UPDATE Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sweet, sweet irony

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sweet, sweet irony:

Sweet, sweet irony

by Charlie Mas

A few days ago I wrote about the Board's role and how they are failing to do their job.

Today, the Seattle Times writes the same.

Funny thing, though, the Times and I have exactly the opposite ideas about what the Board should be doing.



The Times claims that "Time wasted on board dysfunction, including time spent on personality conflicts as well as delayed policy decisions, slows momentum on important improvements."

Really? Like what? What - exactly - has been delayed due to Board disagreement? The replacement of the math materials? The re-opening of schools? What has been delayed by Board disagreement?

Why does the Seattle Times accept disagreement in every other elected legislative body - The Congress, the state legislature, the City Council, etc. - but doesn't want it on the School Board? Disagreement in the State

Info on Charter School Start-up Resources

by Melissa Westbrook

Just so no one can say I'm not a good sport.

From the Washington State Charter Schools Association website:

The Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement has announced their 2013 grant process for planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools. 
There will be two webinars explaining the application process for the start-up funds:

• One on Monday, June 17 at 12pm PST (3pm EST) to 1:30 pm PST (4:30 EST)
• One on Thursday, June 20 at 8am PST (11am EST) to 9:30am PST (12:30pm EST)

To sign up for the webinars, please RSVP to charterschools@ed.gov. Applications for the grant funds are due on July 12, 2013. This is a great opportunity to learn about potential start-up funds and the federal grant 

This Might Be One Way to Keep Kids in School

by Melissa Westbrook

There's a long interview - with questions by readers -  in The Guardian with Ed Snowden, the NSA whistle-blower.  It's good and I agree with the Stranger with this quote being the best (bold mine):

...it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.

Seattle Schools Announces Community Meetings for New Buildings

by Melissa Westbrook

From SPS Communications:
Seattle Public Schools will host two community meetings to present information on projects funded by the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy. The levy was passed by voters in February 2013.

• Wilson-Pacific Elementary and Middle School projects
These projects are to construct a new elementary school building and a new middle school building on the Wilson-Pacific site, both scheduled to open in the 2017-18 school year. The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools capital projects team and Mahlum Architects. The meeting will include 

COMMON CORE STANDARDS ARE ON THE WAY Sacramento Council PTA

Sacramento Council PTA:

COMMON CORE STANDARDS ARE ON THE WAY Be Informed So That You Will Be Able to Help Your Children, Schools & School District with the Transition Get More Information About What They Are Parents Guide to Student Success-Frequently Asked Questions Parents Guide to Student SuccessThis guide provides an overview of what your child will learn by the end each year. Don't Politicize the Common Core State Standards! Standards Backers Seek Out Support of Parents Common Core: 7 Recommendations for Effective Implementation  Take a look at what testing/assessments will look like - visit www.smarterbalanced.org   State Superintendent Tom Torlakson will hold a press conferenceMonday in Sacramento to discuss California's Common Core summer program, which will train teachers on new state-wide standards for math.     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.

SACRAMENTO COUNCIL OF PTAs President:  Lily Williams saccouncilpta@yahoo.com www.saccouncilpta.com

The "Robbing Reter to pay Paul" approach to school funding | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

The "Robbing Reter to pay Paul" approach to school funding | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Get Schooled: The "Robbing Reter to pay Paul" approach to school funding

Getting school funding on track

Previous Posts

• A teacher to remember and celebrate
  June 17, 2013
• Teacher fired because dangerous ex husband shows up at school. Protecting kids or punishing her?
  June 15, 2013
• Technology in schools: Basic drills. Watching videos.
  June 14, 2013

By Maureen Downey

Cuts to school funding at the state level largely go unrecognized by voters, who tend to view schools as a local function and hold their locally elected school board members accountable.

Those school boards, under increasing pressure to maintain services and pay their bills, are turning to reserve funds to make up for both the decrease in property taxes and in state support.

But is that good policy?

According to the AJC:

Records show over the past 15 years, school board members around the metro area have pulled hundreds of millions of dollars from savings to stave off severe cuts. It’s a trend that worsened after the recession began in 2007, when foreclosures and falling property values cut into property tax revenue districts rely on. Some districts, such as DeKalb, now have no savings left. Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett are down to just 

Ed Notes Online: Burris, Kaufman, Eterno etc. Shake the Tree on John King/Mulgrew Pro-Eval

Ed Notes Online: Burris, Kaufman, Eterno etc. Shake the Tree on John King/Mulgrew Pro-Eval:

Burris, Kaufman, Eterno etc. Shake the Tree on John King/Mulgrew Pro-Eval

by ed notes online

Where is the UFT on this?  It looks like they are too busypraising Dr. King's new evaluation system to have noticed any flaws.  UFT President Michael Mulgrew said: "The commissioner's plan is professional and fair and is designed to help teachers improve their skills throughout their careers."  ... James Eterno, ICE blog, NEW TEACHER RATING MATH: EFFECTIVE ON TESTING + EFFECTIVE ON OBSERVATIONS = INEFFECTIVE OVERALL

Even an experienced UFT leadership basher like me is astounded at the continued perfidy of the leadership which has reached beyond Vichy comparisons with their cheer leading for the John King tenure ending plan.

