Parent trigger: Who’s for it and who’s against it tells the story:

Parent trigger: Who’s for it and who’s against it tells the story

Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 23, 2013 at 5:00 am

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You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about the controversial  “parent trigger” legislation now before the Florida Legislature by looking at who is for it and who is against it.

Parent trigger legislation is intended to give parents with children at low-performing schools the legal right to petition the state or district for a change in school structure, with the parents getting to pick from a list of options. Those options include turning the school over to a private management company.

Proponents say it gives parents more options and power in their children’s education. Opponents say it is a stealth way of turning traditional public schools into charter schools and that it will lead to more privately run schools and contentious battles in school communities (such as the one that ripped up the California town of Adelanto).

The Florida Senate’s Democratic leader, Nan Rich of Weston, who is running for governor in 2014, said at a recent press conference that  the bill is really about “laying the 

2013 National Teacher of Year: Public education not in crisis

by Valerie Strauss

The newly named 2013 National Teacher of the Year, who is visiting with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday with other award-winning teachers, is not a big fan of all of Obama’s education policy initiatives and believes that … Continue reading →

Standardized test questions kids have to answer that don’t even count

by Valerie Strauss

Parents and students may not know this, but all of the questions kids have to answer on standardized tests don’t actually count. Why? Here to explain is Fred Smith, a testing specialist and consultant, retired as an administrative analyst for … Continue reading →

UPDATE: 30 days to go Daily Kos: Guns and terrorism, a double-barreled standard

Daily Kos: Guns and terrorism, a double-barreled standard:

30 days to go

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

As today comes to a close, I enter upon the final month of this my 67th year on earth.
I always try to find time to reflect.
I spent a good deal of the year leading up to my 60th birthday reflecting upon my life, and that led to my writing

Photos from Andrew Kitzenberg of early Friday Watertown shootout

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Many saw Kitzenberg on TV during the early morning hours.
He has posted and explained the photos he took with his I-Phone as the shootout was occurring on the street just outside the house in which he leaves early Friday morning.
If you are interested, you can take a look  at Boston Bombing Suspect Shootout Pictures.

Guns and terrorism, a double-barreled standard

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

The nation demonstrated again last week how resolute it can be when threatened by murderous terrorists — and how helpless when ordered to heel by smug lobbyists for the gun industry.

That is how Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist of the Washington Post, begins this column this morning, whose title i have borrowed for this post.He goes through some of the background of reactions to the Boston Marathon attacks, including the unanswered questions about motivations of the attackers, and how some, like Senator Lindsay Graham, would like to see them treated.
He acknowledges that we are likely to "move heaven and earth" to try to get to any information that will explain the motivations and explore any possible foreign connections to their actions.
Then, in two sentences in adjacent paragraphs, he frames what for many of us is the real issue:

Since the 9/11 attacks, we have demonstrated that when alienated young men who are foreign-born and Muslim kill innocents, we will do anything in our power to keep such atrocities from happening again.Shamefully, however, we have also shown that when alienated young men who are not foreign-born 

UPDATE: Pensions: Hearts and minds. + The in box. Rally for pensions | Fred Klonsky

The in box. Rally for pensions at Harper College. | Fred Klonsky:

Ten minute drawing. Arne. You’re fired.

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

Pensions: Hearts and minds.

by Fred Klonsky

Public support for the Cullerton pension bill is collapsing.
For many teachers that I talk to, the fight over pension rights can be dispiriting.
Readers of this blog who are not teachers can understand that for both active and retired teachers the attempt to take away what was promised on top of what appears to be a general atmosphere of teacher-bashing seems to be a case of piling on.
Which brings me to yesterday’s Greg Hinz column in Crain’s.
Remember that Crain’s is a business publication and Hinz, although informative, is not exactly pro-union.

