Update: ABC news stands by its lies. Let them know what you think. « Fred Klonsky

Update: ABC news stands by its lies. Let them know what you think. « Fred Klonsky:

Update: ABC news stands by its lies. Let them know what you think.

by Fred Klonsky

The anti-union Illinois Policy Institute issued a report that claimed most teachers in Illinois don’t pay their share of the TRS contribution.
By any standard, this is a Big Lie.
It is a lie because it misreads what many contracts say. A typical teacher contract will say that the board will “pay” the TRS contribution, which only means that they will send the teachers’ payments to TRS. Teachers do not literally send a check to TRS anymore than other workers send a check to the Social Security Administration.
In some cases where the local district does actually pay part of the TRS contribution, the salaries teachers receive are typically lower.
But none of that mattered to the lazy news department at the Chicago ABC affiliate.
Chuck Goudie, who laughingly claims to be the ABC investigative reporter, did a breathless report simply repeating the false talking points of the IPI.
No comment from TRS was requested by the crack investigative reporter. No reaction from the IEA. Goudie 

School Tech Connect: Pearls Of Rahm's Wisdom

School Tech Connect: Pearls Of Rahm's Wisdom:

Pearls Of Rahm's Wisdom

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

 I was just probing around the intertubes when I ran across this fabulous note to the mayor. In this town, if you're not an investment banker, this is the sort of thing you have to do in order to meet with a Democratic mayor.

To Mayor Rahm Emanuel - I'm sure the folks at NewSchools Venture Fund-Aspen Institute Summit on Education Innovation in San Francisco are enjoying your pearls of wisdom but if you would like to discuss public education, education reform and all the other great things you've done to turnaround CPS in less than a year why not save on travel and simply share the info with us, CPS parents. It is day 24 since we have requested a meeting with the Mayor but still no word from your office. It could be so simple, you don't even have to leave your office, we would come to you. Let's get to work on really fixing the problems that exist in CPS. After all, it's all about the children. 

I understand Rahm was peddling his I'm-right-you're-wrong bullshite over at the NSVF meeting recently, along 

Miramonte teachers speak out, saying they're angry and humiliated - latimes.com

Miramonte teachers speak out, saying they're angry and humiliated - latimes.com:

Miramonte teachers speak out, saying they're angry and humiliated

For the first time since they were removed from Miramonte Elementary School, teachers described their experiences over the last three months in statements obtained by The Times.
The teachers, who are expected to take part in a rally Thursday afternoon, recounted their humiliation, anger and sadness at being transferred from the school. L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy replaced the staff at Miramonte after the arrests of two teachers on lewd conduct charges; both have pleaded not guilty.
“All of us have been publicly punished and humiliated for the alleged acts of one person,” a teacher wrote in one 

Santa Monica College fights privatization: Anti-privatization conference held for 112 Community Colleges serving 260,000 students in the State of California | Dailycensored.com

Santa Monica College fights privatization: Anti-privatization conference held for 112 Community Colleges serving 260,000 students in the State of California | Dailycensored.com:

Santa Monica College fights privatization: Anti-privatization conference held for 112 Community Colleges serving 260,000 students in the State of California

by Danny Weil

picture of some of the signs students at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles made for their campout at the college on April 30th after facing administrative and police harrassment

Community colleges across California are facing the wrath of privatization efforts by reactionary forces, most notably for-profit colleges and their surrogates, the corporate media and coin-operated politicians.  Both democrats and republicans have been and are continuing to use shock doctrine crisis management to privatize the community college campuses. 

One of the recent salvos in the battle in California came with the introduction of legislation, AB515, by Democrat Assembly Member, Julia Brownley, on February 15, 2011.  The bill would have set up a ‘corporation’ within the community colleges that could charge 400 times the fees for traditional classes.  This, the access hierarchy, was an attempt by liberals to govern in face of privatization.  The bill was soundly defeated (http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_515/20112012/).

But the forces of privatization will not stop with one defeat.  Both corporate 

Schools Matter: Pearson Boycott News: NY State Tosses 4th Pearson Test Question in 4 Weeks

Schools Matter: Pearson Boycott News: NY State Tosses 4th Pearson Test Question in 4 Weeks:

GO TO 

National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

Pearson Boycott News: NY State Tosses 4th Pearson Test Question in 4 Weeks

by Jim Horn

Obviously, $32,000,000 is not enough to get Pearson to hire test writers who know more than the students they are testing.   


From NYTimes SchooBook: 

May 2, 2012, 12:34 p.m.

By ANNA M. PHILLIPS

For the fourth time within a month, state education officials have tossed out a question on the standardized tests after finding that errors by Pearson, the test maker, made the problem virtually impossible for students to solve.

