Thursday, January 10, 2013

Join the Journey for Justice! | Parents Across America

Join the Journey for Justice! | Parents Across America:

PAA’s Karran Harper Royal will be part of the Journey for Justice webinar

Join the Journey for Justice!

by pureparents

Please Join Us as We Work to Send Parents and Students To Testify!

Attend the Save Our Schools Webinar and Fundraiser - Journey For Justice 2

Education Organizers Jitu Brown, Karran Harper Royal, and Zakiyah Ansari

On the birthdate of the honorable Civil Rights Leader, Doctor Martin Luther King

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 8:30 PM Eastern Time [ET]

The time is now! If we are to stop school closings nationwide, we must acknowledge that our demands too often went unheeded. We can “command” consideration when we speak in a manner that can be “heard.” It is for this reason that a growing alliance of Grass-roots Community, Youth and Parent driven organizations successfully petitioned the Department of Education in November 2012.

The intent is to convene a hearing working with the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Tim Tuten, Director of Community Partnerships for the U.S. Department of Education. Scheduled for January 29th 2013, the alliance of parents and community leaders from Chicago, New Orleans, Oakland, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Dallas, Atlanta, District of Columbia, Detroit, Philadelphia, Wichita, Newark, Wilmington, Delaware, Kansas City and Eureka Mississippi will gather together to talk and truly listen.

History teaches us that when we Journey For Justice peaceably progress comes.

It is in this vein that a coalition of Grassroots Community, Youth and Parent driven organizations will travel by bus to testify, as their Journey For Justice predecessors did decades before them. Parents and persons from the communities affected will speak at the inquiry. J4J2 is asking for donations here to help defray the cost of their travel,

The Civil Rights Impact of School Closings, Turnarounds, Phase-outs and Co-locations Hearing will focus on “The ways in which these programs devastate communities of color.” The inquiry will be held on January 29th in Washington D.C..

Through this Webinar, organizers who are Leaders in their Communities, Jitu, Zakiyah, and Karran, will discuss the upcoming Department of Education Civil Rights Division Hearing.

Please Join Jitu Brown, of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Chicago, Illinois, Zakiyah Ansari,NYC Coalition for Educational Justice, New York, New York, and Karran Harper-Royal, Parents Across America, New Orleans, Louisiana for a Save Our Schools hosted Webinar.

In honor of the great Civil Rights Leader, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior the Journey For Justice 2 webinar will be on held on Tuesday evening, January 15th from 8:30-10:o PM Eastern Standard Time [EST]

Fundraising will be our focus throughout the day. Please contribute to the cause. Help us support the parents and community members who will journey to testify at the hearing.

Together, we can change the conversation, preserve and transform public education for all. Let us end discrimination and disproportionality.

Eric Bolling: Schools ‘pushing the liberal agenda’ by teaching algebra | The Raw Story

Eric Bolling: Schools ‘pushing the liberal agenda’ by teaching algebra | The Raw Story:

Eric Bolling: Schools ‘pushing the liberal agenda’ by teaching algebra

by David Edwards

Eric Bolling slams the "liberal agenda" of algebra

Topics: Eric Bolling ♦ fox news

Fox News host Eric Bolling on Wednesday accused some schools of “pushing the liberal agenda” for teaching an algebra lesson about the distributive property.

During a segment about “indoctrination in schools,” Bolling reminded viewers of a 2009 video of children chanting, “Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. Barack Hussein Obama,” which outraged conservatives at the time.

“But even worse is the way some textbooks are pushing the liberal agenda,” the Fox News host explained, pointing to an algebra worksheet that Scholastic says gives students “[i]nsight into the distributive property as it applies to multiplication.”

“Distribute the wealth!” Bolling exclaimed, reading the worksheet. “Distribute the wealth with the lovely rich girl with a big ole bag of money, handing some money out.”

Co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle explained that the algebra worksheet had put her on “high alert” for

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1yfvF)

Lazy Teachers and Administrators Love Calculators « PWC Education Reform Blog

Lazy Teachers and Administrators Love Calculators « PWC Education Reform Blog:

Lazy Teachers and Administrators Love Calculators

by pwceducationreform

Lazy teachers and school administrators love calculators, because having calculators means they don’t have to actually teach arithmetic.

If you want to understand why I strongly support banning calculators on SOL exams, you need only look to this article by my colleague at Out in Left Field, More Educational Malpractice. The author notes the difference between the types and level of problems students typically saw in 3rd and 4th grade Math when she was child versus what they see now in a typical classroom. The program she uses in her example is EveryDayMath, one of the most popular math programs in the US. The approach EveryDayMath follows, which it’s proponents claim leads to deeper conceptual understanding, is similar to the approach followed in Math Investigations.

As the author notes, when she was a child it was common to be given 25 arithmetic problems that she had to solve each night, and the problems weren’t easy. I suspect that most of our children would faint in shock if they were asked to solve 25 addition problems which required them to add three 5 or 6 digit numbers. Most of our children get a handful of questions to solve, and they may solve 25 questions in a week. Advocates of programs like Math Investigations and EveryDayMath argue that this is a good thing as children taught under their programs have deeper conceptual understanding of arithmetic because

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, January 10, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Gov. Jerry Brown to propose more money, finance overhaul for California schools

Education Headlines

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Denair schools to mull budget

Denair Unified School District trustees will take up more teacher layoffs tonight and consider switching their popular charter Denair Academic Avenues into a magnet school as they work to get finances back in the black and avoid a state takeover.

