROBATION, THIRD FACES SHUTDOWN IF STUDENT SCORES DON'T IMPROVE*; March 10, 2011; Star Ledger (NJ) Two of New Jersey’s most well-established charter schools are on probation and a third was warned to improve its ...
Teaneck Community Charter *N.J. CHARTER SCHOOLS ESCAPE PAY LIMIT*; March 20, 2011; The Record @ NorthJersey.com The director of a Teaneck charter school with about 300 students was paid more than $200,000 last year. In Englewood, the head of an even smaller charter school, ...
New Jersey charter schools (excessive compensation) *N.J. CHARTER SCHOOLS ESCAPE PAY LIMIT*; March 20, 2011; The Record @ NorthJersey.com The director of a Teaneck charter school with about 300 students was paid more than $200,000 last year. In Englewood, the head of an even smaller charter school, ...
Accusations of illegal lobbying *FORMER STATE SEN. ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL LOBBYING ON CHARTER SCHOOL BILL;*March 23, 2011; The Progressive Pulse (NC) The N.C. Secretary of State is looking into accusations that former state Sen. Eddie Goodall has been illegally lobbying for charter ...
Alexander Hamilton Charter School *EX-DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL FACES THEFT COUNTS;* April 26, 2002; The Record (Bergen County, NJ) The former director of Paterson's Alexander Hamilton Charter School was indicted Thursday on theft charges for allegedly cashing one of the school's checks ...
Did You Know INS No Longer Exists? Thousands Doing Internet Search Don’t [image: Did You Know INS No Longer Exists? Thousands Doing Internet Search Don’t] Each month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes a report on traffic to their website, which includes statistics on popular search terms ...
Auteur Showdown at Cannes Sees Almodóvar as the Only Hispanic Competitor [image: Auteur Showdown at Cannes Sees Almodóvar as the Only Hispanic Competitor] “La Piel Que Habito,” Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, will compete in the Cannes Film Festival against masterpieces by giants like Terrence Malick and ...
Oregon charter schools (inadequate oversight) *FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT OF OREGON'S CHARTER SCHOOLS REMAINS SPOTTY*; October 26, 2008; The Oregonian An investigation by the North Clackamas School District has raised questions about accounting and financial practices at a group of public charter ...
Clackamas Charter Alliance *FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT OF OREGON'S CHARTER SCHOOLS REMAINS SPOTTY;* October 26, 2008; The Oregonian An investigation by the North Clackamas School District has raised questions about accounting and financial practices at a group of public charter ...
Palisades Charter School *LEADER OF ENGLEWOOD CHARTER SCHOOL MUST REPAY $500,000 IN PENSION PAYMENTS, COURT RULES;* March 9, 2011; The Record via NorthJersey.com (Bergen County, NJ) The head of an Englewood Charter charter school - who is also president of the Garfield Board ...
Rehoboth Charter Academy *REGULATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS DEBATED AFTER ACADEMY IS SHUT DOWN*; February 17, 2008; The Press-Enterprise (CA) …The Riverside County schools office cited concerns about conflict of interest, among other problems, in 2006 when it refused to sponsor ...
Learning Place Academy *LEE SCHOOL BOARD ENDS CONTRACT WITH CHARTER SCHOOL;* March 8, 2011; WZVN-TV (NC) LEE COUNTY: Lee County has 21 charter schools. They're publicly funded, but privately run. Tuesday, Lee County's School Board voted to terminate a contract with one ...
Kalamazoo Advantage Academy *CLOSING OF KALAMAZOO ADVANTAGE ACADEMY A LESSON IN COMPLEXITY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS; *July 04, 2008; Kalamazoo Gazette (MI) KALAMAZOO -- The sign outside Kalamazoo Advantage Academy reads: "Enrolling for fall," along with a phone number. But inside ...
TerraNova Academy *CHARTER SCHOOL FORCED TO CLOSE*; July 27, 2004; Sun Sentinel (FL) The directors of a troubled, year-old charter school hit by financial woes, a deteriorating governing board and infighting closed the school Monday night. TerraNova Academy in West ...
A. Phillip Randolph Leadership Academy *WHEN CHARTERS CLOSE, PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOT THE BILL*; December 4, 2007; Voice of San Diego Spending scandals brought down Children's Conservation Academy, a City Heights charter school shuttered in 2007, only two years after it opened. A year ...
Jola Community Charter School *WHEN CHARTERS CLOSE, PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOT THE BILL*; December 4, 2007; Voice of San Diego Spending scandals brought down Children's Conservation Academy, a City Heights charter school shuttered in 2007, only two years after it opened. A year ...
Sojourner Truth Learning Academy *SOJOURNER CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSES DOORS- TRUSTEES DENY RENEWAL REQUEST*; June 12, 2004; San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) The Sojourner Truth Learning Academy, a charter school under scrutiny for alleged financial improprieties, closed for the school year ...

