Hartford Board of Education adopts illegal contract with FUSE/Jumoke Academy, Inc. - Wait, What?

Hartford Board of Education adopts illegal contract with FUSE/Jumoke Academy, Inc. - Wait, What?:

Hartford Board of Education adopts illegal contract with FUSE/Jumoke Academy, Inc.

by jonpelto

Last night, the Hartford Board of Education, led by Hartford’s Mayor, voted 6 to 2 to authorize Hartford’s Superintendent of Schools, Christina Kishimoto, to sign a contract with Family Urban Schools of Excellence (aka Jumoke Academy, lnc.) 

The agreement would allow FUSE/Jumoke Academy Inc. to manage Hartford’s Milner Elementary School and, in turn, FUSE/Jumoke Academy Inc. would be given $345,000 a year to perform that task.

The problem is that the contract that the Hartford Board of Education voted on last night 

Inspirational quote on a KIPP teacher’s classroom door | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Inspirational quote on a KIPP teacher’s classroom door | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Inspirational quote on a KIPP teacher’s classroom door

by Gary Rubinstein

I visited KIPP High School in New York City a few months ago and wrote about it.  My post was pretty generous — perhaps too generous — so I’m going to write more about what I saw there in a few small posts.
In my last post I put a picture I took of the $400 senior dues poster.  This wasn’t really that controversial, but I found it interesting that they would do KIPP style ‘spin’ on how the $400 was such a deal since it really should be over $800.  It seemed like an unnecessarily large amount of money to ask families to pay, even if it was a great deal.
I wasn’t running around snapping pictures or having a hidden camera in my hat or anything.  I actually only took two pictures, and I’ll put the other one here.
This was on the door of one of the teachers (I blacked out the teacher’s last name).  When I saw it was a quote about ‘failure’ I expected something inspirational along the lines of “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, 

UPDATE: Arne Duncan: Armed Teachers Proposals Are 'A Marketing Opportunity' For Gun Industry Joy Resmovits: Israel's Haredi Schools Get Standardized Testing; John Deasy Seeks Waiver: Ed Today

Joy Resmovits: Israel's Haredi Schools Get Standardized Testing; John Deasy Seeks Waiver: Ed Today:

Arne Duncan: 'There Is No Fix' To Sequestration For Ailing Schools

by Joy Resmovits

WASHINGTON -- While sequestration is not a sure thing yet, school districts are already asking for help dealing with the massive, imminent cuts, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Thursday morning.

"I was on a call yesterday, people are starting to give RIF [reduction in force] notes," Duncan said in a meeting with reporters at the U.S. Education Department. "The sequestration stuff is very very worrying to me. I'm increasingly concerned that's going to happen. Schools are already starting to give teachers notices."

Decisions would be made on a district-by-district level, and cuts could include things like slashing after-school programs, firing teachers, curtailing pre-school and shortening the school day or school year -- simply because money has run out sooner.

Duncan has long warned that the across-the-board, 5 percent cuts would be hurtful to teachers and students. And unlike other issues, Duncan is sure that he can't fix it. "I'll be really clear. There is no fix," he said. "I wish I 

Arne Duncan: Armed Teachers Proposals Are 'A Marketing Opportunity' For Gun Industry

by Joy Resmovits

WASHINGTON -- People who say that teachers want to carry weapons are just pushing "a marketing opportunity," according to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

"The vast majority of teachers have spoken pretty loudly and said they're not interested in being armed, so that's a red herring," Duncan said at a small Thursday morning meeting with reporters at the U.S. Education Department. "It's an opportunity to sell more guns, that's a marketing opportunity, it's not serious."

Duncan's remarks come after the National Rifle Association suggested, in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. mass elementary school shooting, that armed teachers may be a solution to halting school violence. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's chief executive officer, said at the time. A gun advocate in Michigan suggested that armed teachers could have minimized the damage in Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But Duncan said it's not what teachers want. "Teachers have spoken loudly and clearly," he said. "I've talked to 

Israel's Haredi Schools Get Standardized Testing; John Deasy Seeks Waiver: Ed Today

by Joy Resmovits

Israel's Haredi Schools Get Standardized Testing? As YNet reports, Israel's ultra-Orthodox religious schools, which receive public money, will have to take standardized tests -- as ordered by the Supreme Court. A judge said that such schools "should start taking things seriously, or face the consequences." Why, you ask, do I bring you news from across the planet? It's an interesting parallel to an ongoing debate on our own soil. In the U.S., there has been much talk over whether private schools that receive public-school vouchers or tax credits should be held to the same standards as their public school peers. Obviously the structure is different, and in Israel there's no public-private distinction between the schools. But it's still fascinating to watch.

