Monday, December 2, 2013

The New Mayor and the Teachers - NYTimes.com

The New Mayor and the Teachers - NYTimes.com:

The New Mayor and the Teachers

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will take office facing the need to forge new labor agreements with the unions that represent nearly all of New York City’s 300,000 municipal workers. The largest of these, the United Federation of Teachers, is in a particularly sour mood. Representing 40 percent of the city’s work force, the union has been without a contract since 2009.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed, starting in 2010, that all new union contracts get a three-year freeze in base pay, to be followed by two years of raises at 1.25 percent each. During his campaign, Mr. de Blasio said that a retroactive pay raise — dating back to the expiration of the last contract — would be possible only if offset by cost savings. That’s a good start. But any sort of raise will require concessions in exchange. He will need to press the union to loosen work rules that stifle innovation and favor senior teachers over younger ones who may in fact be more talented. The union must also let go of the unspoken presumption that every teacher is entitled to a job for life. Here are some key issues:
SENIORITY Seniority trumps everything and is treated as a proxy for excellence. Under current rules, a school that has an enrollment shortfall or budget problem and has to cut one of its five math teachers cuts the least senior teacher, period. In progressive systems like the one in Washington, D.C., which has made big gains on federal assessment tests, decisions about which teachers to cut are based on a combination of factors, including how they stack up on evaluations and whether they possess special skills. The goal is to keep the most

MDE Report: “Smarter Balanced Only Viable Option” | Truth in American Education

MDE Report: “Smarter Balanced Only Viable Option” | Truth in American Education:

MDE Report: “Smarter Balanced Only Viable Option”

Filed in Common Core Assessments by Shane Vander Hart on December 2, 2013 • 0 Comments

When the Michigan Legislature made the unfortunate decision to lift the ban on funding for the Common Core they requested a report from the Michigan Department of Education outlining the different assessment options. They looked at 12 different options. Their report provides summaries on cost, scoring and reporting methods, test security transparency, and over all design.

They said only three tests were aligned to the Common Core: Measured Progress, PARCC and Smarter Balanced.

Final determination?

Smarter Balanced is the only viable option.

“Because Smarter Balanced was designed primarily by state assessment directors to understand these needs, this should not be a surprising result,” the report states.

Of course it shouldn’t be a surprising result as the Department is biased and this is the assessment they’ve been working toward. It would have been better to commission an outside third party do the report. Common sense should have told them that MDE would be incapable of providing an unbiased report.

Now it’s up to the Michigan legislators to decide whether or not to accept this report. Based on their recent actions I’m not going to hold my breath. I’ve said to some friends that one of the traits I look for in elected officials is a healthy distrust of bureaucrats. That seems to be lacking in the Michigan Legislature. Not that there are not good state employees, there are, but a legislator that just buys what a department tells them verbatim without verification and third-party research has no business being in a state legislature (or Congress).

You can read the report for yourself below.

Tags: common core assessments, Michigan Department of Education, Smarter Balanced Assessments

About the Author (Author Profile)

Shane Vander Hart is the Editor-in-Chief of Caffeinated Thoughts, a popular Christian conservative blog in Iowa. He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, a social media & communications consulting/management firm, along with serving as the communications director for American Principles Project’s Preserve Innocence Initiative. Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has taught Jr. High History along with being the Dean of Students for Christian school in Indiana. Shane and his wife home school their three teenage children and have done so since the beginning. He has recently been recognized by Campaigns & Elections Magazine as one of the top political influencers in Iowa. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA. You can connect with Shane on Facebook, follow him onTwitter or connect with him on Google +.

Louisiana Educator: School Grading System for 2012-13; "Quite A Mess"

Louisiana Educator: School Grading System for 2012-13; "Quite A Mess":

School Grading System for 2012-13; "Quite A Mess"

Independent education researcher, Herb Bassett has produced his annual report on the Louisiana SPS and school grading system and has characterized this year's school grading system by the LDOE as "Quite a mess".
Mr Bassett has sent his analysis of this past year's school grading system to all members of the House and Senate Education Committees and to BESE members. Let's hope they will actually read the report and consider appropriate legislative action to correct the flaws in the system.

You may access each of the documents in the report by clickinghere for Bassett's primary report and here for additional resources and examples..

Mr Bassett's report shows how the use of the new bonus point system by our Louisiana Department of Education has produced several glaring injustices in the resulting grades for schools across the state.