While the ink is drying on John King’s decision and our Union touts how great Danielson is as an evaluative tool it is becoming clearer just how much our current contract was changed without a single vote from one of our members... Under 8E of our contract a lesson plan is for the use of the teacher. Who knows what we gave up to get this provision in our contract but it was important 

UPDATE: One of the Best Things PWCS has to Offer | PWC Education Reform Blog

One of the Best Things PWCS has to Offer | PWC Education Reform Blog:

PWCS Misleading Public about Aquatic Therapy and Special Needs Students

by pwceducationreform

I want to thank all of the parents of special education students for notifying me about the discrepancy between what PWCS is promising and what they’ll actually deliver regarding aquatic therapy for SPED students.  I don’t have any children in SPED programs and don’t understand what things mean to SPED students, like what it means […]

School Board Report – June 5, 2013

by pwceducationreform

School Board Report for June 5, 2013. Please be advised that unless otherwise noted, comments are not verbatim. The meeting began at 7:20 PM with all members except Lillie Jessie, Occoquan, present. Consent Agenda The consent agenda was approved unanimously by all members present.  Ms Jessie was absent.  The following items were on the Consent […]

One of the Best Things PWCS has to Offer

by pwceducationreform

With all the complaining we do about PWCS, I thought it might be time to compliment the school system on one of the many things it does well, and yes, there are many many things the school division does quite well.   This first one is a unique program that should be a model for all schools – New Directions Alternative School.

New Directions

New Directions is public school in Prince William County that offers an alternate to students who are at risk of falling behind or dropping out.   The children who attend New Directions are what many call our most “at risk students”.  They are students who have special needs that’s aren’t being met in a traditional school, students with family issues that prevent them from attending school from 6 – 3 every day, or students who are habitually truant or who have gotten into trouble.  This school offers them a chance, sometimes their last chance, to get their high school diploma and go on to college or a career, if they want it and are willing to work for it.

The school offers flexible schedules and a mix of classroom and digital learning, including AP courses, so that students can adapt their school schedule to better align with their lives.  Their Robotics team defended their title this year at the regional robotics competition by coming in 2nd out of 168 teams and will head to the national robotics competition.

The faculty and staff provide support and encouragement to struggling students and pushes students to excel.  It has strict attendance requirements and tough discipline for students who step out of line.

New Directions opened in the fall of 2006 with 200 students in attendance.  Over 500 students attended New Directions in the 2012 – 2013 school year.  Over 100 students graduated from New Directions this Spring; many are headed off to college in 

John Thompson: Let's Look Before Leaping to Ban Suspensions - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

John Thompson: Let's Look Before Leaping to Ban Suspensions - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

John Thompson: Let's Look Before Leaping to Ban Suspensions

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by John Thompson.

NPR's Wade Goodwyn in Why Some Schools Want to Expel Suspensions, reported that Los Angeles schools banned suspensions for "willful defiance of authority." He then left the impression that a single suspension often sets poor children of color down the path to educational failure. Goodwyn asked Daniel Losen of the UCLA Civil Rights Project whether such a suspension could lead to a student dropping out. Losen replied that it is "associated" with a doubled risk of dropping out.
Then, Goodwyn reported on a LAUSD school, Garfield H.S, that supposedly showed that better policies can be cost-free. It turns out that it has a wellness center and scores of community volunteers for addressing misbehavior.

In fact, the Civil Rights Project commissioned research by Johns Hopkins' Robert Balfanz which explains that a 

Education's Attention Deficit Dilemma — Whole Child Education

Education's Attention Deficit Dilemma — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Education’s Attention Deficit Dilemma

June 17, 2013 by Walter McKenzie

In the blogging era everyone can publish their ideas and opinions and grow quite a following doing so; the democratization of information in practice. This proliferating idea exchange is part and parcel of Thomas Friedman's flat earth analogy. Developing one's voice and being heard is a good thing. But it's not enough. If we carry the flat earth metaphor to its logical conclusion, opinions freely rolling across a flattened sphere clatter, collide and ultimately roll right off the edge (I just had a flashback to playing Crossfire circa 1970). Why settle for a random collision of opinions deciding which ideas carry the day? Not all opinions are equal. They need to be vetted for merit.

