Action Alert: Chicago School Closings

Action Alert: Chicago School Closings:

Volume 1, Issue: #2.5 March 25, 2013 In This Special Alert Chicago School Closings Greetings! This is a special action alert. Please read below about the developing situation in Chicago. It is time to support the students, parents and teachers there.  Chicago School Closings Demand a Response Dear Friends and Allies, Chicago has announced plans to close 53 schools. Philadelphia will close 23. New York City has 22 on the hit list. Atlanta is planning to close 13. Sacramento will close seven. Last year Oakland closed five. These are not the first closings. New York City has closed more than 100 schools in recent years, including some of the new schools that opened to replace so-called failing schools. These schools all have certain things in common. Their students are predominantly minority students who live in poverty. These schools are anchors in their communities, and they are being abandoned by city leaders in the name of thrift and "reform." We are told there is no money to support our schools. Paradoxical. The same reformers who tell us education is the ONLY way to overcome systemic poverty also tell us no money can be found to pay for high quality public schools for all. At a time when the stock market and corporate profits are at all time highs, we have no money for our schools, and their chief strategies are only about cutting costs. We have a different vision of what must be done in our cities. Schools should be the center of reinvestment in our local communities. If they are underutilized, put them to work giving adults access to technology  and training opportunities. Make them vibrant centers of creative industry. Rather than scattering students to the four winds, bring them together in well-equipped, functional schools that serve all their needs. Connect them to projects rebuilding and strengthening their communities. Stop pursuing test preparation as if these scores are meaningful indicators of school quality. Members of our Network are among those who plan to be arrested in civil disobedience on Wednesday. We stand with the students of Chicago, Philadelphia and all the cities across the country facing unjust school closures. Do you have a story about school closings in your community? We want to build awareness around this issue. Send your stories to info@networkforpubliceducation.org. Actions to take: If you are in the Chicago area, attend the march and rally in downtown Chicago at 4 pm on Wednesday, Mar. 27. Details here. Mayor Rahm Emanuel needs to hear from us.  He is on Twitter at @rahmemanuel Mayor Emanuel has a City of Chicago feedback form where you can leave  a message. The CEO of Chicago schools, Barbara Byrd Bennett, can be reached via email at bbyrd-bennett@cps.edu Let them know how we feel! Please forward this action alert far and wide!    In solidarity,   The Network For Public Education

California Office to Reform Education District Waiver Request - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

California Office to Reform Education District Wai - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

March 22, 2013

Deborah S. Delisle, Assistant Secretary
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

Dear Assistant Secretary Delisle:

We received your letter dated February 28, 2013, seeking comment from the California State Board of Education (SBE) on the request for a district-level waiver of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) submitted by nine California districts, organized as a consortium called the California Office to Reform Education (CORE). At its March 14, 2013, meeting, the SBE authorized us, SBE President Michael Kirst and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, to submit comments on its behalf regarding CORE’s waiver request.

Over the last year, we have heard from numerous districts about the need for relief from the onerous provisions of ESEA.  There is no doubt that ESEA is a failed concept and,  while we would prefer that the law be reauthorized, absent such action by Congress we are supportive of any attempt that will grant California’s local educational agencies (LEAs) the relief they need.  While the CORE waiver presents one opportunity for relief; we heard at the March SBE meeting that superintendents from the CORE districts and other districts would prefer a state-level waiver rather than multiple LEA waivers. With this in mind, we will continue to work with your staff to explore options for granting all California LEAs relief from ESEA.

At the March SBE meeting, Board members expressed enthusiasm for the CORE districts’ efforts to design an innovative waiver request based on agreements they hope to make at the local level. As you consider the CORE waiver request, we urge you to continue to work with our staff to address the questions and issues listed below:

• If local waivers are approved, will the state monitor implementation and hold districts accountable or will the U.S. Department of Education perform this role?  If the state is responsible for monitoring: 
  • How will the federal Student Achievement and School Accountability program monitoring system accommodate dual or multiple systems of accountability in a state’s approved Accountability Workbook? 
  • Is the state expected to change its expectations under the approved Consolidated Application Reporting System and/or the Federal Program Monitoring Process for school districts with approved local waivers?
  These issues and others will need to be resolved to ensure that district waivers do not conflict with the authority and responsibilities of the California state government.
• Will other districts have the opportunity to apply for a flexibility waiver of their own that differs from CORE’s, provided it meets a high bar of quality?  Will school districts need to be part of a consortium to be eligible to apply for a waiver? 
• What process and criteria will be used for approving the CORE waiver request? Will approval automatically be extended to any school district that signs an MOU?