The in box. Rally for pensions at Harper College.

by Fred Klonsky

From Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice:

The Daily Herald and a billionaire funded, for-profit media site (called Reboot Illinois) are holding a Pension Forum at Harper’s Wojcik Conference Center next Wednesday on April 24th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. John Dillon did some “worth the read” researchon the connected corporate-media influence that created this event.  Even though IEA President Cinda Klickna is on the panel, everything else about this event seems to be part of a coordinated push to strip teachers of their retirement, reduce funding for education, and further privatize our schools.Prior to the pension forum, the Harper College Chapter of Local 1600 is working with Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice to hold a rally outside the Wojcik center from 5:00-6:45 pm on Wednesday April 24th.  The address for both events is the Harper College campus, 1200 West Algonquin rd. in Palatine, 60067. Please RSVP for the rally so we can communicate a crowd estimate to campus police. There is ample parking for the rally and forum. (please see attached map)  If you want to attend the actual forum, you have to RSVP to the Daily Herald by writingdhevents@dailyherald.com.  Seating within Wojcik is limited to 250 people and seats are disappearing fast.  There will be plenty of room at the rally for everyone involved. Retired teacher and blogger, Fred Klonsky and other outspoken educators will share their views and alternative solutions on the pension issue.  The primary purpose of the rally is to give you and other educators a voice in the pension discussion before Springfield lawmakers vote on HB 3411, or other dramatic pension cuts.  After a few slated speakers, we will have an open microphone for anyone who wishes to share his or her opinion before going into the event and sharing that opinion with Nekritz.  Bring your opinion.  We will bring the microphone.  We do intend to give preference to educators.  The purpose of this event is to give those affected by the pension cuts a stronger voice. Show your support for fair pensions!  Wear Red Attire on April 24th and RSVP to attend the Rally at 5pm in Front of Wojcik Conference Cente.  The event will probably start around 5:15.  Bring your signs! (title unknown) by Fred Klonsky My last year’s 4th grade art class. Raising Test Scores by teacher poet Taylor Mali Praise be to the music teachers!  And the teachers of art and dance though chances are there is only one  poor fool in the entire school,  one brave and tired soul, splattered  paint on her smock and hands,  one scarfed sylph waltzing the halls,  one sunglass-wearing cool cat  spending every lunch at his piano  because the kid with the gin mother has discovered he loves the upright bass,  that he can somehow face the world— be more upright and with a stronger bass— if he can play for an hour or two every day.  Praise be the to canvas and the palette that transforms the black mascara back  into a girl, or the sheer grace that clings  to the boy like tears. Praise be to every art  that jolts the soul’s skeleton and makes  the bones rattle. If you cut the funding  for the arts, you’ve already lost the battle.

When It Comes To Testing, Kids Get Labeled Failures First | The Jose Vilson

When It Comes To Testing, Kids Get Labeled Failures First | The Jose Vilson:

When It Comes To Testing, Kids Get Labeled Failures First

by Jose Vilson

In my new co-blog The Collaborateurs, I wrote a little bit about testing and race. Here’s a bit:

What’s sometimes missing from this side of the argument is that the effects for students is muchworse than for teachers. Obviously, the teaching profession has a long way to go before we have the right working conditions and respect from society to make this profession more … professional. On the other hand, a few of the people who replied to my thoughts said that it’s teachers, and not students, who get labeled failures when they don’t do well.
What?!
How can we say that children don’t get labeled failures? At least most of us have a degree to fall back on, if not an advanced degree, and perhaps another job they can take up in case this job fail. 

Martin Burney and PS 154 in the Bronx.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Martin Burney and PS 154 in the Bronx

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

What was it with that movie, "Sleeping with the Enemy?" Every girl, including my girlfriend at the time, wanted to see that movie. Not the best movie, but definitely creepy, and who can forget Patrick Bergin as Julia Robert's husband Martin Burney? Certainly not the staff of PS 154.

Remember Martin? He of the anal retentive, OCD, perfectionist, micro managing, control freak,
patronizing, condescending, and smarter (so Martin Burney believed) than everyone else type? One must wonder. Did Martin Burney met his demise in the movie? Maybe not. For he has been seen at PS 154 in the Bronx.

