Wednesday, January 29, 2014

1-29-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

Vergara trial expert witness: ineffective teachers hurt students

Raj Chetty, Harvard Economist And so begins the battle of the expert titans. In the landmark lawsuit, Vergara vs. California, the winner may ultimately be the side that had the more persuasive expert witnesses. The first came to the stand today as lawyers for the nine students bringing the suit called Harvard professor Raj Chetty, a renowned expert in public policy economics whose judgements, he s

by Mark Harris / 13min

Ed Department opens charters to lotteries for disadvantaged

Via The Washington Post | By Lyndsey Layton The Education Department on Wednesday reversed a long-standing policy and will now allow public charter schools that receive federal grants to give admissions preference to low-income children, minorities and other disadvantaged students. The move is designed to try to preserve racial diversity in schools that are attractive to wealthier families. School

2 38min

LA Unified wants you: 47 parents and your spending priorities

It’s rare these days that the LA Unified school board agrees on anything. Now, imagine this: Over the next few weeks, district officials will take on the daunting task of assembling a committee of 47 parents and guardians to help decide how to spend tax dollars coming into the district. It’s the next step in a “collective process” to draft a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), which is

by Vanessa Romo / 9min

Fletcher challengers for UTLA top job campaigning online

Click to view slideshow. Candidates in a crowded field to take the top spot at one of the nation’s most powerful teachers union, UTLA, are angling to distinguish themselves online. An online search finds that four of the 10 running, Gregg Solkovits, Alex Caputo-Pearl, Saul Lankster and Bill Gafney, have established a website presence, announcing their candidacies and platforms. UTLA allows candida

by Chase Niesner / 19min

Obama on education: ‘Some of this change is hard’

President Obama last night President Obama had a few words to say about education in his State of the Union speech last night. Here’s what he told us: “Of course, it’s not enough to train today’s workforce. We also have to prepare tomorrow’s workforce, by guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education. Estiven Rodriguez couldn’t speak a word of English when he moved to New York City at

16min hide // save

Morning Read: Deasy says dismissals have surged

L.A. teacher firings spiked but still costly and lengthy, Deasy says Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy acknowledged Tuesday that teacher dismissals have surged recently, but he insisted Tuesday that state laws still made the process too lengthy and costly. Deasy was on the witness stand for a second day in a high-profile trial over the state’s job protections for teachers, which are among the m

16min

1-28-14 LA School Report - USC Rossier offers new program for LA Unified charter teachers - LA School Report

USC Rossier offers new program for LA Unified charter teachers - LA School Report: USC Rossier offers new program for LA Unified charter teachersThe debate over what makes a good teacher can be, at best subjective and at worst litigious. (See Vergara v California, which got underway yesterday.) But USC’s Rossier School of Education may have cracked the code and is now partnering with Los Angeles U

by mike simpson / 20h

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 1-29-14

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:

Stolen Super Bowl ring

In American sports, there is no more wanted symbol of success than a Super Bowl ring. One piece of "bling" represents victory, overcoming obstacles, perseverance and teamwork and countless other things, depending on whose finger it encircles. All of which is amplified by the size they must be to fit the fingers of the men who wear them. And if the on-the-field stories behind rings are in

by Mathew Gibbons / 14min

Hydrogen fuel cell car

The Japanese automaker’s fuel-cell car hits the market next year despite all the doubt. Toyota Motor is getting set to defy naysayers. Toyota’s initiative is the first commercial hydrogen-powered fuel-cell car, which the Japanese automaker said it will sell starting next year.Toyota showed a prototype it calls FCV at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week. Many are hoping

by Mathew Gibbons / 2min

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 1-28-14

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Animal TestingAnimal Exploitation Now has recently exposed that the number of fines the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made for "laboratory negligence" has gone up by 162% in the past 3 years. The group is claiming that the USDA is failing at its job of regulating labs and not protecting animals used for testing. All together 35 labs were fined and

by mike simpson / 15min

1-29-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Ballard High Teachers Say Yes to Later Start

From one Ballard teacher (via Facebook):Educators at Ballard HS voted today on a motion regarding moving the High School start times to a later time (switching with elementary). The vote was UNANIMOUS in support of the motion. The research, by the way, is also unanimous. Students learn better later in the morning.

by Melissa Westbrook / 2h

Seattle Schools Math Adoption - What is Going On?

