Linking home and classroom, Oakland bets on community schools | Hechinger Report

Linking home and classroom, Oakland bets on community schools | Hechinger Report:

Linking home and classroom, Oakland bets on community schools

by Trey Bundy

Sitting behind his desk at Fremont High School in Oakland, principal Daniel Hurst fiddled with a plastic cigar wrapper he had confiscated from a student. “They take the cigar paper and fill it with weed,” he said. Hurst knows Fremont’s problems well: he joined the school 28 years ago as a teacher. Two years ago, he said, a teacher was robbed at gunpoint before the first bell. “The school gets regularly burglarized,” he added. “Teachers’ cars get broken into. Laptops and cell phones get stolen.”
Fremont’s campus in gang-entrenched East Oakland is just three blocks away from International Boulevard, famous for its booming sex trade. The school is known for abysmal test scores and low graduation rates. In the 2011-2012 school year, it had the most suspensions of any school in Oakland, according to school officials. Many local families have had enough. Of roughly 600 possible freshmen living in the neighborhood this year, only about 200 chose to attend Fremont. Even those who do register often leave. “There’s a perception of violence and safety issues and marijuana use,” said Nidya Baez, a Fremont grad who is now an administrator at the school. “We constantly have kids transferring out.”

Daniel Hurst, former principal of Fremont High School, waits for students outside the school’s gate. (Photo by Noah Berger/For The Center for Investigative Reporting)

Fremont’s problems may be extreme but other schools in the Oakland Unified School District are suffering as 

The Washington Teacher: Longer School Day & Longer School Year Up Ahead for DC Public Schools Teachers & Students!

The Washington Teacher: Longer School Day & Longer School Year Up Ahead for DC Public Schools Teachers & Students!:

Longer School Day & Longer School Year Up Ahead for DC Public Schools Teachers & Students!

by noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson)

By Candi Peterson
Vote Davis Slate for WTU
 Liz Davis /Candi Peterson
WTU Can Be Better!

Earlier in March 2013, DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced to the Washington Examiner newspaper that she was seeking to implement a longer school day and a longer school year. According to a schools spokesperson, DCPS was not ready to release the details at that time since contract negotiations were ongoing with the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU).

On June 11, Confirmation of Chancellor Henderson's plans to lengthen the time DC students and teachers spend in school came when she announced to the City Council Round Table on Public Education, "A LONGER SCHOOL DAY and YEAR IN THE COMING YEAR, WILL SOON TO BE MADE PUBLIC." 

So it seems the details of Henderson's plans as well as information on teacher raises will be revealed in the upcoming Washington Teachers' Union Tentative Agreement (T.A.). It's not surprising why WTU's PresidentSaunders failed to mention in his Sunday, June 16 robo call to union members the longer school day/school year, but emphasized teacher raises.  One might speculate that the timing of the release of the WTU Tentative Agreement is no coincidence as the news of a longer school day and school year may not be the kind of news teachers and school staff want to hear and could propel some union members to cast their vote 

Daily Kos: Freedom of Religion in schools 6/17/1963

Daily Kos: Freedom of Religion in schools 6/17/1963:

Freedom of Religion in schools 6/17/1963

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

On this day, by an 8-1 vote (Potter Stewart dissenting) the Supreme Court of the United States issued ABINGTON SCHOOL DIST. v. SCHEMPP, 374 U.S. 203.  The opinion was written by Justice Tom Clark, who retired from the Court when his son Ramsey was appointed Attorney General of the United States by Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Pennsylvania law required the reading of 10 bible verses each morning, along with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.  In schools with a loudspeaker system all students heard the same verses.  In those without the teacher picked the verses.  They were read without commentary, and were from the Revised Standard, King James, or Doai Bibles.  this was often followed immediately by recitiatio of the Lords' Prayer, which is a New Testament text, in lieu of other Bible verses.  There was no restriction as to the part of the Bible from which the texts could be taken, although I seriously doubt one could find examples of citation from Song of Songs, with verses like "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine."
The law informed parents and students that those who did not want to participate could leave the room.
The school district in question, Abingdon, is in Montgomery County PA, just North of the City of Philadelphia.  The Schempff family, one behalf of whose children the case was brought, attended a Unitarian Universalist Church in Philadelphia.  They won their case in District Court, and in a unanimous 3-judge Panel in the 3rd Circuit before the School District appealed to the Supreme Court.  The decision was issued on Monday June 16, exactly one week before I graduated from high school 50 years ago.

