Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences. | Seattle Education

Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences. | Seattle Education:

Washington State Bill Proposals HB 2427/SB 6203 and HB 2451: Teacher evaluations based on test scores. Parents around the country respond with their own experiences.

by seattleducation2011

These are the three bills that I am referring to as described by WSSDA:

• HB 2427/SB 6203 would make student growth data a significant factor in the evaluation process and would allow for student input (for teachers) or building input (for principals) to be included. OSPI would be required to establish common components of the teacher evaluation systems for school districts to use in the 2013-14 school year. Beginning September 1, 2014, any employee who received an unsatisfactory under the old system or the lowest rating under the new system in two consecutive years would revert to provisional status. By this date, districts would be required to update policies and collective bargaining agreements to consider performance evaluations before other factors, such as seniority, when making

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Tuesday edition. « Fred Klonsky

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Tuesday edition. « Fred Klonsky:

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Tuesday edition.

by Fred Klonsky

Rahm’s Town Hall Meeting from Westinghouse College Prep:

The event started at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 7:15 p.m. The whole town hall was super managed, super protected, super promotion. While I value the mayor’s attempt to engage with the public, I question the value of these virtual town hall

Secretary Duncan to Join White House Officials in Live Panel Discussion of President's State of the Union Address | U.S. Department of Education

Secretary Duncan to Join White House Officials in Live Panel Discussion of President's State of the Union Address | U.S. Department of Education:

Secretary Duncan to Join White House Officials in Live Panel Discussion of President's State of the Union Address

Contact:

Sara Gast, (202) 401-1989, sara.gast@ed.gov

Event Date 1: January 24, 2012 09:00 pm - 11:00 pm

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will join several White House officials tonight in a live, interactive panel discussion following the President’s State of the Union address. Duncan will join the panel during the latter half of the discussion and highlight the Administration’s efforts to rebuild the economy through strengthening education.

The panelists – including Mark Zuckerman, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council; Roberto Rodriguez, special assistant to the President for education policy; Brian Deese, deputy director of the National Economic Council; Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting; and Jen Palmieri, deputy White House communications director – will answer questions about the President’s address submitted via Twitter (#WHChat and #SOTU), Google+, Facebook and the in-person audience of tweetup participants.

More information can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/sotu. The panel can be viewed online athttp://www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Event 1

Who :	U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
What :	Panel discussion on President’s State of the Union address
When :	TONIGHT, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 9 p.m. ET: President’s State of the Union address Approximately 10 p.m. ET: Panel discussion begins Secretary Duncan will join the second half of the discussion.
Where :	www.whitehouse.gov/sotu and http://www.whitehouse.gov/live Some of Nation’s Finest Talk About Teaching in Rural America Posted on January 24, 2012 by John White When the White House recently celebrated the latest class of National Board Certified teachers, several of the honorees traveled to Washington from some of America’s most remote and distant rural communities to receive the teaching profession’s highest credential. During their visit, we caught up with these rural teachers to hear their stories about what it’s like to teach in rural America. Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player. These rural teachers describe challenges with funding, a lack of technology, and the need to elevate the teaching profession while expanding curriculum in order to prepare students for a 21st century economy. Jenny Lovering, a history teacher at Columbia Falls High School in Montana near the Canadian border, addressed the “brain drain” that challenges many rural areas. Her goal is to prepare students for college and careers, so they are equipped to compete, return and rebuild their community. “I want to be able to help them to get to the places where they want to go, so they can come back. I want them to be able to bring in new industries and new ideas to revitalize this area that they love,” she said. While in the nation’s capital, the new NBC teachers attended a White House forum held to recognize the importance of the teaching profession. Teachers shared their thoughts on their profession and how the Administration can help support educators to ensure that every student receives high-quality instruction. In addition to the forum, senior officials at the Department of Education engaged in a series of roundtables with the teachers to speak with them about strengthening the profession and to get their input on how to best develop teachers to become leaders in the classroom. To keep the public informed about efforts to elevate the teaching profession, the Department has produced a “Plan to Reform Teacher Education.” Senior leaders in the Department continue to engage with teachers during school visits, at national and regional conferences, through new media like Twitter and Facebook, and through newsletters andthe Web. We invite new ideas and more participants in this important conversation. John White is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach Share This entry was posted in Headlines, News, Rural, Teachers, Teaching Profession. Bookmark thepermalink. ← Applications for 2012-2013 Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Now Open