Remember how Martin was so fastidious in his insistence that all the cans in the cupboard were facing the same way with the label out? Well, Martin Burney at PS 154 has no labels to insist upon facing label, but does insist that all bulletin boards are the same all over the school. There is to be no deviation 

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Cheating Scandal + A Retrospective - Season of the Witch

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's Cheating Scandal 
A Retrospective  - Season of the Witch

When I look out my window

Many sights to see

And when I look in my window

So many different people to be

That it's strange, so strange

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch

Mm, must be the season of the witch

Must be the season of the witch, yeah

Must be the season of the witch

When I look over my shoulder

What do you think I see ?

Some other cat looking over

His shoulder at me

And he's strange, sure he's strange

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch, yeah

Beatniks are out to make it rich

Oh no, must be the season of the witch

Must be the season of the witch, yeah

Must be the season of the witch

You've got to pick up every stitch

The rabbits running in the ditch

Beatniks are out to make it rich

Oh no, must be the season of the witch

Must be the season of the witch

Must be the season of the witch

When I look

When I look out my window

What do you think I see?

And when I look in my window

So many different people to be

It's strange, sure it's strange

You've got to pick up every stitch

You've got to pick up every stitch

The rabbits running in the ditch

Oh no, must be the season of the witch

Must be the season of the witch, yeah

Must be the season of the witch

When I look

When I look

RHEE CAP: 

Hearing on Test-Cheating Claim in Washington - NYTimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Hearing on Test-Cheating Claim in Washington - NYTimes.com: Hearing on Test-Cheating Claim in Washington by By MOTOKO RICH Michelle A. Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington, said she did not recall a memo describing test cheating. By MOTOKO RICHPublished: April 12, 2013 - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - GOOGLE+ - SAVE - E-MAIL - SHARE - PRINT - REPRINTS - The City Council in Washington will hold a hearing next week after a memo warning officials of cheating on standardized tests during the chancellorship of Michelle A. Rhee surfaced Thursday night.... more »

All Things Education: Quick Thoughts on the Missing Memo & Erase to the Top

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

All Things Education: Quick Thoughts on the Missing Memo & Erase to the Top: Quick Thoughts on the Missing Memo & Erase to the Top by Rachel Levy Some quick thoughts on the discovery of the "missing" memo in DCPS/ Michelle Rhee cheating allegations: a) Everyone and their mom, or should I say dad, knew there was something fishy going on. How does this one memo change anything? Rhee doesn't recall receiving the memo? *Right.* Rhee says all kinds of things all of the time: to reporters, to pundits, under oath, to investigators, on the StudentsFirst blog. How will this lie be differ...more »

MUST SEE! CHRIS HAYES JOHN MERROW Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools All In — MSNBC

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago

All In — MSNBC: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Video: The Education of Michelle Rhee | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago

Video: The Education of Michelle Rhee | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video: Program: FRONTLINEEpisode: The Education of Michelle Rhee FRONTLINE correspondent John Merrow was granted unprecedented access to Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools as she attempted to fix a broken school system. • Visit the The Education of Michelle Rhee webpage Watch The Education of Michelle Rhee on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. Watch The Education of Michelle Rhee on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. Watch The Education of Michelle Rhee on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. W... more »

Why not subpoena everyone in D.C. cheating scandal — Rhee included?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Why not subpoena everyone in D.C. cheating scandal — Rhee included?: Why not subpoena everyone in D.C. cheating scandal — Rhee included? Posted by Valerie Strauss on April 12, 2013 at 12:14 pm [image: rhee]Several investigations into suspicions of widespread cheating by educators in D.C. schools on student standardized tests during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as chancellor turned up precious little, but a newly released memo (see below) by a data analyst raises questions that warrant a new probe — this time by investigators with subpoena powers. The concerns arise from Rhee’s 2008-2010 ... more »

Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago

Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools: Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools Greg Toppo, USA TODAY STORY HIGHLIGHTS - Memo suggests possible cheating in 70 D.C. schools - Two probes have found cheating only at one school - Possible ramifications of erasure study are serious, 2009 memo says District of Columbia Public Schools officials have long maintained that a 2011 test-cheating scandal that generated two government probes was limited to one elementary school. But a newly uncovered confidential memo warns as far back as January 2009... more »

Did Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee ignore her own cheating scandal? A new memo suggests clear evidence was discounted. | Get Schooled

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Did Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee ignore her own cheating scandal? A new memo suggests clear evidence was discounted. | Get Schooled: Did Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee ignore her own cheating scandal? A new memo suggests clear evidence was discounted. by Maureen Downey Michelle Rhee speaking to Georgia lawmakers last year. (AJC Photo) PBS education reporter John Merrow writes about the erasure analyses, clear evidence of cheating and concealment of that evidence. No, he is not writing about Atlanta Public Schools and former Superintendent Beverly Hall. He is writing abou... more »

Do as I say, not as I do: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the public education paradox | Money | guardian.co.uk

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Do as I say, not as I do: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the public education paradox | Money | guardian.co.uk: Do as I say, not as I do: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the public education paradox Education activist argues for radical change in public schools but sends her children to private school, like many other officials [image: Michelle Rhee at NOAA] Michelle Rhee's daughter attends a $22,000-per child private school in Nashville. Photograph: Iris Harris/US Department of Commerce Our personal finances play an all-but-unspoken role in how our children are educa... more »

Daily Kos: Michelle Rhee was warned about scope of DC test cheating

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Daily Kos: Michelle Rhee was warned about scope of DC test cheating: Michelle Rhee was warned about scope of DC test cheating by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Veteran education John Merrow obtained a copy of a previously "missing" memo from an outside consultant, and wrote about it this evening in a blog post he titled Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error. In italics, under the title we read *With the indictment of former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly A. Hall and 34 other public school employees in a massive cheating scandal, the time is right to re-examine other situations o... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Michelle Rhee's Day Has Finally Come

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Jersey Jazzman: Michelle Rhee's Day Has Finally Come: Michelle Rhee's Day Has Finally Come by Duke Oh, my... District of Columbia Public Schools officials have long maintained that a 2011 test-cheating scandal that generated two government probes was limited to one elementary school. *But a newly uncovered confidential memo warns as far back as January 2009 that educator cheating on 2008 standardized tests could have been widespread, with 191 teachers in 70 schools "implicated in possible testing infractions."* [..] The USA TODAY investigation found that, as far back as 2008, th... more »

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error | Taking Note

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error | Taking Note: Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error by John Merrow Michelle A. Rhee, America’s most famous school reformer, was fully aware of the extent of the problem when she glossed over what appeared to be widespread cheating during her first year as Schools Chancellor in Washington, DC. A long-buried confidential memo from her outside data consultant suggests that the problem was far more serious than kids copying off other kids’ answer sheets. (“191 teachers representing 70 schools”). Twice in just four ... more »

Richie Havens, Woodstock legend, dies at 72 - TODAY Entertainment

Richie Havens, Woodstock legend, dies at 72 - TODAY Entertainment:

Richie Havens, Woodstock legend, dies at 72

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, who opened the 1969 Woodstock music festival with a legendary and lengthy set that helped make him famous, died Monday at age 72. 

Fin Costello / Redferns file via Getty Images

Richie Havens in concert in 1973.

His family says Havens died of a heart attack, and that a public memorial will be announced later. A statement on his official website posted before Havens' death says that the singer never fully recovered from kidney surgery he underwent several years ago.

His career spans decades, but he may be most famous for his role as the first performer at Woodstock. He launched the three-day festival with more than two hours of music, even running out of songs and thus improvising the song "Freedom" based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child."

