Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity | Reclaim Reform

Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity | Reclaim Reform:

Mass murderers in public schools profit charter branding via legislators: insanity

by kenpreviti

Create an image of public schools as hellholes of slaughtered children, of constant fear and terror, that is odious to parents and taxpayers. Frighten their children into privatized charter schools where parents can buy a brand that provides the illusion of safety that is “well worth the money” to “keep your children safe” from the bogeyman created by those who can make a profit from fear mongering.

Who can help the profiteers profit from fear mongering? The politicians whose coffers are filled by privatization charter contributors. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn is the hatchet man disguised as the Patron Saint and Protector of Our Children. “IL Gov. Quinn Calls for Shooting Drills in All Public Schools. Read HERE.

“Starve the Beast” is a method of destroying public services in order to sell them off to profit making corporations and/or non-profit organizations who pay their executives obscenely high salaries buffered with additional perks and benefits.
Activist Grover Norquist is a well-known proponent of the strategy and has famously said, “My goal is to cut 

Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Pew study of 12 districts finds that closed schools are most often reused as charters

by Dale Mezzacappa

More than 40 percent of shuttered school buildings in 12 cities were ultimately reused as charter schools, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts study of 12 big cities that have undergone substantial downsizing of their traditional districts.
The reasons, according to the report: the buildings are most suited as schools, public policy that encourages charter growth, the availability of tax-exempt bonds, and the availability of funding from private foundations.

Image: 

Image Caption: 

The sale of Rudolph S. Walton Elementary School, which closed in 2003, to KIPP Philadelphia Charter School and MIS Capital LLC was approved last November.

Photo Credits: 

Nathaniel Hamilton/NewsWorks

read more

Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process:

Parents 4 Teachers to call for investigation of CPS school closing process

by admin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
CHICAGO—Parent and community groups will hold a news conference Tuesday to request an independent investigation of CPS plans to close up to 140 schools. The groups charge the CPS school closing process is fraught with misconduct and is misleading the public about the true motives behind the school closings.
The Tuesday announcement comes just one day before CPS is expected to release its preliminary list of school closings.
WHAT: Parent and community group news conference
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington, Chicago
WHY: Parents and community groups are seeking an independent investigation of CPS school closing process
The school closing list due out this week comes just months after CPS approved plans to open 13 new charter schools next year. Although, the district claims half its schools are under enrolled, an independent analysis shows the formula CPS uses to determine school utilization is flawed. Parents are seeking an independent investigation to shine light on the misinformation, conflicts of interest and misconduct associated with the school closing process.
For more information, contact:
Erica Clark, Parents 4 Teachers, 773-851-6287
Rhoda Rae Guiterrez, Parents 4 Teachers, 773-213-3064
++++++++++++++++++++
Parents 4 Teachers is a city-wide parent group that believes standing up for teachers means standing up for our kids

Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time — Whole Child Education

Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Reimagining Public Education, One Story at a Time

February 11, 2013 by Sam Chaltain

I know we're already six weeks into 2013, but think back to last year for a second:

What were the most talked about education stories of 2012?

I'm guessing your list looks something like this—Common Core. The Chicago Teacher Strike. Newtown. And what worries me is that no matter what other stories you recalled—from Michelle Rhee to the Dropout Crisis to Race to the Top—they're all likely to fit into one of the following categories: content, conflict, or catastrophe.

This is a huge problem, because the way we see "education" is colored by two things: our own personal memories of schooling—which are remarkably similar across the past 100 years—and our national conversations about schooling—which are remarkably negative, dispiriting, and two-dimensional.

Combine these two influences, and what you get is what we have:

Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group - Wait, What?

Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group - Wait, What?:

Paul Vallas’ No Bid Contract with the Public Consulting Group

by jonpelto

It is a familiar tune.

When Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas arrived in Bridgeport, he quickly signed a series of no-bid contracts.

One was with the Public Consulting Group (PCG), a company that he had done business with when he was the CEO of the Chicago School System and again when he was the CEO of the Philadelphia Schools.  In fact, PCG even features the Chicago and Philadelphia projects on its website.