Undercover UK Police Fathered Children With Activists They Were Spying On « Student Activism

Undercover UK Police Fathered Children With Activists They Were Spying On « Student Activism:

Undercover UK Police Fathered Children With Activists They Were Spying On

by Angus Johnston

An astounding story of police misconduct has been unfolding in Britain over the last year, as the press and the public have learned new details of the government’s decades-long infiltration of various political activist groups. Police officers, embedded in these organizations with false identities, are now known to have initiated sexual and romantic relationships with activists in order to gain information and establish their movement bona fides.
The latest such revelations are utterly mind-boggling:
In the mid-1980s married police officer Bob Lambert, deep undercover in the environmental and animal rights movements, engaged in at least two long-term sexual relationships with at least two activist women, one of whom became pregnant. Lambert was involved in the child’s life for two years before breaking ties with its mother, whom he never informed of his true identity.
And in another case an unnamed police officer deployed in a political group fathered a child with an activist, then

What Winning Looks Like

by Angus Johnston

Students at Berkeley staged an occupation of the campus anthropology library last week, winning a rollback of planned cuts to library hours and a reversal of a planned staff reduction. This is the second time a Berkeley library occupation has ended in victory in the last two years.
Those two victories stand out — both at Berkeley, where the administration has often responded to peaceful protest with police violence and mass arrests, and as a national model, as library occupations have been among the most successful actions mounted in the current wave of student mobilizing.
It’s tempting to argue that such victories hold lessons for future organizing, and in some ways they clearly to — the fact that something is working is a pretty good reason to keep doing it. But it’s not a reason to stop doing 

Modern School: The Rise and Fall of Arlene Ackerman

Modern School: The Rise and Fall of Arlene Ackerman:

The Rise and Fall of Arlene Ackerman

by Michael Dunn

Former Philly school Superintendent Arlene Ackerman gave a $7.5 million no-bid contract to cronies at IBS Communications to install surveillance cameras. IBS was given the no-bid contract despite previous work with the district that involved cost overruns 12 times what they had originally estimated. She then scapegoated underlings for the scandal and squeezed the Philadelphia school board for a $900,000 buyout package to get her to resign and go away.

Now, in a civil-rights lawsuit, John Byars, the school district’s former head procurement officer, is saying Ackerman personally directed the awarding of the IBS contract and tried to pin it on him, according to Philly.com. He is also accusing the district of suspending him and trying to fire him for speaking to the FBI about the matter. Five other administrators were also disciplined in the scandal. Ackerman continues to deny directing anyone to give the contract to

Longview ILWU Has Tentative Settlement With EGT Terminal

by Michael Dunn

A tentative settlement has been reached between the ILWU in Longview, Washington, and the grain terminal operator EGT. The battle has been long and bitter, with several hundred arrests of ILWU members and their families, police brutality and the use of the coast guard to protect the interests of the private company.

Details of the agreement, as usual, have yet to be released

Tens of Thousands Protest Education Cuts in Spain

by Michael Dunn

From the Teacher Solidarity Blog:

Over 40,000 took part in the demonstration in Alicante, calling for an increase in the numbers of teachers, increased funding for school resources and the end of prefab classrooms.

In Valencia, protestors demanded that the Generalitat paid the €50 million it owes to schools.
One of the region’s education unions – UGT-PV – is also taking the ex-President of the local authority to court

As Thousands of American Teachers Face Pink Slips, Teaching Is China's Hottest Job - Education - GOOD

As Thousands of American Teachers Face Pink Slips, Teaching Is China's Hottest Job - Education - GOOD:

As Thousands of American Teachers Face Pink Slips, Teaching Is China's Hottest Job

by Liz Dwyer

On recent shopping trip to Trader Joe’s, I discovered that the guy bagging my groceries was a laid-off elementary-school teacher. He'd taught for eight years and planned to be a teacher for life until the budget cuts that have raised class sizes and sent pink slips to tens of thousands of teachers nationwide put that dream on ice. “Know anywhere that’s hiring?” he asked me. “China,” I replied.