The blogosphere is an idea incubator—expository brainstorming—and sooner or later all the variations on an issue are examined and exhausted. Then what? Exploring all the possible ways of looking at an issue is an important step in the problem-solving process, but it's not the end-game. Identifying the best possible solution is the goal: a rigorous examination of facts distilled from various and sundry points of view.

Take the current national discussion on education as an example. There is an explosion of ideas, opinions and reactions across a spectrum of media, both within education and in the larger public consciousness. Stakeholders have weighed in with differing viewpoints, and there is a heightened public awareness of the many issues that make up this complex topic. At some point, opinions and viewpoints will be exhausted, but that's not enough. With so many different voices in play, the depth of anyone's understanding is directly 

UPDATE: The Real Pension Obstructionist: A Letter to a Legislator. | Fred Klonsky

The Real Pension Obstructionist: A Letter to a Legislator. | Fred Klonsky:

Bill Daley’s pension plan. That’s Ty Fahner’s hand up his rear.

by Fred Klonsky

Millionaire banker and brother of the recepient of one of the largest public pensions in the state, announced his pension plan today.
His lips were moving but it was the voice of the Civic Committee President Ty Fahner that echoed around the state.
Pass SB1.
Nothing but SB1.
Veto anything that isn’t SB1.
Attack anyone who claims SB1 is unconstitutional.
Which it is.
Even though Governor Squeezy and the Madman are for SB1, he attacked Squeezy and the Madman’s daughter for not being for it enough.
Like really for it.
This is the difference between the three of them. Two are for

The Real Pension Obstructionist: A Letter to a Legislator.

by Fred Klonsky

Dear Representative and Senator,

We do not often get second chances, but all of you in the General Assembly are about to be granted another test of your allegiance to the Illinois Constitution and your political fortitude to find real and honorable answers to the Illinois “pension crisis.”

Let’s be clear about one real truth.  No matter how many of you are singled out and castigated by the Chicago Tribune for being hesitant or even thoughtful, the egregious falsehood perpetrated by the corporate media – even without Koch brother ownership – is the following: a characterization that budget woes in Illinois are a result of“diverting money from education and health care and other essential services to preserve pension benefits that are crushing the state” (Tribune Editorial  June 16, 13).

That’s an untruth, Representative and Senator.   You know it and I know it.

Having to pay down a $100 billion debt on past avoidance (not diversion) of making 

Legislators to gather Wednesday. But it’s more about the governor’s race than about solutions.

by Fred Klonsky

Governor Squeezy has called the General Assembly back into special session on Wednesday.
He says it’s about what he insists on calling pension reform.
Read John Dillon’s great letter I reprinted as the previous post.
John spells it out. There are two parts to the pension liability: Normal costs and the cost of the debt.
Normal costs are what TRS pays out to current retirees. In addition to being constitutionally guaranteed and contractually required, normal costs are entirely affordable. The burden on the citizens of the state is the cost of

TP for CPS.

by Fred Klonsky

Popout

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Jeb Bush:"Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families." -- NPR

CTU president Karen Lewis

“Recently they announced a plan for a ‘quality, 21st century education’. Their 21st century plan looks more like a 19th century plan.” -- WBEZ

Tom Hayden

We are edging closer to the neo-conservative dream of total conflagration in the Muslim Middle East. Despite only 11 percent public support for US military intervention in Syria, a reluctant President Barack Obama is being pushed into escalation.  -- Tom Hayden Blog

Joe Nocera

 Instead, this has become one of the trademarks of the Obama administration: decry human 

OpEdNews - Article: Fighting For Our Classrooms, and For the Human Beings Inside Them

OpEdNews - Article: Fighting For Our Classrooms, and For the Human Beings Inside Them:

Fighting For Our Classrooms, and For the Human Beings Inside Them

By Richard (RJ) Eskow (about the author)  

It seems as if the same battle is being fought in every aspect of American society. On one side are the forces of egalitarianism, economic opportunity and self-determination. On the other is a well-funded and entrenched elite bent on hijacking our media, our political process and our institutions for their selfish ends.
Sadly, the classrooms of this country haven't been spared.
Means And Ends
The Wall Street crowd wants us to think of education in terms of means -- which usually means finding ways to spend less -- rather than ends. But when it comes to education, the "ends" are our children. And the means we choose for them, either consciously or through indifference, reveal who we really are as a people.
Perhaps that's why a new "education declaration" has attracted signatories as diverse as author Dave Eggers; Prof. Robert Reich; education reformer Diane Ravitch; Larry Groce, host of NPR's Mountain Stage; economist Lawrence Mishel; Prof. Theda Skocpol; and a number of other prominent political, academic, cultural, religious, and educational leaders. (You can sign it too.)
A quick disclaimer: I'm affiliated with the Institute for America's Future, one of the sponsors of this initiative. I wasn't involved with its preparation, but I've wanted to write about primary and secondary education for a long time. I've held off, partly because the moral truths have bee

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-17-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

How the Bloomberg DOE Kills Schools

by dianerav

The Bloomberg administration loves small schools. Conversely, it hates large schools, especially large high schools. The city used to have dozens of large high schools, some of which had a storied history. Now few remain. One that was slated to close last year was Long Island City High School, but it was saved by a court order.
So the Department of Education is killing it by the usual means, by diverting students to other schools. As 

EduShyster: Are You a Koppitalist?

by dianerav

As Teach for America expands into a global marketplace, EduShyster compares Koppitalism to Late Capitalism. What do they have in common? How hard is it to bring Excellence to everyone in the world?