Word of the contract came when a memo arrived from Team Vallas announcing that the school system would be dropping the software that the Bridgeport Schools had been 

Report Card: Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school

Report Card: Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school:

Video: Kindergartener asks board not to close his school

Six-year-old Gavin Whelan approached the podium with confidence, stepping onto a stool and leaning into the microphone at Thursday's school board meeting regarding school closures in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Whelan immediately won the hearts of the room, as you'll see in the video below that captures the last half of his speech. For his bravery, as well as his patience in waiting through three hours of prior public comment, Whelan earns this blog's Gold Star award.

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/report-card/2013/02/video-kindergartener-asks-board-not-to-close-his-school.html#storylink=cpy

UPDATE: Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests

Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests:

Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies

by Jim Horn

February 8, from George Schmidt:

Things are exploding here, with protests of more than 1,000 people against Chicago's school policies every night. We are only reporting some of them, and just about everyone leading them will need some rest this weekend. The CORE re-election campaign is holding the Second City benefit Sunday night, and that will provide everyone with some respite.

In addition to the local protests against the latest round of proposed school closings and the latest budget lies, the CTU voted unanimously Wednesday night to be part of "More than a score" and begin the petitioning, in the middle of winter, at 35 elementary schools. 

"Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests

by skrashen

A blog in Ed Week has summarized “minimum technology standards states will have to meet” to give the common core tests. The description is quite daunting. All this has to be done by 2014-15.

http://tinyurl.com/amc4g8j

Here are two comments posted on the Ed Week website:

Sonja L
3:39 PM on February 8, 2013
Common Core is just another push by big business to suck public funds from our school system. There are so many urban poor and rural areas that would never have funds, nor means to have the computer access/internet platforms available to take the publishing industrial complex's "tests" in the time frame suggested. Many schools don't have full-time teachers (or properly credentialed teachers in the case of many Charter schools that are 

Dan Rather Covers Scrap the Map

by Judy Rabin

If you have access to AXS TV, Dan Rather features Seattle school district opt out

movement and Garfield High Teacher Jesse Hagopian

Published on Feb 6, 2013

Saying it's a waste of time, teachers in Seattle are refusing to give standardized tests to high schoolers because the tests don't effectively assess students and educators don't want their evaluations tied to a faulty test. The move is receiving widespread support across the nation. Dan Rather Reports airs Tuesdays at 8pm 

LA Times publishes the other side of the education story

by skrashen

THE KEYS TO LEARNING

All four letters published in the Sunday Los Angeles Times, Feb. 10. 2013

Re "Beware of miracles," Editorial, Feb. 6

I was delighted to see The Times recommend healthy skepticism before adopting the latest "solutions" to educational problems. And yes, I clearly remember my colleagues' "value-added" ratings splashed across your website, even though there were plenty of cautionary articles elsewhere calling their use problematic.
The Los Angeles Unified School District seems to think that having students take standardized tests is an answer to our achievement problems, even though most teachers feel their curriculum has been weakened by 

What Diversity and Greatness Look Like: A Year at Mission Hill School

by Jim Horn

James Coleman told us almost fifty years ago about the importance of social capital.  Here's what he was talking about:

Popout

The website here.

Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports « Seattle Education

Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports « Seattle Education:

Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports

by seattleducation2011

Garfield High School MAP test boycott to be featured on Dan Rather Reports

Saying it’s a waste of time, teachers in Seattle are refusing to give standardized tests to high schoolers because the tests don’t effectively assess students and educators don’t want their evaluations tied to a faulty test. The move is receiving widespread support across the nation. Dan Rather Reports airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on AXS TV. “Teaching to the Test” airs February 12, 2012.

Diane in the Evening 2-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Vote for This Man for School Board!

by dianerav

I don’t know Michael Weston, but I love his comment below.
He is a teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida, which received many millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation to pilot a new teacher evaluation program.
Bill and Melinda visited the district and expressed great pleasure at the compliments directed their way. They don’t seem to realize that 1) educators are very polite (as a rule), and 2) people are starstruck in the presence of 

The Onion Finds a New Reason to Worry about US Students

by dianerav

Watch this, get a good laugh, and go to sleep!
We see similar nonsense in the mainstream media every day, but this one is funny.

