LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-31-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Bennett’s A-F Grading System Essential to Privatization Movement

Columnist Dan Carpenter of the Indianapolis Star understands what Tony Bennett was doing with the A-F grading system imported from Jeb Bush in Florida. It was never about improving but about labeling so that here would always be a fresh crop set up for closure and privatization. He writes: “Educators, from those with traditional public schools to those operating charters to those teaching teacher

by dianerav / 28min 

Arthur Camins: Question TFA Ideas, Not the Kids

Arthur Camins explains what is wrong with the TFA approach but cautions that the recruits should not be blamed or criticized. I agree. The recruits are idealistic and well-intentioned. They are akin to Peace Corps volunteers. No one suggests that Peace Corps volunteers are qualified to be Foreign Service officers or diplomats or ambassadors. Blame the organization for its hubris, not the kids. It

by dianerav / 48min mark as read  //  save

If CPS Has a Billion Dollar Deficit, Why Is It Funding These Programs?

Chicago school officials and the mayor have a mantra: CPS is broke. CPS has a deficit of $1 billion dollars. With that rationale, CPS lays off thousands of teachers and closes dozens of schools. But at the same time that officials plead poverty, they still find the money to do what they want to do. Here is this Chicago blogger’s top ten. It includes the bizarre expenditure of $1.6 million for Teac

by dianerav / 52min 

Maddow Show on Tony Bennett Scandal

Melissa Harris-Perry did this review of the Tony Bennett grade-fixing scandal in Indiana. This is the kind of mainstream media attention that is helping to unravel the corporate reform narrative.

by dianerav / 2min 

Arne Gets Angry at Georgia

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jul/30/state-school-chief-responds-us-doe-plans-withhold-/ A few days ago, Georgia announced that it was dropping out of PARCC, the Common Core testing consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Education. State officials said the state could not afford the technology or the cost. The U.S. Department of Education was swift to respond. It wrote Georgia

by dianerav / 0min 

Bruce Baker: Why He Won’t Use the Term “Corporate Reform”

Bruce Baker brilliantly explains here why he won’t use the term “corporate reform.” The strategies now being imposed on the schools have failed when applied in corporate settings, he writes. He looks at the use of two now-popular “reform” ideas in education: the portfolio model and evaluation by results. The portfolio model is based on the belief that schools should compete, and that those in char

by dianerav / 18min 

How Is This Charter School Like Franco’s Spain?

EduShyster has found a dissident hedge fund manager who writes pseudonymous posts for her blog. He or she writes here about the eerie similarity between schooling in Franco’s Spain and a high-scoring charter school chain called Democracy Prep. What do they have in common? Read the link.

by dianerav / 24min

Tony Bennett’s Grade-Rigging Lifted All Charter Schools

The emails unearthed by Tom LoBianco of the Associated Press show that Tony Bennett was desperately trying to rig the system to raise the grade of one charter school from a C to an A. That charter happened to be the charter held by a major donor to GOP campaigns, including Bennett’s, which received $130,000 from her. As a side benefit of the new formula, the grades of all charters were raised. As

by dianerav / 50min

Poverty in America: Why It Matters

For the past decade, corporate reformers have repeatedly said that poverty is an excuse used by and for bad teachers. If all teachers were “great” teachers, all children would have high test scores, there would be no achievement gap, and our problems would be solved. Forgive me if the logic doesn’t work, but I don’t entirely understand the train of thought. The bottom line is the reformy belief th

by dianerav / 1h

  Is Tony Bennett in Trouble in Florida?

After the release of emails showing that Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett manipulated the grading system to favor a charter school belonging to a big GOP donor, a furor erupted about his ethics. He is now State Superintendent in Florida following his election loss in Indiana last fall, a transition arranged by Bennett’s mentor Jeb Bush. Bennett was head of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change. Fl

by dianerav / 9h 

Diane in the Evening 7-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NC Teacher: These “Reforms” Are InsaneA reader from North Carolina explains how the legislatures so-called reforms will affect her: “I have been teaching in NC for 13 years now. To be honest, having to sign a new contract each year or not getting a raise yet again doesn’t concern me as much as having 25+ 7 year olds with no assista

by mike simpson / 2h 

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate | toteachornototeach

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate | toteachornototeach:

Why High School Kids Are Financially Illiterate

By DAVID KOEPPEL

If the U.S. education system can’t teach Johnny how to read, it’s not surprising it can’t teach him how to balance his checkbook or calculate compound interest.

A report out this month from the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy (CFL) in Vermont finds that the vast majority of states are doing a poor or mediocre job of educating high school students in key financial skills. The report card, which awarded each state a letter grade, gave 60 percent of the states a C or less; 44 percent of those received D or F grades.

