Ayers Slams TFA | District 299: The Inside Scoop on CPS

Ayers Slams TFA | District 299: The Inside Scoop on CPS:

Ayers Slams TFA

by Alexander Russo

Here's some video of John Ayers going off on TFA that some folks on the right find objectionable but seems unsurprising and not all that problematic to me. At a December conference in New York City, Ayers apparently said "the left must utilize its “absolute access” to America’s schools to further its “movement.”  New video to emerge from the meeting seems to reveal one crucial gap in that “absolute access” — Teach for America."  Is this news?  Is this inflammatory?  Video inside, via EAG.Popout

Modern School: Teachers are Terrorists and Corporate Shills

Modern School: Teachers are Terrorists and Corporate Shills:

Teachers are Terrorists and Corporate Shills

by Michael Dunn

Politicians are notorious for saying stupid, embarrassing and downright insulting and hurtful things in the quest to promote their political agendas. Michael Bloomberg’s recent comparison of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to the National Rifle Association (NRA) ranks right up there with some of the stupidest—but here are a few other ditties (just in case you missed them):

Teachers Unions are Terrorist Organizations

In 2004, Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), a "terrorist organization" during a White House meeting with state governors.

Schools and Universities Should Be Blown Up

Since the teachers are a bunch of terrorists, it is justifiable to blow up the places where they hang. In line with this sort of thinking, right-wing education privatization cheerleader and 

Labor History Timeline--The Modern Era, PATCO, Decline of Unionism

by Michael Dunn

1981    PATCO Strike: U.S. federal air traffic controllers began a nationwide strike after their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), rejected the government's final contract offer. Most of the 13,000 strikers ignored orders to go back to work and were fired on August 5 by President Reagan for participating in an illegal work stoppage. In response, the AFL-CIO organized a protest of 400,000 in 

Biggest Union Vote in 70 Years?

by Michael Dunn

Healthcare has continued to be one of the more profitable sectors of the economy, even during the recession. In 2009, Kaiser Permanente made $6 billion in profits (see In These Times), but still demanded concessions and layoffs, something the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) readily gave up in exchange for insignificant promises to reduce corporate interference in union organizing.

Healthcare workers who were fed up with the autocracy, corruption and wimpiness of the SEIU, (and the expulsion of Sal Roselli as head of an SEIU affiliate in 2009), created an opposition 

Schools Matter: Cornerstone Academy Embroiled in Child Abuse Charges in Memphis

Schools Matter: Cornerstone Academy Embroiled in Child Abuse Charges in Memphis:

Cornerstone Academy Embroiled in Child Abuse Charges in Memphis

by Jim Horn

In order to encourage charter schools to "innovate," almost all oversight and regulations have been removed, so that now these corporate reform schools operate with impunity, free to pay school CEOs hundreds of thousands of tax dollars each year to run total compliance chain gangs for children, where teachers are more prison guard than educator.  The only innovation we see from these one-size fits all behavioral neutering factories is in the punishment techniques devised to break children down in order to make them entirely compliant.  

Such is the case in Memphis, which is now Ground Zero for the corporate charterization movement in U. S. urban schools.  With millions in Gates money funneled to corrupt politicians and church leaders, Memphis City Schools are being turned into a system of primarily apartheid corporate charter reform schools with large numbers of white missionaries from Teach for America hired to grind out test scores and to maintain total control

Math Lessons for Compromisers

by P. L. Thomas

Many in debates, especially the education debate, call for honoring "both sides" of issues and seeking compromise. For those let me offer some basic math lessons:

The Compromise Formula:

Truth + Lie = Lie

The "Fair and Balanced" Formula:

Both Sides - Lie = Truth

Now, Compromisers, please study because there will be a test every day from now on.

Ed Notes Online: Fred Smith Tribute: Leonie Haimson Matters

Ed Notes Online: Fred Smith Tribute: Leonie Haimson Matters:

Fred Smith Tribute: Leonie Haimson Matters

by ed notes online

Class size matters, and so does Leonie.
 
Posted to the Change the Stakes listserve:

Dear Leonie,

Hail to you, the People's Queen (not to be confused with Leona, the Queen of Mean).  You deserve accolades and bouquets--but we know you'll never stop to take a bow.

You prove that less is more--as in tireless, fearless, relentless--in your fight for quality public school education for all children.

You are a compass seeking the truth and courageously speaking it in the corridors of power.  Every day you inform us and inspire us to push on. 

You are a one-person news bureau that all of Tweed's press officers can't touch.  You leave no pineapple unturned. You report what you find without fear or favor.