Indeed, a booming population and increased demand for education across the Pacific has left schools struggling to fill teaching vacancies, particularly for kindergarten teachers. According to Asian Correspondent, school leaders showed up to a recent job fair in Hebei province looking to fill nearly 9,000 positions. Only 810 applicants showed up, giving prospective teachers plenty of options.

Kindergarten teachers are in such demand in China that one applicant, Lin Li, spent a little over an hour at the

Jersey Jazzman: Stop Biting That Pencil!

Jersey Jazzman: Stop Biting That Pencil!:

Stop Biting That Pencil!

by Duke

In the brave, new reformy world, teachers will not be allowed to make excuses for a child's difficulty in learning. Which means teachers will have to work around the problems of poverty, poor parenting, hunger, homelessness and the environment.

The environment? Yep.

But one compelling thesis stands out, as bizarre as it may appear. It has to do with lead. Kevin Drum has been harping on this point for a while now, and the evidence is very compelling. The Washington Post had a great story on the connection between violent crime and lead levels in 2007:

The theory offered by the economist, Rick Nevin, is that lead poisoning accounts for

Parents Across America/Seattle’s letter to SEA representatives about the MOU | Seattle Education

Parents Across America/Seattle’s letter to SEA representatives about the MOU | Seattle Education:

Parents Across America/Seattle’s letter to SEA representatives about the MOU

by seattleducation2011

Below is a letter that is being handed out this evening by members of Parents Across America-Seattle to teachers before the vote on the MOU regarding the Creative Approach Schools.

Hi educators,

We are parents of children at Seattle Public Schools who are concerned
about the defunding and privatization of our schools. As you decide
whether to approve the MOU on “Creative Approach Schools,” we have a
few points we hope you will consider.

• Many of the provisions in the contract that protect you as teachers
also help our kids. Broad waivers of the contract means that things

Will California Start a National Revolt Against Bad Ideas? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Will California Start a National Revolt Against Bad Ideas? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Will California Start a National Revolt Against Bad Ideas?

by Diane Ravitch

Dear Deborah,

Your trip to Japan sounds exciting and exhausting. Your summary reminded me that you must protect your energy and continue to share your wisdom about children for many years.

While you were traveling in Japan, I was barnstorming across California. I spoke to several hundred teachers in Los Angeles, then to nearly 1,000 in San Francisco, on to Berkeley to speak to a packed house. My tour, punctuated by interviews on NPR stations, concluded in Sacramento, where the local teachers' unions, principals, district leaders, school board members, parent groups, and universities hired the Sacramento Convention Center for the most stupendous event I have ever seen: Some 3,500 people showed up in a driving rain on a Friday night to hear state Superintendent Tom Torlakson, our fellow Education Week blogger Anthony Cody, the great Linda Darling-Hammond, and me. (The event, by the way, was organized by the remarkable Erik Knudson of the Sacramento City teachers' union.)

The highlight of the week was Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State message, in which he announced his

Hechinger Report | As some schools plunge into technology, poor schools are left behind

Hechinger Report | As some schools plunge into technology, poor schools are left behind:

As some schools plunge into technology, poor schools are left behind

by Nick Pandolfo

A student works on her memoir in a computer lab at Bronzeville Scholastic Academy High School on Chicago's South Side (Photo by Nick Pandolfo)

CHICAGO – On a recent Friday morning, 15-year-old Jerod Franklin stared at his hands as he labored to type up memories of the first time he grilled steak. Next to him, classmate Brittany Levy tackled a piece about a trip to the hospital.

The Bronzeville Scholastic Institute ninth-graders were working on writing assignments in the school’s homework lab, whose 24 computers are shared by nearly a thousand students from the three schools that occupy DuSable High School’s campus on the South Side.

“The ratio of computers to students is absurd,” said English teacher Andrew Flaherty, a veteran educator who