@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:

Two Questions for Commissioner Deborah Gist

by Jim Horn

Commissioner Gist of Rhode Island has taken to the op-ed pages to defend standardized testing, going so far as to declare that Too often, standardized tests become a convenient stand-in for the ills of our education system. People frequently blame assessments for less-than-inspired teaching. Really? Is that your experience, Ms. Gist? If you ask the […]

Governor Chris Christie and Ed Commissioner Cerf Leaving NJ’s Children Behind

by freetoteach

Funding for New Jersey’s public schools is falling behind and leaving lots of children left behind. After more than a decade of NCLB which was supposed to close the achievement gap, yeah right, Chris Christie and President Obama’s love fest this past week in boosting the tv ratings on the Jersey Shore, is little comfort […]

Parents Opt Out . . . of Student Eye Scanning

by Jim Horn

In the state that spawned Chiefs for Change (and Folding Cash), the education industrial complex just got hooked up with the homeland security and surveillance complex in Polk County.  Just as everyone was starting to believe that the Polk County Schools were working on an austerity basis with a twelve million dollar budget shortfall as […]

Return Philadelphia Schools to Local Control Rally Wed June 5th

by freetoteach

Pennsylvania Education Crisis Highlights - May 31st, 2013 Philadelphia City Council Education Committee hearing on the return of the Philadelphia School District to local control Monday, June 3rd  10:00 a.m. People wanting to speak may sign up right before the meeting. Stand Together for real food and safe schools for our kids Rally: Wednesday, June 5th 4:00 p.m. […]

Denver Blacklisting Teachers Without Cause

by freetoteach

Sign petition here All across the country, from coast to coast, even here in New Jersey, where we have had the best public school systems in the country, experienced teachers are being fired. Under the guise of a bad evaluation,  teachers in Denver are the latest victims and are being targeted despite years of teaching […]

Over a Half-Million Viewers Share Rubenstein’s Resignation Speech

by Jim Horn

Captured in 10 minutes here are so many of the truths known by teachers everywhere during these Dark Days. When teachers begin to speak this way while still employed, rather than as they walk out, only then will we see progress in rolling back the influence of the oligarchs to create a new breed of […]

Los Angeles public education events for the first weekend of June 2013

by rdsathene

First published on solidaridad on May 30, 2013 Logan Street Elementary School Celebrates 125th Birthday Posted by Cheryl Ortega, May 23, 2013 at 10:46 am on Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch Saturday, June 1, 2013, 10:00 AM 1711 W. Montana Street Los Angeles, CA 90026 See previous entry for more photos In 1888 children came to Logan […]

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER 5-30-13 

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: From “Surplussed” to “Excessed:” Dumped Memphis Teachers Go to Court by Jim Horn With the blessing of Bill Gates and State Commissioner, Kevin (formerly Mister Michelle Rhee) Huffman, principals across Memphis and Shelby County are illegally dumping hundreds of tenured teachers in favor of TFA, TeachPlus, and TeachMemphis corporate missionaries, who are hired to instill in Memphis’ impoverished children the corporate psychology that can be summed up as “you can […] Enough of the “I am a white person and I refuse to acknowledge the opportun... more »

Jeb Bush’s disdain for public education:

Jeb Bush’s disdain for public education

By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 31, 2013 at 5:00 amE-mail the writer

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Jeb Bush                                                                  (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, Hector Gabino)

It’s always useful to know where  people are coming from, so we can thank former Florida governor Jeb Bush for making it so easy to understand where he stands on public education. He has nothing but disdain for it.

If you think this is somehow an exaggeration, consider what Bush, a national education reform leader, has said recently about the subject. In his keynote speech this week at the Mackinac Policy Conference in northern Michigan, Bush said,according to the Huffington Post:

We must expand [school] choice. Our governance model includes over 13,000 government-run monopolies run by unions.

and

We can’t just outsource public education to bureaucracies and public education unions and hope for the best.