Waive Me, Maybe? So far, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has only given waivers from No Child Left Behind to states. But John Deasy, the superintendent of Los Angeles public schools, wants one for his city, reports the Daily News. "LAUSD and nine other districts have launched an effort to create their own data-based 

Teacher Survey Shows Record Low Job Satisfaction In 2012

by Joy Resmovits

As school districts continued to cut budgets, increase class sizes, and implement teacher performance evaluations, teachers' job satisfaction plummeted in 2012, reaching an all-time low, according to a survey released Thursday.

"We've seen a continuous decline in teacher satisfaction," said Dana Markow, vice president of youth and education research for pollster Harris Interactive, which conducted the poll for the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher.

Teachers' job satisfaction has declined 23 percentage points in the five years since 2008, according to the long-running survey of educators and principals. Only 39 percent of teachers reported they were very satisfied, the 

State releases district breakdowns under school funding formula | EdSource Today

State releases district breakdowns under school funding formula | EdSource Today:

State releases district breakdowns under school funding formula - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Districts and charter schools now know how they’d make out under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula, his plan for sweeping school finance reform. The state Department of Finance posted the long-awaited district-by-district breakdown and a two-page overviewWednesday. The 80-page chart calculates districts’ base per student funding for 2011-12 as a comparison and lists funding for the next two years and full per student funding in seven years – if projected state revenues hold up.

Brown outlines increases in education spending in a news conference last month.

Brown’s proposed formula promises to simplify and rationalize the state’s idiosyncratic and irrational funding system, with its complex rules governing dozens of “categorical” programs with funding designated for special purposes. Starting off with what districts now receive in base funding (known as “revenue limit” funding), it would create a new financing system as additional money becomes available from increased revenues generated by 

Crimes Against Humanity: Florida | Reclaim Reform

Crimes Against Humanity: Florida | Reclaim Reform:

Crimes Against Humanity: Florida

by kenpreviti

If you make more than $3,200 a year in Florida, you are ineligible for Medicare whether you are a man, woman or child. Republican Tea Party Gov. Rick Scott and his Teapublican super-majority legislature have decided this is fair treatment.
Tea Party Republican Billionaire Gov. Rick Scott was the CEO of the corporation convicted of the biggest fraud against Medicare in history. When questioned personally he repeatedly refused to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate him, yet his money paid for TV messages that got him elected.

This Mother Jones article is filled with details and examples of this series of these
Crimes Against Humanity.
Excerpt from MJ:
Where the Sun Don’t Shine
From high-speed trains to care for terminally ill kids: a few of the federal grants Florida has turned down

Sac Schools Get Sacked – @ the chalk face

Sac Schools Get Sacked – @ the chalk face:

Sac Schools Get Sacked

by Kuhio Kane

Ok.  When Diane Ravitch speaks, I’m sure it’s a shot heard round the world.  But, I’m saddened and livid at the news I found in one of her blogs today.  I spent a most of my life teaching in California schools.  I know Sacramento. A lot of us from three hundred miles south would travel up there frequently to attend meetings with colleagues.  Definitely not to visit the governor living in his mansion in downtown Sacramento.
“The fierce urgency of now, and no democratic process whatever.”  This quote from Dr. Ravitch’s blog piece caught my eye. And I abruptly choked.  I read on.  She wrote about how the Superintendent of Schools for SCUSD (Sacramento City Unified School District), along with the SCUSD Board of Education has “cherry-picked” the cost / revenue figures of the 11 schools being closed with no consideration of the impacts to students, families, and communities.  One of the Superintendent’s henchmen on the Sac City Council said that the Supt. had a real “heavy heart” about his decision.  His decision?  The official word is that no one wants to see across the board cuts to programs and staff positions if the underutilized school sites were kept open.  So, we’re going to put up some phony figures to show how under-utilized the schools are and close them for the 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Liberal rhetoric, a Republican echo

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Liberal rhetoric, a Republican echo:

Liberal rhetoric, a Republican echo

by Mike Klonsky

Biden: "Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!"

