National Survey Finds Support for Early Education and Care |

National Survey Finds Support for Early Education and Care |:

National Survey Finds Support for Early Education and Care

August 5, 2013 by Alyssa Haywoode

Photo: Kate Samp for Strategies for Children

A new national survey released by the First Five Years Fund has found public, bipartisan support for public investments in early learning.

This endorsement is important now as Congress considers President Obama’s proposal to expand high-quality early education and care for children from birth to age five.

The survey “revealed overwhelming support for ensuring that children gain the knowledge and skills necessary to start kindergarten off on the right foot, with a majority of voters saying that we should do more to achieve this goal,” the Fund explains in a fact sheet.

On kindergarten readiness, the survey found: “Overwhelmingly, voters say we should be doing more to ensure children start kindergarten ready to do their best – virtually no one says do less,” according to a report from the Fund, which worked with the bipartisan research team of Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research Associates to survey 800 voters from July 8 to July 11.

Among the survey’s findings, there was widespread support for increasing the 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all #Cheats4Change

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

Gary Rubinstein Deconstructs the Latest “Miracle” in Louisiana

Gary Rubinstein was intrigued to read a tweet by John White of Louisiana boasting about the dramatic improvements in education. Gary decided to look more closely at the data. Not surprisingly, he found that White was playing games with numbers, which seems to be a habit in Brooklyn schools. Gary discovered this significant fact; “In the Times-Picayune article they indicated “the percentage of st

1 by dianerav / 1h 

EduShyster: Training Minority Students for the McJobs of the Future

EduShyster is excited to see that Morgan Spurlock has discovered charter schools, which are training minority students to be busy every minute every day. Spurlock has a CNN program called “The Inside Man” where he sees how things really work. When Spurlock decided to find out why our schools are “failing,” This is what he did: “The Inside Man was off on a mission. First stop: Finland, where Spurl

1 by dianerav / 14min 

Breaking News: Philly May Sue Banks for Fraud Losses

Investigative journalist Daniel Denvir reports that the Philadelphia school district may sue banks and Wall Street firms that sold defective financial instruments to the school district, causing massive losses. Denvir writes: “Philadelphia and other cities have filed similar lawsuits, contending that such “interest-rate swaps” — billed as a protection against rising borrowing costs — were tilted

by dianerav / 8min 

Lance Hill: Louisiana’s ‘Separate and Unequal’ Evaluation Plan

Lance Hill points out that his state has a double standard when it evaluates teachers by test scores. Some who teach high-scoring students were rated “ineffective” because their students showed no growth. Their ratings were set aside for review. They were treated differently from those who teach high-needs students. The Louisiana formula: Excuses for the teachers of the high-performing. No excuse

by dianerav / 6min 

Virginia Public Schools Need Your Help

Blogger and educator and parent Rachel Levy sends out an SOS: Virginia public education could really use your help today on twitter (& elsewhere if you can). Today is Governor McDonnell’s k12 education reform summit. he has included some good people and some stakeholders but more telling is what’s on the agenda, who isn’t there on panels, and who is there on panels.   I’ve written a blog post

by dianerav / 26min 

Cheats for Change Makes Its Debut #Cheats4Change

A new website called Cheats for Change has been created in the wake of the Tony Bennett scandal. Please take a look. It is very funny. For those of you who do not follow education politics closely, Cheats for Change is a parody of Jeb Bush’s group called Chiefs for Change. Bush and his Foundation for Educational Excellence (FEE) created Chiefs for Change to advance the Jeb Bush agenda of charter s

7 by dianerav / 1h 

Meet Betsy DeVos, a Leader of the Reform Movement

The bipartisan coalition determined to privatize American public education has a large tent indeed. It includes ALEC, President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Governor Bobby Jindal, former Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Scott Walker, and many more. Not to be missed is Betsy DeVos, who founded the American Federation for Children and advocates tirelessly for vouchers. In 2012, AFS honored Scott Walker and M

by dianerav / 7min 

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

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Have We Lost Our Sense of Shame?In reflecting on the sordid Anthony Weiner story, I wrote that civilization depends to some extent on the survival of a sense of shame. Shame makes people regretful of bad behavior and minimizes such behavior. Too much shame might be a bad thing, but none at all leaves us at the mercy of the whims an

by mike simpson / 14h mark as read  //  save

Key flaw in market-based school reform: a misunderstanding of the civil rights struggle:

Key flaw in market-based school reform: a misunderstanding of the civil rights struggle

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 5 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

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There is a timely new book out with a succinct title that pretty much says it all: “Public Education Under Siege,” edited by University of Pennsylvania historian Michael B. Katz and UCLA education scholar Mike Rose. The book is divided into three parts: the first about the problems with technocratic educational reform; the second about the intersection of education, race, and poverty; and the third, alternatives of modern school reform. It’s worth your time.