Mind you, Bush does support “outsourcing” public education to for-profit companies, as is evidenced by his longtime support for charter schools run by for-profit companies as well as private school vouchers paid for 

Five ways to improve literacy learning (that work better than high-stakes tests)

by Valerie Strauss

The following letter from Sandy Hayes, president of the National Council of Teachers of English to organization members, supports a moratorium on the high-stakes consequences of standardized tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards. American Federation of Teachers President … Continue reading →

Was the winning National Spelling Bee word too easy?

by Valerie Strauss

The winning word in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night was, as it turned out, “knaidel,” a Jewish version of a dumpling.The boy who got it right — on his fourth successive appearance in the national event … Continue reading →

Daily Kos: Leaves on the Current - the progress continues

Daily Kos: Leaves on the Current - the progress continues:

Leaves on the Current - the progress continues

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I did not post an update last Sunday because there was nothing knew to report about my wife's continued recovery from dealing with her blood cancer.  I am posting a bit early this week because I will be leaving this morning for a college reunion, so this seemed like an appropriate time.
This is her week off from chemotherapy.  Her last dose was taken Monday night.  Normally Tuesday and Wednesday of the off week have been her toughest days, with a beginning to return towards a calmer situation starting on Thursday.  But this week was somewhat different.
As those who follow me on Facebook or Twitter know, on Wednesday she not only worked a complete 10 hour day in her office, she worked some extra time as well.  Yesterday she also worked a complete day, and was actually in her office for longer, but was able to have a leisurely lunch with a co-worker.  I finally picked her up a bit after 9 PM, about 12 hours after I had dropped her off, and we celebrated a bit - she had a bowl of gazpacho at the National Democratic Club where I am a member, and since she was more than 48 hours away from 

UPDATE: Nekritz/Biss dies in the Illinois Senate. SB2404 on life support. One day to go. UPDATED. | Fred Klonsky

Nekritz/Biss dies in the Illinois Senate. SB2404 on life support. One day to go. UPDATED. | Fred Klonsky:

Reported here first. Springfield may vote to cut CPS pension contributions

by Fred Klonsky

As I reported here this morning, the final hours of the General Assembly may see a new attack on teacher pensions emerge. This time the target is the Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund.
A source not only expressed concern about Senate Bill 1920, but also about the continued arrogance and hostility coming from the CPS board. There representatives reportedly walked away from the table in the middle of bargaining over board and teacher contributions to the fund.
Senate Bill 1920 would give CPS a $350 million pension holiday. 
The CTPF reports:

The 98th General Assembly adjourns today and we expect the legislature to vote on a recently introduced measure granting CPS more funding relief through House Amendment #2 to SB 1920.Details are just becoming available, but under the proposed legislation, the CPS contribution will be reduced to $350M in 2014 (from $612.7M) and $500M in 2015 (from $631.5). This amounts to more than $350M in relief for those two years. Please e-mail or call legislators right now to let them know that CPS has already been granted $3.2 billion in funding “relief” and pension “holidays” since 1995. We can’t afford to let CPS repeat their past mistakes. Tell your legislators to VOTE NO on House Amendment #2 to SB 1920.

Final day. Final calls.

by Fred Klonsky

Final day. Final calls.
I received notice that there is a bill, SB1920, that negatively impacts the pensions of Chicago teachers. The concern is that it may include a pension holiday for the city on pension payment obligations. I have been told by reliable sources that in talks between the city and representatives of the Chicago Teachers Union over how best to resolve pension cost issues of concern to both sides, the city walked away from the table.
When calling your House and Senate representatives mention your opposition to SB1920.
There is also concern with attempts to strong-arm the Senate into reconsidering SB1 again today. Call and thank those who voted no and affirm your view that SB1 is unconstitutional and a breach of contractual obligations to state employee pensions.
Third is SB2404. Please call your House representative and tell them that in spite of what they may have heard, public employees oppose SB2404.
And finally there is the cost shift. A bill was passed yesterday that shifted pension costs of public university and college to the schools. Some suspect this will lay the groundwork for a broader pension cost shift from the state to local school districts. When you call, tell them you oppose a pension cost shift.

If there ever was a reason for SB2404 (there wasn’t), there’s no reason for it now.

by Fred Klonsky

The We Are One/Cullerton pension bill, SB2404 can still happen if Speaker Madigan brings it to the House floor today.
The justification behind a bill that would create a choice under duress between a cost of living adjustment to retiree benefits and health care was that it provided an alternative to the Nekritz/Biss/Madigan bill that was even worse.
While this was an incredibly bone-headed move by the leadership of the state’s public employee unions, there is 

Curriculum dialogue.

by Fred Klonsky

Thanks to John and Elizabeth and the Addison Public Library for inviting me to take part in a dialogue about the Persepolis Controversy last night.
It was a great evening.
Sandwiched between our conversation was a screenng of the award-winning animated film based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.
Persepolis only became controversial when CPS CEO Barabara Byrd-Bennett unilaterally banned it from CPS libraries, classrooms and from the hands of CPS students.
Our group at the library turned into an inter-generational conversation about the fundamental curricular questions:

