Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Once Again...

Once Again...

by L. Jablonski

...trying to make this class blogging thing work. My goal: a one-stop place for class assignments, agendas, readings, comments, discussion and whatever else catches the fancy of my students, their parents and me. I've tried different web/blog hosting services over the past couple of years and have returned to blogger for the simple reason that I am most comfortable with it and because of that am more likely to keep up with this endeavor as the school year heats up.

My teaching schedule for the 2011-2012 school year includes 2 AP US Government classes ; 2 HISP AP US Government classes and 1 Geography class. I've taught seniors only for the past few years, so adding a class

Kua Bay

by L. Jablonski

Popout

One of my favorite spots in the world:

Kua Bay, or Manini'owali Beach. North Kona Coast, Big Island

Virginia Teacher's "Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Marching"

Virginia Teacher’s “Top Ten Reasons Why I’m Marching”

by NancyFlanagan

Guest post by Tracey Martin, who is a first grade teacher, grade-level team leader, and mom from Virginia. She is a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kindergarten and Elementary Education.

Top Ten Reasons Why I am Marching on Washington on July 30 with Save our Schools

1. I want kids to have a rich, developmentally appropriate curriculum taught by dedicated, highly-qualified teachers who love what they do. I want teachers with good instincts and the ability to think on their feet versus

teachers who will follow a script and make sure things “look good” when administrators visit. Learning is messy and a bit chaotic. I want teachers who relish some mess and chaos and know what to do with a teachable moment. Those teachable moments rarely have a scripted anticipatory set, people.

2. I don’t want kids to be tested to death. Kids under nine don’t even standardized-test reliably. Yet, we do it.

Race to the Top: Standardized testing for preschoolers - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Race to the Top: Standardized testing for preschoolers

by Valerie Strauss

On January 17, 2003, The Washington Post published a Page 1 story (that I wrote) about the Republican Bush administration’s plans to give 908,000 4-year-olds in Head Start programs nationwide a standardized assessment to see how much they were learning.

Critics howled. Early childhood development experts said preschoolers are too young to be evaluated by standardized tests in part because they don’t have sufficient ability to comprehend assessment cues. The plan was shelved.

Flash forward eight years. Today it’s the Democratic Obama administration that is pushing standardized assessments for preschoolers. Not only is there no loud shouting, but a gaggle of states are going to battle each other for the right to win federal funds that will help them implement the second wave of Race to the Top, early childhood version.

Read full article >>

Duncan letter to state officials: integrity of test is a ''national interest''

by admin

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has sent this letter to chief state school officers, warning them to ensure standardized test security. But Duncan has not responded to this citizen petition, signed by over 4,000 people, calling for a federal investigation of DC test fraud under former Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

DC Public Schools received millions of dollars in federal monies based on false representations (see DC Public Schools Race to the Top application).

Read Secretary Duncan’s entire letter here.
“...[W]ith the nation’s interest in improving education and our shared concern in protecting the integrity of our

Hechinger Report | High-stakes tests and cheating: An inevitable combination?

High-stakes tests and cheating: An inevitable combination?

by Sarah Garland

Robert Tobias

A simmering scandal in Atlanta over cheating on standardized tests came to a head this week as state investigators released a report that found in the city’s schools “an enterprise where unethical—and potentially illegal—behavior pierced every level of the bureaucracy,” according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The scandal follows closely on the heels of a USA Today investigation into possible cheating in the Washington, D.C. schools. The Hechinger Report talked with Robert Tobias, director of the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, and former head of

Charter School Alternative Form 2010-11 - Financial Reporting (CA Dept of Education)

Charter School Alternative Form 2010-11

Download the 2010-11 Charter School Unaudited Actuals Financial Report Alternative Form as well as instructions on how to complete the form.

Reporting Unaudited Actuals

For the period July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, the submission of charter school financial data to the California Department of Education (CDE) is required by Education Code Section 1628 (Outside Source) and by Education Code Section 42100(Outside Source) (as amended by Assembly Bill 1994). Charter schools must submit the completed forms to their authorizing agencies by September 15, 2011. The authorizing agencies will submit the forms to their county offices of education, who will submit the forms to the CDE by October 15, 2011.

Charter schools that do not report in the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) format must use this Alternative Form. This version contains the components necessary to prepare the 2010–11 unaudited actuals.