The question, which appeared on the fifth-grade math exam, was administered in a trial-run last year and vetted by teachers. Yet it was not until after it was included on a real test last month that teachers found and reported a 

RheeFirst! » Rhee ramps up MO lobby force–still losing on her ALEC-sponsored bill

RheeFirst! » Rhee ramps up MO lobby force–still losing on her ALEC-sponsored bill:

Rhee ramps up MO lobby force–still losing on her ALEC-sponsored bill

admin at RheeFirst! - 18 minutes ago

*The Rhee anti-teacher bill being debated in Missouri this week is sponsored by ALEC member, Rep. Scott Dieckhaus, who sits on ALEC’s Education Taskforce. The vote set for Tuesday but was postponed for more strong-arming because it lacked supporters. Here’s the latest:*"StudentsFirst, the ironically (and misleadingly) named Michele Rhee-led organization that is pushing anti-teacher legislation has increased its lobbying contingent in Missouri to nine, according to Missouri Ethics Commission documents. The organization added two lobbyists, Ximena Hartsock and Adam Childers, to its ros... more »

Why I Teach: from a DC teacher fired because of Rhee’s flawed teacher evaluation system

admin at RheeFirst! - 18 minutes ago

"I spent my first two years as a teacher in a DCPS middle school; it was a fairly tough environment, especially for a newbie. After my second year in the classroom I was fired due to a new controversial teacher evaluation system called IMPACT…. Many of my students entered my fifth-grade classroom with standardized test scores (from the end of fourth grade) that far exceeded their true abilities. I was worried about showing growth on the DC CAS test; I spoke to my administration frequently — and even some DCPS admins. Consistently, I was told “Don’t worry about it,” and that if I was ... more »

Rhee’s TN spending—not a penny for TN kids

admin at RheeFirst! - 18 minutes ago

*Rhee's TN spending—not a penny for TN kids* "After making substantial campaign contributions to state lawmakers and commissioning a poll to show support for its issues, StudentsFirst now is running television ads urging viewers to contact state lawmakers to support three bills the organization backs in the Legislature... StudentsFirst says its spending on the ads is in the “six figures.” Full-court presses by groups are fairly common in Congress, but the combination of polling and campaign contributions, which benefit lawmakers, combined with paid TV ads is still somewhat rare in T... more »

Rhee outspends corp. reformers in CA, lays out significant cash in TN to push corporate ed reform

admin at RheeFirst! - 2 days ago

Rhee spent $154K to lobby for corp reform in CA, outspending DFER/ERN. Not a penny to CA kids. The link to her lobby disclosure is here. In Tennessee, she laid out $25,000 - $50,000 in early 2012 to lobby for anti-teacher bills. Again not a penny for TN kids. View the Tennessee disclosure here.

Link between value-added ratings and classroom observations is modest, studies show. But DC teacher fired anyway

admin at RheeFirst! - 3 days ago

"Here’s a statistical postscript to the story of Sarah Wysocki , the MacFarland Middle School teacher fired by DCPS last year after she earned good classroom observation scores on IMPACT’s Teaching and Learning Framework, but low value-added marks on student test results.* [She inherited students with highly inflated scores from suspicious erasures]*Ideally, there would be a healthy statistical link between the value- added and TLF scores. That would provide some solid evidence that following DCPS prescriptives in the classroom leads to higher student achievement on standardized test... more »

ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MO

admin at RheeFirst! - 3 days ago

"Scott Dieckhaus, a republican from Washington and House Chairman of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee spoke to StudentsFirst leaders about coming to Missouri in the fall of 2012. Dieckhaus is quoted in the article: “StudentsFirst has a very pragmatic and research-based approach to trying to reform education systems and trying to make them better,” Dieckhaus said."

Meet Missouri’s newest education lobbyist- Michelle Rhee

admin at RheeFirst! - 3 days ago

"Some of those who have been most responsible for those lies, former head of Washington D. C. Schools Michelle Rhee and her crew at Students First have worked quickly to establish a stronghold in the Show-Me State. As of Feb. 8, Ms. Rhee is a registered lobbyist here, one of seven who can legally lobby for Students First... The irony about Students First, is that its leader is someone who has done nothing but put herself first since her dramatic entry as head of the schools in our nation's capitol. How else can you explain the infamous Newsweek cover which showed her with a broom rea... more »

How deceptive is this letter from Rhee’s organization?

admin at RheeFirst! - 6 days ago

*Recently, Rheefirst received irate emails about being scammed to sign a deceptive petition from change.org and care2. It turns out this is the chief recruitment ploy of Rhee’s organization. Sign and you become a Rhee “member” for life. One missive enumerated the number of times the inadvertent signer asked to be removed from Rhee’s “membership” list. To no avail. * "Read the following fundraising letter, which was sent to, of all people, education historian Diane Ravitch by Michelle Rhee’s organization. Ravitch recognized the name of the group sending out the letter — StudentsFirst... more »

The ALEC links with the education for profiteers & the Rhee connection

admin at RheeFirst! - 6 days ago

*Michelle Rhee will be speaking at what was described as the most cynical group of education for-profiteers ever assembled.* *This piece examines the ALEC links of this group. Unsurprisingly, a sister company of the Washington Post, whose editorial board was Rhee’s chief propagandist in DC, is a major player* "Republic Report has obtained a list of members of the ALEC Education Task Force as of July 2011, and it includes some of the largest players in the for-profit college industry: • Washington Post Company-owned Kaplan, which is under investigation by at least four state Attorney...more »