Nekritz/Biss dies in the Illinois Senate. SB2404 on life support. One day to go. UPDATED.

by Fred Klonsky

The Nekritz bill died last night.
At around 8PM last night the worst of the pension killing bills died in the Senate chamber of the Illinois Capitol building.
It died a brutal, bloody, decisive death.
It garnered only 16 votes.
42 Illinois senators voted for the Illinois Constitution and the contractual rights of public employees.
Senate President Cullerton voted for the bill, but that was only for show. He clearly had given his permission for 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pension thieves fall out once again. SB1 bombs in the Senate

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pension thieves fall out once again. SB1 bombs in the Senate:

Pension thieves fall out once again. SB1 bombs in the Senate

by Mike Klonsky

Angry Boss Madigan stomped out of the Capitol after his SB1 pension bill blew up.  Points finger at Cullerton.

If you're a retired teacher, living on fixed income, or struggling to make your health care payments, you can breathe a little easier -- at least for a few months. Boss Madigan's unconstitutional pension-busting bill, SB1, bombed in the Senate once again. It fell short by a 16-42 vote, despite an alliance between Madigan and the Republicans who came around after first complaining that the bill didn't go far enough.  Thank you, all those 

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush warn Michigan legislators against abandoning Common Core standards | MLive.com

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Jeb Bush warn Michigan legislators against abandoning Common Core standards | MLive.com:

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush warn Michigan legislators against abandoning Common Core standards

Source: [b]MLive.com[/b]

LANSING -- As keynote speakers Michelle Rhee and Jeb Bush endorsed the National Common Core State Standards for education at this week's Mackinac Policy Conference, Gov. Rick Snyder called the controversy over the standards "something we need to work through."

Rhee, the former chancellor of District of Columbia schools and head of the StudentsFirst advocacy group, told attendees in her address Thursday that opponents should set aside concerns about the standards for the good of students.

"The vast majority of states have adopted the standards. I've heard some recent rumblings from folks who say we don't like it when the federal government is telling us what to do. We don't like that. You know what you should not like? The fact that China is kicking our butts right now," Rhee told attendees. "Get over feeling bad about the federal government and feel bad that our kids are not competing."

Wednesday's keynote speaker, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, struck a similar tone, imploring lawmakers not to abandon the guidelines. "These standards, the Common

Another “Big Lie” from Achievement First: “100 percent college acceptance rate.” - Wait, What?

Another “Big Lie” from Achievement First: “100 percent college acceptance rate.” - Wait, What?:

Another “Big Lie” from Achievement First: “100 percent college acceptance rate.”

by jonpelto

In a story entitled Amistad Sends 30 To College, “Loses” 23, the New Haven Independent highlights what Wait, What? readers have known for a while; when the charter school management company, Achievement First Inc. claims that they achieve a “100 percent college acceptance rate,” it should not be considered a “statement of fact.”

Achievement First, of course, being the charter school management company founded by Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor.

As the New Haven Independent explains in their story about Achievement First, “The “100 percent” figure does not give the full picture for the whole group of kids who entered Amistad four years ago. Data show that for nearly one of them who walked across the stage Wednesday, another was “lost” along the way. Students “lost” to Amistad include one senior who withdrew in March to attend adult education.”

Readers may remember the following chart, published in an earlier Wait, What? post that 

Tea party groups rallying against Common Core education overhaul - The Washington Post

Tea party groups rallying against Common Core education overhaul - The Washington Post:

Tea party groups mobilizing against Common Core education overhaul

Frank Espich/AP - In this Jan. 16, 2013, photo, concerned grandparent Sue Lile of Carmel, Ind., shows her opposition to Common Core standards during a rally at the State House rotunda in Indianapolis.

By Peter Wallsten and Lyndsey Layton, Thursday, May 30, 4:41 PM E-mail the writers

Tea party groups over the past few weeks have suddenly and successfully pressured Republican governors to reassess their support for a rare bipartisan initiative backed by President Obama to overhaul the nation’s public schools.

Activists have donned matching T-shirts and packed buses bound for state legislative hearing rooms in Harrisburg, Pa., grilled Georgia education officials at a local Republican Party breakfast and deluged Michigan lawmakers with phone calls urging opposition to theCommon Core State Standards.