2010–11 Charter School Unaudited Actuals Financial Report—Alternative Form

Alternative Form User Guide (DOC; 547KB; 52pp.) Please refer to the "General Information" and the "Accounting Guidance" sections of the user guide for more detailed instructions on how to use and submit the Alternative Form.

For assistance with the Alternative Form, charter schools should call their authorizing agency or county office of education. County offices may call the California Department of Education, School Fiscal Services Division, Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services, 916-322-1770, or e-mail sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.

Helpful Links

Charter School Financial Reporting for 2003–04 and Subsequent Fiscal Years, letter dated 05-Apr-2004
California School Accounting Manual (CSAM)
California Department of Education Charter Schools Home Page
County-District-School (CDS) Codes

Financial Reporting Calendars

2011 County Office of Education (COE) Calendar
2011 COE Oversight Calendar
2011 District Calendar
2011 Summary Calendar

Questions:

Education Secretary | School Reform | CRS Report | The Daily Caller

Education secretary can go around Congress for No Child reform, report says

Published: 3:16 PM 07/06/2011 | Updated: 3:27 PM 07/06/2011

By Gabrielle Levy - The Daily Caller

Archive | Email Gabrielle Levy

Pushing back against Obama administration efforts to help states sidestep some provisions of No Child Left Behind, Republicans said this week that a new report questions whether the Education Department has the authority to offer states waivers from parts of the law.

A recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said Education Sec. Arne Duncan could legally grant the waivers for some parts of the law, but others cannot by waived and some could be open to legal challenges.

Duncan’s plan would allow state or local school districts to apply for waivers to circumvent the controversial education law.

But committee Republicans said that Congress, not the administration, should deal with the issue. No

Teachers, Nurses, Parents Battle SB 161 – “Diastat” Bill Would Harm Students, Educators, and Schools « State of Emergency

Teachers, Nurses, Parents Battle SB 161 – “Diastat” Bill Would Harm Students, Educators, and Schools

by Leonard Feldman

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) 6 July 2011 – A coalition of teachers, nurses, other school employees, and parents warned the public and lawmakers that a measure by Sen. Bob Huff threatens to do harm to the very students it seeks to help.

Flanked by parents, nurses, and school employees, Harry Keiley (at lectern), president of the Santa Monica Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, warns that CTA-opposed SB 161 (Huff) violates the

Republican Author Slams Unions, Says Diastat Bill is Vital

by Leonard Feldman

At a news conference on Wednesday a half hour after a teacher-school employee- nurse coalition’s event, Assembly Member Linda Halderman (at left in photo) and Sen. Bob Huff (at lectern)– coauthors of CTA-opposed SB 161 – assert that the measure is vital.

Sen. Huff said that the authors were concerned with children, while CTA and other unions were interested only in protecting adults in the school system.

Dr. Halderman, who was a surgeon in private practice in the Fresno area, said the administration of

Schools Matter: National Lessons to be Learned from Studying Atlanta Cheating Scandal

National Lessons to be Learned from Studying Atlanta Cheating Scandal

by Jim Horn

From Bob Schaeffer, posted at ARN:

Two excellent news stories put the Atlanta scandal in a national context and began examining the root causes of cheating.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/atlanta-public-schools-cheating_n_890526.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0705/America-s-biggest-teacher-and-principal-cheating-scandal-unfolds-in-Atlanta http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0705/America-s-biggest-teacher-and-principal-cheating-scandal-unfolds-in-Atlanta

The full Georgia Office of Special Investigators' report was just posted online -- no time to read its

Zip it! Charters and Economic Status by Zip Code in NY and NJ « School Finance 101

Zip it! Charters and Economic Status by Zip Code in NY and NJ

by schoolfinance101

There’s no mystery or proprietary secret among academics or statisticians and data geeks as to how to construct simple comparisons of school demographics using available data. It’s really not that hard. It doesn’t require bold assumptions, nor does it require complex statistical models. Sometimes, all that’s needed to shed light on a situation is a simple descriptive summary of the relevant data. Below is a “how to” (albeit sketchy) with links to data for doing your own exploring of charter and traditional public school demographics, by grade level and location.

