Use a Whole Child Approach to Create Safe and Supportive School Climates « Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:

Use a Whole Child Approach to Create Safe and Supportive School Climates

October 19th, 2011 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by Katie Test, a communications specialist at ASCD. She has been an education reform advocate through public relations and communications for a variety of education organizations and school systems, including D.C. Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Public Schools and Durham (N.C.) Public Schools. Connect with Test on Twitter @ASCD or by e-mail at ktest@ascd.org.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and we believe a whole child approach to education is the way to create safe and supportive school climates in which each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. Bullying often is the unacceptable result of an unhealthy school climate. A whole child approach builds a positive

Juan Williams of Fox News Criticises Republican Voter Suppression, a Reminder of Jim Crow « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Juan Williams of Fox News Criticises Republican Voter Suppression, a Reminder of Jim Crow « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Juan Williams of Fox News Criticises Republican Voter Suppression, a Reminder of Jim Crow

by millerlf

Opinion: GOP seeks to block the vote

By Juan Williams – The Hill 10/17/11

Politics is not Patty Cakes. Everyone plays to win. Generations of political professionals have pushed the rules to the brink with new schemes for raising money, spreading rumors, running negative ads and controlling the press.

But as the 2012 elections come into view, even cruel, old political cynics see something beyond the edge; something frightening.

With a rising number of Hispanic and black voters pushing into the electorate — putting Republicans at a bigger

Koch Brothers Pay for Voter Suppression

by millerlf

Block the Vote: How the Koch-Backed American Legislative Exchange Council Aims to Keep You from Votinghttp://blog.aflcio.org/2011/10/17/block-the-vote-how-the-koch-backed-american-legislative-exchange-council-aims-to-keep-you-from-voting/ by Adele Stan, Oct 17, 2011

Across the country, voters in a number of states will face obstacles to casting ballots in the 2012 elections, in large part because of model legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the organization backed by, among others, billionaires Charles and David Koch. It was ALEC’s draft legislation that inspired a spate of recently passed voter ID laws that, if allowed to stand, are expected to marginalize the impact of students and people of color at the polls in Texas, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Kansas. (Under

Summary of Voter Suppression by Republicans

by millerlf

By Tait Militana CQ Roll Call Staff Oct. 20, 2011

Sen. Michael Bennet is leading the Democratic charge against new voter identification laws in several states. Bennet and 15 other Senators are asking the Department of Justice to ensure that these measures do not disenfranchise voters.

• Congressional Democrats are warning that stricter voter identification laws sweeping through state legislatures could suppress voters in the 2012 elections.

At least 34 states have introduced legislation, with varying degrees of restrictiveness, that would require voters to display identification at the polls before they are given a ballot. Some of these laws require voters to produce

QUESTIONABLE RESEARCH « Teachers Fight Back

QUESTIONABLE RESEARCH « Teachers Fight Back:

QUESTIONABLE RESEARCH

by alkleen

I was reading an AARP magazine and saw a small article about the lack of civics knowledge among American eighth graders. The magazine gave one example of the lack of knowledge. It claimed that a federal study showed that only 7% of eighth graders could describe the three branches of our government.

That statistic sounds like complete nonsense to me. When I was teaching eighth grade social studies, every one of my students could describe the three branches of government. I’m very tired of reading and hearing about these startling statistics that appear in so many news stories. The AARP article failed to mention the name of the study or any other information about it.

I hereby demand that any news organization that gives information about a scientific study needs to follow the rules of science. These are very basic rules that my sixth grade science students would know. Here are the

Student: How I know trainees aren’t highly qualified teachers - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Student: How I know trainees aren’t highly qualified teachers - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Student: How I know trainees aren’t highly qualified teachers

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Candice Johnson, a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, or ACCE, and a student at California State University, Los Angeles. Johnson is also a plaintiff in Renee v. Duncan, a legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Education regulation that permits intern-teachers to be labeled highly qualified and concentrated in poor and minority schools. A version of this was initially published byEducation Week. and has special resonance now as a key Senate committee this week is tackling a bill that would rewrite No Child Left Behind, formally known as the Elementary and Secondary School Act, and includes controversial language defining highly qualified teachers.

Read full article >>

What tea party defeat in Wake County means for schools

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a nonprofit public policy research organization, writes about education, equal opportunity and civil rights. This appeared on the foundation’s blog.

By Richard D. Kahlenberg

School board elections in Wake County (Raleigh) North Carolina delivered an important victory for proponents of integration last week as Democrats swept four of five contested school board seats and led substantially in a fifth race headed for a runoff. Most importantly, board chairman Ron Margiotta, who had led the effort to dismantle a nationally acclaimed socioeconomic school integration plan in North Carolina’s largest school district, was defeated, denying conservatives a majority on the nine-member school board.