I'm always amazed, but not surprised, when liberal Dems in power begin acting and sounding more and more like Republicans.

Of course here in Chicago, there is no Republican Party. Only a Democratic machine that ideologically and politically could easily be mistaken for the regime of any one of a number of Tea Party governors in neighboring states of Wisconsin or Indiana -- especially when it comes to public education.

Case in point: Chicago schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett's likely ghost-written commentary in yesterday's Sun-Times imploring citizens not to "throw money at" schools she has labeled as "underutilized".

It was just about a year ago when her predecessor, J.C. Brizard who first threw around the neo-con don't-throw-

U.S. teachers’ job satisfaction craters — report:

U.S. teachers’ job satisfaction craters — report

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 21, 2013 at 12:16 am

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Half of America’s public school teachers say they feel great stress several days a week and are so demoralized that their level of satisfaction has dropped 23 percentage points since 2008 and is at its lowest in 25 years, according to an annual survey of educators.

The 29th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, which is being released today, has more bad news about the effects of modern school reform: Only 17 percent of teachers and 22 percent of principals are very confident that the Common Core State Standards, an initiative supported by the Obama administration that is being implemented in most states,  will actually improve student achievement.

It’s no wonder so many teachers have low morale. They say that modern school reform — with its emphasis on getting rid of bad teachers, assessing teachers by student standardized test scores, and rewriting tenure and collective bargaining laws — essentially demonizes 

Loudoun charter school debate: Do applicants have links to Islamic preacher?

by Valerie Strauss

The Loudoun County School Board heard from some 20 speakers at a public hearing this week that they should not approve what would be Northern Virginia’s first charter school, with many of them alleging that the Turkish applicants are connected … Continue reading →

Joan Crawford Comes to PS 154 in the Bronx .southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Joan Crawford Comes to PS 154 in the Bronx

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

In the words of Frank Barrone, "Holy Crap!"

Joan Crawford, she of the big Bozo eyebrows, passed away a lonely, bitter, drunk, old woman. This is what happens when one decides to be a manipulative, cold, micro managing control freak. That is unless that you are such a manipulative, cold micro managing control freak that somehow one does not cheat death but more importantly, cheats the after life.

It was reported at first that that Bozo the clown was alive and well. However, Bozo never wore dresses with padded shoulders. Who then could it have been seen walking around PS 154 in the Bronx and scrubbing down the bathrooms with abrasive cleanser?

After much mulling over and desperation to the point that the Mystery Team of Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby and their Mystery Machine 

UPDATE: Why Would Teacher Satisfaction Be Falling? Schools Matter: Gutter Testing

Schools Matter: Gutter Testing:

Why Would Teacher Satisfaction Be Falling?

by John Thompson

It is hard to understand why teachers’ satisfaction has dropped to an all-time low during the Obama Administration.  Yes, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has doubled-down on the bubble-in madness of NCLB.  Duncan has pushed the agenda of the “Billionaires Boys Club” which threatens to kill the principle of public education.  The administration has dumped  “innovation” after “innovation” risky gamble after risky gamble on teachers, and set us up as scapegoats when they fail.

But, hasn’t the President who we supported also said nice things about us?  Even though he forgot about it, did President Obama not promise to start treating us with “RESPECT?”

Seriously, even the Obama administration, and perhaps even Bill Gates, must have some inkling of how their experiments have wrecked the morale of teachers.  When they propose a new medical cure, surely they don’t think that it will make the lab rats happier.