Despite the value of a simple, direct and relevant comparison using accessible data providing for easy replication, many continue to obscure charter-non-charter comparisons with convoluted presentations of less pertinent information. Matt DiCarlo recently published a very useful post (at Shanker Blog) explaining the various convoluted descriptions from Caroline Hoxby’s research on charter schools that make it difficult to discern whether the charter schools in her comparisons really had comparable student populations to nearby, same

Sacramento Press / State Assembly Passes Fair Education Act

State Assembly Passes Fair Education Act

by Ken Pierce

Tuesday, the California State Assembly passed a bill that would require schools to fairly and accurately portray the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement and the historic contributions of the diverse LGBT community in social science instruction. The leadership of Equality Action NOW, a local grassroots civil rights organization is celebrating the 49 – 25 vote.

In an announcement, Tina Reynolds, co-founder of Equality Action NOW said, “When children are taught about the history of our involvement in humanity and how our achievements matter, we will all have better children. Thank you Senator Leno!”

The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act (SB 48), authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network would also add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s existing anti-discrimination protections that prohibit bias in school activities, instruction and instructional materials.

“There are studies that have shown that inclusion of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to lower rates of bullying,” said Benancio Garza, EAN’s Youth Spokesperson, “that along with strong anti-bullying laws should help kids like Lawrence King who was killed for being gay, have a better view of himself and others

Dad at the Chalkboard: Joplin, Missouri and Will Norton Tribute by S2JVox

Joplin, Missouri and Will Norton Tribute by S2JVox

by Brian H

Hey there folks. Been a busy time around here. I have some posts in the works plus some good writing news that is not quite ready to share...yet...but I wanted to drop this gem in your browser.

I have already told you about S2JVox. This past weekend they released a song and video in memory of Will Norton and all those whose lives were impacted by the devastating F5 tornado that ripped through Joplin Missouri on May 22 of this year. You don't need my words. Listen to theirs. Then, should you be so inspired (as I was) I have included links for relief efforts after the video.

JOPLIN DISASTER RESPONSE

HONOR WILL NORTON - DONATIONS

GREATER KANSAS CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Why I’m Marching « Outside the Cave

Why I’m Marching

by Stephen Lazar

At the end of this month, I’ll be joining thousands of other teachers for the Save Our Schools March in Washington. People will march for lots of reasons, and you can read some great ones here, here, and here.

I am going to do something I don’t usually do with this piece, and make a rather conservative argument: I’m marching because I don’t have the answer.

I just finished up five and half years of teaching in the Bronx. I joined a school filled with some of the smartest and most thoughtful people I have encountered in the field of education. We were given a blank canvas on which to envision an ideal school. We did a lot of impressive sounding things, many of which worked, others of which failed miserably. Whether or not the school is a success or failure, of course, depends on one’s stance and perception. There were many teachers who felt like the early success of the school were ones only of appearances, where good press and high graduation rates hid a number of foundational problems. But for others (including myself for a long time, though less so recently) we were doing something wonderful in the service of

Education Notes: Attrition Will Be Worse Than Anticipated/Haimson Speech at PEP on Class Size

Attrition Will Be Worse Than Anticipated/Haimson Speech at PEP on Class Size

I believe the attrition will be worse than indicated. I was speaking to a teacher of over a decade who said she is not going back. She has until August to let them know and will wait for the last minute. Her disgust was so apparent - she said she would only go back if by some miracle her Leadership Acad principal (she used the expression Leadershit Acad princ) was gone. What kind of job will she look for? Anything she said. The teaching job is just not worth the stress. This is a top level 2nd career teacher who would rather take a meager pension than continue to put herself through the pain.

I hear stories of other people- especially those who had their tenure extended by a year for clearly political reasons - the principal or superintendent trying to demonstrate how vigilant they are being while they admit to the teacher their teaching is OK. Stories are that 50% of the teachers did not get tenure or were extended. Sources tell me many of these young teachers are livid and are OUTAHERE!! Some of them are - or

This Week In Education: Media: Ravitch Comparable To Krugman, Says Fordham

Media: Ravitch Comparable To Krugman, Says Fordham

by Alexander Russo

Making the case that Twitter is fast replacing traditional op-eds and even blog posts, Fordham's Mike Petrilli lists the top education Twitterers, divided into policy and teacher categories, based on both followers and Klout. His most eye-grabbing claim is that high-influence Tweeters like Diane Ravitch match that of mainstream columnists like Paul Krugman:

"Diane Ravitch’s Klout score of 73 makes her the most influential tweeter in education, and she’s on par or close to it with other opinion leaders,

Chart: Raise College Grad Rates By Changing Religion

by Alexander Russo

Forget making schools better, or making college cheaper, or any of those other things people always talk about.

