Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, October 26, 2012

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 10-26-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP




Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago
Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project: Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Projectby Jonathan Raymond, published on *October 26, 2012* at *3:41 PM* Storyline: Sacramento City Unified School District [image: RSS Feed] Community Tags jonathan raymond parents sacramento city unified school district scusd teachers During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball"... more »

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education: Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers by Shane Vander Hart [image: NCLB]Jane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Projectprovided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers. States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB. What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control. Pretty soon states will probably be asking for waivers for the waivers. - In September 201... more »

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education: The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days by seattleducation2011 I usually stay on course providing information and views on education but this information was so horrific that I had to share it. These votes affect all of us, our families, our children and of course, education. This information was provided by the US House of Representatives Democratic Caucus and are: 60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to re... more »

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?: Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? by jonpelto Last week it was the resignation of the President and Executive Vice President of Connecticut’s new Board of Regents, the group responsible for overseeing the merged system of Connecticut’s State Universities and Community and Technical Colleges. The solution, we were told, was that the actual Board of Regents would step forward, take control and actually perform the duties allocated to them under state law. At t... more »

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story: Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results By Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian Friday, October 26, 2012 17:05 EDT [image: US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shake hands following the second presidential debate at the David Mack Center at Hofstra University in Hempstead via AFP] Topics: new orleans The teacher’s command of his class is total. “Which one is the whole number?” he asks crisply. “Is it seven over three, or is... more »

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News: California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group By Steven Harmon Bay Area News Group Posted: 10/25/2012 04:25:48 PM PDT Updated: 10/25/2012 11:27:13 PM PDT Click photo to enlarge Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices... (Rich Pedroncelli/AP file) Related Stories - Oct 25: - Mercury News editorial: FPPC's Ann Ravel is fighting for voters' right to know - Oct 18: - Shad... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess by Duke Bust Unions 2nd Let's stop calling StudentsFirst an "education reform group," because they're not. They are a political organization: Now, the political action committee of StudentsFirst is pumping $500,000 into a campaign against Michigan's Proposal 2, a ballot measure that would protect collective bargaining by enshrining it in the state's constitution. Mlive.com first reported the contribution Thursday morning. StudentsFirst is a national lobbying and advocacy shop based in ... more »

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky: The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. by Fred Klonsky It came as shocking news. Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System reported out that their return on investment was .76% for fiscal year 2012. Holy crap. That’s less than 1%! Last year the return was 23.6%. And it isn’t just Illinois. Bloomberg reports today: U.S. state and local-government pensions ended the 2012 fiscal year with a median gain of 1.15 percent as the European ... more »

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Molly McCloskey]Best Questions: School Culture October 26, 2012 by Molly McCloskey We live in a parallel universe. Here at ASCD, we are committed to ensuring that each *child*, in each school and in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. And, one of the things we know for sure is that in order for that to happen for kids, the *adults* around them must also be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That parallel need is particularly striking this month as we... more »

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reformby thenotebook on Oct 26 2012 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - activism - community organizing - parent involvement - parent organizing - student activism - William Hite - Philadelphia Federation of Teachers - school closing *by Charlotte Pope* “We are in this together. This fight you are not fighting alone.” These are t... more »

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement: A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement by Constance Clark Location, location, location—it matters in real estate, and the harsh reality is, it matters in student achievement, too. While wealthy Americans can pay for private school or move to a top-ranked district in suburbia, countless other parents are left with their neighborhood public school default. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But what if the choice is not good enough? Montg... more »

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network #UCDAVIS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network: Education: The Blueprint for Change By Linda Katehi When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education. It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities. When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did... more »

Diane in the Evening 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: A Tiny Brush with Greatness by dianerav Jacques Barzun, one of the great thinkers of our age, died at the age of 104 in San Antonio, after a long and distinguished career as a thinker, teacher, cultural critic, and author. The obituary in the New York Times describes his amazing career. We are not likely to see his like again. Our age moves too swiftly and demands too much interactivity to allow figures like Barzun to grow, ripen and flourish. He had the unusual ability to transmit his vast knowledge of history to the public. I did not know him well but I had... more »

Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money): Charter school principal gets $519,453 payout (in taxpayer money) Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 1:44 pm - [image: Smaller Text] [image: Larger Text] Text Size - Print - Reprints - Share: - - - More » How’s this for outrageous? The principal of a charter school in Orange County, Fla., received a check for $519,453.36 in taxpayer money after the district school board agreed to let the school voluntarily close rather than be shut down for poor performance. According to a stor... more »

Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: Class sizes of 36, 50 and 62, the Walton’s in Louisiana, a global education strike and more by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update for the news and views you might have missed* Alice Walton of the Walton family, who are big contributors to the proliferation of charter schools and vouchers, is the same Alice Walton who has contributed $1.7M, and counting, to the charter school Initiative 1240 in Washington State. The Walton’s are investing ... more »

School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech: Just Finished Watching Diane's Speech by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) *In schools for the rich, children get taught. In schools for the poor, children get tested. -- Diane Ravitch* I just not got to watch the entire video of Diane Ravitch's recent talk at the City Club. I wish I had been there. Every moment of it is a devastating indictment of the status quo. I've seen people who can speak intelligently about many of these issues, but there is nobody that I know of who can speak about *all* of them in such clear ter... more »

Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 5 hours ago
Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? | Truth in American Education: Student Data Mining, How Much Data Is Enough? Posted on October 26, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart Restoring Oklahoma Public Education released their report about Oklahoma’s P20 councilwhich is a follow-up to an earlier paper they wrote that analyzed recent education reforms and how they impacted student privacy (see below). How Much Data is Enough Data? What happens to privacy when bureaucracies exceed their scope? Here is th

Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? - Wait, What?: Anti-Socialist Greenwich Billionaire Targeting Democratic Connecticut State Senators? by jonpelto Senators Cassano and Williams (Photo courtesy of Christine Stuart) Following a press conference, yesterday, by State Senators Don Williams and Steve Cassano, the former chief of staff for the Connecticut Republican Party, and managing director of Voters for Good Government, admitted to Connecticut media outlets that television ads are going to be run against certain Democratic State S... more »

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg: Google "charter Schools" and "financial scandal" - This is just the Tip of the Iceberg by Melissa Westbrook [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] In the latest in how to lose public education dollars, this story from NBC News. (I'll call out in red how this parallels I-1240.) *A Florida state senator is calling for an investigation into the payout of more than $500,000 to the principal of a failed Orange County charter school.* *A school board chairman bla... more »

Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Kris Nielsen: I (Used to) Love Teaching by Anthony Cody *Guest post by Kris Nielsen.* This post was originally published here on his blog, Middle Grades Mastery. I love teaching. Or, I did love teaching. I loved teaching when my job was to teach. Now, I don't love teaching, because my job is no longer teaching. Was that introduction awkward enough? That's kind of how my job feels: awkward, frustrating, backwards, stifling, and redundant. Breaking away from the comparison to the introduction, I'd ... more »

Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. « Fred Klonsky: Does Ingram still have a job? As of Friday morning, no word. by Fred Klonsky The Illinois Teacher Retirement System board of trustees is wrapping up their meeting today. Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery’s call for the firing of TRS Executive Director Richard Ingram has been met so far with silence. It could happen today. I hear they will meet in executive session at some point to discuss Ingram. You may recall that several weeks ago Ingram gave an interview to Crain’s where he stron... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-26-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Calling All Pro Bono Lawyers by dianerav A reader just raised an interesting question offline. He lives in New Jersey, where the state constitution requires that the state provide a “thorough and efficient” public education. New Jersey officials today are doing their best to dismantle and privatize the state’s public education system. Are they violating their oath of office? What does it say in other state constitutions where the privatizers are busy dismantling the public system for fun, power, profit and ide... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 26, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *No* On *32*: Stop Special Exemptions Education Headlines *Friday, October 26, 2012* Encinitas school district changes website following campaigning complaintA San Diego man has complained to the Encinitas Union School District that its website has inappropriate campaign material supporting tax propositions on the November ballot. Galt elementary school district board increases developer feesOver the next five years, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District estimated it will need room for an additional 106 new students due to n... more »

Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’: Wisconsin’s new school grading index: ‘a dog’s breakfast of numbers’ Posted by Valerie Strauss on October 26, 2012 at 4:00 am Wisconsin cows Another day, another state comes up with another cockamamie way to grade schools for “accountability” purposes. In this post Gene V. Glass, Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University and senior researcher at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s National Education Policy Center, looks at the very large problems with Wisconsin’s new Overall Accountability Index mea... more »

SI&A Cabinet Report – News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: News Analysis: Election fallout will claim many important, less visible projects *By Tom Chorneau* Friday, October 26, 2012 With everything else schools have riding on next month’s election, progress on many less obvious but still critical programs and projects will also be jeopardized if voters turn down tax measures on Nov. 6. The work of updating California’s teacher performance assessment, for example, could be set back as education programs statewide brace for another round of big cuts. The testing, designed to measure a new teacher cand...more »

Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Daily Kos: Rubi at 100: still teaching: Rubi at 100: still teaching by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Four years ago I mentioned in a diary the women who had first taught me cello more than half a century ago, and persuaded my sister and myself to go to what was then National Music Camp in Interlochen Michigan, which she herself had attended in 1929. A few days later I got an email from her daughter, who happened to have googled her mom and found my post, and who informed me her mother, then 96, was still teaching. On October 19 Rubi Wentzel turned 100. Her daughter Leslie Krikoria... more »

Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development | toteachornototeach: Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development by aristotlethewise *Study Finds Relationship Between Education, Income and Brain Development * A paper delivered at the annual Society for Neuroscientists meeting contended that there was a relationship between income and educational attainment of the parents and the development of their child’s brain – especially areas used in learning, memory and stress processing. The researchers studied brain scans of children wh... more »

Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? :: Frederick M. Hess: Thomas Friedman Loooves "Race to the Top"... Should You? *by Frederick M. Hess • Oct 26, 2012 at 7:03 am Cross-posted from Education Week* Print Send RSS [image: Share] Share The *NYT*'s Thomas Friedman is at it again. Last Sunday, with his customary humility, he opined in "Obama's Best-Kept Secrets," "While I don't know how Obamacare will come out, I'm certain that my two favorite Obama initiatives will be transformative." One of the two was Race to the Top (the other was the President's push to boo... more »

Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Report: weighted student formula alone not enough | EdSource Today: Report: weighted student formula alone not enough ** October 26th, 2012 | 4 Comments | By John Fensterwald Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services Less experienced, lower paid teachers tend to teach in schools with the poorest children, while veteran, higher paid teachers work predominantly in schools with fewer needy children, contributing to significant funding disparities among schools within most of the state’s largest school districts. That gap wouldn’t neces... more »

Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America | EduShyster: Greetings from the Rephormiest Place in America by edushyster2012 Pioneers for excellence and choice break ground on what will be the 13th charter school in Douglas County, Colorado, the rephormiest place in America. Reader: nothing brings me more joy each day than the arrival of the EduShyster mailbag. Will it contain a shiny alert from one of the interchangeable #edreform PAC-lets, trumpeting vaguely and ominously about parents’ rights? Or perhaps there is to be news of a fresh new study boldly claiming the need for fr... more »

High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open Source - US News and World Report: High School Teacher Lesson Plans Go Open SourceEducators can download free teaching materials and get paid to share their lessons. By KELSEY SHEEHY October 26, 2012 RSS Feed Print [image: Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson and Teachers Pay Teachers.] Teachers can share lesson plans with colleagues nationwide using sites such as Share My Lesson. For a high school French teacher looking for a creative approach to verb conjugation, new lesson plans are ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Abyss

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
School Tech Connect: The Abyss: The Abyss by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) It does not surprise me that they're just throwing money at people and not even tracking it. That's how these things work. In Florida, state officials had no records of which schools received federal grant money nor which schools received on-site monitoring and audits. Florida received $67.6 million. Seriously, go read the entire story. DOE has given away almost a billion dollars to charter schools since 2008, and yet there's this: Additionally, the audit, which was conducted by San Francisco-based educ... more »

NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
NYC Educator: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich: If We Could Put that State of Mind in a Bottle, We'd Be Rich by NYC Educator Yesterday a girl in my class got a 44 on my test. It freaked me out a little, because the test was fairly easy. In fact, it was a multiple choice test, which I don't usually give, and she filled in eight "E" answers, though the options were only A, B, C, and D. This is the third test I've given this year. She was absent for the first one, and was out for three days in a row. In the rush of beginning the year, I failed to follow up ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240: Crosscut Pro and Con on I-1240 by Charlie Mas [image: No on 1240 (click on picture)] Crosscut is running two articles on I-1240, one in favor and one opposed. They are worth reading if only because the article in favor demonstrates the naive and thoughtless acceptance of every myth and marketing line offered by the proponents of charters. The person writing in favor of the initiative is a voucher advocate living in a rural area. He doesn't know what he talking about and he obviously hasn't given any of it much though... more »

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green: Performance Enhancing Drugs in School–From Doug Green 26 OCTOBER 2012 52 NO COMMENT *(A guest post by Dr. Doug Green at http://www.drdouggreen.com/).* ** * * * * With all of the news about Lance Armstrong, who seems to be the poster boy for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), I think it’s time to look at how this situation impacts schools. School districts in many districts have been testing high school students for a while to see it they are engaged in the kind of cheating ... more »

Schools Matter: TRACK ME!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Schools Matter: TRACK ME!: TRACK ME! by Jim Horn When corporate education antiquarians reformers talk about the virtues of charter schools, high on their list is charter freedom from bureaucratic red tape and regulations that rule the "government" schools. Without such restrictions, the story goes, charter schools are free to innovate, adapt to changing needs locally, and improve learning. Sounds great, right? What this means in reality is that charter school corporations, both nonprofit and forprofit, are unconstrained in opening schools in any discarded shell of a building, w... more »

Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
School-To-Prison Pipeline Lawsuits - Business Insider: * * *Mississippi School Charged With Arresting Kids For Flatulence, Wrong Color Socks, Breaking Pencils* [image: young boy in prison] The Justice Department is taking a stand against an educational policy in Mississippi that incarcerates kids for just being kids. The department says in its lawsuit that officials in the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County "routinely arrest students without determining whether there is probable cause when a school wants to press charges, and the students are routinely jailed," The Associated Pr... more »

An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs « Student Activism: An Extraordinary Display of Student Power at One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs by Angus Johnston On Wednesday, students at Wilberforce University, a small historically black college just outside of Dayton Ohio, gave a demonstration of what student power can mean. Fed up with the college’s failure to address its longstanding problems, than three hundred of the school’s five hundred enrolled students marched on Wilberforce’s administrative offices to request transfer applications. Some ... more »

Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons on Problems and Dilemmas by larrycuban As a high school history teacher and district superintendent, I had to learn the differences between problems and dilemmas because the former required solutions and the latter required compromises. As a researcher and professor, I worked with K-12 teachers, principals, school board members and superintendents in distinguishing between problems and dilemmas when it came to figuring out school reforms and getting into complexities of classroom prac... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"?: Would Dr. Suess Approve of Data Determining "The Places You'll Go"? by stlgretchen Suess was writing about personal journeys, not about data determining those personal journeys "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" Remember the Dr. Suess book with that name? It's a book given to many graduates as they enter the world. It's a book about choices, change, risk and growth a young boy faces as he explores life. Excerpts from a summary of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" from suite101.com: *Oh The... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: More Resources On Different Cultures Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures (I’m also add that entire “The Best” list to The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners): Chinese families’ worldly goods … Continue reading → “Quicklinkr” Looks Like It Could Be Useful For Many Purposes Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 9 hours ago ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why?: Billionaires jump into Louisiana school board race. Why? by Mike Klonsky An article in the Oct. 17 Nation by Matthew Cunningham-Cook, asks the question, "Why Do Some of America's Wealthiest Individuals Have Fingers in Louisiana's Education System?" *As Naomi Klein detailed in The Shock Doctrine, post-Katrina New Orleans has been Ground Zero for efforts to privatize schools and weaken teacher unions—hallmarks of education reform. After the hurricane, the vast majority of New Orleans publ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap": The Stranger Explains the "Property Tax Swap" by Melissa Westbrook I have been desperate to get a thread on this issue because both McKenna and Inslee have been talking about it (along with Rep Carlyle and Rep Hunter) but pulling it altogether was going to be a task. Enter Goldy with a good article (and a chart!). It pretty much completes what I thought - Seattle and other "wealthier" districts would get less. My understanding of the property tax swap is that it would phase out levy equalization an... more »

Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] | The Jose Vilson: Wherever The DREAM May Lead Us [An Education For All] by Jose DREAM girl Recently, the conversation around the use of the word “illegal immigrant” came to a precipice when the New York Times’ public editor said there was nothing wrong with using the phrase. Writers like Jose Antonio Vargas and institutions like Univision chimed in, and rightly so. “Illegal immigrant” suggests that the immigrant themselves is illegal.** The very term suggests that these men, women, and children who migrate live an existence of ... more »

H.R.6556: Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
H.R.6556: Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: H.R.6556 - Campus Safety for Children Act of 2012 To amend the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, and for other purposes.view all titles (2) - Overview - Actions & Votes - News (0) & Blogs (0) - Comments (0) Bill's Views - Today:1 - Past Seven Days:9 - All-Time:45 Introduced House Passes Senate Passes President Signs *09/20/12* * * * * * * Official Bill TextComment on about 1 Pages Sponsor Representative Debbie Wasserman Schu... more »

Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court | OregonLive.com: Group promoting Idaho schools reform wants disclosure case moved to federal court by The Associated Press BOISE -- A group seeking to avoid being forced to reveal donors whose $200,000 financed TV ads promoting public schools chief Tom Luna's education overhaul filed a request Thursday to move the case to federal court. The effort by Education Voters of Idaho came just hours before a state judge in Boise is scheduled Friday to consider Secretary of State Ben Ysursa's demand that ... more »

five elements to help redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
five elements to help redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst: five elements to help redefine public ed by monika hardy [image: Image] Our latest post on dmlcentral.net, five elements we believe are key to redefining public ed in a community (the chapters of our little book). Click here to read the rest of the post.

Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems | GothamSchools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems | GothamSchools: Tension flare as officials defend their school support systems by Rachel Cromidas Councilman Jackson waives at Shael Polakow-Suransky (far right) during a hearing on the networks. Facing criticism that the Department of Education does not hold the organizations responsible for supporting schools accountable for their success, Chief Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky told members of the City Council today that the opposite is true. In fact, he said during a heated hearing about the department’s netwo... more »

Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | Class Size Matters Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent! | Class Size Matters Sign our Petition: the proven benefits of smaller classes: Sign our Petition: Stop disclosing confidential student information to corporations without parental consent!*The letter* Norman sent Friday to the Attorney General and the Regents on behalf of Class Size Matters and other parent groups is posted here. *A background memo on these issues* is here. I don’t think it is an overstatement to say this whole project represents perhaps the most seriou... more »

Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents - Wait, What?: Board of Regents reinstates illegal salaries for two top Vice Presidents by jonpelto (Or, after translating that to English, read – have these people lost their collective minds?) Everyone knows that without an educated workforce, Connecticut’s economic future is somewhere between non-functioning and non-existent. So despite running for office on a platform of increasing funding for public high education, one of the first things Governor Malloy did was push through the deepest cuts in state hi... more »

From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. « Fred Klonsky: From Ken Previti, Pension Advocate. by Fred Klonsky *Today’s business section of the New York Times has an article that mentions all of our pensions being cut in this manner: “Time appears to be running out for a relatively painless fiscal reform, the task force said.”* *I deeply resent having our reduced retirement incomes and other measures described by billionaires as “relatively painless fiscal reform.”* *Our incomes – relatively painless fiscal reform.* *The article has multiple presuppositions (huge fiscal problems at the s... more »

NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: NYC study: 10 years of choice has not altered 'demography as destiny'by Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 25 2012 Posted in Latest news - COMMENTS (0)PRINT - EMAIL[image: ""] Tags: - racial equity - school choice With Philadelphia firmly committed to creating a "portfolio" of schools as a way to improve outcomes for all students, it seemed worthwhile to take note of a study just released by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. It found ... more »

Democurmudgeon: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Democurmudgeon: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math.: Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math. by Democurmudgeon In Scott Walker's latest weekly address, he listed "Transforming Education" as one of his top priorities. What does that mean? What else could he do? Would he expand vouchers where no ones wants school "choice?" Sure. But Walker will now have a more difficult job pushing his privatization plans after the horrific results of the countries longest... more »

A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video | Seattle Education: A call to action on the No on Initiative 1240 campaign and a video by seattleducation2011 *Charter School Fairy Tales* What do we want? *DIRECT VOTER CONTACT!* When do we want it? *NOW!* Help *People for Our Public Schools *reach voters this week and tell them to vote NO on I-1240! To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, YOU are the only YOU there is. And we need YOU to help us now!! 1. *Phone bank* – THIS WEEK, Thursday Oct 25 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at our office in Seattle, 1914 N. 34th Street, Suite 209.... more »








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Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

Sacramento Press / Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project:


Feds should get on board with Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project

by Jonathan Raymond, published on October 26, 2012 at 3:41 PM






During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball" when it came to family engagement. This could have been a seminal moment for Mr. Duncan to shine the light on the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project.
Started in Sacramento over a dozen years ago, the program was developed to improve relationships and communication between schools and families in an effort to end the cycle of teachers and parents blaming each other for a lack of student success. A partnership between Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento City Teachers Association, and Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the program, which later developed into a nonprofit organization, provides training, resources and support for teachers to visit students and their families at their homes.
On my first day as superintendent I went on two home visits. It was easy to see how special bonds are formed between the teacher, parent and 

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education

Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers | Truth in American Education:


Facts About the No Child Left Behind Waivers

NCLBJane Robbins, a Senior Fellow for American Principles Projectprovided some facts that you should know about the No Child Left Behind waivers.  States apply for these in order, they say, to free themselves from Federal guidelines and standards under NCLB.  What they’re really doing is substituting federal control with more federal control.
Pretty soon states will probably be asking for waivers for the waivers.
  • In September 2011, the U. S. Department of Education announced that it would bypass Congress and allow states to apply for waivers from certain No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements.
  • NCLB itself contains provisions governing the granting of waivers from its requirements. USDOE ignored these statutory provisions and created its own.
  • Although the Administration has touted the waivers as releasing schools from onerous provisions of NCLB, the only thing they really accomplish is to soften the consequences of failure to meet “adequate 

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education

The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days | Seattle Education:


The horrific and dangerous 60 policies that the Republicans voted for in the last 600 days

I usually stay on course providing information and views on education but this information was so horrific that I had to share it.
These votes affect all of us, our families, our children and of course, education.
This information was provided by the US House of Representatives Democratic Caucus and are:
60 votes on final passage, amendments, and motions to recommit House Republicans have taken during the 112th Congress that hurt middle class Americans and weaken the country.
Leaders of the pack. Left to right: Eric Cantor House Majority Leader, John Boehner the 61st Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy the Republican Majority Whip
The Republicans Top 60
Putting corporations that ship American jobs overseas before American workers
1. Protect federal funding for corporations that offshored or outsourced American jobs overseas (H. Res. 38, Roll no. 19)
2. Protect corporations that outsource American jobs overseas in violation of the National Labor Relations Act 

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?

Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage? - Wait, What?:


Can someone stop the Board of Regents before they do even more damage?