Will competition in education kill our sense of community?:

Will competition in education kill our sense of community?

By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 17, 2013 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

Sarah Irvine Belson
(american.edu)

I recently published a post that slammed modern school reform as essentially an urban land reform project, written by Leslie Fenwick, dean of the Howard University School of Education and a professor of education policy, It said in part:

The truth can be used to tell a lie. The truth is that black parents’ frustration with the quality of public schools is at an all time righteous high…. The lie is that schemes like Teach For America, charter schools backed by venture capitalists,education management organizations (EMOs), and Broad Foundation-prepared superintendents address black parents’ concerns about the quality of public schools for their children.

Here is a related piece, written by a colleague of Fenwick’s, Sarah Irvine Belson, dean of

‘I didn’t really research anything’ in high school, D.C. valedictorian says

by Valerie Strauss

This Washington Post story by my colleague Emma Brown tells the revealing story of the academic trouble that some of the highest achieving graduates from D.C. Public Schools face when they start college. It raises questions about just how far … Continue reading →

A teacher to remember and celebrate | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

A teacher to remember and celebrate | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Get Schooled: A teacher to remember and celebrate

Ashley Muck

 By Maureen Downey

My former editorial board colleague Joe Geshwiler is retired but writes for the paper at times, including some wonderful obituaries. This obituary by Joe appeared Sunday in the AJC. I wanted to share it because Ashley Muck sounds like an extraordinary woman and teacher.  And people ought to know about her.  Ms. Muck lived a far too short life, but one full of meaning, commitment and accomplishment.

So, if you missed it in the Sunday AJC:

Ashley Muck taught calculus and trigonometry at Dacula High School the past seven years. Despite the difficulty of these subjects, she was very popular --- so much so that this year's senior class voted her the teacher "most likely to brighten your day."

She was well-liked and admired not because she made her classwork easy, but because, in her own exuberant way, she made higher math comprehensible. "If we could fill theschools with teachers like Ashley, we could throw away all the failure and graduation-rate records, " said a former Dacula High principal, Donnie Nutt of Dacula. "She loved her students and would do whatever necessary to ensure 

Comparing Wait, What? to CTEducation180…Now that is just going too far… - Wait, What?

Comparing Wait, What? to CTEducation180…Now that is just going too far… - Wait, What?:

Comparing Wait, What? to CTEducation180…Now that is just going too far…

by jonpelto

Call it a Father’s Day perogative, but I’m going to take a moment away from my on-going effort to educate, persuade and mobilize through “perceptive and acerbic” observations about Connecticut Government and Politics.

Normally I don’t respond to personal attacks or ill-informed commentaries that are leveled against my own commentaries.

Truth be told, I’ve always believed in Voltaire’s famous quote which goes, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”  In fact, I even believe in the more direct version of his statement which can be found in a letter he wrote on February 6, 1770, and reads, “Monsieur l’abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.”

That said, I do feel moved to respond to the observations contained in an Op. Ed. written 

The Educated Reporter: Guest Post: Is Third Grade Retention a Help or Hindrance?

The Educated Reporter: Guest Post: Is Third Grade Retention a Help or Hindrance?:

Guest Post: Is Third Grade Retention a Help or Hindrance?

by Emily Richmond

 We asked some of the journalists attending EWA's 66th National Seminar, held at Stanford University in May, to contribute posts from the sessions. You can find additional content, including video, at EdMedia Commons. Dave Murray of the Grand Rapids Press is today's guest blogger.