Here is a version of one of the book’s essays, by Janelle Scott, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education and African American Studies Department at the University of California at Berkeley.

By Janelle Scott

For at least two decades, conservatives have argued that school choice was the last unachieved civil right.  In 2010, some powerful moderate voices echoed their view and invoked the name of Rosa Parks to support it.  At an early screening of the documentary 

Teachers For Social Justice: CPS budget cuts are another attack on schools, but communities are fighting back.

Teachers For Social Justice: CPS budget cuts are another attack on schools, but communities are fighting back.:

CPS budget cuts are another attack on schools, but communities are fighting back.

AUGUST 4, 2013 LEAVE A COMMENT

Chicago Public School leaders got an earful Thursday night at a public hearing about next year's budget. - Photo via ABC Chicago 

The Chicago Sun Times covered the budget hearing in Englewood where TSJ member Byron Sigcho called out CPS for de-humanizing students and doing absurd things such as shifting art and physical education to online classes: 

“When you yourself refer to our children as seats, it’s hard to believe that you think of our children more than seats and of our communities more than spreadsheets,” he said. Sigcho, a grad student at University of Illinois at Chicago, continued to vent. "You’re really proposing that our children take P.E. and art classes online? To me that’s a joke. That’s not investing in our youth. . . . Why does CPS keep funding corrupt charter networks?” he said, referring to the UNO Charter Schools." 

WBEZ reports that "A top school official at the North Side hearing said at the start of the meeting he didn’t just want to hear complaints about cuts. He wanted solutions for closing the district’s $643 million gap between revenue and expenses."

“Tell us the things you think we’re spending money on, that you think we ought to cut,” said Chief Administrative Officer Tim Cawley. “You can’t just say, ‘Give us more.’  Tell us what you think we should 

UPDATE: What Do Jeb Bush’s Breathtaking Denials Mean? + Top Bennett Aide Implicted in Grade Scandal + Maine’s Chief for Change Takes Heat Scathing Purple Musings #Cheats4Change

Maine’s Chief for Change Takes Heat for Defending Bennett | Scathing Purple Musings:


Will Charter Schools USA Lose High Performing Status With Failing Orange County School?

The high performing charter school rules were created to help guys like Jonathan Hage open more school. The Orlando Sentinel’s Lauren Roth reports: The F grade of a new Orange County charter school means its parent chain will likely lose its designation as “high-performing.” Renaissance Charter School at Chickasaw Trail is part of a group of Florida charter schools run by management organization C

5 by Bob Sikes / 5min 

What Do Jeb Bush’s Breathtaking Denials Mean?

In a stunning defense of disgraced education commissioner Tony Bennett,  Jeb Bush picked up his pen today in an attempt to save Bennett’s legacy – and perhaps his own. He wrote from his perch with Foundation for Florida’s Future. Lets take a look at a few of Bush’s stunning positions as they are published in the Miami Herald:  A man accused of trying to undermine public education, in fact, had dra

5 by Bob Sikes / 2min 

Top Bennett Aide Implicted in Grade Scandal Resigns Florida Post

From Jeffrey S. Solochek from the Tampa Bay Times Gradebook: Dale Chu, chief of staff to former Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett, resigned his post one day after his boss quit the department. Chu came to the Florida Department of Education with Bennett from Indiana, where he had been assistant state superintendent, overseeing Indiana’s education reform initiatives. He came as part of a

21 by Bob Sikes / 9min 

Maine’s Chief for Change Takes Heat for Defending Bennett

Posted on August 5, 2013by Bob Sikes

Cheats For Change #Cheats4Change

There is one less of Jeb Bush’s vaunted Chiefs for Change in office this morning, and one oh his colleagues Maine commissioner of education Stephen Bowen is taking heat for his odd defense of him. From the editors of the Portland Press Herald:

What we didn’t expect was the response we heard. Instead of defending the integrity of Maine’s school grading program, Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen defended Bennett, suggesting that enemies of school reform had cooked up the charges that toppled Bennett from his post