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story

Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results | The Raw Story:


Study of charter schools supported by Romney, Obama shows mixed results

By Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian
Friday, October 26, 2012 17:05 EDT




 US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shake hands following the second presidential debate at the David Mack Center at Hofstra University in Hempstead via AFP
Topics: 
 
The teacher’s command of his class is total. “Which one is the whole number?” he asks crisply. “Is it seven over three, or is it four?”
He zeroes in on a child who gives the right answer, then the next task: “Seven over three divided by four over one? Hands, please – I’m looking for straight arms.”
The classes at Sci Academy, a charter school in New Orleans, feel like an assembly line; with each task stripped down to component parts, and the teacher orchestrating a brisk interaction that draws in students’ bodies as well as their minds. They click fingers as a substitute for applause, or 

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News

California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group - San Jose Mercury News:


California's campaign finance watchdog agency demands names of donors to shadowy Arizona group


Updated:   10/25/2012 11:27:13 PM PDT




Click photo to enlarge
Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices... (Rich Pedroncelli/AP file)


SACRAMENTO -- California emerged Thursday at the center of the national debate over the influence of shadowy super PACs, as the state's political watchdog filed suit against a Phoenix group that made an anonymous $11 million contribution to defeat Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike initiative and boost an anti-union ballot measure.
The surprise contribution -- believed to be the largest anonymous political donation in state history -- last week stunned the governor and the labor and education groups working to pass Proposition 30, a tax-hike initiative that Gov. Jerry Brown claims is vital to adequately funding K-12 education and state colleges and universities. Under furious assault from negative ads, the measure is sliding in the polls.
Ann Ravel, the chairwoman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, is suing to force disclosure of information about Phoenix-based Americans For Responsible Leadership. That group made the contribution last week to the Small Business Action Committee, a political action committee running ads against Proposition 30 and for Proposition 32, which would bar unions from collecting union dues for political purposes.
"It's incredibly important to the public to know who is spending money on campaigns in California to influence the electorate," Ravel told this newspaper. "People make decisions based on information about the different sides and the identities of different groups. And we're getting so close to the election
that we're asking for expedited action."




No on 32


Did ALEC buy your state representatives? Now you can find out.


Now you can find out for sure. ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is notorious for bribing paying for state lawmakers and their families to take lavish vacations. At posh resorts like Hilton Head, ALEC makes sure state representatives get babysitting services, fine dining and face time with deep-pocketed corporate contributors.

ALEC calls these free trips "scholarships." Seriously.

Now, our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy issued a new report listing all the corporations that gave money to fund the trips and all the lawmakers who received them, by state.

You can peruse the report here.

We took a quick look. In a matter of minutes we found these interesting items:
There's more ALEC news: A former IRS official accuses ALEC of lying about its assets. Roll Call reported yesterday,
The former head of the IRS’ Exempt Organizations division accused the conservative nonprofit American Legislative Exchange Council of lying about its assets in its federal tax filings in a letter sent to the agency Wednesday. 
Marcus Owens, a lawyer at Caplin & Drysdale who for a decade directed the IRS division responsible for approving organizations’ charity statuses, said ALEC made conflicting statements to federal and state regulators in an attempt to maintain its status as a tax-exempt charitable nonprofit. A copy of the letter was obtained by Roll Call. 
It’s the second complaint against ALEC that Owens has filed with the IRS this year on behalf of Clergy Voice, a coalition of Christian progressive ministers in the battleground state of Ohio. The clergy group is concerned that ALEC is violating its tax status and that the strict voter identification laws it promotes ultimately disenfranchise voters.
Sounds like trouble in ALEC Land. Heh-heh.

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess

Jersey Jazzman: Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess:


Busting Unions: The Path To Reforminess

Bust Unions 2nd

Let's stop calling StudentsFirst an "education reform group," because they're not. They are a political organization:
Now, the political action committee of StudentsFirst is pumping $500,000 into a campaign against Michigan's Proposal 2, a ballot measure that would protect collective bargaining by enshrining it in the state's constitution. Mlive.com first reported the contribution Thursday morning. StudentsFirst is a national lobbying and advocacy shop based in Sacramento, Calif., that has received heavy support from bundlers for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Under Proposal 2, any 

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky

The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke. « Fred Klonsky:


The enemies of public employee pensions were handed a PR gift today. But it’s just smoke.