Reader: How to Describe Corporate Reform in Plain English

by dianerav

A reader commented on an earlier discussion with these thoughts:
***************************************************************************
“”Does anyone else feel like we are basically being ignored?” – 2old2tch
While I applaud the sentiment and aspirations of this letter I am saddened with the weak tea rhetoric and carefully qualified points in academic insider language. This is how academics exchange views at conferences. Arne Duncan is not an academic and he has yet to show any respect for or interest in anything academics have to say.
Offering a long list of research citations is great if your are publishing in a peer-reviewed journal. Otherwise they indicate a false belief in the authority of the research, which the reform movement has largely ignored and 

Choice, Competition, and Deprofessionalization in Chile

by dianerav

A reader sent the following observation about parallels between educational developments in Chile under the dictator Pinochet, an admirer of free-market reforms, and in the U.S. today. He writes:
“I have recently been studying the neoliberal privatization of public education in Chile since this is the path we are now on in the USA. Initiated by the dictator Pinochet and encouraged by the same world players who are advocating these changes here, it is frightening and sobering to see how the policies of choice and privatization have destroyed the system there and how, instead of democratizing the system, the system has become a cesspit.
After 30+ years the students and the people are finally taking to the streets in protest and the government is

Imposing Standardization on Other People’s Children

by dianerav

Robert D. Shepherd, one of our many brilliant readers, offered the following explanation of the impulse to standardize the education of children across the nation:
“It’s no secret that income inequality has skyrocketed in the United States in recent decades, that economic and social mobility have plummeted, that wealth has been increasingly concentrated at the top, and that increasingly, the affluent in this country are isolated in their own circles–living in their own separate neighborhoods; sending their kids to their own separate schools from preschool through college; keeping their money offshore; spending much of their time in homes outside the country; and so on.
“Isolation from ordinary people breeds contempt and prejudice. Lack of intimate, long-term interaction with

First Grade Teacher: How I Conquered the Testing Monster

by dianerav

In response to the question, “Can You Do the Wrong Thing in the Right Way?,” this teacher responded with a fascinating account of how she conquered the testing monster in her first-grade classroom.
She writes:
I’ve been thinking about testing too. A lot. I teach first grade. My students arrive at the tender age of 5 or 6 and exit at 6 or 7. I give my students 6 benchmark tests a year, 3 in literacy and 3 in math. This past year, 4 more tests were added to the roster – this time on computer. That adds up to 10 – yes 10 -multiple choice tests every 

Teacher: Do What’s Right No Matter What They Tell You

by dianerav

A teacher offers this advice to other teachers:
“Okay, the reality of the situation is a once slow suffocation. The people in power want public education to wither and limp along on life support. This will help further marginalize minorities and low-income families, so the power base has little to no competition politically, economically, or socially. Public education in the USA enabled a post-WWII country to prosper and reach heights that were unimaginable just a decade earlier. If one follows the money trail in public education he or she will find that faltering school systems are locked into contracts with educational corporations that force them to adhere to and use antiquated educational programming that lobbying 

Ohio Teachers Subjected to Junk Science Ratings

by dianerav

Now it is teachers in Ohio that have been rated by a secret value-added formula.
Teachers in affluent schools were twice as likely to score well as those in low-income schools.
Here is the key language:
“The details of how the scores are calculated aren’t public. The Ohio Department of Education will pay a North Carolina-based company, SAS Institute Inc., $2.3 million this year to do value-added calculations for teachers and schools. The company has released some information on its value-added model but declined to release key 

PBS Blog: Common Core Has Fatal Flaw

by dianerav

On the PBS blog, economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University expresses skepticism about the one-size-fits-all academic nature of the Common Core.
Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs.
Lerman is skeptical of Common Core for two reasons: One is that it lacks any evidence. In other words, as I have written repeatedly, Common Core has never been field-tested and we have no idea how it works in real classrooms, and how it will affect the students who are currently struggling.
The other is the dubious assumption that college and career skills are the same.
As he writes:
“…Two issues concern me about the debate. One is the lack of solid evidence about the effects of the 

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

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago

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 th... more »