For further discussion of these matters or others related to the CORE waiver or flexibility from ESEA, please contact Karen Stapf Walters, Executive Director, State Board of Education by phone at 916-319-0699 or by email at kstapfwalters@cde.ca.gov, and/or Deborah V.H. Sigman, Deputy Superintendent, District, School, and Innovation Branch, by phone at 916-319-0812 or by e-mail at dsigman@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

TOM TORLAKSON
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Department of Education

MICHAEL W. KIRST
President
California State Board of Education

TT/TM:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Same-Sex Marriage and Public Education

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Same-Sex Marriage and Public Education:

Budget Updates for SPS and Washington State

by Melissa Westbrook

In case you didn't hear, last Wednesday the economic forecast was released for Washington State.  It showed flat growth which was actually good news as it means the Legislature doesn't have to find more cuts (in theory).

Here's what was stated by Duggan Harman who is the Assistant Superintendent of Business & Finance (aka the budget guy) for SPS at last week's Board meeting.

He stated the following:

• SPS has an $18M shortfall.  Staff has found cuts that would make up for two-thirds of the shortfall but they are one-time cuts.  A couple of thoughts to close the gap - increasing kindergarten tuition (again) and transportation reductions.
• SPS, along with several other districts including Tacoma, Spokane, Bellevue and Highline, have sent a 

Same-Sex Marriage and Public Education

by Melissa Westbrook

What does one thing have to do with the other?  According to this article in Ed Week, a lot.

It is certainly going to be interesting to see how gingerly districts may have to step in the future to remain "neutral" on this issue.

Here in Washington State, same-sex marriage is now legal and this week, in two separate cases, the United States Supreme Court will consider the issue.   (The two cases are Hollingsworth v Perry that challenges California's limitations on marriage as just for a man and a woman under the equal-protection clause of the Constitution and United States v Windsor that will consider the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 known as DOMA.)

Thoughts what those in public education might have to consider from the Ed Week article:

• Among the scores of briefs filed by parties and "friends of the court" on different sides of those cases are 

Student Voice: How a Community School Became an Oasis in South Central Los Angeles — Whole Child Education

Student Voice: How a Community School Became an Oasis in South Central Los Angeles — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Student Voice: How a Community School Became an Oasis in South Central Los Angeles

March 25, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

By Martin J. Blank and Ryan Fox, Coalition for Community Schools

Walking through the halls of John C. Fremont High School in South Central Los Angeles with senior Kevin Valiencia, one finds an unexpected inner city public school in one of the most maligned neighborhoods in the country.

A climate of cooperation, enthusiasm, unity, and endless possibilities permeate throughout school. A strong juxtaposition with the surrounding community in which neighborhoods blocks apart from each other are often at war. Kevin himself has seen his friend stabbed, drive-by shootings and police raids near his home.

It's not that the troubles found in other schools don't exist inside Fremont. Less than 40 percent of its students graduate in four years and test scores still lag behind state averages. But the angst and conflict found in many other struggling urban schools is minimal at Fremont. The suspension rate at Fremont is far below the rates at other high schools in the district. While the dropout rate is still very high, those numbers are gradually improving. Nearly 85 percent of those that did graduate in 2009 and 2010 continued on to a post secondary education.

"There's unity (at Fremont)," Kevin said. "We're all in this together."

As a community school, Fremont has put in place partnerships and mechanisms to help better combat the challenges it faces. Fremont operates as a partnership between school leaders and an external partner, in this case the Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP), a widely respected education intermediary. LAEP provides a community school coordinator at Fremont who brings school staff and community partners together to solve problems.