A new Metropolitan Life survey shows that teachers’ job satisfaction has dropped 23% since 2008 (which was the year that teachers and our unions helped elect the President.) And, it is bound to get worse.  As the Huffington Post’s Joy 

Gutter Testing

by Storm

Question: Define the purpose of guttering on a house.
Answer: Choose the response that represents your thinking.

a. to catch rain water coming off the roof
b. to catch and direct rain water deflected by a roof out away from a vulnerable foundation
c. to correct an imposition
d. to protect a preconception

We have a gutter on our house that is a bit askew in one place over the porch and near the front steps.  Consequently the rain will come off the room slip by the gutter in that spot and pour straight down.  This has clearly been the case over the years prior to our occupation as the front walk has begun to sink a bit and now pools water right in front of the porch.  My "fix" has been to insert a stick underneath the roof lip to adjust the drip line to meet the guttering in the right place as the guttering itself will not adjust properly.  This works, but the pooling persists, naturally, due to the current sloping state of the ground.

I moved this stick the other day as my son and I were headed out for school (a ten-minute walk), a minor adjustment made by a shrewd handyman.

NYC Educator: The Unity/ New Action Manifesto

NYC Educator: The Unity/ New Action Manifesto:

The Unity/ New Action Manifesto

by NYC Educator

Hi folks, it's us, your good pals at Unity/ New Action. We're running for re-election this year, and there are lots of reasons you should vote for us. We'll list just a few of them below.

1. Lots of ATR teachers didn't get fired over the last three years. Hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of ATR teachers didn't have to go to the unemployment offices, get jobs at Walmart, or sell blood to get by.

2. Teachers did not get a reduction in pay. We could have signed a new contract that reduced teacher pay by 10, 20, or even 50%. But we didn't do that, even though we perhaps could have come to an agreement with the mayor on one of those figures.

3. Last year, many schools did not close. Perhaps your school is among them! And if it isn't, remember that you, as an ATR teacher, did not get fired as a result. Also, as you travel week to week, school to school, you 

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Third Consortia Emerging in Common Core State (sic) Standards

Missouri Education Watchdog: A Third Consortia Emerging in Common Core State (sic) Standards:

A Third Consortia Emerging in Common Core State (sic) Standards

by stlgretchen

Another private organization jumps into the public/private partnership to take over public school educational delivery/education:

From Reuters.com:

New ACT Assessment System to be Named ACT Aspire^(TM)
 System Will Better Connect Assessment to Teaching and Learning

IOWA CITY, Iowa-ACT, Inc., the nonprofit leader in college and career readiness assessment, today announced new details about its upcoming "next generation" assessment system. The new program, which will span elementary grades through high school, will be called ACT Aspire.

Development of ACT Aspire was initially announced in July and is ongoing. The goal of the system will be to provide educators, parents and students with the insights they need to help students get and stay on track for college and career readiness starting early in their academic careers by better connecting assessment, teaching and learning.

"We have drawn on our decades of experience and data to create a breakthrough assessment system designed to help students stay on target to reach their full potential throughout their educational journey," said Jon 

Jersey Jazzman: Jeb Bush Hires His Biggest Cheerleader To Smear Ravitch

Jersey Jazzman: Jeb Bush Hires His Biggest Cheerleader To Smear Ravitch:

Jeb Bush Hires His Biggest Cheerleader To Smear Ravitch

by Duke

This one starts with yet another gilded reformy-type falling on his fainting couch:

Diane Ravitch has hit a new low in the hyperbole she allows on her blog site.

This was written about charter schools:

“But the privatizers declared war on our schools, our kids, our teachers, our parents and our taxpayers.

“We didn’t start this war, any more than Poland in 1939. But we must fight back. And ultimately, emerge victorious.

“And when you’re in a war, and you’re defending the lives of your community, unfortunately, nuance or thoughtful qualifications become luxuries we can no longer afford.” (Diane’s post here)

Seriously, Diane?

Comparing school choice for parents with the Nazi invasion of Poland? [emphasis mine]

UPDATE: Life in Rahm’s Chicago. + The Chicago Teachers Union election is not until May. But the coalition of snakes appears well-funded. « Fred Klonsky

The Chicago Teachers Union election is not until May. But the coalition of snakes appears well-funded. « Fred Klonsky:

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Teachers, schools, pensions and murders. Poll numbers take a huge hit. Just 2% strongly approve.

by Fred Klonsky

There was last week’s trial ballon about Rahm running for president in 2016.
Right.
Of the United States.
Then there are reports of his meddling in the May CTU election.
He may want to do some rethinking in light of polling numbers coming from Crain’s today.
Just two percent strongly approve of his job performance as mayor.