Educators are pretty clear that children need to read at grade level by third grade so they can use that skill to learn other subjects. 

But what if they don’t? 

More states are embracing the idea of holding back those students to repeat the third grade. Researchers Martin West (Harvard University) and Shane Jimerson (UC-Santa Barbara) squared off in a passionate – and 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Board Retreat and Strategic Planning

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Board Retreat and Strategic Planning:

Board Retreat and Strategic Planning

by Melissa Westbrook

Following up on Charlie's thread to the new (waiting for Board approval) five-year Strategic Plan, here's what I heard from the Board retreat where the Board and senior staff discussed it.  For some reason, only the goals are at the communications page on this issue but there are links to the vision/mission/core beliefs from the Intro item on the Board agenda page.

To note: that Saturday, June 1st, saw a packed room of staff (most of whom stayed from 10 am to 2 p.m. - a big commitment of time) and Board members. Everyone came prepared to work and was in good spirits.  There was a feeling of a shared unity to this work.

Once again the Alliance person sat at the table with Board and staff.  One funny aside is that I downloaded the agenda from the district's website.  It had only the district logo but when you got to the meeting, the agenda had

Seattle Schools This Week

by Melissa Westbrook

Tuesday, June 18th
Audit and Finance Ctm meeting (quarterly audit mtg) from 4-6 p.m.  Agenda.
Includes:
- exit conference from State Auditor on accountability
- internal audits include Kimball Elementary, custodial services/grounds, and Denny
- risk management
- ethics update

Wednesday, June 19th
School Board meeting starting at 4:15 pm.  Agenda.

Includes:
- academic calendar for 2013-2014.  There appear to be two Options, A and B (the difference being PD waiver days in A and not in B.) They want the Board to approve both as the BOE doesn't meet to discuss the district's request for PD waiver days until July 12th.  The other difference is 2 days of TRI but different dates for A and B.  There appear to be two snow days at the end of the year in June and one they could use for the Day between Semesters.  And yes, there continues to be a full-week of mid-winter break.  It's unclear to me if this is a final from SEA.  
- the NWEA contract (MAP) for about $470k
- intro of an extension of Superintendent Banda's contract until 2016.  This is a one-year added extension to his contract which was to expire in June 2015.  To note:

This action does not change the Superintendent’s compensation. Discussions on compensation are being deferred until after the state budget is adopted

by the legislature and after the current contract negotiations with the

Seattle Education Association, Principals’Association of Seattle Schools and Local 609

International Union of Operating Engineers.

 

- approval of the Seattle Teacher Residency Students "contingent certificated contracts".  I note the MOU is missed two pages (4 and 5) .  It appears that the Alliance will be the employer for the Program director and staff.  

 

- increasing the 2012-2013 budgeted transfers from Capital Projects Funds to the General Fund by $3.3M.  This is for "certain technology related expenditures and certain maintenance/repairs." On the one hand, the "technology-related expenditures" is for "salary costs" but the maintenance money is for up to $800k of expenditures for summer 2013.  I like the latter.

Thursday, June 20th
Operations Ctm meeting from 4-5:30 pm. Agenda not yet available.

Charter School Commission Meeting from 10 am to 5 pm.  Agenda not yet available
Seattle University, Loyola 203

This is the last Commission meeting in the Seattle area until October.   The Commission has had several Executive meetings in June to interview Ex. Director candidates.