New student testing in common core set to officially begin in 2015 SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

New student testing in common core set to officially begin in 2015

Legislative action Thursday clears the way for California schools to begin statewide student testing based on the new common core curriculum beginning in the spring of 2015.

The move comes in the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown proposing in his revised May budget to set aside $1 billion next year to help local school boards buy new instructional materials, provide new training for teachers and fill technology needs in order to support and implement the new common core standards.

The new standards, which have been embraced by 45 other states, were actually adopted in California almost three years ago – but until now there was no money to help districts make the transition.

Thursday, however, the state Assembly approved AB 1186 by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, that will provide distribution of the $1 billion in common core money to districts based on average daily attendance.

Perhaps more important, however, was agreement in the state Senate to support the 2014-15 school year as the start for new student testing on common core curriculum.

“It is time that we stop testing students using antiquated ‘fill in the bubble’ forms, and begin to align our assessment methods with standards that will better prepare students for college and careers,” Bonilla said in a statement 

Last Stand for Children First: Day 2 on Mackinac Island

Last Stand for Children First: Day 2 on Mackinac Island:

Day 2 on Mackinac Island

by Last Stand for Children

Day 2 at Mackinac Island was even more amazing than day 1.   This morning we joined with several business and education leaders from around the country to announce a new grant program for urban schools looking to bring yachting, equestrian, and polo to their physical education departments.

Then it was off to hear some great speakers.   Today, I heard Michelle Rhee talk about the pitiful state of education and several Michigan based entrepreneurs talk about the positive miracle of Detroit.  I thought they were both equally valid.    

If I had any doubts about the education reform movement, Michelle Rhee deftly erased them all.  She repeated 

Emphasize The TEACHER In Teacher Leadership - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

Emphasize The TEACHER In Teacher Leadership - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

Emphasize The TEACHER In Teacher Leadership

by Jose Vilson

I wrote a little something here as a thought on teacher leadership. Check it at the Collaborateurs:

That’s why I ought to start capitalizing the word “teacher” in the phrase “teacher leader.” The term “teacher leader” is so ubiquitous, you can’t help but wonder if people even know what it actually means, or at least have characteristics in mind when they think of TEACHER leadership.
We can knock out a few instances of what’s not teacher leadership. It’s not hiring a person at a teacher’s salary and giving them a position or a name. It’s not giving a person only a couple of years to teach before they’re walking around telling teachers what to do. It’s definitely not seeking to get famous for a few opinions.

For more, read here. Share. Comment, too. Thanks!

Keep Reading

• The Dark Side of Teacher Leadership [Future of Teaching]
• Teach Others How To Lead, And Other Tips [Edutopia]
• When It Comes To Testing, Kids Get Labeled Failures First
• The Stakes Is High For Assessment [Collaborateurs]
• Differentiation: The Dirtiest Word In Education Today
• We Can Do Better Than “Wrong” [Future of Teaching]

Advocates fear Gov. Jerry Brown's school funding plan could hurt small programs - Education - The Sacramento Bee

Advocates fear Gov. Jerry Brown's school funding plan could hurt small programs - Education - The Sacramento Bee:

Advocates fear Gov. Jerry Brown's school funding plan could hurt small programs

By Jeremy B. White
jwhite@sacbee.com

Published: Thursday, May. 30, 2013 - 5:30 pm

Last Modified: Thursday, May. 30, 2013 - 5:37 pm

Pregnant at 14, Rhianna Schoon thought she had slender educational prospects. She wasn't sure if the demands of parenting would allow her to finish high school.

"I thought that I was going to have to drop out of school," Schoon said, "and at that point I started not even trying any more."

Then her guidance counselor referred her to a program for pregnant and parenting teenagers. Schoon received weekly parenting classes and enrolled her daughter Kailynn in on-site day care at her high school in Tracy. Kailynn is 2 1 / 2 now. Schoon, defying abysmal graduation rates for pregnant teens, is preparing to enter her junior

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/30/5459888/advocates-fear-gov-jerry-browns.html#mi_rss=Education#storylink=cpy

New poll showing strong voter support for revised budget gives governor a boost | EdSource Today

New poll showing strong voter support for revised budget gives governor a boost | EdSource Today:

New poll showing strong voter support for revised budget gives governor a boost - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Voter support is giving Gov. Jerry Brown a tailwind as he heads into negotiations over the state budget and school finance reform with the Legislature.