John Pelletier, director of the CFL and author of the 2013 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools,  argues that to make programs successful at the high school level, “financial literacy topics must be taught in a course that students are required to take as a graduation requirement.”

The other essential ingredients for success are increased teacher training, funding to ensure that classes are offered to all high school students, and standardized 

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman - The Jose Vilson | The Jose Vilson:

On Almost Meeting Jonah Edelman

by JOSE VILSON on JULY 30, 2013

Screenshot of Jonah Edelman’s talk at the Aspen Institute

For some reason, I always get myself into situations where I see someone whose policies may completely destroy public education for all. It’s like Mario where some of the evildoers are worth stomping on and others will ruin your whole set up. So I keep my game face on, because they’re probably used to protesters 500-people deep at their faces like, “Did you have to do my kids’ school like that?!” They’re often the first to retort with moral responsibility arguments, then turn around and ask the valet to park their Diablo right in front of you. So I catch them unawares and hope to keep my eye-rolls and snickers to a minimum.

Because I’m a good guy. And I have the good fortune of

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/on-almost-meeting-jonah-edelman/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheJoseVilson+%28The+Jose+Vilson%29#sthash.BDXZsMaO.dpuf

The Educated Reporter: A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage

The Educated Reporter: A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage:

A New School of Thought on Back-To-Class Coverage

My inbox is filling up with back-to-school pitches, for everything from the latest vocabulary-building phone app to a microwave bag that will allow college students to cook ears of corn and whole potatoes. (The latter sounds like a potential starchy straight line to the Freshman 15.)

Every new school year has a familiar cycle to it, with the latest classroom technologymaking a debut (iPads, everyone?), school board members pledging that whatever went wrong last year has since been fixed, and educators gearing up for a host of new accountability measures. For education reporters, particularly those who are veterans of the beat, it can be tough to find new terrain on such well-trod turf.

Education blogger Alexander Russo had some fun with this challenge earlier in the week, pulling together a list of the common tropes of education coverage at this time of year, including “There are new teachers in the classroom, excited and nervous about being new teachers!” Also on the list were features predictably tied to current events news hooks – more campus security in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy and how schools are handling the arrival of the Common Core State Standards

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America | NJ.com

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America | NJ.com:

Walton foundation donates $2 million to Newark Teach For America

NEWARK — Newark's Teach for America is getting a boost from the Walton Family Foundation, which has pledged $2 million to the program that brings young teachers into under-served classrooms.

Newark was one of several cities that will share the $20 million donation from the foundation.

“With this critical investment, Teach For America will be able to bring effective teachers into some of the most under-resourced classrooms in the country while simultaneously working to develop more of our talented corps members as long-term champions of educational equity and excellence,” said Matt Kramer, co-chief executive officer of Teach For America.

Louisiana Educator: New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism

Louisiana Educator: New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism:

New VAM Rules Result in Favoritism

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

John White continues to try to muddy up the narrative relative to the highly erratic VAM component of teacher evaluation. But he can't fool Herb Bassett.

Mr Bassett is a band and music teacher who also has a minor in math. In my opinion Herb is a major math expert. He also knows how to use higher level thinking skills to question some of the screwy politically motivated decisions coming out of our DOE. Herb has noticed that one of the most recent changes in VAM rules ends up giving preferential treatment to some teachers while unfairly punishing other teachers. The rule change recently issued by Superintendent White may actually reward some teachers with the lowest VAM scores while punishing some teachers of the same type of students who have higher VAM scores. (This is really just the latest chapter in the DOE soap opera called the Seabaugh Solution)

This is part of the email Mr Bassett sent to Superintendent White on July 15:

Superintendent White,

This email regards the Compass Process FAQ July 8 update addressing a 

UPDATE: Tony Bennett and the Folly Of A-F School Grades Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!:

Tony Bennett's Own Staff Contradicts His Denials

Rick Hess (who else?) gives Tony Bennett a platform to make the case that he only changed the grade for a charter school - whose founder gave him $90,000 in campaign contributions - to correct a small statistical anomaly: Rick Hess: So, Tony. You know that the story here is disconcerting at first look. Can you offer any more context or backstory that we should know? Tony Bennett: The backstory i

by Duke / 1h 

Tony Bennett and the Folly Of A-F School Grades

It feels like the day after anti-reformy Christmas: we're all basking in the glow of the implosion of Tony Bennett's career. The former Indiana state education superintendent, current Florida education commissioner, and star of Jeb! Bush's Chiefs For Change is desperately scrambling to explain himself after getting caught red-handed changing the "school grade" of a charter run by a big-time Republ

by Duke / 1h 

NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf Knows How To Pick 'Em!Chris Cerf, New Jersey's Commissioner of Education, promoted Barbara Morgan to NJDOE's Director of the Office of Public Information back in 2012. Morgan - who apparently never moved to New Jersey, unlike the many public workers forced to move even under the most onerous conditions - only lasted in the job six months: you see, something big came up...