“Tony Bennett is a trailblazing education leader whose efforts to innovate and improve student outcomes remain a model for the nation,” Bowen was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office shortly after Bennett’s resignation. “Reform isn’t easy, but as Tony knew, those who are content with the status quo will always push back against new approaches and 

Selected Garden State Schools Put Tough New PARCC Exams to the Test - NJ Spotlight

Selected Garden State Schools Put Tough New PARCC Exams to the Test - NJ Spotlight:

SELECTED GARDEN STATE SCHOOLS PUT TOUGH NEW PARCC EXAMS TO THE TEST

JOHN MOONEY | AUGUST 5, 2013

With first round of limited tryouts complete, online testing partnership announces New Jersey will be part of broader field tests.

A sample question from the PARCC Test

Nicholas Diaz knew all about the debate around the online testing coming to New Jersey in two years, and the questions as to whether both the schools and the students would be ready.

And he admits he was a little nervous when the Somerville school he led last year signed up to try out the language arts part of the exams being developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC).

Diaz’s third- and fifth-graders at the Van Derveer School were among the guinea pigs.

“We were a little worried at first, this being the first time any of us had seen the test,” said Diaz, now a principal in Manville. “But they were pretty savvy -- they are a lot more tech savvy than we think they are.”

As for the rigor of the new test, Diaz said it is no doubt a different kind of exam, with students given familiar reading sections but then asked to do different things with them. For instance, one question asked for them to write an alternative 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Potter (Sun-Times)

Jackson Potter, CTU

“We were promised a better day, not just a longer one, and that’s out the window. And that means you’re seeing 98 art programs either very much reduced or eliminated.” -- CPS layoffs hit arts, specialty subjects hard (Sun-Times)

Paul Krugman

The result is what we see now in the House: a party that, as I said, seems unable to participate in even the most basic processes of governing. What makes this frightening is that Republicans do, in fact, have a majority in the House, so America can’t be governed at all unless a sufficient number of those House Republicans are willing to face reality. And that quorum of reasonable Republicans may not exist. -- NY Times

Lisa Goldman on Bennett 

"That man has been distraction since the day he walked into the state," said Lisa Goldman, founder of Testing is not Teaching, an advocacy group in Palm 

Early literacy programs receive boost from national campaign | EdSource Today

Early literacy programs receive boost from national campaign | EdSource Today:

Early literacy programs receive boost from national campaign

August 5th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Lillian Mongeau

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Melanie Garcia-Macias, 9, reads a book provided by literacy organization West County Reads while her mother does the wash at Clean Express Coin Laundry in Richmond. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource Today

Galvanized by a national reading campaign, communities across California are launching innovative partnerships that are resulting in new early literacy programs in schools, libraries and even laundromats.

“There’s a lot of books here, really good books,” said 9-year-old Melanie Garcia-Macias, who sat with her back to a big red bookshelf at the end of a long line of washing machines at the Clean Express Coin Laundry in Richmond one recent Wednesday. A copy of “The Night Before Christmas” was splayed open on her lap.

“You can take one home, but you have to bring one back or bring one from your home to replace it,” she said. “I think it’s a pretty good plan.”

The plan – giving students free access to engaging titles while their parents fluff and fold – is just one of the ingenious ways communities are opening doors to literacy through the nationalCampaign for Grade Level Reading, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Children who are not reading on grade level by the end of third grade – 53 percent of California’s children – are four times more likely to drop out of high school, according to research by the 

Results of New Testing Standard Could Complicate Bloomberg’s Final Months Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org:

Results of New Testing Standard Could Complicate Bloomberg’s Final Months

Michael Bloomberg, uber-rich Mayor of New York City who has called himself the "education Mayor", is about to see his claim to fame die. As Javier Hernandez writes in the NY Times (August 4, 2013): "In New York City, the proportion of students deemed proficient in math and reading could decrease by as many as 30 percentage points, city officials said, threatening to hand Mr. Bloomberg a public relations problem five months before he is set to leave office."
           

Results of New Testing Standard Could Complicate Bloomberg’s Final Months
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ, NY TIMES
LINK

Michael R. Bloomberg has staked much of his reputation as the mayor of New York City on improving students’ test scores, and has trumpeted gains in math and reading as validation of his 12-year effort to remake the city’s schools.