Fremont's teachers are advocating for their students with high-level classes that provide them with the kind o

Diane in the Evening 3-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Network for Public Education Deplores Mass Closings in Chicago

by dianerav

The Network for Public Education has released a statement condemning the Rahm Emanuel administration for the outrageous school closings in Chicago.
Parents, teachers, administrators, and concerned citizens must speak up and act out against this horrendous and arrogant action by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Mass Protest Rally in Chicago

by dianerav

The Chicago Teachers Union is planning a mass protest rally on Wednesday. The schools closings in Chicago are the largest in American history. Never has any district closed so many schools at the same time. Only since the passage of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top has the public been told that school closings are “reform.” They are not. They are an abandonment of responsibility by those at the top.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Stephanie Gadlin
March 25, 2013 312/329-6250
StephanieGadlin@ctulocal1.com
As Thousands Plan to Rally against School Closings downtown this Wednesday, the Board of Education erects barricades
CHICAGO—Apparently officials at the Board of Education (BOE) are getting the message: The parents, educators and clergy of more than 30,000 Chicago Public School (CPS) students do not want their schools closed.
Today, BOE security began erecting metal barricades around the building as thousands of people plan to rally this Wednesday in protest of CPS’ plan to shutter 50 schools and disrupt 50 others. Some have noted this is the largest school closing campaign in the history of the United States.
CPS officials and the mayor continue to spew confusing propaganda as justification for closing schools. School bureaucrats claim there is a $1 billion deficit while simultaneously promising incentives to 50 or more schools that will serve as receiving campuses for students displaced by school actions.
Using the district’s own financial metrics, these incentives such as new air-conditioning, libraries, counselors and social workers will cost over $700 million.
On Saturday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to confuse the public even further by stating school closures would somehow benefit students academically. While admitting the city has failed its fiduciary responsibly to provide all of its students with an adequate education, the mayor stopped short of acknowledging the huge racial implications of these closures.
Thousands of parents have accused the schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and the mayor of lying about a pretend “underutilization crisis” in order to open more charter operations and privatize public education in the city. Most of the schools targeted for closure are in the African American community.
In the meantime, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) will join with other labor organizations, parent groups, churches and community-based organization in a mass march and rally on Wednesday, March 27 at 4 p.m.
People will gather at Daley Plaza at rush hour before heading to City Hall and BOE headquarters at 121 S. LaSalle Street.
Participants will include CTU Local 1 President Karen Lewis, SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff, Unite HERE Local 1 President Henry Tamarin, parents, clergy, students, rank-and-file teachers, paraprofessionals, school clinicians, lunchroom and custodial workers, community activists, and others.
###
The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve. CTU, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, is the third largest teachers local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information visit CTU’s website at http://www.ctunet.com
SG:oteg-743-t

An Astonishing Revelation

by dianerav

I earlier posted about the decision by Governor Christie to take control of the public schools of Camden, New Jersey. The state has controlled three other districts without “fixing” them. What will be different now? Or in those three other districts still under state control.
This teacher in Florida knows what should be done:
“I did my student teaching at woodrow wilson high school in camden, nj. those kids don’t need “a government” to 

The Chalkface Interviews Karen Lewis

by dianerav

This just in:
We had an amazing interview with Karen Lewis last night. Powerful. If you didn’t have a chance to listen here is the link.
Karen Lewis stops by to talk to Shaun and Tim. Why? Because we’re good looking of course.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chalkface/2013/03/24/at-the-chalk-face-progressive-edreform-talk
Tim Slekar

Do Schools Need Libraries?

by dianerav

Libraries and librarians are on the chopping block in some districts in Maryland.
This is personal for me.
I love libraries.
I always loved browsing the stacks and finding a new book, a new author, a new topic. For me, the library was a place of reverence, a place of quiet contemplation, a quiet place to read and think.
Yes, I know we have computers. But computers give you what you ask for. They may have all the information in 

What Harry Truman Learned in the Library

by dianerav

After I posted this morning about libraries, I received the following from Will Fitzhugh, who is publisher of The Concord Review. The Concord Review has been publishing exemplary history papers by high school students for many years. You never know what students will get interested in, what they will pursue on their own, what passion they will develop.

