Seattle Schools Community Forum: Once Again, Educators Save the Day

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Once Again, Educators Save the Day:

Strategic Planning: Want to Join In?

by Melissa Westbrook

Is this any way to figure the future of this district?  I like that the Superintendent and Board realize how unwieldy the last Strategic Plan was but a taskforce of 6-80 people?  It'll be like herding kittens (or be largely pro-forma facilitation from the consultant group).  (Sorry for the varying typefaces; I couldn't get it worked out of the press release from the district.)

From district Communications:

Seattle Public Schools is starting the process of revising the current Strategic Plan, Excellence for All. The updated plan will guide academic and operational priorities for the next three to five years and include ongoing benchmarking to measure the District’s performance. In 2008, the Seattle School Board unanimously approved Excellence for All, aimed at ensuring all students graduate from high school ready for college, careers and life. 

Garfield Teachers Say No to MAP

by Melissa Westbrook

In what is a major step, the teachers of Garfield High School will be holding a press conference today to announce they will not give the MAP test.  From the press release:

The teachers contend that it wastes time, money, and precious school resources. 

            “Our teachers have come together and agree that the MAP test is not good for our students, nor is it an appropriate or useful tool in measuring progress,” says Kris McBride, who serves as Academic Dean and Testing Coordinator at Garfield.  “Additionally, students don’t take it seriously.  It produces specious results, and wreaks 

Once Again, Educators Save the Day

by Melissa Westbrook

There was a high school shooting in Taft, California today with one student shot but with a teacher and administrator able to talk the student shooter into giving up his weapon.  Taft is a rural community  about 120 miles northwest of LA.  Taft Union High School has about 900 students.

From AP:

When the shots were fired, the teacher began trying to get the more than two dozen students out a back door and also engaged the shooter in conversation to distract him, Youngblood said. A campus supervisor responding to a call of shots fired also began talking to him.

"They talked him into putting the shotgun down," Youngblood said.

The sheriff said that at one point the shooter told the teacher, "I don't want to shoot you" and named the person he wanted to shoot.

The shooter may have had up to 20 shotgun rounds in his pockets, he said.

Officials said there's usually an armed officer on campus but the person wasn't there because he was snowed 

The Work of a Great Test Scientist Helps Explain the Failure of No Child Left Behind « The Core Knowledge Blog

The Work of a Great Test Scientist Helps Explain the Failure of No Child Left Behind « The Core Knowledge Blog:

The Work of a Great Test Scientist Helps Explain the Failure of No Child Left Behind

by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
January 10th, 2013

Tags: NAEP, NCLB, Samuel Messick, standardized tests
Posted in Assessment and Testing, Education Practice, Education Theory, Educational Policy,Research and Reports | No Comments »

In Praise of Samuel Messick 1931–1998, Part II

In a prior post I described Messick’s unified theory of test validity, which judged a test not to be valid if its practical effects were null or deleterious. His epoch-making insight was that the validity of a test must be judged both internally for accuracy and externally for ethical and social effects. That combined judgment, he argued, is the only proper and adequate way of grading a test.

In the era of the No Child Left Behind law (2001), the looming specter of tests has been the chief determiner of classroom practice. This led me to the following chain of inferences: Since 2001, tests have been the chief determiners of educational practices. But these tests have failed to induce practices that have worked. Hence, according to the Messick principle, the tests that we have been using must not be valid. Might it be that a new, more Messick-infused approach to testing would 

The Washington Policy Center, or should I say ALEC, and the future of our children | Seattle Education

The Washington Policy Center, or should I say ALEC, and the future of our children | Seattle Education:

The Washington Policy Center, or should I say ALEC, and the future of our children

by seattleducation2011

From the same people who state that  any efforts made in our state to address climate change are a waste of time, post reports from ALEC and have ties to the organization,  comes another bit of “research” by Liz Finne, self-proclaimed expert on all things education who cranks out policy papers based on her views or others who sponsor this “public charity” organization and self-proclaimed “think tank”, the Washington Policy Center. Ms Finne, who is an attorney with no experience or degrees in education,  just produced yet another opinion piece shrouded in “research based policy” on why schools in Washington State need to be privatized, her interpretation of a recently issued CREDO report.