The Best Posts About Michelle Rhee’s Exaggerated Test Scores

admin at RheeFirst! - 1 week ago

*Dated, but oh so good.* "The education blogosphere, and parts of the education media, have been abuzz the past couple of days over the discovery that Michelle Rhee’s often-claimed astronomical student test gains when she was a teacher were not true. This, of course, does not mean that Rhee was not a good teacher — for all I know, she was an excellent one (though I have to admit her admission that she taped the mouths shut of her students one day does give one pause). It can mean, however, a number of other things. And here are my choices for The Best Posts About Michelle Rhee’s Exa... more »

Vendors: Villains or Visionaries? « My Island View

Vendors: Villains or Visionaries? « My Island View:

Vendors: Villains or Visionaries?

by tomwhitby

And now for something completely different… As an educator who has organized and attended many education conferences over several decades, I have made a few observations about the unique relationship between educators, and vendors of education materials or educational technology. The reason for my consideration of this topic is because I will be participating in the Software Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco next week. Most of my conferences have been with a majority of educators in attendance and a minority of vendors. At this conference it will be mostly vendors and very few educators aside from me. I am actually flirting with the dark side in answering the many calls for consulting in regard to my Social-Media-in-Education experience.
Of course my reference to the “Dark Side” is a perfect example of what I now plan to address. Just how do many educators view vendors? The ironic point to this teacher-vendor relationship is that many of these people took the same education courses in college, but found that damned divergent road in the woods and travelled down different paths. I have often told students in education methods classes that the skills that they were learning were skills that they could apply in many places other than the classroom. I often thought that to be sound advice to kids trying for hundreds of teaching jobs sought after by thousands of applicants.
An often voiced complaint by conference attendees is that they don’t want too many vendor directed presentations or workshops. I always found that surprising in that who better knows the product and its potential 

Rheeport: Carpetbagger StudentsFirst Missouri State Director Knows What's Best for Missouri Students--Part I

Missouri Education Watchdog: Carpetbagger StudentsFirst Missouri State Director Knows What's Best for Missouri Students--Part I:

Carpetbagger StudentsFirst Missouri State Director Knows What's Best for Missouri Students--Part I

by stlgretchen

Are carpetbagging educational reformers coming to your state?

A reader received an email from one of our new national educational lobbying groups in Missouri, Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst organization.  This article from Fast Company details Rhee's vision and method of operation.  Rhee makes it sounds as if the choice of education would be delivered back to the parents, but that's not accurate.  A different set of laws and regulations written by private corporations, organizations and lawmakers will replace those now in place.  It's one set of power brokers taking over 

Detroit Family Engagement Forum: Families Stepping Up for Student Success | ED.gov Blog

Detroit Family Engagement Forum: Families Stepping Up for Student Success | ED.gov Blog:

Detroit Family Engagement Forum: Families Stepping Up for Student Success

 

In spite of the cold and drizzling rain, about 200 parents came out on a recent Saturday morning to Central High School in Detroit. They were “parents with a purpose,” the theme of the family engagement forum co-sponsored by Detroit Public Schools and ED.

Building on President Obama’s inspirational statement that “There is no program and no policy that can substitute for a parent who is involved in their child’s education from day one,” parents from diverse backgrounds came to learn how they can partner with their child’s teacher and school and what school, district, state and federal resources are available.

During a workshop, family members discuss ways to support their children’s education.

As part of the day’s activities, parents and other family members attended a series of workshops on such topics as: special education rights; what every parent needs to know about parent involvement in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; financial aid; responding to bullying; and protecting students from civil rights violations.

Secretary Duncan visited Detroit on his2011 back-to-school bus tour and noted, “I couldn’t be more hopeful about Detroit.” He told parents and community leaders, “There’s an alignment of leadership and an alignment of commitment and courage here. My challenge to Detroit is to become the fastest improving district in the country.” The recent family engagement forum was one of many steps taken in collaboration with ED to meet that goal.

At the recent event, some of the tips for family engagement given to the parents included:

• Make sure your child attends school every day.
• Limit times for watching television and playing video games.
• Read with your child 30 minutes every night.
• Assist with homework.
• Volunteer in the school.
• Communicate with your child’s teacher throughout the school year.

With a revitalized purpose, Detroit Public Schools (DPS) is working to make parents and families partners in student academic success.  Linda Blanton, DPS’s Executive Director of the Department of State and Federal Programs, reinforced the need for family engagement by pointing out the importance of having the event at Central High.

One parent commented: “What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday! The workshops were great, [and] what stood out most was that presenters were attentive and compassionate with the parents,” she said. “They listened and valued our comments and concerns. I was grateful to walk away feeling respected.”

Shirley Jones is the family engagement liaison in ED’s Chicago Regional Office