Congratulations on the milestone you have just reached--The 4,000th edition of your NYC 

Quality Counts 2013 Press Release Education Week: January 10, 2013

Education Week: January 10, 2013:

JANUARY 10, 2013

STATE DATA

State Highlights Reports

All the data you need to assess your state’s performance in key areas.Don't miss out on your state’s data!

GET EXTRA COPIES OFQUALITY COUNTS 2013

Order extra copies in print or as an interactive PDF so you will always have this benchmarking report at your fingertips.

SPECIAL OFFER

Save Big With the Winter Price Break

Get Quality Counts and so much more when you subscribe to Education Weekin print or online.

VOL. 32, ISSUE 16

For past issues, select from the drop-down menu.

     --SELECT--     01/10/2013 01/09/2013 12/12/2012 12/05/2012 11/14/2012 11/07/2012 10/31/2012 10/24/2012 10/17/2012 10/10/2012 10/03/2012 09/26/2012 09/19/2012 09/12/2012 08/29/2012 08/22/2012 08/08/2012 07/18/2012 06/13/2012 06/07/2012 06/06/2012 05/23/2012 05/16/2012 05/09/2012 04/25/2012 04/18/2012 04/04/2012 03/28/2012 03/15/2012 03/14/2012 More archived issues     

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOR THE MEDIA

Quality Counts 2013 Press Release (PDF)

FEATURED STORIES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Schools Aim to Craft Environment for Learning

A schools social and disciplinary atmosphere can have a profound impact on student achievement.

REPORT OVERVIEW

Discipline Policies Shift With Views on What Works

After millions of 'get tough' suspensions and expulsions, educators nationwide look for ways to assure safety and keep students in school.

• TIMELINE The Painful Journey Toward Schoolhouse Security and Safety

Student Out for Months Over Cellphone Allegation

A disciplinary spiral results in months of lost schooling for a student accused of using a cellphone in class.

'Restorative Justice' Offers Alternative Discipline Approach

Students with behavior issues are are both held accountable and put on a path that gets them to right a wrong.

Suspension, Expulsion Data Cast Harsh Light on Some Schools

Data collected by the Education Department shows wide variations in how schools use out-of-school suspension and expulsion.

• DATA ANALYSIS The Big Picture: Expulsion and Suspension Data

• INTERACTIVE Search Expulsion and Suspension Data

Social-Emotional Needs Entwined with Students' Learning, Security

A supportive environment can promote student achievement, and stress can be a hindrance, research and experience shows.

INFOGRAPHIC

School Climate, Discipline, and Safety: Gauging Educator Attitudes

To learn more about educators' views on school climate, discipline, and safety, the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center conducted an online survey of teachers and school administrators.

Student Peer Leadership Can Help Boost
School Climate

A New York City high school plucked students from back in the academic pack as peer leaders, and reaps benefits.

• VIDEO Where Students Lead by Example

Counselors, School Support Staff Toil Amid Scant Resources

From social workers to health clinicians, those who work with teachers to meet students' social and emotional needs feel the budget squeeze.

School-Based Policing Under Fiscal Pressure

Funding for school resource officers has taken a hit in recent years.

Parents and Community Can Play Key Roles in School Success

Educators enlist outside partners in formal and grassroots efforts that boost morale, achievement and students' sense of security.

Schools' Design Can Play Role in Safety, Student Engagement

A school's physical space can help foster a sense of connection that promotes learning and reduces discipline problems.

• VIDEO Building a Positive School Climate

President Obama: Second-Term Education Agenda

President Obama: Second-Term Education Agenda:

How Will Obama Tackle Education Reform?

As we count down to a second term, a look at his approach to the achievement gap.

 

President Obama speaks at a Washington, D.C., high school as Education Secretary Arne Duncan listens. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

(The Root) -- Between now and the inauguration on Jan. 21, The Root will be taking a daily look at the president's record on a number of policy issues, including his first-term accomplishments and what many Americans hope to see him accomplish in a second term. Today: the educational achievement gap. See previous postings in this series here.

Background: Racial and economic disparities in education -- known as the "achievement gap" -- have been stubborn parts of the American landscape of social inequality since long before President Obama was elected to his first term, and they persist today. As reform advocate Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a blunt speech in September, "As a nation, we are still far from truly achieving equal educational opportunity. In America, in 2012, children of color not only confront an achievement gap; they confront an opportunity ga

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Paul Thomas: What is the Difference between Service and Self-Serving?

by dianerav

Paul Thomas taught high school in rural South Carolina for nearly twenty years. Now he teaches at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
He writes here about what it means to have a life of service, in contrast to a life devoted to self-service in a celebrity culture, a life adorned with press conferences, self-promotion and photo ops.

