Gates, the Bizarro Foundation « Jay P. Greene's Blog

Gates, the Bizarro Foundation « Jay P. Greene's Blog:

Gates, the Bizarro Foundation

January 31, 2012

Comic book geeks are familiar with Bizarro World, a place where everything is the opposite of what it is in the normal world. In Bizarro World, people would abandon a policy strongly supported by rigorous evidence while embracing an alternative policy for which the evidence showed little promise.

I was thinking about Bizarro World and then it struck me — Perhaps the Gates Foundation has somehow fallen into the Bizarro World. It’s just about the only thing that makes sense of their Bizarro choices with respect to education reform strategies.

The dominant education reform strategy of the Gates Foundation

This Week In Education: Thompson: MDRC Study Doesn't Justify Bloomberg/Duncan Turnarounds

This Week In Education: Thompson: MDRC Study Doesn't Justify Bloomberg/Duncan Turnarounds:

Thompson: MDRC Study Doesn't Justify Bloomberg/Duncan Turnarounds

by john thompson

The latest Gates-funded MDRC study of small high schools in New York City has stimulated an outstanding debate which could inform a discussion of best ways to turnaround schools, as long as those conversations remain intellectually honest. GothamSchools' Geoff Decker quoted the study's co-author, Howard Bloom, who argued that " these new schools made a positive change for a very large population of highly-disadvantaged students." The Coalition for Educational Justice, however, makes an equally compelling case that, "the new small schools are producing higher graduation rates, [but] it is not clear that these schools serve the same population.” Then, MDRC's Bloom, replied that the two papers’ were

Alliance-AFT demands Dallas ISD reinstate teacher on leave and to end bullying of employees | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Alliance-AFT demands Dallas ISD reinstate teacher on leave and to end bullying of employees | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:

Alliance-AFT demands Dallas ISD reinstate teacher on leave and to end bullying of employees

By

Matthew Haag/Reporter

mhaag@dallasnews.com | Bio

11:14 AM on Tue., Jan. 31, 2012 | Permalink

Dallas teacher association Alliance-AFT has demanded that Dallas ISD reinstate a teacher placed on leave Friday for sending a trustee a critical email and for the district to stop bullying employees.

Alliance-AFT president Rena Honea said that Dallas school principals and administrators get away with intimidating teachers and trying to silence them. Her comments came days after Dallas ISD teacher Joseph Drake was placed on paid leave after he sent an email to trustee Edwin Flores expressing his

IFF study of D.C. schools: The pushback begins - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

IFF study of D.C. schools: The pushback begins - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post:

IFF study of D.C. schools: The pushback begins

By Bill Turque

Deputy Mayor for Education De’Shawn Wright has encountered some sharply negative responses to the IFF study of school capacity in the nation’s capital.

The study commissioned by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D), made public Jan. 26, divided traditional public and public charter schools into four tiers, based primarily on test scores. It took a deep dive into 10 seriously underserved neighborhoods to assess their education needs.

Wright stresses that IFF delivered recommendations only, and he promises that the report is the beginning of a long conversation with communities about the future of their schools. But his statement Monday that the report “does not call for the closure” of DCPS schools and

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

The Chicago Teachers Union blasted Rahm Emanuel for appearing in a video produced by the right-wing anti-union Michigan-based Education Action Group.

EAG was the group that sent Ben Velderman after my work emails and my personnel file using the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

EAG’s leader Kyle Olson became a national laughing-stock after he attacked the children’s book, Click Clack

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Let the Legislators Know TODAY

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Let the Legislators Know TODAY:

Let the Legislators Know TODAY

by Melissa Westbrook

The next couple of days are very important to get bills out of committee in the State Legislature. If you believe charters would be wrong for our state, please contact the following members of the Legislature:

Hotline number - 800-562-6000 to leave a message for any legislator or committee

House Education Committee:

santos.sharontomiko@leg.wa.gov; She is the Chair and could be the most valuable to contact.
kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov;
fred.finn@leg.wa.gov;
andy.billig@leg.wa.gov;
sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov;
connie.ladenburg@leg.wa.gov;
maxwell.marcie@leg.wa.gov;
john.mccoy@leg.wa.gov;
probst.tim@leg.wa.gov
bruce.dammeier@leg.wa.gov
glenn.anderson@leg.wa.gov
cathy.dahlquist@leg.wa.gov
john.ahern@leg.wa.gov
susan.fagan@leg.wa.gov
mark.hargrove@leg.wa.gov
brad.klippert@leg.wa.gov
kevin.parker@leg.wa.gov
jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov

Senate Committee:

Chair
Rosemary.McAuliffe@leg.wa.gov;
Vice Chair
Christine.Rolfes@leg.wa.gov;
Committee Members
Steve.Litzow@leg.wa.gov;
Tracey.Eide@leg.wa.gov;
joe.fain@leg.wa.gov;
Nick.Harper@leg.wa.gov;
andy.hill@leg.wa.gov;
Steve.Hobbs@leg.wa.gov;
king.curtis@leg.wa.gov;
sharon.nelson@leg.wa.gov;
Rodney.Tom@leg.wa.gov

What should you say? Here are some suggestions:

- The Legislature has been cutting K-12 funding the last few years. The state Supreme Court just ruled that the State is not fully funding our existing schools. How is bringing on-line more underfunded schools going to help?
- Where is the money (roughly $10-15M) to support this bill going to come from if you are cutting programs and there are no additional revenues coming in?
- This bill is really three bills in one - a charter bill, a "transformation zone" school bill and a parent trigger bill. Let them know that initiatives and referendums can't have multiple topics and neither should legislative bills.

This bill (among other things):

• will cost school districts money. If a school loses students, they will lose teachers as well as money for other staffing positions like librarians, counselors and nurses
• the bill does NOT provide enough measures to make sure that the majority of charter schools would be of the best quality to serve educationally disadvantaged students
• the "parent trigger" portion of this bill is not strict enough. In California, it takes a majority of parents AND teachers to convert an existing public school to a charter. This measure only takes a majority of either group.
  
  • This legislation does NOT provide for background checks and child abuse registry checks for charter school board members.
• Allowing for-profit companies to run/manage public schools is a bad idea.
• There is no clause for a trigger for review of a charter school if it drops below a certain number of students. Most charter laws do have a limit somewhere around 100 students.
• It creates more administration at the state level. That's money that is NOT going into classrooms.
• The bill allows for several types of authorizers but those authrorizers can then contract out their responsibilities to other employees or contractors. With this system, how does the public know who read and reviewed any charter proposal?
• There is virtually no mention of parental involvement in this bill. There is no requirement for parents to be part of the process whether it is parents in a neighborhood where a school is to be located OR for parents whose child attend the school.
• In talking about providing a plan for educationally disadvantaged students, the bill mentions, “student discipline for Special Education students.” Why are these students are called out specifically for discipline issues?
  
  Charters have the right of first refusal to purchase/lease at or below fair market value, a closed facility or property OR unused portions of a public school facility or property if the district decides to sell or lease the facility or property. This means district-owned buildings would pass out of the hands of the district.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Should Parents be the Target Group for Polar Bracelets? Forget the Students, It's the Parents who Need to be Tracked.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Should Parents be the Target Group for Polar Bracelets? Forget the Students, It's the Parents who Need to be Tracked.:

Should Parents be the Target Group for Polar Bracelets? Forget the Students, It's the Parents who Need to be Tracked.

by stlgretchen

Keep your eyes looking southward for educational reforms heading Missouri's way. Many of the reforms being instituted in Florida are being brought up via bills in our legislature such as the expansion of charter schools, virtual schools, tax credits, etc.

Will Missouri see a parental bill here that is being introduced in Florida grading parental accountability

Opinion | The false promise of charter schools | Seattle Times Newspaper

Opinion | The false promise of charter schools | Seattle Times Newspaper:

The false promise of charter schools

Charter schools do not work as promised, writes Wayne Au, a University of Washington, Bothell education professor. One study indicates charters are two times as likely to widen achievement gaps as close them, he says.