David McCullough, Truman

New York: Touchstone, 1992, p. 58

He grew dutifully, conspicuously studious, spending long afternoons in the town library, 

Daily Kos: Diane Ravitch calls it "the most brilliant post of the day"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago

Daily Kos: Diane Ravitch calls it "the most brilliant post of the day": Diane Ravitch calls it "the most brilliant post of the day" by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] As she puts it in this brief post at her blog: In a blinding flash of insight, he sees the pattern on the rug of the corporate reform movement. She is referring to A Confederacy of Reformers by the brilliant Louisiana blogger Crazy Catfish. Trust me, he really nails the corporate "reform" movement in education in this post.Here is the conclusion: What I am seeing... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 27 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Should the Common Core Standards Have Been Field Tested? by dianerav Marc Tucker and others scoffed when I said that the Common Core standards should have been field tested in a few districts and states before they were imposed on the 46 states. No one knows whether they will improve achievement. No one knows if they will widen or narrow the gaps between different groups. No one knows if the awkward mapping makes sense. No one knows if he standards are developm... more »

UPDATE: More lies from Tribune + Who’s scarier??? Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Who’s scarier???:

More lies from Tribune survey report

by admin

Thanks to Diane Ravitch for picking up and sharing yesterday’s post about the deceitful Tribune public education survey report.
Catalyst picked it up, too:

CHARTER CHEERLEADERS: A survey commissioned by the Chicago Tribune and the Joyce Foundation finds widespread support—among parents of CPS students and other Chicagoans—formore charter schools in the city. However, Julie Woestehoff, of the group PURE, says the polling wasn’t exactly balanced.

Well, here’s another whopper from today’s Tribune, which continues to tout their survey “findings”:

An impressive 6 in 10 (61.1 percent) favor a law that would empower parents to take control of a 

Who’s scarier???

by admin

In addition to raising the specters of vouchers, parent triggers, and unchecked charter school expansion in its editorial pages, the Tribune warns that opposition to the school closings will only frighten children.

In the lead article, the Trib highlighted this quote from Chicago Community Trust CEO Terry Mazany: “As difficult and disruptive as these large-scale school closings will be, I am equally concerned with the negative repercussions this uncompromising opposition will have on children and families.”

And, in case we didn’t get it, Sunday’s editorial drove the point home:

“Chicago Teachers Union officials threaten massive demonstrations and ‘civil disobedience’ to thwart those closings. That confrontational approach would make this process even more agonizing than it already is. It would frighten 

UPDATE: Jersey Jazzman: Mayoral Control Ain't Done Squat For NYC

Jersey Jazzman: Mayoral Control Ain't Done Squat For NYC:

The Screaming Hypocrisy of Chris Christie

by Duke

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie really does not care if he gets caught in his contradictions or not:

Gov. Christie says the state could intervene in the day-to-day affairs of the Camden school system within six to eight weeks, depending on how quickly the legal process moves.

Under the state-run system, the school board will have an advisory role, and the state will choose a new schools superintendent.

Christie, the father of four school-age children, expressed what he described as an obligation to get involved in the 

Mayoral Control Ain't Done Squat For NYC

by Duke

On the very day Chris Christie is taking over Camden's schools - a move that historically has had "mixed," at best, results - the Center for American Progress is releasing a report lauding mayoral control of schools. AsDiane Ravitch points out:

Those of us who live in cities under mayoral control know that the primary result is not to improve education or to help struggling children, but to stifle the voices of parents, students, teachers, and community members. Under mayoral control, governance is transferred to the mayor and the power elite, few of whom have children in public schools or even attended one. Mayoral control snuffs out democracy.

The timing of this report comes just as the mayor of Chicago unilaterally decided to close more than 50 public schools, decimating communities and stranding thousands of children. 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The continuing Vallas saga in Bridgeport

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The continuing Vallas saga in Bridgeport:

The continuing Vallas saga in Bridgeport

by Mike Klonsky

Vallas

Kathleen Megan writes in the Hartford Courant:

To hear some tell it, Paul Vallas is the savior of Bridgeport schools, a visionary working to turn around one of the state's lowest-performing districts. Others contend that the schools superintendent is an arrogant reformer, making too much change too quickly, with an agenda to turn education into a profit center.