MAY 23, 2013

Veteran official departs after 34 years; public info officer moves on after one year to join Weiner’s campaign in NYC

Two of the state Department of Education’s top staffers are leaving this week, one a longtime official who has played a prominent role behind the scenes and another a newer, public voice of the agency.

[...]

Barbara Morgan, the public information officer and state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf’s press secretary, also left the department this week after a year on the job. She is going on to be the communications 

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman? | Fred Klonsky

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman? | Fred Klonsky:

From the writers: What would Jose Vilson say upon meeting Jonah Edelman?

JULY 30, 2013

By Jose Vilson.

For some reason, I always get myself into situations where I see someone whose policies may completely destroy public education for all. It’s like Mario where some of the evildoers are worth stomping on and others will ruin your whole set up. So I keep my game face on, because they’re probably used to protesters 500-people deep at their faces like, “Did you have to do my kids’ school like that?!” They’re often the first to retort with moral responsibility arguments, then turn around and ask the valet to park their Diablo right in front of you. So I catch them unawares and hope to keep my eye-rolls and snickers to a minimum.

Because I’m a good guy. And I have the good

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook? | EdSource Today

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook? | EdSource Today:

Local Control Funding Formula: Is there a new rulebook?

July 30th, 2013 | Add a Comment |
By Samantha Tran / commentary

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Samantha Tran

Now that the state’s new system of funding schools has been signed into law, educators and community groups are trying to get their bearings. At an event recently a colleague from a county office of education said that she was being inundated by calls from the field “wanting to know what the new rulebook is” for transitioning to the new system and ensuring successful implementation.

The old rulebook that governed how schools spent their money, which was both stifling and (let’s be honest) comforting at times, has been replaced by the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which now offers an opportunity for communities to take the reins to implement locally tailored approaches, while being held accountable for student outcomes.

Our economy and global society now requires its workers to effectively discern, communicate, create and have the ability to solve challenging problems. To foster these habits of mind among students, the environments in which they learn must embody these same traits.

Yes, the State Board of Education, the California Department of Education, the Department of Finance and even the State Controller’s Office will be developing and disseminating rules and guidelines on the implementation of the new funding system. In fact, that process is beginning now. And the state and county offices of education will retain an important role around oversight, but each community will have the liberty and responsibility to map their own course of action.

Thus schools and districts will be held accountable for meeting the state’s priorities, such as access to credentialed teachers, implementation of the new Common Core standards, and

Strong bipartisan support for public preschool, new poll suggests - by Lillian Mongeau

A new poll released Wednesday suggests broad bipartisan support exists for federally funded public preschool. The poll, commissioned by the early education advocacy group First Five Years Fund, found that 50 percent of the 800 registered voters polled nationwide said they “strongly” support President Barack Obama’s $75 billion proposal to expand public preschool offerings by raising the federal...

by Lillian Mongeau / 3min

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages | deutsch29

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages | deutsch29:

Reformer Love for the Opinion Pages

July 30, 2013

For reformers advancing their cause in the ubiquitous education reform battle, no medium is too insignificant for promoting privatization.  As such, an important yet unassuming battlefield involves the opinion pages in community newspapers.

My first experience with this opinion-page battle involves reading then-Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) President Penny Dastugue’s October 9, 2012, defense of Louisiana’s own former Teach-for-America, Broad-Superintendent-Academy-trained John White in the Baton Rouge Advocate. In her letter, Dastugue praises White for his effective communications, a statement that is absolute nonsense to anyone who has asked White for a clear answer on any complex or controversial issue. Here is how Dastugue concludes her letter:

The Department of Education has an obligation to inform the public about changes that impact education. As president of BESE, I am grateful Superintendent White takes this responsibility seriously.

Penny Dastugue, president

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Mandeville

Dastugue’s propaganda is aimed at the unassuming reader who will not see this 

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt! | Reclaim Reform

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt! | Reclaim Reform:

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt!

Posted on July 30, 2013by Ken Previti

Politicians demand constitutional protection for themselves. For you… phtt!