The Ordeal of the D.C. Whistleblower

by dianerav

If you have followed the story of the D.C. Cheating scandal, you know that suspicious test scores were flagged at a large number of schools in the district during Michelle Rhee’s tenure. Rhee met with every single principal and got a commitment to raise test scores or be fired. This pressure was effective in perverse ways.
Jay Mathews here explains what happened in stark and alarming detail.
The epicenter of the cheating scandal was Noyes campus, where the gains were meteoric. The principal, Wayne Ryan, was given star treatment and elevated to the central office. The school received a Blue Ribbon award for its 

Expert: Why Cheating in DC Was Never Investigated

by dianerav

Mary Levy is a veteran civil rights lawyer and budget analyst in Washington, D.C., who has reviewed developments in the D.C. Public schools for more than 30 years. She wrote the following description of the D.C. cheating scandal, which was revealed by USA Today in March 2011 but never subject to a full and independent investigation:
Re: the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s “investigation” of cheating in the DC Public Schools on D.C. standardized tests
It is always interesting to watch power and ideology corrupting people’s judgment, in this case the belief that 

To N.C. Board of Education: Please Vote NO Today

by dianerav

Today, the North Carolina Board of Education will vote on whether to permit for-profit online corporations to enroll children as young as five.
I hope they reject this terrible proposal, for the following reasons:
1. Online home-schooling is developmentally inappropriate for young children.
2. Study after study has shown that students who get their schooling from online corporations have lower test 

John Merrow: D.C. Whistleblower Under Attack

by dianerav

If you saw John Merrow’s program “The Education of Michelle Rhee,” you will remember that there was one educator willing to go on camera and say, “Yes, I saw cheating. I locked the tests up and the scores dropped.” That principal is now under attack by Kaya Henderson, Rhee’s successor.

The Key to Understanding Corporate Reform

by dianerav

If you want to understand what is happening in state after state, district after district, read Lee Fang’s article here. I have read it again and again, and every time I read it, I see something I didn’t see before and understand the national picture better than I did before. I have published this before. I may publish it every few months to make sure that everyone sees it. Or has a reminder to read it again.

Is Corporate Reform Like Vietnam?

by dianerav

I hesitated to post this because it refers to me.
But I decided to post it because the author, Mark Naison, makes a powerful point about the present moment.
What is happening in education today is ignorant, willful, and dangerous.
Thoughtless politicians and self-seeking entrepreneurs are hurting children, damaging public education, and demeaning the teaching profession with their misguided policies. They welcome for-profit schooling, they are 

Diane in the Evening 1-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Will Massachusetts Open a Charter to Skim $$ from a Great Public School? by dianerav Brockton High School has been hailed as one of the best high schools in the nation, celebrated for its excellent programs and high test scores. What makes its success especially impressive is that the school has 4,100 students and a large immigrant population. Now enters the SABIS for-profit charter chain, seeking to compete with Brockton High School. In this report, Bruce Baker on Rheeformy Logic & Goofball Rating Schemes by dianerav Bruce Baker has prepared what may b... more »

EdWatch 2013: School safety issues emerge | EdSource Today

EdWatch 2013: School safety issues emerge | EdSource Today:

EdWatch 2013: School safety issues emerge

January 10th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Susan Frey

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California legislators have responded to the Connecticut shooting of school children by proposing three new gun or ammunition control laws, but so far only one bill that specifically deals with school safety.

Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, is reintroducing Senate Bill 49, hoping it will get treated better this year. It would put some teeth into existing law that requires all schools to have safety plans. Under the proposed legislation, the superintendent of public instruction would hold back funding for schools without a plan until the schools complied. The bill died in Appropriations last year. This time around, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has agreed to coauthor it.

Although the vast majority of schools in California have safety plans in place, Lieu believes that some schools do not.

“We’re in the process right now of trying to determine how many schools in California don’t have 

Daily Kos: This time things are different.

Daily Kos: This time things are different.:

This time things are different.

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

That is the first line of Reframing the Gun Debate, a New York Times column by Charles M. Blow that I highly recommend.
He follows with this paragraph:

This time, nearly a month after the horrible mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., the public attention hasn’t ricocheted to the next story. On the contrary, sorrow has hardened into resolve.

Blow reviews the apparent approach of the White House, including the Vice President's frank statement that the President may take executive action on some things.He will also go through the arguments offered by General McChrystal about why military style weapons should not be in civilian hands.
But for me the heart of his op ed begins with this attempt to reframe the discussion:

First, let’s fix some of the terminology: stop calling groups like the National Rifle Association a “gun rights” group. These are anti-regulation, pro-proliferation groups. They prey on public fears — of the “bad guys with guns,” of a Second Amendment rollback, of an ever imminent apocalypse — while helping gun makers line their pockets.

At this point, perhaps the American people are finally willing to hear the truth about the NRA and the gun industry.Please keep reading.