A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Californians continue to overwhelmingly back Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, even though superintendents of suburban districts are very unhappy with the share they’d get, and Democrats in the Senate and Assembly want to change parts of it. The poll found 77 percent of all respondents, 83 percent of public school parents and 87 percent of Democrats favored it after hearing a one-sentence description that said the LCFF would give each district more than it got this year and would funnel additional dollars to English learners and low-income students. Even a majority of Republicans (57 percent) supported it. The level of support was 6 percentage points higher than in April, even though Brown’s plan has received more scrutiny.

As for the overall state budget, Brown’s May revision was favored by a healthy 61 percent, with likely voters at 60 percent, Democrats at 74 percent and, perhaps surprisingly, Republicans at 49 percent. (The question included a one-sentence summary that said the budget would “increase spending on K-12 schools, higher education, health and human services, and corrections and rehabilitation, create a $1.1 billion reserve, and pay down the state’s debt” – a framing that advocates for restoring social services cuts would dispute.) The poll, taken of 1,704 adults, has a margin of error of 3.8 percent.

Respondents also overwhelmingly endorsed a new idea in 

Obama Student Loan Speech Signals Renewed Battle With Republicans Over Interest Rates

Obama Student Loan Speech Signals Renewed Battle With Republicans Over Interest Rates:

Obama Student Loan Speech Signals Renewed Battle With Republicans Over Interest Rates

by Joy Resmovits

President Barack Obama will deliver a speech Friday urging Congress to pass legislation that would prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1. (Photo by Zbigniew Bzdak-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- Even before President Barack Obama personally joins the debate over student loan interest rates on Friday, Republican lawmakers and higher-education professionals are lashing out at the White House for what they criticize as a campaign-style initiative unlikely to focus on the biggest student debt issues.

Obama, appearing with college students, is to call on Congress to prevent a doubling of interest rates on some federal loans offered to undergraduate students, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday. The event likely will be reminiscent of the "Don't Double My Rate" drive Obama successfully promoted during the 2012 election year on college campuses.

The interest rates, set by a Democratic Congress and signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2007, are set to jump to 6.8 percent from their present 3.4 percent for about a quarter of all new federal student loans, according to the Department of Education. Like last year, when Obama’s initiative only tackled borrowing costs for a small segment of students, three-fourths of new student borrowing this fiscal year -- a projected $79 

solidaridad: Los Angeles public education events for the first weekend of June 2013

solidaridad: Los Angeles public education events for the first weekend of June 2013:

Los Angeles public education events for the first weekend of June 2013

Logan Street Elementary School Celebrates 125th Birthday

Posted by Cheryl Ortega, May 23, 2013 at 10:46 am on Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch
Saturday, June 1, 2013, 10:00 AM
1711 W. Montana Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
See previous entry for more information

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Allesandro and Silver Valley CEJ will be honored on Saturday at CTA at the Bonaventure Hotel

CEJ folks and supporters: On Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 6:00 pm, California Teachers Association's* Peace and Justice Caucus will be recognizing the work (mostly in environmental justice) that the Allesandro chapter and the Silver Valley chapter of CEJ have been doing this school year with a Youth Activist certificate.
Just wanted to let you know! If any of you are attending CTA's State Council this weekend, please check us out at 6:00 PM
The CTA YOUTH ACTIVIST CEREMONY WILL BE AT 6:00 PM IN SANTA MONICA C (the room name) Westin Bonaventure Hotel
404 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90071

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East Side Stories Conference: A Grassroots Vision for Education and Community

The Community Forum for the Campaign of the Schools that LA Students Deserve

East Side Stories Conference: A Grassroots Vision for Education and Community by Robert D. Skeels

Inviting Community, Students, Teachers, to the East Side Vision Forum of the Campaign for the Schools that LA Students Deserve!!!
East Side Stories Annual Conference
Saturday, June 1, 2013
at Roosevelt High School
456 S Mathews St
Los Angeles, CA 90033
The conference will run from 8am to 2:30pm. It will include student- and youth-led workshops, speakers on educational justice, a curriculum fair, and vendors from the community. Lunch will be served, and translation will be provided.
The Vision Forum for the Schools LA Students Deserve will take place in two workshop sessions, from 9:45am to 10:45am and 11am to 12pm. In the first session we will discuss what we want to change in our schools across LA, and in the second we will envision how we can accomplish our goals.  We encourage people to attend the whole day if possible!
The Eastside Schools LA Students Deserve forum is a unique opportunity for parents, youth, educators and community members to share their ideas and hear from each other about what they think the main issues are in public education on the Eastside.