Critics Say Cleveland Education Reform Plan Is SB 5 In Disguise | Ohio Votes

Critics Say Cleveland Education Reform Plan Is SB 5 In Disguise | Ohio Votes:

Cleveland Education Reform

March 12, 2012 | 4 Views

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Could Senate Bill 5 be making a comeback? Some union leaders say yes and it all has to do with proposed education reform in Cleveland to fix their broken schools.

Eduflack: Evaluatin' Teaching Hoosiers #soschat

Eduflack: Evaluatin' Teaching Hoosiers:

Eduflack: Evaluatin' Teaching Hoosiers #soschat

No, it isn't just states like New York and Connecticut that are currently focused on strengthening teacher evaluations and putting some real teeth into the process.  The good folks over at Hechinger Report have previously reported on similar efforts in Florida, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.  Next up ... Indiana.

In the latest installment, Hechinger looks at recent developments in the Hoosier State to address teacher effectiveness.

As Scott Elliott and Sarah Butrymowicz report:

Teachers across the state will be rated 1 through 4, with 1 being the lowest. Those ratings will be based in part on the test-scores of their students.


The ratings come with consequences.


Those who receive ineffective ratings can be dismissed at the end of the school year. After two years, anyone twice rated as needing improvement—teachers rated a 1 or 2—also can be fired. Teachers rated in the bottom two categories also can be blocked from receiving a raise.


“This is a culture shift,” said Mindy Schlegel, who leads a new division within the Indiana Department of Education focused on educator effectiveness. “This is saying, ‘If you’re not good, you don’t deserve a raise.’ 


How significant is this change? Consider this: 

Sending Off My Nervous Baby Into the World – of Standardized Testing « MomsRising Blog

Sending Off My Nervous Baby Into the World – of Standardized Testing « MomsRising Blog:

Sending Off My Nervous Baby Into the World – of Standardized Testing

by Homa Tavangar

I’m mad this morning.  My eight-year old (8!, yes, just 8! in third grade!) is a nervous wreck.  Today is the first day of PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or Pissed Students Seriously Anxious?!) Standardized testing at her school.  They’ve been prepping for weeks (or is it months?) to score stellar points on the test. She feels personally responsible to do great and not let down her beloved teacher.  They’re even allowed to break the ultimate elementary school rule and CHEW GUM IN CLASS during the test, since it’s supposed to stimulate brain activity.  One lasting lesson here: do whatever it takes to get a high score.

The goal: so their school looks good.  So their school will come out on top – again – in public reviews that get published in multiple media outlets which drive real estate prices upwards, and keep the local tax base healthy 

(Not so) Virtual Lobby Day. « Fred Klonsky

(Not so) Virtual Lobby Day. « Fred Klonsky:

(Not so) Virtual Lobby Day.

by Fred Klonsky

Lots to report today.
First of all, IEA’s chief lobbyist Jim Reed reports that the General Assembly is not meeting any more until after the March 20th election day. So, everybody is in their home district. Or somewhere other than eating pasta at Saputo’s Italian restaurant down the street from the state Capitol.
So far, no major piece of pension legislation has been introduced, according to Reed.
However, there has been plenty of talk, with most of it focused around Democratic Senate President John Cullerton’s proposal to shift  the state’s pension to local school districts.
The bad news about that is that the plan would be a disaster to local district’s budgets.
The good news, I suppose, is that it puts teachers, communities and school boards on the same side in 

Sacrificing Local Control at the Altar of the Dollar | Truth in American Education

Sacrificing Local Control at the Altar of the Dollar | Truth in American Education:
Sacrificing Local Control at the Altar of the Dollar

by Shane Vander Hart

The Des Moines Register had an article on Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s education bill and how it would erode local control.  They quote State Representative Greg Forristall who chairs the Iowa House Education Committee:

Republicans, who often invoke the virtues of self-reliance and limited government, are “especially sensitive” to resisting centralization and preserving local control, said House Education Committee Chairman Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia.

But, he acknowledged, the transformative education reform lawmakers are seeking has forced difficult questions on the proper balance between local control 

Hechinger Report | Rising costs weigh heavily on students deciding where to attend college

Hechinger Report | Rising costs weigh heavily on students deciding where to attend college:

Rising costs weigh heavily on students deciding where to attend college

by Alan G. Walker

As college acceptance letters begin popping up in mailboxes across the county, incoming students are left with the daunting task of choosing the right school. While cost has always been a consideration, more students than ever before are now considering it a key factor—not only in terms of which school to attend, but whether to go to college at all.