Read full article >>

Brown shapes, signs Race to Top entry | Thoughts on Public Education

Brown shapes, signs Race to Top entry | Thoughts on Public Education:

Brown shapes, signs Race to Top entry

Share

State hopes feds agree with a different approach

Posted on 10/20/11 • Categorized as Jerry Brown, Kindergarten, Preschool, Race to the Top,State Board of Education, Uncategorized

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

After keeping child education advocates and his own staff in suspense for months, Gov. Jerry Brown approved the state’s application to the federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge on Wednesday – but not before shaping it in a way that will either turn off or intrigue federal officials and competition judges.

The Race to the Top scoring guidelines emphasize states’ policies to improve learning and development programs for young children. But, consistent with Brown’s philosophy of letting 1,000 local districts – or, in this case, 16 regional consortia – bloom in a state as big and diverse as California, the application calls for turning over key decisions and 85 percent of

A Teacher’s Thoughts About an Academic Walkthrough « City School Stories

A Teacher’s Thoughts About an Academic Walkthrough « City School Stories:

A Teacher’s Thoughts About an Academic Walkthrough

by fmurphy

Teacher Stories

Submitted by Teacher Man on October 20, 2011

During my first year of teaching, a coworker did an incredibly kind and helpful thing for me. I was gathering myself at the end of very long day when this individual walked into my classroom and handed me a post-it note. It read, “On 10/12/2008 Sharae said ‘Mr. A. You are my favorite teacher”.

My colleague told me to stick this message to the bottom of my desk drawer and after (or during) tough days, sneak a quick peak at it whenever I needed to create some positive thoughts and feelings for myself. That note

The Educated Reporter: NCLB Required Reading Roundup

The Educated Reporter: NCLB Required Reading Roundup:

NCLB Required Reading Roundup

by Emily Richmond

Will No Child Left Behind be rewritten? Revised? Or scrapped outright in favor of some bold new plan to fix the nation's public schools?

Senate hearings got underway Wednesday, a mere four years late. The law took effect in 2002, and was supposed to be put up for review every five years after that date. Instead, Congress put off having the tough conversation and approved school funds on an annual basis.

Here's a few of the headline stories (and opinions) to consider:

The Christian Science Monitor asks if the proposed changes can make it through the political grist mill before the 2012 elections. This story gives a solid overview of what's at stake, as well as some of the more controversial

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge - Child Development (CA Dept of Education):

Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge

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The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) initiative was announced on May 25, 2011, by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The $500 million state-level grant competition will reward states that create comprehensive plans to transform early learning systems for children, birth to age five, with better coordination and assessment mechanisms, clearer learning standards, and meaningful workforce development and family engagement initiatives. This grant requires other state agencies that administer specific programs to participate by signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

The RTT-ELC grant competition will focus on improving early learning and development programs for young children by supporting States' efforts to:

1. increase the number and percentage of low-income and disadvantaged children in each age group of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who are enrolled in high-quality early learning programs;
2. design and implement an integrated system of high-quality early learning programs and services; and
3. ensure that any use of assessments conforms with the recommendations of the National Research Council's reports on early childhood.

California could receive up to $100 million if its application is approved.

Below is California's RTT-ELC Federal Application that was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education on October 19, 2011.

• Governor's Letter to the U.S. Department of Education (PDF; 451KB; 2pp.)
• California's RTT-ELC Federal Application - Body (PDF; 8.6MB; 225pp.)
• California's RTT-ELC Federal Application - Appendices (PDF; 70MB; 313pp.)
• California's RTT-ELC Federal Application - Required Signature (PDF; 4.6MB; 5pp.)

The Final Outcome of the Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly | Seattle Education

The Final Outcome of the Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly | Seattle Education:

The Final Outcome of the Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly

by seattleducation2011

As I have posted previously in Whoa! Where did that come from Washington State PTA!!? Charter Schools?! Part 1, So Much for Fair and Balanced With the Washington State PTA, A Letter to All Parents in the Sate of Washington About Charter Schools, Stand for Children, School Board Elections, Washington State PTA and Charter Schools and The Washington State PTA Stacks the Deck Towards Charter Schools the PTA is under siege by Stand for Children (SFC) and the League of Education Voters (LEV). Both organizations are backed by Gates and big corporate money. They want nothing more than to turn the state of Washington into charter school country, privatizing our entire public school system.

I did not attend this year’s Legislative Assembly because my daughter has graduated from the Seattle Public School system but I did get information on what occurred during the two-day event. One teacher who commented on the post Final Thoughts on the Washington State PTA stated:

Dora,

Along with a team of two other teachers from Issaquah and one from Bellevue, I was delegate at PTSA

Jersey Jazzman: Heckuva Job, Eva!

Jersey Jazzman: Heckuva Job, Eva!:

The Workrate of the Reformy

by Duke

Tomorrow is the Worst. Party. Ever. Band rehearsal must be taking up a lot of time for Derrell Bradford.

Because B4K has had three posts up in the last 30 days at their website's blog - one of which is a reprint of a Rhee op-ed in the Philly Inquirer. And the B4K Facebook page has far fewer posts per week than the not-financed-by-a-hedge-fund-manager Stop the Freeze NJ page.