The Chicago Teachers Union election is not until May. But the coalition of snakes appears well-funded.

by Fred Klonsky

Former failed CTU President Debbie Lynch has joined the coalition of snakes.
Chicago Teachers Union elections are not until May 17th.
Tanya Saunders-Wolffe is the candidate of the United Progressive Caucus (UPC). The last UPC candidate, the incumbent Marilyn Stewart, was tossed out of office by Karen Lewis and the CORE caucus in the last election.
To nobody’s surprise the UPC is back to try to regain the keys to the CTU offices in the Merchandise Mart.
What may surprise some is the support Saunders-Wolfe is receiving from Debbie Lynch and her ProActive Chicago Teachers (PACT) caucus. Debbie Lynch, who was at one time perceived by some as a union reformer, was rejected by the membership after just one term.
Why did many rank-and-file members express their dissatisfaction with Lynch? I believe it was due to Lynch’s

For teachers in the north suburbs and north side – don’t miss this.

by Fred Klonsky

Get the facts. Hear from our legislators.  Be part of the process.

NSTU/IFT Pension Forum

Monday, February 25
4:30 p.m.
Niles North High School Auditorium

9800 N. Lawler, Skokie

Featuring:

Special Guest Speaker Ralph Martire, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

 State Senator Dan Biss (D-Evanston) and other local legislators

 Dan Montgomery, President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers

Pension Experts from the Illinois Federation of Teachers

 

In California, thousands of teachers missing needed credentials | California Watch

In California, thousands of teachers missing needed credentials | California Watch:

In California, thousands of teachers missing needed credentials

by Joanna Lin

Joanna Lin

This story was edited by Robert Salladay and copy edited by Nikki Frick and Christine Lee.

Daniel Anderson/California Watch Charlie Parker, a longtime biology teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was assigned for two years to teach history and social studies – subjects he’s not licensed to teach. Thousands of teachers in California’s public schools every year are placed in classes they lack the credentials or legal authorizations to teach.

The last time Charlie Parker took a social studies class, he was a teenager with an Afro and Jimmy Carter was president of the United States. Yet here he was, standing at the front of a classroom, trying to teach dozens of high schoolers subjects that never appealed to him when he learned them more than 30 years ago.
On his first day teaching U.S. history, world history and economics at McAlister High School in Los Angeles nearly four years ago, Parker struggled to keep his course materials straight and handed a student the wrong textbook. Some days, his students’ questions went unanswered or were directed to the Internet. Later, Parker

State’s calculation of teacher misassignments gives skewed rate

by Joanna Lin

Joanna Lin

Daniel Anderson/California Watch Charlie Parker, a longtime biology teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was assigned for two years to teach history and social studies – subjects he’s not licensed to teach. Thousands of teachers in California’s public schools every year are placed in classes they lack the credentials or legal authorizations to teach.

Teachers are required by law to have appropriate credentials, authorizations or permits for the subjects and students they teach.
But in California every year, thousands of teachers do not. They instruct English-language learners without the training to do so, teach U.S. history when they’re licensed to teach biology and serve students with disabilities

Teacher job satisfaction at 25-year low

by Sarah Butrymowicz

Job satisfaction among public school principals and teachers has decreased in the past five years, with teacher satisfaction reaching its lowest levels in 25 years, according to survey results released Thursday. Only 39 percent of teachers reported being very satisfied in their job, and more than half said they felt under “great stress” several days a week, the 29^th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher found. The findings come at a time when nearly every state around the country has adopted some sort of significant education reform in the past two years, including revising academic standards and implementing new teacher evaluation systems. Advocates say that many of these reforms, such as merit pay and the elimination of seniority-based layoffs, will help attract a higher-quality candidate to the profession. But Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, a nonprofit group that promotes higher academic standards, said he was concerned by the job satisfaction numbers and what they said about the general public’s view of educators. “What struck me most,” he said during a conference call hosted by MetLife to discuss the findings, “[is that] they are operating in an environment of public discourse that