Alan G. Walker

Consider the financial barriers. Tuition at public four-year institutions rose more than 8 percent between 2010-11 and 2011-12, according to a recent report by the College Board. That’s more than two and a half times the rate of inflation. To cover these rising costs, today’s students are borrowing twice the amount they did just a decade ago. Now, for the first time in history, student-loan debt has surpassed credit-card debt, according to recent reports from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Education and other sources. American students are now more than $1 trillion in debt for their studies; American consumers owe $828 billion 

It was the shot heard 'round the county:

It was the shot heard ’round the county

By Heber Taylor

The Daily News Published March 11, 2012

The Clear Creek and Dickinson school boards adopted a resolution asking the Texas Legislature to dump the state’s fatally flawed public school accountability system.
The language in the resolution is much politer than that. But that’s the gist of it.
It’s a great resolution. Let’s hope it’s the first shot in a war to free teachers from the tyranny of politicians.
The system in place today simply does not work.
There has to be a better way to ensure accountability in education without an obsession with or addiction to a standardized test. In fact, there are better ways, and if you’re interested in the details, Diane Ravitch’s recent articles in The New York Review of Books are a sensible place to start.
Ravitch was assistant secretary of education in the administration of President George H.W. Bush and was a supporter of President George W. Bush’s initiatives with the No Child Left Behind 

Investing In New York's Public School Children is...... priceless!

Alliance for Quality Education:

Investing In New York's Public School Children is...... priceless!

On March 14, 1500 students, parents, teachers and community members will travel to Albany to fight for quality education. This astounding number of fierce education advocates has far exceeded our expectations as well as costs.

Help us raise $17,000 to cover the costs of the day:

• $1250 - sponsor one bus of students
• $560 - provide lunches for the bus of students
• $250 - provide 10 seats on a bus
• $125 - provide 5 seats on a bus

L.A. Unified board to vote on proposed school cuts - latimes.com

L.A. Unified board to vote on proposed school cuts - latimes.com:

L.A. Unified board to vote on proposed school cuts

The Los Angeles Board of Education is expected to vote Tuesday on a worst-case $6-billion budget that would eliminate thousands of jobs, close all of the district's adult schools and eliminate some after-school and arts programs, among a slew of other reductions.
The budget plan could change, and even if it is approved by the school board, a final version of the budget most likely is months away. But the nation's second-largest school system is under pressure to pare more than $390 million from the budget for next year.
Supporters of the programs up for elimination are expected to rally outside of Los Angeles Unified School District’s downtown headquarters ahead of the afternoon meeting.
Last month, the board delayed a vote on a budget plan with similar cuts aimed at bridging a $557-million budget gap. Instead, the board directed Supt. John Deasy to work with his staff and the unions for teachers and other

L.A school board considers faster firings for sexual misconduct

The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled to vote Tuesday on proposals that could make it easier to fire employees accused of misconduct and to inform parents about them. But some of the board's plans would need the approval of the state Legislature or voters.
The proposals, by board president Moncia Garcia and board members Tamar Galatzan and Nury Martinez, were prompted by the attention focused on sexual misconduct after the January arrest of former teacher Mark Berndt, who worked at Miramonte Elementary School in Florence-Firestone. He is accused of photographing students blindfolded and being spoon-fed his semen as part of what he allegedly called a “tasting game.” Berndt has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd conduct.
Berndt was able to resign and negotiate a settlement of $40,000 for back pay and health insurance costs after 

Help Wanted: Join Our Voter Registration Campaign | Daily Stipends Paid « New York City Parents Union

Help Wanted: Join Our Voter Registration Campaign | Daily Stipends Paid « New York City Parents Union:

Help Wanted: Join Our Voter Registration Campaign | Daily Stipends Paid

by admin

NYC Parents Union Voter Registration Campaign

“Stand Up NOW & Vote 2012!”

The NYC Parents Union is seeking civic-minded students, parents and guardians interested in performing voter registration and education work throughout the community, including:

1. Visits to high schools to register students who are 17 years of age or older.
2. Visits to daycare and community centers to register citizens to vote.
3. Attending community events and conducting voter registration.

Qualifications:
1. You must be at least 16 years of age.
2. You must be civic-minded and passionate about having a say about decisions impacting on your schools and communities.