Seriously: I look at these "reformy" sites and I don't see a lot of work: not much research, not much advocacy, not much... anything. What are these people doing? What sort of workrate do their funders expect? Are they pleased with the return on their investment?

Heckuva Job, Eva!

by Duke

We need more charter schools because they're so darn good for kids:

More than a third of the staff members at a Harlem charter school run by the Success Charter Network have left the school within the last several months, challenging an organization that prides itself on the training and support it offers its teachers.

The unusually high turnover at Harlem Success Academy 3 and the network-wide issue of teachers quitting mid-year led the founder and chief executive of the Success Charter Network, Eva

What Color Is the Sky in Nick Kristof's World?

by Duke

Nick Kristof, 2009:

First, good teachers matter more than anything; they are astonishingly important. It turns out that having a great teacher is far more important than being in a small class, or going to a good school with a mediocre teacher. A Los Angeles study suggested that four consecutive years of having a teacher from the top 25 percent of the pool would erase the black-white testing gap.

Complete garbage - I mean, total, complete garbage - but whatev.

And Now, A Moment of Logic and Reason

by Duke

Yeah, kinda shocking when you're covering education policy, but every once in a while, someone turns on his or her brain:

A new teacher evaluation system will be implemented statewide next year before administrators and educators have sufficient time to evaluate the success of its pilot program and make necessary adjustments, according to the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA).

The teacher evaluation system is a result of an executive order of the governor, which

…we are asking the DOE to CEASE efforts to implement changes in our evaluation system… « JD2718

…we are asking the DOE to CEASE efforts to implement changes in our evaluation system… « JD2718:

…we are asking the DOE to CEASE efforts to implement changes in our evaluation system…

by jd2718

Distributed at tonight’s UFT Delegate Assembly. The document speaks for itself.

(I have serious doubts about the development of a new evaluation system, far beyond the UFT leadership’s concerns. But given the DoE’s non-collaboration – their contempt for any sense of negotiation, how could the leadership not respond as they do here? – jd)

UFT email to DOE Regarding Evaluations (10/18/11)

As you know on September 20, 2011, Chancellor Walcott and Michael Mulgrew, joined by CSA President Ernest Logan, sent a joint letter to teachers and principals that talked about preliminary work in building a foundation for

Occupy Our Schools! by Rick Ayers « Bill Ayers #ows #edreform

Occupy Our Schools! by Rick Ayers « Bill Ayers:

Occupy Our Schools! by Rick Ayers

by billayers

Something is happening here but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones? The sea change that is Occupy Wall Street does not have to do with the list of demands. It does not have to do with Obama’s election chances. In a perfect example of conflicting narratives, the cultural gatekeepers find it impossible to understand something that is right in front of their faces.

Occupy Wall Street is action. We have had talk, talk, talk for years, decades even. The right — the think tanks, big media outlets, politicians, foundations — thunders its dogma on a regular basis. The left – community organizers, unions, educators, activists — refute their arguments, though with a much smaller voice and very few dollars. But it has all just been a conversation.

Now action obliterates the deadlock. Whatever we have been waiting for — Obama, common sense, karma — we realized it was never coming to help us and it is time for action. Action creates facts, and facts are essential — they create possibilities and new words, fresh vocabularies. The silenced majority, the 99%, has finally been

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's model district is in shambles

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm's model district is in shambles:

Rahm's model district is in shambles

Mayor Emanuel and schools chief Brizard have been touting Houston, Texas as the model for their longer school day campaign.

"If you start in the Chicago Public School system in kindergarten," offered Rahm, "and your cousin lives in Houston, and you both go all the way through high school, the cousin in Houston spends three more

Occupy the Classroom - NYTimes.com #edreform

Occupy the Classroom - NYTimes.com:

Occupy the Classroom

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: October 19, 2011

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Occupy Wall Street is shining a useful spotlight on one of America’s central challenges, the inequality that leaves the richest 1 percent of Americans with a greater net worth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof

On the Ground

Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels.

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Most of the proposed remedies involve changes in taxes and regulations, and they would help. But the single step that would do the most to reduce inequality has nothing to do with finance at all. It’s an expansion of early childhood education.

Huh? That will seem naïve and bizarre to many who chafe at inequities and who think the first step is to throw a few bankers into prison. But although part of the problem is billionaires being taxed at lower rates than those with more modest incomes, a bigger source of structural inequity is that many young people never get the skills to compete.

Occupy Wall Street Videos for the Classroom | Mr. D's Neighborhood #OWS

Occupy Wall Street Videos for the Classroom | Mr. D's Neighborhood:

Occupy Wall Street Videos for the Classroom

by ldorazio1

The Occupy Wall Street protests are obviously on many peoples’ minds lately. In my scotch fog (more like cheap Bourbon, in my case) not only did I not take into account my lack of activity on this blog, but also my lack of real analysis of these protests.

So here’s some video to share with your students–hopefully with as little editorializing as possible.

The YouTube channel OccupyTVNY provides a pretty good snapshot of the various protests in New York, where