Unfortunately our representative from the 36th District, Reuven Carlyle, has chosen this conservative think tank as one of his go-to sources of informationwhen making decisions as Chairman of the House Finance committee in Olympia this year. We’ll have to see how that goes because the policies that come out of 

Ginger Rutland on Michelle Rhee-Defending the IndefensibleThe Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

Ginger Rutland on Michelle Rhee-Defending the Indefensible

published by Kate_Lenox on Thu, 01/10/2013 - 11:34am

Much as she did when reporters on her own paper revealed mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson to be a slumlord, Bee editor Ginger Rutland now feels it necessary in the wake of the Frontline episode to rehabilitate Michelle Rhee's image. In spite of allegations of widespread cheating, a campaign of humiliating teachers and administrators and wholesale closings of schools rather than attempting to improve them, Rhee gets a pass because of her "no excuses" philosophy for education achievement for children in poverty.

Education That Matches the Rhetoric - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Education That Matches the Rhetoric - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Education That Matches the Rhetoric

by Deborah Meier

Dear Pedro,
Yes, we've utterly crushed the liberating and empowering spirit of education. The story you related about Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old girl from Pakistan, is an important reminder of what once seemed worth living and dying for.
The roots of the story are complex, and mixed. Formal education as we know it was designed either to teach the religious and lay leaders of the nation/tribe. It was designed precisely—as were specific other symbols (like particular types of clothing, materials, hats, and forms of address, etc.)—to distinguish the "Leaders" from "The Others." These differences served to mark the former as members of a different and superior species, speaking a different language (or at least dialect) with a different vocabulary and different reference points and serving as experts in the myths and often esoteric understandings that justified their anointment.
So the idea of expanding education has been a long and arduous journey. While an apprentice's education was honored among craftsmen (and in its own way leaders were apprenticed to other leaders ... princes to kings?), the two paths were long long ago divorced.
The earliest American public schools actually followed in this same dual path. While making it easier for workingmen's children to learn the ABCs (which for the wealthy was often left to tutors and nannies), that 

SI&A Cabinet Report – Brown’s budget provides $2.7B in Prop 98 money over this year

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Brown’s budget provides $2.7B in Prop 98 money over this year
By Tom Chorneau
Thursday, January 10, 2013

Finding economic recovery coming sooner than most had expected, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a good news budget for schools that will provide an additional $2.7 billion more in Proposition 98 money than the current year – which was also adjusted upwards.

The plan includes a $1.8 billion repayment for prior deferred appropriations.

Brown’s much-anticipated plan for restructuring school funding builds on his proposal from last year. The governor said his proposal is aimed at creating a more level playing field for all students.

“Our future depends on disproportionately funding those schools that have disproportional challenges,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “Growing up in Richmond or Compton is not the same as growing up in Piedmont or Palo Alto. It's fair it's right and it's just.”

The revised formula would provide a base grant to all districts tied to average daily attendance and adjusted for the differential expense between grades. The additional support for disadvantaged students and English learners is proposed to be equal to 35 percent of the base with an additional 35 percent of the base for districts higher concentrations of targeted pupils.

As with the plan from last year, virtually all the categorical programs would be folded into the new funding formula. Bu 

Brandon Greene Launches New Project to Feature Student Journalism - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Brandon Greene Launches New Project to Feature Student Journalism - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Brandon Greene Launches New Project to Feature Student Journalism

by Anthony Cody

This week I learned of an exciting new project called Out the Mouths of Babes, with a focus on giving voice to those we talk so much about, but hear so little from. The following is an interview with the project's creator, a young man named Brandon Greene. 

What are the goals of your project?
The goals of the Out the Mouths of Babes are three-fold:

1. to increase student voice in the education space,
2. to develop a passion for creative expression and civic engagement,
3. to give students a single hub where they can discuss and read news, opinions, reviews and other pieces by student journalists all around the country that directly correlate to their experience thus creating a pipeline of future journalists commentators, etc.