Steve Davidowitz, who co-wrote Havens' 1999 autobiography, "They Can't Hide Us Anymore," tells TODAY that the book title was what Havens said while looking out at the enormous Woodstock crowd.

"The promoters of the event actually appealed to Richie to perform for 20 minutes or so, because no one wanted to be first," Davidowitz told TODAY. "Instead of 20 minutes, the crowd kept him on stage for more than two hours with their cheers and demands for more."

Many Woodstock fans noticed that Havens didn't have his top row of teeth while performing at the festival. After the event, and with the encouragement of Johnny Carson, who had the singer on "The Tonight Show" more than a dozen times, the singer bought dental implants.

Brad Barket / Getty Images file

Richie Havens in 2009.

After Woodstock, Havens started his own record label, Stormy Forest. He also worked as an actor, appearing in the London stage version of The Who's "Tommy" and in the 1977 Richard Pryor movie "Greased Lightning," about the first black stock-car driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race. 

"Richie Havens was gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music," Havens' agent said in a statement. "His fiery, poignant, soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since his historic appearance at Woodstock in 1969. For four decades, Havens used his music to convey passionate messages of brotherhood and personal freedom."

Havens was always grateful for his fans. "From Woodstock to The Isle of Wight to Glastonbury to the Fillmore Auditorium to Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, Richie played the most legendary music 

NYC Public School Parents: Kari Steeves' letter to the Regents about inBloom

NYC Public School Parents: Kari Steeves' letter to the Regents about inBloom:

Kari Steeves' letter to the Regents about inBloom

by Leonie Haimson

From: Kari Steeves
To: mhtisch@mhtisch.com; RegentCashin@mail.nysed.gov; regentnorwood@mail.nysed.gov; regentcea@mail.nysed.gov; regentyoung@mail.nysed.gov; regentrosa@mail.nysed.gov; regentbendit@mail.nysed.gov; regentjackson@mail.nysed.gov; regenttilles@mail.nysed.gov; regenttallon@mail.nysed.gov; regentphillips@mail.nysed.gov; regentchapey@mail.nysed.gov; regentbottar@mail.nysed.gov; regentdawson@mail.nysed.gov; regentbennett@mail.nysed.gov; regenttisch@mail.nysed.gov; regentsoffice@mail.nysed.gov; regentcottrell@mail.nysed.gov

Dear Board of Regents,

I urge you to pull New York student data out of inBloom like Louisiana did. I have already written to Commissioner John King informing him that I do not give permission for my children's data to be released to any entity.  I do not want my children's personal data, photos, health histories, special education status, and other information stored on a cloud. I do not store any of my own or my children's information in a cloud, nor do I give it to private corporations, and I expect others to respect my right to privacy.

"Data" has become a loaded weapon in the hands of federal, state, and city education departments and it is 

Private companies want a share of public education dollars: Chalk It Up | OregonLive.com

Private companies want a share of public education dollars: Chalk It Up | OregonLive.com:

Private companies want a share of public education dollars: Chalk It Up

from Oregon Education by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

A gaggle of lobbyists wait outside the House chamber of the Oregon Legislature for the final gavel to fall during the 2011 session.Ross William Hamilton / The Oregonian

Education Week, a national news outlet that covers K-12 education, hasa big article out today (mainly behind a paywall) that looks at the many ways for-profit education companies are trying to influence education policies and laws -- usually to get a share of public education dollars.

One focus of the article is how much education corporations put into lobbying.

In Oregon right now, K-12 Inc., which operates the statewide online charter school Oregon Virtual Academy, has two lobbyists working the Oregon Legislature.Connections Education LLC, which operates the even bigger online charter Oregon Connections Academy, also has two lobbyists working to influence the legislature.

How big a deal is that? Maybe not so big. The Oregon Education Association, the state's teacher union, has more lobbyists this session than the two companies combined, five.

The Education Week article says:

The online education provider K12 Inc.—a publicly traded company with