It came as shocking news.
Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System reported out that their return on investment was .76% for fiscal year 2012. Holy crap. That’s less than 1%! Last year the return was 23.6%.
And it isn’t just Illinois.
Bloomberg reports today:

U.S. state and local-government pensions ended the 2012 fiscal year with a median gain of 1.15 percent as the European debt crisis and a slowing global economy damped stock returns, Wilshire Associates said.

It was a reversal after two years of gains for the retirement funds, which have 



The in box. Cinda Klickna’s two hats.

Fred,
I personally do not have a problem with the president of IEA being a TRS trustees.
That person must realize that they wear one hat as a trustee and another as IEA president.
However, regarding the actions of Mr. Ingram, regardless of which hat that person wears, she/he should not tolerate Mr. Ingram’s antics. This is especially true in light of the revised March 30th Trustee Resolution which provides that any pension legislation needs to adhere to the guaranteed statutorily prescribed benefits. Mr. Ingram has definitely violated the resolution, and continually 


Ten minute drawing. Today’s GOP.

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education

Best Questions: School Culture — Whole Child Education:


Molly McCloskey

Best Questions: School Culture

We live in a parallel universe. Here at ASCD, we are committed to ensuring that each child, in each school and in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. And, one of the things we know for sure is that in order for that to happen for kids, the adults around them must also be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That parallel need is particularly striking this month as we consider the best questions about school culture.
Culture—school, community, workplace, political, etc.—is a direct reflection of adult behaviors. Where adults bully, children will bully. Where adults cheat, children will cheat. Where adults feel and act helpless, children will feel and act helpless. Where adults are motivated to work hard, children will work hard. Where adults are supported by supervisors and colleagues, neighbors and friends, children will be supported. It's exactly that simple and exactly that complex.
From the Indicators of a Whole Child Approach
  • Healthy: Our school addresses the health and well-being of each staff member.
  • Safe: Our school teaches, models, and provides opportunities to practice social-emotional skills, including effective listening, conflict 

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:


Education coalition holds first of three forums to discuss school reform

by thenotebook on Oct 26 2012 Posted in Latest news
by Charlotte Pope
“We are in this together. This fight you are not fighting alone.”
These are the words Philadelphia Federation of Teachers member Denise Turner used to encourage a crowd of concerned parents, educators, and caregivers who attended a meeting Thursday held by the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools (PCAPS).
PCAPS is an organization that consists of members of the PFT, Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), Youth United for Change (YUC), Action United, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The members gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center for the first of three forums designed as town hall meetings.The forums are intended to give community members a chance to participate in the discussion about the future of Philadelphia schools and what can be done to usher in reform that works.
Dawn Hawkins, a parent leader in Action United, shared her experiences in 

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

The Quick and the Ed » A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement:


A Matter of Access and Equity: Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

Location, location, location—it matters in real estate, and the harsh reality is, it matters in student achievement, too. While wealthy Americans can pay for private school or move to a top-ranked district in suburbia, countless other parents are left with their neighborhood public school default. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. But what if the choice is not good enough?
Montgomery County, Maryland, one of the nation’s top 20 wealthiest school districts, has one answer.  Federally subsidized homes have been purchased by the government and used to offer safe rental housing for eligible low-income families. This arrangement sometimes referred to as “inclusionary zoning” or “policy-induced integration,” 

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network #UCDAVIS

Education: The Blueprint for Change | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network:


Education: The Blueprint for Change


When it comes to being an architect of change, I don't know of any more effective blueprint than education.
It opens our eyes to the magic and possibility of the world and gives us the knowledge and tools we need to make something happen for ourselves and our communities.
When I was a young girl growing up on Salamis Island off the coast of Greece, I didn't know anything about how to escape the poverty I saw and make a life for myself. But my mother did.
Despite the fact no girl on my island had ever gone to college, my mother was determined that I would.
I always did well in school and loved to solve math and science problems even at a young age, so she insisted we move to Athens where I could attend a comprehensive high school to be eligible for college.
I graduated from the National Technical University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
With the help of some very supportive mentors, I went on to earn my master's and