Fresno USD to add six bus routes for middle, high school students

Students in those grades have had to walk two miles to school. The new routes cut the distance to 1-1/2 miles.

CCSF to miss key deadline, overseer says

City College of San Francisco will not be able to fix all of its financial and managerial problems by the March 15 deadline to retain accreditation, and the best it can hope for is to win more time to work on its issues, a special trustee told state officials Tuesday.

School safety issues emerge

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.

CA ranks at the bottom nationally on special ed spending and outcomes

Based on recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, California ranks 48th nationwide with just 24 percent of students with disabilities scoring basic or better in 4th and 8th grade reading and math testing.

Lincoln Unified goes solar

Though the sun has been hidden by clouds lately, it's difficult not to think about solar energy when you drive past a Lincoln Unified campus these days.

Focus on Brown's ed budget will fix on new weighted formula

Much is already known about the so-called weighted-formula and how it will work -- the question is what Brown might do to his budget overall to make the restructuring plan more palatable to its many critics.

Impasse at end for teachers, Menifee school district

The Menifee Union School District and the Menifee Teachers Association, which have been generally agreeable parties throughout an economic downturn that has resulted in severe cuts in public education, ended their impasse when the governing board approved an agreement Tuesday afternoon that will not call for any furlough days this school year.

Berkeley to review gunman-on-campus training in wake of Newtown shootings

Berkeley's school district will hire consultants to re-examine safety procedures and gunman-on-campus scenarios at all 20 schools following the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., officials said Wednesday.

Gov. Jerry Brown to propose more money, finance overhaul for California schools

Gov. Jerry Brown will give more than $2 billion extra to K-12 districts next school year and again ask lawmakers to direct more funding to impoverished students and English learners in his budget plan today, according to education sources familiar with the proposal.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Walnut Valley schools bring in labor mediator

The financially troubled Walnut Valley Unified School District is counting on a state mediator this week to wring concessions from its teachers, and the state Board of Education to approve a school site lease plan that could raise some cash.

Long Beach school board votes to slash AVID college prep program

A popular Long Beach Unified college prep program will enroll 260 fewer high school students next year and will cease to exist at middle and K-8 schools under the latest budget cuts.

Petition error delays push for special election of Fresno Unified trustee

An error by the Fresno County Office of Education has complicated plans to force a special election in the McLane High trustee area. County Schools Superintendent Larry Powell said Tuesday his office erred in advising petitioners about the number of signatures needed for an election to be called.

Project Unify-Including All Students in a Rich Education | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Project Unify-Including All Students in a Rich Education | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Project Unify-Including All Students in a Rich Education

by Special Olympics Project UNIFY

Project Unify-Including All Students in a Rich Education

Special Olympics Project UNIFY's picture

By Special Olympics Project UNIFY on January 9, 2013

By Andrea Cahn, Senior Director, Special Olympics Project UNIFY

Editor’s Note: This post is form our partners at the Special Olympics Project UNIFY. Each week in January, we will feature a new article on a topic related to the social inclusion of youth with intellectual disabilities. Through this effort, we hope to inform the public of the importance of such inclusion as well as offer educators and parents resources to implement it.

The American education system was founded on the principles of democracy, most important, equity and justice so that all youth would grow to be capable, active, and principled citizens. In fact, the very fabric of our democracy is dependent on students staying in school long enough to learn the 21^st century skills necessary to be productive, informed, working citizens. Students who have high school degrees are more likely to have satisfying and successful employment. And yet studies show students leave schools for what seem the most fundamental of reasons: they don’t like school; they don’t feel they belong; they don’t get along with others; they don’t feel safe. And here’s another shocking

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center:

Steph Rivera

January 8, 2013

Et tu, Liberal Media? | the becoming radical

Et tu, Liberal Media? | the becoming radical:

Et tu, Liberal Media?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by plthomasedd

The erosion of support for the Commons is most distinct in the failure of foundational support for universal public education in favor of the more powerful interests of corporate America. Just as public schools and teachers have no political party, the so-called liberal media have also abandoned public education and America’s workers, teachers.

Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert have fallen into the corporate education reform trap by buying into and thus selling the “bad” teacher myth, the charter school scam, the Michelle Rhee self-promotion tour, and the Teach for America masquerade. NBC and MSNBC, along with CNN, have long been marginalized by the Right as shining examples of the liberal media, but all have fallen in line with the corporate education reform agenda through programming such as Education Nation—corporate reform propaganda pretending to be investigative media.