The following is the cover letter for the SPS Report by Mr Bassett:

To: Members of the House Education Committee,

Members of the Senate Education Committee,

BESE Members,

I present the attached report on the 2013 School Performance Scores issued by LDOE. To put it bluntly, they are quite a mess. In its attempt to redefine excellence, LDOE created a system that

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, December 2, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Recommendation, Development of a Growth Model - Legislative Report

Education Headlines

Monday, December 2, 2013

FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

San Bernardino County names new deputy superintendent of schools

Ted Alejandre, assistant superintendent of business services for San Bernardino County Schools, has been named deputy superintendent for county schools, according to Superintendent Gary Thomas, who made the announcement Wednesday.

Employees considered former Rialto schools accountant Judith Oakes untouchable, audit reveals

For more than eight years, a district accountant stole nearly one in every four dollars that passed through the Rialto Unified School District's lunch money program, according to a forensic audit obtained by The Sun.

Pleasant Valley HS classroom building almost ready for students

After years of discussion and months of construction, a two-story, 24-classroom building at Pleasant Valley High School is about six weeks from completion.

Audits scrutinize Paradise Hills school

Three separate audits of Bethune K-8 school in Paradise Hills have found problems, from teacher timecards to spending of student-activity funds.

Complaints against San Lorenzo principal pile up

Hostile and discriminatory -- not words you would want used to describe anyone in a leadership position, much less a school principal. For some teachers and counselors at Arroyo High School in the unincorporated San Lorenzo community, those words describe Principal Larry Smith, who has amassed more than two dozen staff complaints of various sorts since his arrival in 2006.

Mongeau: Early math matters: Top researcher discusses his work

A study showing that early math skills are one of the best predictors of later success in both math and literacy has become a cornerstone of the growing movement among early childhood educators to boost math instruction in preschool through 3rd grade.

Mixed reaction to iPad rollout from L.A. teachers and administrators

Their anonymous responses: Just 36% of teachers strongly favored continuing the tablet effort; 90% of administrators felt the same.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Judge: Miramonte parents' claims can move forward along with children's

Parents of children involved in the Miramonte Elementary sex abuse scandal can proceed with their own claims of emotional distress as their children proceed with claims of emotional distress, negligence and sexual harassment, a judge ruled Monday.

Fire throws Sonora Elementary into disarray

The Sonora Elementary School District Board of Trustees decided in a special meeting Monday that teachers and staff would get at least one day without students after Thanksgiving break to prepare their curriculum and set up their temporary classes following a fire that put at least 15 classrooms out of commission over the weekend.

Parent reaction to Common Core in Long Beach is mixed

Parent reaction has been varied to the new Common Core standards being rolled out by the Long Beach Unified School District.

Palm Springs school district to consider trustee areas Tuesday

Justin Blake, a nine-year member of the Palm Springs Unified School Board, announced Tuesday night that he would not seek re-election in 2014. If Blake had planned to seek re-election, the shift to trustee areas would have made his bid to retain a board seat more competitive by forcing him to run against another incumbent, Karen Cornett.

Once blocked, Twitter and other social media become classroom tools

Once blocked, Twitter and other social media become classroom tools:

Once blocked, Twitter and other social media become classroom tools

Mike De Sisti

Wauwatosa West juniors Allie Grabow (left) and Allie Meyer check Meyer’s Twitter update in teacher Chris Lazarski’s American Public Policy class at Wauwatosa West High School. Teachers like Lazarski are finding ways to have students engage on real-world social media platforms, but in an academic capacity.

More learning encouraged in 140-character bites

By Monique Collins and Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel

Dec. 1, 2013

Taxation, representation and slavery were up for debate recently at Wauwatosa West High School, where juniors engaged in a multi-day, in-class simulation of the first Constitutional Convention in 1787.

With a modern twist.

"I hope that today's debate ends with a decision on how representatives are chosen," Andrew Gleason typed on Twitter.

"More than one executive is not common sense. Only one!" contributed Deon Ellis.

"I have decided to have Ben Franklin run as my VP in 2016," Garrick Gesell punched in.

Teenagers using social media is nothing new. But in-class use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube traditionally have been discouraged in most K-12 schools, seen as a distraction from real learning at best and a red-flag privacy concern at worst.

That's starting to change in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

Chris Lazarski, the teacher of the American Public Policy class at Tosa West, persuaded school administration this year to unblock the sites

Two New Mayors, Two New Approaches to Education |

Two New Mayors, Two New Approaches to Education |:

Two New Mayors, Two New Approaches to Education

December 2, 2013 by Alyssa Haywoode

Boston’s Mayor-elect Marty Walsh
Photo: Strategies for Children

Two new mayors will take the oath of office in both Boston and New York. So expect to see these men — Marty Walsh and Bill de Blasio — change the face of education in their cities, a news story in Education Week advises.