Budget Cuts Reach Bone for Philadelphia Schools - NYTimes.com

Budget Cuts Reach Bone for Philadelphia Schools - NYTimes.com:

Budget Cuts Reach Bone for Philadelphia Schools

Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times

Marielle Casanova, counselor at Andrew Jackson School in Philadelphia, is being laid off along with all the other counselors in the district. More Photos »

By TRIP GABRIEL

Published: June 16, 2013

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PHILADELPHIA — When a second grader came to the Andrew Jackson School too agitated to eat breakfast on Friday, an aide alerted the school counselor, who engaged him in an art project in her office. When he was still overwrought at 11, a secretary called the boy’s family, and soon a monitor at the front door buzzed in an older brother to take him home.

Multimedia

Slide Show

A School District Braces for a Painful September

Under a draconian budget passed by the Philadelphia School District last month, none of these supporting players — aide, counselor, secretary, security monitor — will remain at the school by September, nor will there be money for books, paper, a nurse or the school’s locally celebrated rock band.

“I am worried sick,” said Lisa Ciaranca Kaplan, the principal, whose homey school in South Philadelphia serves 410 students, speaking 14 languages, all of whom qualify for free meals. “How do I relieve teachers for lunch if I have no one in the lunchroom? I’ll be the only person in this building who’s not in a class.”

Pink slips were recently sent to 19 percent of the school-based work force, including all 127 assistant principals, 646 teachers and more than 1,200 aides. Principals are contemplating 

Last Stand for Children First: It's Time to Reform Father's Day

Last Stand for Children First: It's Time to Reform Father's Day:

It's Time to Reform Father's Day

by Last Stand for Children

This afternoon, I was shopping at one of those shopping malls, when I noticed an overabundance of "World's Best Dad" t-shirts, mugs, barbecue supplies, and a plethora of other flimflam.  Sure, it's easy to say to dad, "You're the best!" but what does that even mean?  Without metrics or any kind of objective evaluation, it's merely a platitude. 

The children of our nation face an uncertain future.  Parents have let them fall further and further behind the Chinese children with their superior tiger parents.  Yet, as I looked in this Hallmark Store, I found not a single "Pretty Good Dad", "Adequate Dad", or "Needing Improvement Dad".   I would estimate that about half the dads in this country are adequate and maybe 1/3 of them could be called good.  At best 5% of the dad's could be called very good, but great?  I would expect less than 1% of dads could truly be called great.  The odds that 30 

TP for CPS

As an organization, Last Stand for Children First, is thrilled to stand behind the TP for CPS campaign.  If you have extra toilet paper sitting around the house, won't you please don't to our children's future?

Wisdom from a 2012 CM “it doesn’t matter what their scores are” | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Wisdom from a 2012 CM “it doesn’t matter what their scores are” | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Wisdom from a 2012 CM “it doesn’t matter what their scores are”

by Gary Rubinstein

Throughout my teaching career, one thing has remained constant: what I’m trying to accomplish.  Back in the early 1990s there was no focus on test scores, thankfully.  My goal back then, as it is now, was for my students to like math more when they complete my class than they did when they began the class.  This is something that is tough to quantify, and it is something that, if I accomplish it, will often, but not always, result in improved test scores since when students like math they will more likely want to spend time studying it outside of class.
In 2008, TFA celebrity and StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee had this to say in an influential TIME magazine feature:

“The thing that kills me about education is that it’s so touchy-feely,” she tells me one afternoon in her office. Then she raises her chin and does what I come to recognize as her standard imitation of people she doesn’t respect…. “People say, ‘Well, you know, test scores don’t take into account creativity and the love of learning,’” she says with a drippy, grating voice, lowering her eyelids 

Diane in the Evening 6-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Monica Ratliff Responds to Critics

by dianerav

Since she upset the heavily-funded favorite in the recent Los Angeles school board runoff, many eyes are on Monica Ratliff.
Some of her supporters were concerned when she appeared at an event where the Gates-funded Educators forExcellence presented a report on teacher evaluation. The event was attended by Superintendent John Deasy and 