Why do you think student voices are important today?
I think that student voices are important because in the current education dialogue we often see discussions 

Diane in the Evening 1-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Ex-DC Principal Is Happy Baking Cupcakes

by dianerav

In case you wondered what Adell Cothorne, the star of the PBS Frontline special about Michelle Rhee’s cheating scandal, is doing now, she is very happy making gourmet cupcakes. Thanks to reader Linda of Connecticut for finding her on the web. I wish we lived close to Ellicott City, Maryland, so we could sample her cupcakes.
Adell is in business with Bill Kerlina, another ex-principal from D.C.
As you know from reading the posts on this blog, Adell filed a whistleblower complaint against the leadership of 

A Teacher Has a Question for Hari Sevugan

by dianerav

Hari Sevugan, the ex-Obama spokesman and ex-StudentsFirst spokesman, has twice commented on this blog in defense of charters and high-stakes testing. In his comments yesterday, he pointed to Florida as a model of excellence, while putting down Massachusetts as not all that it claims to be. In my response, I compared Florida’s NAEP scores to those of Massachusetts. Massachusetts is consistently #1, while Florida ranks about average among the 50 states. I assume that Hari was promoting Glorida because Michelle Rhee ranked it at the top of her personal report card. It is certainly way ahead of Massachusetts in authorizing charter schools, for-

Teachers of Garfield High School in Seattle Say No!

by dianerav

By unanimous vote, the entire faculty at Garfield High School in Seattle voted not to administer the MAP test of reading and mathematics.
This is the first time, to my knowledge, that the faculty of an entire school refused to give mandated tests.
The action of the Garfield High School faculty could have national ramifications because it shows other teachers 

Report: Heroic Teacher and Guidance Counselor Save Lives Today

by dianerav

There was a school shooting in a California high school. One student was shot by another student, who was wielding a shotgun.
A teacher and a guidance counselor persuaded the student with the shotgun to put down his firearm.
We don’t yet know their names.
They put themselves in harm’s way and saved the lives of their students.

How Bill Gates Wasted $50 Million

by dianerav

The final MET study supposedly show that value-added modeling really does work and that test scores really do show who the best teachers are.
But Bruce Baker says the study is full of holes and circular reasoning.
When Bill Gates and the top executives at Microsoft put their own children in schools that use test scores as 

N.C. State Board Caves to Online Lobbyists, with Restrictions

by dianerav

North Carolina is a plum market for the online for-profit charter industry.
Today, the state board of education agreed to allow them to open in the state but set some limits.
Here is a link to a report on the decision by North Carolina Policy Watch:

“Virtual charter schools will face restrictions if they want to open up in North Carolina.

The N.C. State Board of Education voted today to adopt a policy that would require the online-based schools to adhere to a significantly lower funding formula ($3504 per student) than brick-and-mortar charter schools, maintain high graduation rates and low withdrawal rates of students. Schools will also need to keep a ratio of one teacher for every 50 students and keep graduation rates within 10 percent of the state average (80 percent), and 

Paul Thomas: Et Tu, Liberal Media?

by dianerav

Paul Thomas recognizes that he big corporate media have bought into the corporate education spin and hype.
But he was baffled that PBS used most of an hour to recycle Rhee’s self-promotion.
By the way, our one consistent ally on national television is the great Jon Stewart. His mother was a teacher, and he knows how hard she worked. Having The Daily Show on our side is great stuff. Jon is more influential than all the others put together. When I appeared on his show, his booker told me I would never be invited on Stephen Colbert’s show because his booker is Jonathan Alter’s wife. Alter is one of the media cheerleaders for corporate reforms. He appeared in “Waiting for Superman” to say, “We know what works. Accountability works.” I am not sure who that “we” referred to.