“Both cities’ school systems are under mayoral control. Both new mayors will select new executives to run the schools,” the article says. “And both cities still have enormous education challenges to tackle. Large achievement gaps—including in graduation rates—stubbornly persist between black and Latino students and their white and Asian peers.”

As Mayor Thomas Menino leaves office and Walsh steps in, look for “more subtle changes to the 57,000-student school system, which has generally experienced less upheaval in its school improvement efforts than other major urban districts,” the Education Week article says.

“In addition to hiring a new superintendent for the Boston schools, Mr. Walsh will be charged with overseeing the most sweeping change to the district’s student-assignment process since the city ended widespread busing for schoo

The Emotional Child: Three Books You Should Read | Lily's Blackboard

The Emotional Child: Three Books You Should Read | Lily's Blackboard:

Raising Wise, Loving, Whole and Happy Children: The Emotionally Healthy Child

Dec 2nd, 2013

by Lily.

I often use the term “Whole Child”. It’s not a cliché to me. It is practically my religion these days to consider what this reform or that shiny new thing, will mean to our blessed and whole, happy children. It rarely means something good.

And so, it is a comfort beyond words to me to know that those of us who care about the needs of the Whole Child – mind, body and character – are not alone and that choir of voices is growing. In a very short space of time, three books landed on my desk that are worthy of passing on to the world. They deal with the emotional and mental health of our little ones.

Visiting Feelings by Dr. Lauren Rubenstein, illustrated by Shelly Hehenberger

The first is a beautifully illustrated children’s book; a soft poem that is a lullaby to children in preschool or primary grades that takes a “mindfulness-based” approach to the many feelings that children will experience.

Visiting Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein, a clinical psychologist, and illustrated by

12-2-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Reader Highlights Logick of New York Times Editorial Board

Brent Staples and the other pampered fools on the New York Times editorial board are at it again, this time advising the new mayor on how to do to teachers what they would never dream of doing to themselves. Below is an excerpt on the seniority issue, followed by one of the 175 comments that lays bare the bankruptcy of thought that characterizes every utterance on education by the billionaires'

by Jim Horn / 2min

IAP Announces New Price for TMoE

For those trying to order The Mismeasure of Education from Amazon, I apologize for their being out of stock, AGAIN. My advice: forget Amazon. Information Age now has both hardback and paperback with a new promotional price. Another best reason this season not to buy from the exploitative worker warehouse at Amazon!

by Jim Horn / 15min hide // save

Why I Won't Be Buying a New Subaru to Benefit TFA

A letter I sent to a very nice salesman at the Memphis Subaru dealership this morning:To: davidellison@jimkerassubarusoa.dealer.comDear David,I saw a friend the other night who bought a new Subaru from you earlier this Fall, and I was admiring his car. With one of my cars on the verge of needing a new timing belt, I was planning to visit your place just after the Christmas rush to take advantage,

by Jim Horn / 1h

12-1-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Should SC Increase Charter School Investment? No!Charter school advocates are calling for more investment from South Carolina, according to Jamie Self at The State (Columbia, SC):South Carolina’s public charter schools struggle to find and pay for space, and often end up without access to kitchens, libraries, or places for kids to play – a problem the S.C. General Assembly needs to

by mike simpson / 56min

Despite dismal record of Pa. cybercharter schools, 6 more apply to open | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Despite dismal record of Pa. cybercharter schools, 6 more apply to open | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Despite dismal record of Pa. cybercharter schools, 6 more apply to open

by thenotebook on Dec 02 2013 Posted in Latest news

by Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks

For many, "Cyber Monday" may mean shopping.

But for the more than 35,000 Pennsylvania students attending the state's 16 cybercharter schools, it's just another day of the hitting the e-books.

The question now is: Should those numbers climb higher?

In the past few weeks, six prospective cyberschool operators have made pitches to the state department of education in hopes of gaining a charter.

Looking at the performance of the 16 existing cybercharters, some education advocates say the state's decision should be easy.

Analyzing the state's recently released School Performance Profile information, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Research for Action found Pennsylvania's cybercharters to be some of the lowest performing schools in the state.

Of the 11 cybercharters for which information was available, none met the the statewide average for publicly funded schools (77.2). The state's cybercharters received a score of 44.7, far below the scores of brick-and-mortar charters (67.3) and traditional public schools (77.8).

Researchers also found that the average cyberschool had a much higher than average annual student turnover rate. In 2011-12, 27 percent of the students in cybercharters withdrew from school.

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Monday, December 2, 2013