Registrars will receive a daily stipend and Metrocards. Performance measures will be in place to evaluate your work. Serious applicants only.

For more information, call Mona Davids at 917-727-5460 or email mdavids@nycparentsunion.org

A People's Resolution Model to Help Combat High Stakes Testing.... Let it go Viral!

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

A People's Resolution Model to Help Combat High Stakes Testing.... Let it go Viral!

 ==============

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
RESOLUTION CONCERNING HIGH STAKES, STANDARDIZED TESTING
OF TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF GALVESTON

WHEREAS, the over reliance on standardized, high stakes testing as the only assessment of learning that really matters in the state and federal accountability systems is strangling our public schools and undermining any chance that educators have to transform a traditional system of schooling into a broad range of learning experiences that better prepares our students to live successfully and be competitive on a global stage; and

WHEREAS, we commend Robert Scott, Commissioner of Education, for his concern about the overemphasis on high stakes testing that has become “a perversion of its original intent” and for his continuing support of high standards and local accountability; and

WHEREAS, we believe our state’s future prosperity relies on a high-quality education system that prepares students for college and careers, and without such a system Texas’ economic competitiveness and ability and 

In Michigan charter schools, results no better than other public schools | MLive.com

In Michigan charter schools, results no better than other public schools | MLive.com:

In Michigan charter schools, results no better than other public schools

Published: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 6:50 AM

 By Nancy Derringer | Bridge Magazine 

What's the difference?

Nearly 20 years into the experiment, public-school academies -- charter schools, as they are more popularly known -- would appear a rousing success. An enthusiastic Michigan Legislature, as part of a comprehensive reform package, lifted the state cap on charters late last year. The charter ranks, now at 256 schools, can start growing next year and operate without a state cap in 2015.

The schools, which already educate almost 120,000 students at an average of 470 students per school, play a major role in Gov. Rick Snyder’s education philosophy, which emphasizes parental choice and market forces to drive improvement and innovation. But since the charter experiment started in 1993, data collected on both the state and national level suggest they are doing no better at educating students than are traditional K-12 public schools.

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An analysis of test-score data done for Bridge Magazine by Public Sector 

Save Our Schools Rallies Against Underfunding of Public Education - South Brunswick, NJ Patch

Save Our Schools Rallies Against Underfunding of Public Education - South Brunswick, NJ Patch:

Save Our Schools Rallies Against Underfunding of Public Education

Parents and education leaders across New Jersey lament continued underfunding of public education in the 2013 state budget.

• 4:50 am

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Editor's note: The following is a news release by Save Our Schools NJ.

Parents, Board of Education members, and Superintendents from fifteen communities across New Jersey discussed the impact of the state’s persistent underfunding of public education at a mid-day Statehouse event organized by the grassroots group Save Our Schools NJ last week. 

Organizers pointed to more than $3.6 billion in school funding cuts since 2010, including $715 million in Governor Christie’s proposed 2012-13 State Budget.  That Budget would underfund almost 90 percent of all school districts across the state. 

“New Jersey has a school funding formula which distributes state aid based on the needs of individual children, wherever they live,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Save Our Schools NJ spokesperson. “The proposed FY 2013 State Budget would underfund that formula for the fourth year in a row. 

KQED holds town hall in Oakland Tuesday about the dropout crisis - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

KQED holds town hall in Oakland Tuesday about the dropout crisis - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

KQED holds town hall in Oakland Tuesday about the dropout crisis

Monday, March 12th, 2012 at 7:42 pm in dropouts2 Comments »

More than one in every three Oakland teenagers drop out of high school — a rate twice the state average, according to the most recent data from the California Department of Education from the class of 2009-10.
What’s more, Oakland’s black and Latino students quit school at significantly higher rates than the state average for students of their same racial backgrounds. Forty percent of Oakland’s Latino teenagers drop out, compared to 22 percent of Latinos statewide. And nearly half of the city’s English learners quit school, compared to roughly 30 percent statewide. (Click the previous link for Oakland data, which is also available by school and program, such as special education and language, on the drop-down menu. If you live in another California district, you can find the statistics here.)
As part of a national Corporation for Public Broadcasting campaign to find solutions to this crisis, KQED is holding a town hall for teachers. It starts at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) evening in the Laney College Theater, and hosted by Glynn Washington of NPR’s Snap Judgment.
You can find more details about the event here. Below is a description: Read the rest of this entry »