But the mayor’s telling of history is poised to receive one of its most vigorous challenges yet on Wednesday, when New York State is expected to report drastic drops in student performance across the state because of a new set of tougher exams.

In New York City, the proportion of students deemed proficient in math and reading could decrease by as many as 30 percentage points, city officials said, threatening to hand Mr. Bloomberg a public relations problem five months before he is set to leave office.

Already, many of Mr. Bloomberg’s rivals — the teachers’ union, parent groups, and several of the Democratic candidates

The Educated Reporter: EWA Webinar for Journalists: Adding Teachers' Voices to School Reporting

The Educated Reporter: EWA Webinar for Journalists: Adding Teachers' Voices to School Reporting:

EWA Webinar for Journalists: Adding Teachers' Voices to School Reporting

When I was an education beat reporter, I spent a lot of time in August at office supply stores. Over the years I discovered this was fertile territory for meeting teachers as they re-stocked their classrooms for the coming academic year. Away from the hubbub of a union vote or school board meeting, the conversations I had struck up strolling the aisles of bulk copier paper and hand sanitizer were often enlightening - and usually less harried than the ones squeezed in during a school board meeting or contentious vote at the union headquarters.

Talking to teachers isn't just a technique for amplifying a story's impact - it's a vital component of thoughtful education reporting. On Tuesday, EWA will host ajournalists-only webinar looking at innovative ways of connecting with classroom educators. Our presenters are Melissa Bailey (New Haven Independent); Molly Bloom (StateImpact Ohio); and Erin Richards (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). We'll also get a New Haven teacher's perspective on what it's like to interact with reporters, and he'll share some tips for making the most of those interviews.

"Adding Value: Giving Teachers a Voice in School Reporting" will be held at 1 p.m. EDT. Space is limited, so I suggest you register today.

Have a question, comment or concern for the Educated Reporter? Email EWA public editor Emily Richmond at erichmond@ewa.org. Follow her on Twitter: @EWAEmily.

Labels: erin_richards, EWA, k12, melissa_bailey, molly_bloom, teachers, webinar

The UTLA Election Season is Upon Us by Dr. John Fernandez - Perdaily.com

The UTLA Election Season is Upon Us by Dr. John Fernandez - Perdaily.com:

The UTLA Election Season is Upon Us by Dr. John Fernandez

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

Anyone running for UTLA President or any other UTLA city-wide office should have a platform and how he/she is going to implement it. I remember Warren Fletcher's big campaign promise was that he was going to hire a professional negotiator--which he did not do--and appointed Betty Forrester Chief UTLA Negotiator, what a mistake! Forrester was completely out negotiated by the likes of the District's Dick Fisher. Forrester/Fletcher produced three disastrous TAs: The local School Initiative (2011), which virtually gives no power to parents--but gives some power to teachers and most of the power to principals. In this TA, there is no grievance provision for teachers. The Local schools Initiative model gives automatic waivers of most the Collective Bargaining Agreement to Local Initiative Schools. Sounds good on the surface--but a Local Initiative School can waive seniority among teachers for assignments and election of deans and department chairs and can eliminate lead teachers. Parents only have two representatives on a Local Initiative School Council of eight.

The Jobs and Restoration TA (2012) was another joke; about 4,100 teachers were hired back but about the same amount or more were ultimately RIFd. Many teachers that were hired back were hired as subs. The Jobs and Restoration 

Hire Ground in School Hiring #edchat #savmp | Connected Principals

Hire Ground in School Hiring #edchat #savmp | Connected Principals:

Hire Ground in School Hiring #edchat #savmp

August 4, 2013

By Larry Fliegelman

With the school year only a few weeks away, this administrator is finally about to wrap up the process of hiring all the staff I need for the year.

It all started this spring…

Due to changes in grant funding, a para-educator getting a teaching job, and one of my best teachers leaving to become a principal, I found myself finishing the school year in June with three unanticipated openings. Now, many hours later, many resumes later, many interviews later I am just about done. Two candidates have signed on and the last one has a little more work to do to make her final decision.

The process of hiring is time-consuming and one of the most important tasks for a principal.
It starts with creating the ad. In Vermont, most schools use schoolspring.com to post jobs and collect resumes.

Aspiring to be a connected principal, I use many of the built-in features of school spring instead of just printing resumes and going old-fashioned route. I let schoolspring manage the process for me wherever possible first by setting up evaluation rounds where, as resumes come in, I evaluate them