All Education Matters: PHEAA - Fitch Downgrades Sub and Jr. Sub Notes for PARTS Student Loan Trust 2007-CT1

PHEAA - Fitch Downgrades Sub and Jr. Sub Notes for PARTS Student Loan Trust 2007-CT1

by C. Cryn Johannsen

Fitch downgraded Sub and Jr. sub notes for PARTS Student Loan Trust 2007-CTI. The outlook for Class A, B, and C is negative. The downgrades are a result of an increase in defaults to 12.8%. The private loans originated from either TERI or LEARN. PHEAA services the loan portfolio. In addition, PHEAA operates its student loan services commercially as AES (American Education Services). When servicing federally-owned loans, it operates as FedLoan Servicing.

In other news, PHEAA recently announced that it would be contributing $50 million to help the Pennsylvania State Grant Program. The 'financial assistance' is described as 'public outreach.' State Senator Tommy Tomlinson made the announcement. Tomlinson is a board member of PHEAA.

PHEAA has been blasted in the past for gross mismanagement and usage of funds. Several news outlets in Pennsylvania fought for 19 months to have documents on their expenditures released. It turns out, a number of

Former Superintendent at center of Atlanta cheating scandal

by admin

Written by Kim Severson for the New York Times. Read the entire article here. Full investigative report: Part 1,Part 2, Part 3, Exhibits
“At the center of the cheating scandal is former Superintendent Beverly L. Hall, who was named the 2009 National Superintendent of the Year and has been considered one of the nation’s best at running large, urban districts.

Dr. Hall is a veteran administrator of the New York and Newark public schools. She took over the Atlanta district in 1999 and enjoyed broad support. Under her administration, Atlanta schools had shown marked improvement in several areas.

Still, the investigation shows that cheating on the state-mandated Criterion-Referenced Competency Test began

School Tech Connect: Rahm's Kids

Rahm's Kids

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Hear, Hear! And here, here! I fully intend to examine the length of the school day, the length of the school year, the curriculum, the use of data, the access to recess, exercise and nutritious food, technology, class size, and all of the aspects of integration at the school where the mayor sends his children, and I don't care how cranky he gets about it.

It's legitimate to ask a mayor what attributes he values in a school and what steps he's taking to increase those attributes at the very schools for which he is responsible, particularly in a city where the school board answers

I fell into bed exhausted, thinking I had put the RA to bed as well. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I fell into bed exhausted, thinking I had put the RA to bed as well.

by Fred Klonsky

Last night I fell into bed exhausted from five days of the NEA RA. I thought I had put the RA to bed as well.

But then I received this from Edie Wade:

I would be interested to read a post on what NEA would gain by not endorsing Obama. Who should be endorsed and when? It is clear that you were against the endorsement, but I don’t know what action you wanted in its place.

It’s a fair set of questions. And I’m sorry if I haven’t been clear in answering them in earlier posts. The day after

Stop labeling teachers, label the lawmakers

Stop labeling teachers, label the lawmakers
By John Kuhn
Apr 14, 2011, 08:39

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Provided by John Kuhn as printed in the Minerals Wells Index

Dear Editor,

The age of accountability should be renamed the age of blame, when teachers wear the scarlet letter for the failings of a nation. We send teachers into pockets of poverty that our leaders can’t or won’t eradicate, and when those teachers fail to work miracles among devastated children, we stamp ‘unacceptable’ on their foreheads.

I ask you, where is the label for the lawmaker whose policies fail to clean up the poorest neighborhoods? Why do we not demand that our leaders make “Adequate Yearly Progress”? We have data about poverty, health care, crime, and drug abuse in every legislative district. We know that those factors directly impact our ability to teach kids. Why have we not established annual targets for our legislators to meet? Why do they not join us beneath these vinyl banners that read “exemplary” in the suburbs and “unacceptable” in the slums?

Let us label lawmakers like we label teachers, and we can eliminate 100 percent of poverty, crime, drug abuse, and preventable illness by

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