I'll go with the latter.

Says fellow privateer, Andrew Rotherham: "He's a disaster specialist."

Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, sees Vallas as part of a "national assault" on public education aimed at privatizing 

UPDATE: Answers On Hiring Substitutes for SPS Seattle Schools Community Forum: PBS Two-Parter on an American High School

Seattle Schools Community Forum: PBS Two-Parter on an American High School:

Answers On Hiring Substitutes for SPS

by Melissa Westbrook

There are not further details/information on the Hamilton substitute incident that occurred last week as the investigation is on-going.   SPS replied to these basic questions about substitute hiring.

1) Why did the reporter say the sub wasn't employed by the district? Is that right?

We did not tell the reporter that the substitute wasn’t a district employee. We did say that because he isn’t a permanent teacher, he couldn’t be placed on leave. Instead, we would not give him any more assignments until the investigation was completed.

2) Does the district do a background check on everyone who applies to be a substitute in SPS? If not, why not? 

PBS Two-Parter on an American High School

by Melissa Westbrook

Tonight and tomorrow night, PBS is showing 180 Days: A Year Inside an American High School.  It's a two-part 4-hour special about a "failing" high school in Washington, D.c. where only seven percent of students are deemed proficient in math and only 19 percent in reading.  It was produced by the National Black Programming Consortium.  (Locally, KCTS 9 is showing it on both nights, starting at 9 p.m.)

From the director, Jacquie Jones', piece at the Huffington Post:

After receiving this press release, a veteran African American journalist for whom I have the utmost respect, asked me this question in an email: "I looked at the site for this program and I see that the team spent a lot of time in the high school, but what I'm not getting is why this is compelling television. Why 

The downside of superstar schools - latimes.com

The downside of superstar schools - latimes.com:

The downside of superstar schools

It's no surprise that parents go to great lengths to get their children into the coveted classrooms. But other campuses suffer a loss from such lopsided enthusiasm.

Carpenter Community Charter has almost 1,000 students, a waiting list and a controversy over parents who lie about their addresses to get their children in. But a generation ago, fewer than 50 of Carpenter’s 450 students were from the neighborhood; most were bused in. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times / March 11, 2013)

By Sandy Banks

March 22, 2013, 6:30 p.m.

You could say that Carpenter Elementary in Studio City owes its survival to students from other neighborhoods.

A generation ago, their presence kept the campus from being shut down, after local families fled to private schools to avoid Los Angeles Unified's mandatory busing program. By the time busing ended in 1981, fewer than 50 of Carpenter's 450 students were children from the neighborhood.

Former Principal Joan Marks spent years going door-to-door, luring locals back with the promise of a school they could be proud of.

• 
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• L.A. charter school aims to toss out students with fake addresses
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Today Carpenter Community Charter has almost 1,000 students. There's a lottery and a waiting list — and brewing resentment over the suspicion that children from other communities are using fake addresses to attend, filling seats that ought to belong to neighborhood children.

The school has so many students now, there may not be room next fall for all of Studio City's kindergartners. "We'll be putting local kids on buses," said Principal Joseph Martinez, "if we don't get this sorted out."

What a turnaround from a time when most of its students 

LAO suggests curtailing accreditation of teacher prep programs by CTC SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Print this article

LAO suggests curtailing accreditation of teacher prep programs by CTC
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, March 25, 2013

A policy paper from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst released late last week suggests lawmakers consider curtailing the accreditation of teacher training programs by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

The proposal was one of several recommendations included in a review of the impacts of the governor’s budget on the state’s primary standards board for educator training and professional conduct.

A key element of the administration’s plan is for the CTC to begin collecting new fees on universities and other teacher preparation programs for accreditation services. Currently, the state’s 260 teacher training programs are not paying for the oversight activity.

The governor’s budget has set a goal of $200,000 to come from fees the CTC imposes on accreditation services in 2013-14.

While the LAO agrees that the new fees are a good idea in general – they raise a question about the accreditation program itself, noting that site visits – a key part of the oversight process – have been suspended in recent years as a result of budget cuts.

They note that 60 to 80 of the teacher preparation programs in the state have not participated fully in accreditation