Have You Been Calibrated Yet?

by dianerav

Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Rockville Center, New York, describes how New York is preparing principals and teachers for the new world order decreed by Arne Duncan and his Race to the Top.
She went to a training to learn how to evaluate teachers, something she had been doing successfully in her school for many years.
She learned which words were impermissible.
She was taught to think “out of the box” by conforming to the rules and

Gerald Coles Replies to Critics: Obama’s Second Term

by dianerav

I posted Gerald Coles’ predictions about President Obama’s second term. Many commenters responded. This is Coles’ response to those who raised questions:
With respect to the suggestion that the “federal govt. should get out of the classroom entirely,” I think that’s a complicated issue, given, for example, the federal government’s role in ending LEGAL segregation of schools. While issues of curriculum and what should and should not be discussed in the classroom do caution against a

A Reader Asks: Are There Any States That Are NOT Infested with Corporate Reform?

by dianerav

I am reposting this because the first version had a typo in the title. I wrote NOW instead of NOT, changing the meaning.
So here is the correct version!

A reader wrote to ask a question. Are there any states that have resisted the tidal wave of bad ideas? It is impossible to avoid high-stakes testing because it was imposed first by No Child Left Behind and then reinforced by Race to the Top.
Are there ANY states now that are not voucherizing and privatizing, doing high stakes standardized testing, institutiting abusive evaluations, refusing to use Teach for America and generally giving the schools over to the 

Fun and Games in Reporting about the New Orleans Non-Miracle

by dianerav

Our frequent contributor Mercedes Schneider sent the following news in response to a post about Bobby Jindal selling the New Orleans miracle in Virginia:

From Mary K. Bellisario, VP of St. Tammany Parish School Board (Louisiana) :
The Associated Press at least printed some of the truth about the RSD:
“However, New Orleans schools run by the Recovery School District still have a D grade on average while those 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-11-13 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] Everything You Wanted to Know About Michelle Rhee by dianerav Here is Michelle Rhee, as reviewed by Mercedes Schneider in part viii of her study of the board of the National Council of Teacher Quality. Mercedes Schneider is a teacher in Louisiana who holds a Ph.D. In statistics and research methods. Here she is at her best, doing a close examination of the life and work of Michelle Rhee. My Vacation in Cuba by dianerav I just returned from an amazing week in Cuba. I went there legally, from Miami to Hava... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization?:

Why Does Your School District Have to Take Orders from a Private Trade Organization?

by stlgretchen

The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is "offering guidance" to school districts toward the implementation of Common Core standards. 

Question:  Why is a private organization telling local school districts how they must direct their educational delivery and what requirements they must meet?  

From edweek.com:

One of the two consortia designing tests for the Common Core State Standards recently 

IB Officially Supports Common Core

by stlgretchen

From http://www.ibo.org/iba/commoncore/:

 IB and the Common Core State Standards

Position Statement: IB position paper on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
The IB is pleased to announce the release of a position paper in support of the Common Core State Standards(CCSS) initiative in the United States. You, our stakeholders, will benefit from the IB’s pro-active 

UPDATE: #data that matters… + #ASCDforum discussing #teacher #education – @ the chalk face

#ASCDforum discussing #teacher #education – @ the chalk face:

Allow me to revisit the previous #SOTU on #education

by Chalk Face, PhD

 Much, much ado about what the President will say about education in tomorrow’s SOTU address. The Answer Sheet has what SHOULD be said. But I’m revisiting a post I have up here from the previous SOTU speech. The image to the left is a Wordle graphic of the speech. Notice how, from the transcript, the word APPLAUSE is the most prominent one. That’s because, well, he didn’t really say much about anything, and I don’t expect that to happen again.

#ASCDforum discussing #teacher #education

by Chalk Face, PhD

Use the titled hashtag to discuss teacher education with ASCD. I scanned the link they provided, and here’s what I saw:

Educators have begun to make their voices heard. For example, 2012 Emerging Leader and Regional Science Coordinator Fred Ende has five suggestions for improving teacher preparation:

• Prepare educators to be specialists, instead of generalists.
• Provide clarity around the certification process.
• Connect K–12 educators with postsecondary educators to share curricula and methodology.
• Get parents and students involved in teacher education classes.
• Start recruiting teachers at the high school level.

Perhaps I have to respond to the original post by Ende, which is here. As a teacher educator myself, let me respond to each of the above from my experiences.