Illinois is so politically insane that “phtt” makes sense to legislators. But, do not – I repeat – DO NOT PHTT THEM. “Phtt you, but do not phtt us,” is their motto.

Quinn Vetoes Legislators’ Pay; Madigan, Cullerton Sue over Constitutionality

What happens when a miffed governor, a miffed speaker of the house and a miffed senate president agree to betray their oaths of office? The oaths they swear to defend the constitution of the United States of America and the constitution of the State of Illinois. They all want to make draconian cuts and then let the lawyers and the courts fight it out on a state and local level as retirees suffer deprivations and active state employees, especially teachers, watch additional pillage and abuse grow. (It’s all part of the dismantlement of 

Yo Tony, Mr Broad wants his prize back!!! TALLAHASSEE: Gov. Scott silent regarding future of his education commissioner - Florida - MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE: Gov. Scott silent regarding future of his education commissioner - Florida - MiamiHerald.com:

Gov. Scott silent regarding future of his education commissioner

 

BY KATHLEEN MCGRORY AND JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK

HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU

Yo Tony
Mr Broad wants his prize back!!!
No wait, second thought he said you could keep it!

TALLAHASSEE -- Nationally celebrated education reformer Tony Bennett was wooed to Florida in January to bring stability to the state education department.

But barely eight months later, his tenure as education commissioner could be in trouble.

Scathing emails obtained by the Associated Press suggest that Bennett, while serving as education commissioner in Indiana last year, intervened to raise the grade for a charter school run by an influential Republican donor. Bennett was already under fire in Florida, where influential superintendents and state Board of Education members have raised questions about the validity of school grades.

Gov. Rick Scott has been silent on the scandal engulfing his education commissioner. He declined two opportunities to speak publicly on the matter Tuesday, saying he had not read the AP report.

Scott spokeswoman Melissa Sellers later said Bennett was “clearly committed to making Florida’s education system the best in the nation.”

But with the 2014 governor’s race on the horizon, observers say Scott has a tough decision to make.

“If the governor wants to appeal to moderates across the state, he has to get rid of [Bennett],” said Brian Peterson, a professor at Florida International University and editor of the Miami Education Review online newsletter. “If he doesn’t, the message is that the game is rigged, and that public schools are going to be

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/30/3532456/gov-scott-silent-regarding-future.html#storylink=cpy

Here is what a real Democrat says in the face of injustice - Wait, What?

Here is what a real Democrat says in the face of injustice - Wait, What?:

Here is what a real Democrat says in the face of injustice

Bobby Simmons, the lone independent Democrat on the Bridgeport Board of Education provides a valuable lesson to other Democratic elected officials around the state and nation.  When faced with injustice and wrongdoing you stand and up speak out.  The responsibility to speak out is even greater when the perpetrator is a fellow Democrat.

Bobby Simmons’ commentary piece appears in today’s Connecticut Post and is entitledPlantation life in Bridgeport

I wish to thank the Connecticut Post editorial board for its recent editorial highlighting the outrageous allegations leveled against your newspaper and a highly regarded reporter, Daniel Tepfer,  by the chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education and former campaign treasurer of Mayor Bill Finch.

However, I am compelled to place my remarks, which were accurately quoted in the 

Mayor Nutter’s Door | Parents United for Public Education

Mayor Nutter’s Door | Parents United for Public Education:

Mayor Nutter’s Door

Posted on March 6, 2013 by REBECCAPOYOUROW6 Comments

Mayor Nutter didn’t come out the front door of his office in City Hall last night.  I’m sure mayors have good reason to have alternate exit routes available, and it may be that he uses that other door regularly, rather than just yesterday.  I’m not sure, since I’m not in the habit of sitting outside his office.  However, I do know for sure that he didn’t come out the front door last night.

If Mayor Nutter had come out the front door of his office last night, he would have encountered our group of public schools advocates, which included several parents, a retired teacher, a former principal, the head of the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP, and a 7th grade student at a school targeted for closure.  We were sitting outside his office in order to underscore the message that thousands of Philadelphians have been trying to send to him and to the SRC over the last year:  that mass closings of Philadelphia’s public schools undermine our children’s educational prospects, compromise kids’ safety, contribute to the drop-out crisis, uproot communities, and destroy jobs and neighborhoods—all for little to no savings.

Earlier in the day, members of the NAACP, Black Clergy, Action United, and Parents United for Public Education 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CVCA, Chicago's behemoth high school, to be partially demolished.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CVCA, Chicago's behemoth high school, to be partially demolished.:

CVCA, Chicago's behemoth high school, to be partially demolished.