The Daily Howler On PBS On Rhee

by dianerav

The Daily Howler is a tough marker.
He reports on how the media reports on events.
He was not happy with the PBS show about Rhee.
He thought it was dated and failed to ask important questions.
By the way, if you haven’t seen The Daily Howler reports on how the media fumbled the latest international test scores, you should. See here. And here. And here.
There is a connection. Rhee loves to carry on about how horrible American schools are, how dreadful our teachers are, how far down we are in international tests. But if you read the links above, you will learn that our scores on international tests are not so bad. StudentsFirst will have to rewrite a lot of its documents, maybe 

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

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] 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 gain... more »

Joy Resmovits: Mental Health Care For Kids Severely Lacking, Says GAO

Joy Resmovits: Mental Health Care For Kids Severely Lacking, Says GAO:

Mental Health Care For Kids Severely Lacking, Says GAO

by Joy Resmovits

Hot off the presses, here's a report from the Government Accountability Office on the state of children's mental health care. It reveals some major problems.

"Most children whose emotions or behavior, as reported by their parent or guardian, indicated a potential need for a mental health service did not receive any services within the same year," the GAO wrote.

The report comes after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.) requested that the GAO look into how psychotropic drugs affect the long-term development of kids who grow up in foster care. While the report is very specific in its scope, it's sure to be a relevant piece of evidence as the Obama administration formulates policy to deal with the ramifications of the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting. The shooting has sparked a nationwide debate on gun control, but it has also directed America's attention to the state of its mental health care system.

Here are some findings:

• On average, 6.2 percent of noninstitutionalized children in Medicaid and 4.8 percent of privately insured 

Josh Birdwell- Aristotle Isn’t a Problem Child, Philosophy in the Classroom Student Voice

Student Voice:

Josh Birdwell- Aristotle Isn’t a Problem Child, Philosophy in the Classroom

by admin

To say Aristotle was brilliant is an understatement. Aristotle was a philosopher of the highest caliber; he produced philosophical work on everything from metaphysics to ethics. Aristotle was a man who constantly strived for greater knowledge, and from this he taught his fellow man. But for some reason, modern education does not seem to have the time for this.
Curriculum planners, for whatever reason, have decided that the study of wisdom has no place in the classroom. They’ve made time to teach us about complex fractions and the dates of every notable political rebellion, but they weren’t able to fit in the study of such superfluous topics as logic, metaphysics or the study of right and wrong.
The subjects that affect how we, as individuals, view the world have been overlooked in the classroom. This 

Irving ISD Gamed Census Numbers to Keep Latinos Off School Board, Lawsuit Claims - Dallas - News - Unfair Park

Irving ISD Gamed Census Numbers to Keep Latinos Off School Board, Lawsuit Claims - Dallas - News - Unfair Park:

Irving ISD Gamed Census Numbers to Keep Latinos Off School Board, Lawsuit Claims

By Brantley Hargrove Wed., Jan. 9 2013 at 1:00 PM

5 Comments

Categories: Legal Battles

A, shall we say, less-than-diverse Irving ISD board of trustees

Irving Independent School District is playing games with 2010 census numbers that should handily introduce a Hispanic voice into the all-white school board, a failed Latino school-board candidate claims in federal court.

Manuel Benavidez, a retired American Airlines employee, who made unsuccessful runs for the school board in 2000 and 2005, says the district may be violating the federal Voting Rights Act. His electoral losses, he claims, had more to do with Irving ISD's at-large districts than his unpopularity as a candidate. When he first filed suit against the district back in 2008, Irving ISD's school-board members all could have conceivably lived on the same street. This, he argued, was not equal 

Parsing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education agenda:

Parsing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education agenda

Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 10, 2013 at 12:08 pm

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Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R).

In his State of the Commonwealth address Tuesday night, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) proposed a constitutional amendment that would make it easier for charter schools to open, an A-F grading system to rate schools, the use of Teach For America members, and more.

Here’s what he said about his education agenda, taken from prepared remarks, with a little comment:

All children, regardless of their zip code, must have world-class educational opportunities. It’s the only way Virginia will continue to recruit world-class companies like Hilton, Northrop Grumman, Bechtel and Intelsat that require highly-educated, highly-motivated employees.

The public education system really is for more than training employees for corporations,