• Specialists? Well, how would that apply to elementary education? No one ever seems to adress eled. We 

Hey, @cornelwest, WE’RE not silent. They just won’t listen. Help us. #edreform #progressives

by Chalk Face, PhD

Good video. Now, fair reader, help us reach the hell out, will you?

Have you seen this apology from a high school teacher? #highered

by Chalk Face, PhD

I’m really liking Ken Bernstein’s apology to higher education faculty from a high school teacher. Actually, it’s a warning. A warning, it is.
From my experience, I just started recently teaching freshmen who could have been fifth graders I taught years ago at the pre-dawn of NCLB. Unfortunately, I don’t have the kind of perspective as someone who has been in higher education for years and years.

#data that matters…

by Timothy D. Slekar

but will never show up on your school’s “Data Wall.”

Lee Nave Jr. – Ain’t too Proud to Protest - Student Voice

Student Voice:

Lee Nave Jr. – Ain’t too Proud to Protest

by admin

The voices of Motown never sang such a wondrous tune as that of civil disobedience.
Over a hundred students walked out of their Detroit, Michigan high school during early May of 2012. They wanted to send to their school board a clear message: “We need a voice in our school system”.
The Detroit Public Schools were closing a high school within their district in order to cut cost. Students at Western International High School, a high school in a different area of Detroit, decided to retaliate by expressing their voices through civil disobedience.
Under threat of suspension, over one hundred students left their high school classes. They carried messages such as “Don’t violate student rights” and “We need to invest more into our education than what our test scores 

John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

John Thompson: Are High Stakes Tests Here to Stay?

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by John Thompson.
"High-stakes academic testing isn't going away," argues Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in their New York Times Magazine article "Why Some Kids Handle Pressure while Others Fall Apart?" They describe a 5th grader's ordeal with standardized testing, "He got headaches and stomachaches. He would ask not to go to school." His pre-test anxiety "lasted a solid month before the test" and "'even after the test, he couldn't let it go.'"
Their answer is "more competition. It just needs to be the right kind." Of course, such a response would obviously be condemned as cruel unless "high-stakes academic testing isn't going away," so we have to get used to it.

Bronson and Merryman admit that "even third graders feel as if they are on trial. Students get the message that class work isn't what counts, and that the standardized exam is the truer measure. Sure, you did your 

SI&A Cabinet Report – LAUSD petitions for sweeping relief from QEIA class size requirements + ADHD linked to family violence and parental depression

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

LAUSD petitions for sweeping relief from QEIA class size requirements
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, February 11, 2013

The Los Angeles Unified School District is set to bring applications forward next month seeking relief for 78 school sites from class-size restrictions required under a special state funding program.

The waiver applications, which probably would not have attracted much attention a year ago, will instead test a policy of the California State Board of Education to provide districts leeway in setting student-teacher ratios even as an improving economy and passage of tax hikes in November ease the fiscal crisis schools are facing statewide.

As a matter of routine over the past four years, the state board has approved waiver requests from local educational agencies that have been forced to lay off teachers and increase class sizes.

The most common requests have come from districts seeking to avoid fiscal penalties that otherwise would be imposed for exceeding a student-teacher ratio generally set at 30:1 for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Separately since the 1990s, the Legislature has provided funding aimed at limiting teacher-student ratios in kindergarten through third grade at 20:1. But because of the fiscal crisis, lawmakers have, since 2009, allowed districts to receive much of that money even though class sizes have often exceeded the limits.

A second large category of waivers coming before the state board has given districts permission to exceed class-size 

ADHD linked to family violence and parental depression

Less than a week after a report by the European ADHD Guidelines Group refuted many common theories about the causes of and treatments for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, a new study has identified surprising factors in a child’s family life that are likely contributors to the condition.

CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership « InterACT

CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership « InterACT:

CTA Expanding Teacher Leadership

by David B. Cohen

Christal Watts, President of the Vallejo Educators Association, speaking at the Good Teaching Conference in San Jose.

I spent Friday at a pre-conference workshop for the Good Teaching Conference put on by the California Teachers Association, talking and working with teachers dedicated to improving our profession, and seeing our union as instrumental to that improvement. (This was the Northern California conference. The Southern California conference takes place next month).
Presenters Stacy Begin and Jane Robb, both staff members for CTA’s office of Instruction and Professional Development (IPD), asked the workshop participants about our goals when we chose to attend a workshop titled,