Architecture writer Lee Bey has been following the various phases of reform and restructuring over the years at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Now, he reports, a significant portion of CVCA, an architecturally-important building that is the city's second-largest public school, would be demolished as part of a $42 million bid to turn the structure into a tech academy.

The PBC on Monday issued a request for qualifications seeking contractors who can handle the three-phase overhaul of the former Chicago Vocational High School at 2100 E. 87th St.  When the dust clears, the school would become a six-year school with a curriculum focusing on science, technology, engineering and math.

Here's something I posted back in May, 2012 about the history of reform at Chicago Vocational in response to an earlier piece by Bey.

CVS was the first high school that joined the Small Schools Workshop back in the early 1990s. With nearly 4,000 students at that time, teachers and 

State school chief responds to US DOE plans to withhold $10... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

State school chief responds to US DOE plans to withhold $10... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

State school chief responds to US DOE plans to withhold $10 million in Race to the Top funds 

Previous Posts

• Star school chief under fire for pressuring staff to change charter school grade
  July 29, 2013
• For poor children, metro Atlanta holds lousy odds of success
  July 29, 2013
• Georgia school chief explains Common Core test retreat: We couldn't afford it. We will have similar test.
  July 26, 2013

By Maureen Downey

Here is a statement from State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge on the U.S. Education Department initiating procedures to withhold $9.9 milllion from Georgia's Race to the Top grant over state delays in putting a teacher evaluation program in place.You can read the U.S. DOE letter notifying the state of its intentions here.

All along, state folks said the Race to the Top timeline was daunting, but that they could and would meet it. That is apparently not the case with the teacher evaluation overhaul, which was tested last year and found wanting by many teachers.  Based on the feedback, there clearly was a need for more time to figure out this new system. But that extra time could come at a price.

In a letter today to Gov. Nathan Deal, the feds outline what Georgia promised and the risk in failing to deliver on time, saying, "In order to avoid withholding, the State must provide a plan and evidence, including sufficient legal authority, if necessary, to implement the full scope of the 

HSLDA’s Michael Farris Has a Conversation with David Coleman | Truth in American Education

HSLDA’s Michael Farris Has a Conversation with David Coleman | Truth in American Education:

HSLDA’s Michael Farris Has a Conversation with David Coleman

Filed in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on July 30, 2013 • 0 Comments

David Coleman, chief architect of the Common Core ELA standards and now President of theCollege Board has been reaching out to conservatives and Christians to encourage them to support the Common Core.  He recently contacted Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association.  Farris, in a email to his members (which my wife and I received yesterday as we’ve been members of HSLDA for years), discussed a recent phone conversation with Coleman.

Dear HSLDA members and friend,

David Coleman, president of the College Board, is the acknowledged principal leader of the effort to create and implement the Common Core. And he wanted to talk with me about Home School Legal Defense Association’s position. I was very willing. We spent about an hour together on the phone. The conversation was very cordial. Both of us showed that we truly listened to and heard the other person’s position. And both of us stood strongly on our principles and core positions. I was really glad that we talked. His initial presentation walked me through several features of the Common Core. From a pedagogical perspective, there are clearly some good ideas contained in it. When it came time for me to respond, I began with a story. I once testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee when Senator Joseph Biden was chairing a hearing on a Supreme Court nominee. Before began, Biden asked me, “I have a question for you. Is it your idea to force everyone to homeschool?” I told Senator Biden that such an idea would be anathema to HSLDA and to me. We simply want to protect the right to choose homeschooling for those who wish to pursue it.

I told Mr. Coleman that the point of the story was this: Just because you have a good idea (homeschooling in my case, Common Core in his case), it doesn’t mean that it is appropriate 

Support for teachers in North Carolina | Parents Across America

Support for teachers in North Carolina | Parents Across America:

PAA affiliate MecklenburgACTS.org joined several thousand other activists for the final “Moral Monday” protest against the broad range of ALEC-driven legislation enacted in the just-concluded session of North Carolina’s legislature.

In a sweeping series of bills, state legislators lowered taxes on corporations and wealthy residents, while cutting education, health care, unemployment and a wide range of other programs. They also took aim at many basic rights, enacting one of the nation’s most stringent set of voting restrictions as well as measures designed to reduce access to abortions.

In education, legislators cut teachers and teacher assistant positions, abolished class size caps, reduced the number of pre-K slots, and started the state’s first private school voucher program. They also eliminated career status for teachers and cut added pay for masters’ degrees. North Carolina teachers, who have not seen a raise in years, are currently 48th in the nation in pay. A recent study showed they have lost more ground than teachers in any other state since 2008.

Parents and educators realiz

- See more at: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/support-teachers-north-carolina/