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Florida Voters Unhappy with Tea Party Governor Rick Scott - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Florida Voters Unhappy with Tea Party Governor Rick Scott - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Florida Voters Unhappy with Tea Party Governor Rick Scott

by E.D. Kain
1 person liked this

rick_scottThree months after Tea Party governor, Rick Scott, was sworn into office andthings aren’t looking very good for the billionaire-turned-politician. According to a new Suffolk University poll, 54% of Florida voters said the state was headed in the wrong direction. Scott’s disapproval rating is nearly twice his approval rating – 48% to 28%. Unsurprisingly, unions give Scott an even poorer review.

Perhaps this has something to do with Scott’s efforts to slash public educationby over $1.75 billion, and to place a further financial burden on local school districts (and tax payers) of close to $2 billion to implement a strict testing system in order to find ways to rate teachers and schools, as well as ending

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Hechinger Report | Paul Vallas on Detroit’s reform efforts, Cathie Black’s resignation and his own plans for the future

Hechinger Report | Paul Vallas on Detroit’s reform efforts, Cathie Black’s resignation and his own plans for the future

Paul Vallas on Detroit’s reform efforts, Cathie Black’s resignation and his own plans for the future

by Sarah Garland

Paul Vallas

Paul Vallas, who has done stints as the leader of several major school districts, including Chicago and Philadelphia, is stepping down on May 1st as the superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans. During his tenure there, he transformed the city’s school system, turning it into the first place in the country where a majority of schools are independently run, public charter schools. He recently spoke with The Hechinger Report at the annual conference of the Education Writers Association, held this year in New Orleans, about

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solidaridad: Public schools fight to keep their rooms from being seized by privatized charter-voucher schools

solidaridad: Public schools fight to keep their rooms from being seized by privatized charter-voucher schools
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Ken Swanson on Stand for Children. Then and now. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Ken Swanson on Stand for Children. Then and now. « Fred Klonsky's blog
Those lousy veteran teachers. Tom Hoffman comments: *I noticed this line in Dan Goldstein’s recent article: “value-added measurement, which attempts to quantify the impact teachers have on their students’ academic growth while controlling for factors such as poverty, race, class ...
Ken Swanson on Stand for Children. Then and now. Ken Swanson last December: *SFC, which is funded by some of the country’s wealthiest people, has seen success in other states. In Colorado, SFC passed legislation that reformed tenure, teacher evaluation, principal evaluation, teacher placement and ...
What has Swanson wrought? Surrendering seniority in layoffs. “Bring on the business model.” Paul Phillips comments: *This will require some cultural shift…until now the younger teachers have been like proteges. Now they will be the competition. And if that’s the ethos of the public school, I can tell you I am NOT gonna lose to them. We’ll ..
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How (and Why) I Reported My Latest Feature Story - Dana Goldstein

How (and Why) I Reported My Latest Feature Story - Dana Goldstein

How (and Why) I Reported My Latest Feature Story

by Dana Goldstein

Over at This Week in Education, Alexander Russo has a critical post about my new feature, "The Test Generation." Alexander is correct to point out that just because some school districts--like the one I profile in the piece, Harrison District 2 in Colorado Springs--are pursuing value-added evaluation of teachers through way more high-pressure standardized testing of kids, it doesn't mean all districts will do so. I acknowledge so much in the piece. But it's important to note that when districts do pursue this strategy, they are doing so partly in response to federal incentives. We need to see how these federal guidelines are playing out on-the-ground in classrooms, because otherwise, we won't know how to guard against the possible unintended consequences of well-intentioned programs like Race to the Top.

I want to address a few other issues Alexander raises in his post:

Did I interivew "too many teachers who wanted to talk to [me], a common mistake in education reporting?" Alexander suggests I somehow sought out teachers with an axe to grind against testing and merit pay. This accusation is simply false. I reported this article with the full cooperation of the Harrision District 2 administration, and I want to commend them for working with me openly and honestly. The vast majority of the

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Big victory for the corporate "reformers" in Chicago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Big victory for the corporate "reformers" in Chicago

Big victory for the corporate "reformers" in Chicago

by Mike Klonsky
Big setback for teachers and unions
“The changes to Illinois’ education system agreed to by all parties will make Illinois a national model, and set a standard for other states to follow,” said Jonah Edelman, CEO of Stand for Children.

“Everything is agreed to,” said Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), who oversaw five months of negotiations between teachers unions, business and reform groups and school boards.
“Feel like I was hit by a truck with members of my own family driving.” --Comment on Brother Fred's blog
Less than a week ago, thousands of union teachers were marching and rallying in solidarity with their brothers
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“An outright disdain…” « Failing Schools

“An outright disdain…” « Failing Schools

“An outright disdain…”

APRIL 14, 2011
by Sabrina

Michelle Rhee continues to try to salvage her shaky reputation, while more and more stories emerge to challenge her myth, and the style of school reform she champions. Here is a great video, from teachers and people familiar with Hart Middle School in DCPS. I’ll write more about this soon.

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