This week, PBS (certainly the gold-standard of liberal media, if we believe public perception) ran an episode of Frontline examining once again Michelle Rhee:

Incentivizing philanthropy: Walgreen’s gets big no-bid contract after CPS gift card giveaway Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Incentivizing philanthropy: Walgreen’s gets big no-bid contract after CPS gift card giveaway:

Incentivizing philanthropy: Walgreen’s gets big no-bid contract after CPS gift card giveaway

by admin

Walgreen's coupons created by Wade Tillett

It was only a couple of months ago that Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson stood with Mayor Rahm at our old neighborhood school, Field Elementary, to announce the giveaway of $25 Walgreen’s gift cards to parents for picking up their children’s report cards. “This is a way, in my view, of incentivizing responsible parenting,” the Mayor said that day.
At the time, I sent this letter to Mayor Emanuel and CEO Wasson, suggesting that there are far better ways to involve parents. I never heard back.
I guess that’s because they were too busy cooking up the $700,000 no-bid contract reported in today’s Sun-Times. The City of Chicago will pay Walgreen’s to screen city employees for a new wellness program.
The lesson here is an old one: corporations always have a financial agenda wrapped up in their generosity.

“What’s Your Preferred Gender Pronoun?” « Student Activism

“What’s Your Preferred Gender Pronoun?” « Student Activism:

“What’s Your Preferred Gender Pronoun?”

by Angus Johnston

Here’s something that happened to me last month: I got asked my preferred gender pronoun.
For those who aren’t familiar, this is a thing that tends to happen at queer-positive conferences and gatherings these days. When you go around the room at the beginning of a session, you’ll say your name, something about yourself, maybe answer an ice-breaker question, and state your preferred gender pronoun. It can be he/him, she/her, they/their, or one of the newer invented substitutes like ze or hir. Or you can say you’d prefer to be referred to by your name.
I first encountered this tradition in 2011, I think. Maybe 2010. Most likely it was at a United States Student Association conference. The idea behind it is that respecting people’s gender identity is important, and volunteering your identity can be awkward, and misgendering someone is hurtful. So rather than guessing, or asking individual people to speak up if their preferences are non-standard or non-obvious, you just go around the

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Political payback for Walgreens CEO

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Political payback for Walgreens CEO:

Political payback for Walgreens CEO

by Mike Klonsky

Rahm & Wasson

As Chicago city retirees brace themselves for another hit on their healthcare plans, corporations like Walgreen's are feeling really healthy.

Back in November, I wrote about the scheme Rahm had cooked up with Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson whereby the mayor would offer parents Walgreens gift cards if they would show up on report card pickup day. Rahm called it, "incentivizing responsible parenting." I call it pay-back for Wasson's political support, particularly for contributing between $500,000 and $1 million to help the city cover expenses for the NATO gathering in

SPECIAL LATE, LOCAL UPDATE: Dear [name] - My stalkers, Bill Ayers, Alexander Russo and TFA. « Fred Klonsky

My stalkers, Bill Ayers, Alexander Russo and TFA. « Fred Klonsky:

Dear [name], From former NY Schools Chancellor Harold Levy. Now Palm Ventures. Greenwich, Connecticut.

by Fred Klonsky

A copy of a letter from Harold Levy for upcoming private seminar for investors on making money on education:

Dear [name],
I’m chairing The Capital Roundtable’s ENCORE full-day conference –
Private Equity Investing In
For-Profit Education Companies –
http://capitalroundtable.com/r/?t=l&m=1198&l=1&s=238309&c=394436>
How Breakdowns in Traditional Models
& Applications of New Technologies Are Driving
Changehttp://capitalroundtable.com/r/?t=l&m=1198&l=2&s=238309&c=394436>
Tuesday, January 15, in New York City
Sponsored by –
• Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP
• Parthenon Group LP
I was formerly Chancellor of the New York City School System, and am now

Extremely local news. Resurrecting the Skokie chapter of IEA Retired.

by Fred Klonsky

data=Ay5GWBeob_WIPLDYoIWcfVXxvZu9XwJ55OX7Ag,hrBBd5qAM5YO4tMRxwtLJmizsZGtt6OZ8SMu98QgZ3Nvgq9Fd5OyjJGmDyEog0UaaoBRVBSBh3KuT7vu20S8uACPZcgLDrq6_5sERziFQ10-cIgA17TO6bAaPsYd__s1gr5gqMV0Hf14s4Z2QojOB1nLfQ7wK8pkEveMNMxCtY3L8G_Cm30K-IgrxFFyIg

Retired IEA members on the north side and near north suburbs need an IEA Retired chapter.
I know I have readers all over the country, but this is extremely local news.
When I retired last June I sent in my dues money to join IEA Retired.
Everywhere I have spoken about the fight to preserve our promised pensions I have told people that the number one thing that they needed to do – before they did anything else – was to join something. Anything. Klonsky’s

My stalkers, Bill Ayers, Alexander Russo and TFA.

by Fred Klonsky

Popout.
A fascinating bunch of stuff showed up on my screen this morning.
Alexander Russo, who supposedly (air quotes) covers Chicago schools from his home in Brooklyn, posted a video of Bill Ayers talking about the shortcomings of Teach for America.
Bill is his usual on-point self. He distinguishes between those who are in classrooms under the auspices of TFA and the idea of TFA. He makes the obvious point that there are no short cuts to good teaching. It takes years to