By Wayne Au

Special to The Times

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As the Washington state Legislature considers a bill proposing the introduction of charter schools, it is important that voters and representatives understand a critical point: While advocates claim charter schools will raise the achievement of African American, Latino and low-income students, there is little evidence to support this claim.

For instance, the study completed by the pro-charter Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), a research group at Stanford's politically conservative Hoover Institute, found that charter schools performed worse than

LAUSD AND UTLA: A CONFEDERATION OF DUNCES by Mark Hemphill - Perdaily.com

LAUSD AND UTLA: A CONFEDERATION OF DUNCES by Mark Hemphill (LAUSD y UTLA: una confederación de los necios por Mark Hemphill) - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD AND UTLA: A CONFEDERATION OF DUNCES by Mark Hemphill (LAUSD y UTLA: una confederación de los necios por Mark Hemphill)

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

After having read Superintendent Deasy's comments and those of board member Tamar Galantzan as well as those who responded, it's rather obvious what's at work despite references to students, parents and some subject areas being taught. This is all about money and trying to justify asking for more when most of us wonder about what happened to all the previous money raised through bond initiatives in addition to that contributed by wealthy donors, the men who would be kings like Eli Broad and Bill Gates.

Let's consider a few things before we ever consider signing off for more money to LAUSD. Although it's the second largest school district in the country it holds such an overwhelmingly administration heavy ratio of administrators to students that it actually employs more administrators than

What American Higher Ed Looks Like Now « Student Activism

What American Higher Ed Looks Like Now « Student Activism:

What American Higher Ed Looks Like Now

by Angus Johnston

Matt Yglesias recently linked to the above chart on college enrollment as an illustration of the huge size of the

SB7 and the two narratives. What happens when the IEA leadership sits at the table behind closed doors? « Fred Klonsky

SB7 and the two narratives. What happens when the IEA leadership sits at the table behind closed doors? « Fred Klonsky:

SB7 and the two narratives. What happens when the IEA leadership sits at the table behind closed doors?

by Fred Klonsky

As I was sitting at IEA budget hearings last night watching the weird disjointed voice and image of IEA President Cinda Klickna do a Skype-like presentation, I kept thinking about the narrative the leadership wants us to accept about Senate Bill 7. Whether or not you accept that narrative is important for how you think about the next stage of the fight to defend our pensions and collective bargaining rights.

Make no mistake. There will be a fight for collective bargaining and pensions this year. Illinois is the target. Stand for Children has returned to the state following their embarrassing Jonah Edelman Aspen video episode. And now the charter-voucher snake oil salesmen from Democrats for Education Reform have set up shop here. DFER is funded by millionaire hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.

Stand for Children considers Senate Bill 7 a great victory over teacher unions.

On the other hand, the IEA leadership claims Senate Bill 7 was a great victory over Stand for Children.

Which narrative

Support PURE! » The LSC model: An antidote to phony “parental choice”

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » The LSC model: An antidote to phony “parental choice”:

The LSC model: An antidote to phony “parental choice”

by admin

Parents Across America releases a proposal

for real parent empowerment in schools

An antidote to phony “parental choice”

Chicago, IL and other cities across the US – Today, Parents Across America (PAA), a non-partisan, non-profit national network of public school parent activists, released a proposal for true parent empowerment that authentically involves parents in collaborative school decision making and has a strong research base in improving student achievement.

You can read our full position paper, “The Empowerment Parents Want: A Real, Effective Voice in our Children’s

RheeFirst! » Michelle Rhee’s empty claims about her D.C. schools record

RheeFirst! » Michelle Rhee’s empty claims about her D.C. schools record:

Michelle Rhee’s empty claims about her D.C. schools record

by admin

Written by Matthew Di Carlo for Valerie Strauss’s The Answer Sheet. Read the entire article here.
“What I find disturbing is how [Rhee] continues to try to build her reputation and advance her goals based on interpretations of testing results that are insulting to the public’s intelligence.

For the most part, then, there was little meaningful change in DCPS testing performance over the past two full school years. Moreover, the graduation rate was also essentially unchanged – moving from 72 percent in 2009 to 73 percent in 2010 (2011 rates will be released later this year).

So, according to the standards by which Ms. Rhee judges policy effects — and advocates for their expansion —