NYC Teacher Ratings Will Flunk More Teachers

by dianerav

The politicians won’t rest until they can fire more teachers. John King is their man. He has the system that mo one undestands but that is guaranteed to find some teachers to fire.
The politicians know that if they fire a bunch of teachers, it will surely lead to higher achievement and will close the achievement gap. The fact that it has never happened anywhere doesn’t faze them. What has evidence got to 

Michael Weston on Common Core

by dianerav

Michael Weston has an annoying habit of thinking for himself. That’s why he got fired. He just doesn’t get it. He is supposed to teach students to think for themselves but he is not supposed to do it himself.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] My High School Added to the National Register of Historic Buildings by dianerav I don’t know if anyone in the world cares about this except me and a few gray heads in and around Houston. Our high school was just named to the National Register of Historic Buildings. I graduated in 1956. San Jacinto at that time was a racially segregated school, as were all the public schools of Houston. In 1954, after the Brown decision, I asked to meet with the principal, Mr. Bran... more »

State Superintendent Launches Common Core Summer Program | KHTS Radio

State Superintendent Launches Common Core Summer Program | KHTS Radio:

State Superintendent Launches Common Core Summer Program

Sat, 06/15/2013 - 11:30am  |  Gabrielle Moreira 

(news release - California Dept. of Education) State Superintendent Tom Torlakson will hold a press conference Monday in Sacramento to discuss California’s Common Core summer program, which will train teachers on new state-wide standards for math.

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The conference starts at 9:30 a.m. and will include Superintendent Jonathan Raymond of the Sacramento City Unified School District and other educators who will present techniques for teaching the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The event is hosted by the California Department of Education.

The event underscores the kind of training teachers from across the state will receive throughout the summer and beyond as schools make the transition to the new standards, which were designed as a practical way to help students no matter where they go to school.

The event will be held at the California Department of Health Care Services building, 1500 Capitol Ave., Meeting Room A in Sacramento. There will be a live demonstration of how CCSS is implemented in the classroom, a tour of the CCSS Math Showcase and access to online courses the department has developed to help teachers during the transition process. 

For Spanish-speaking media, California Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Lupita Cortez Alcalá will be present at the news conference.

The state’s legislature set aside $1.25 billion for California’s public schools to implement the new standards.

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: The Rewards of Teaching!:It's Not About the Money, Honey!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: The Rewards of Teaching!:It's Not About the Money, Honey!:

The Rewards of Teaching!:It's Not About the Money, Honey!

by Lisa M

Don't get me wrong. I like getting paid to teach. Now if someone offered to cover the mortgage ...

On the last day of school, I walked this group of students out to the buses for the last time. I gave each of them a hug and my words of advice/ mini-motivational speech. The teachers stood and waved goodbye as the buses pulled off. Michael, one of my students, opened his window, and screamed, "Bye Mrs. M!" I laughed because Michael was never that boisterous.

As I  returned, teary-eyed, to my classroom, the writing on the board caught my eye. "See you later! You are the best teacher ever!" Man, oh, man they can get you,can't they? I didn't erase it. Even when I rolled the last box out of my room, (I have to change classrooms), I refused to erase it.

Then I got home, and read the cards the Art teacher always has the kids write at 

Short Notes: What Fathers Watch - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

Short Notes: What Fathers Watch - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

Short Notes: What Fathers Watch

by Jose Vilson

A few notes:

• Chris Lehmann wants people to get the difference between authoritative and authoritarian. Here’s a primer.[Practical Theory]
• John Spencer has five things he never wants to say. Maybe you’ll rethink about the things you say, too. [Education Rethink]
• Jeb Bush thinks immigration is a good idea … because immigrants are “more fertile.” Ay dios mio. [FOX Latino]
• Is the fastest-growing job market in empathy? George Anders seems to think so. Teachers could be in this for a while after all. [LinkedIn]
• Workers simply don’t need tips if they get paid well enough. A sushi restaurant attempts to do just that. [ThinkProgress]

Quotables:

@TheJLV If I have musically gifted kids I'm putting them in a rocketship and letting them zoom