There seems to be some mystery and oddities going on with the Math Adoption.(Also, for whatever reason, I cannot find the last minutes of the Math Adoption Committee at the district website. I also cannot find any timeline. If anyone has it, could you please put it in the Comments section?) 1) Many parents are asking - Where IS this process? Who are the finalists for the new math adoption?2) Th

by Melissa Westbrook / 8min hide // save

I Asked - Do You? (about guns at home)

From Washington Ceasefire:Asking Saves Kids (ASK) - Washington is a public safety education campaign aimed at encouraging inquiry by parents and neighbors about guns in homes where their children play. Our goal is to persuade parents that this conversation—to ensure that their kids play in a gun safe environment—is an essential parental responsibility.Despite the very real dangers of guns in proxi

by Melissa Westbrook / 39min

Seattle Schools Updates Fieldtrip Volunteer Policy

(Editor's note - the district is making a distinct difference here between oversight chaperones and day fieldtrip volunteers - I believe that may be what "A" and "B" volunteer categories are but I have a call into SPS about that.) From SPS Communications:To ensure the safety of our students and volunteers, Seattle Public Schools has updated our Volunteer Administrative Procedur

by Melissa Westbrook / 11min

Kid President Gives Us All a Pep Talk

This kid is great - listen up students (and everybody's a teacher). Get your learn on!

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min

1-28-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadComing up on Thursday is the one-year anniversary of the MAP test boycott. It's also the day that SEE (Social Equality Educators) are introducing their "Respect' slate of candidates to challenge the current SEA leadership. They are having a forum on Thursday at Garfield Community Center. Lead by Jesse Hagopian, a Garfield teacher who was

by mike simpson / 11min

1-29-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

ALEC’s Extensive Plans for Education Restructuring in Your State

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (established 1973) offers corporate America the opportunity to shape legislation that serves its profit-garnering interests and to do so in statehouses around the country. To accomplish this controlling of the legislative process, ALEC provides forums (conferences that double as posh vacations for legislators and their families) in which both […]

4 by deutsch29 / 1h

Social Studies isn’t English Language Arts’ Annoying Relative.

More and more, it seems that educational resources support two core courses: English Language Arts and Mathematics. In my opinion, this is a dangerous trend in education, today. At a time when students must prepare to live within global society, education curriculum and instructional resources are ignoring other critical subjects. As a result, the education industry’s […]

by Angel Cintron Jr. / 2min

Wisconsin education legislation: Faith-based ideology trumps evidence

The headline yesterday in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinal; Bill would close failing Wisconsin public schools, cut voucher payments Take a look and what you find is the same old “accountability mythology” being proposed. How does the Wisconsin legistalure plan to hold schools accountable? By assigning A-F letter grades to public schools. How do schools […]

23 by Timothy D. Slekar / 30min

An Open Apology, with Explanations: Math, Behaviorism, and “Grit”

While I haven’t really made any sort of public declaration, I have begun in 2014 to address in my public work something with which I have become more uncomfortable throughout 2013: The antagonism in the education reform debate. Thus, I want to address a series of tensions that have been created by recent blogs of […]

1 by plthomasedd / 7min

1-28-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: What We Know (and Ignore) about Standards, Achievement, and EquityWhat We Know (and Ignore) about Standards, Achievement, and Equity. via What We Know (and Ignore) about Standards, Achievement, and Equity.2 by plthomasedd / 1h 1-27-14 @ The Chalk Face@ THE CHALK FACE: Bad Journalism, Test-Mania, and High Education: “A Flabbergasting Reality”About thirty years after the fabricated

by mike simpson / 26min

AFT - A Union of Professionals - AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Obama’s State of the Union Address

AFT - A Union of Professionals - AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Obama's State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON— Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on President Obama's State of the Union address. Two AFT members joined first lady Michelle Obama to watch the address: Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year Kathy Hollowell-Makle, and Antoinette Tuff, a DeKalb County, Ga. bookkeeper who talked down a shooter at the elementary school where she worked.

"We are a stronger nation when we champion opportunity, reward work and create a path to success for all of our citizens. The forward-seeking agenda that President Obama laid out tonight combats the economic inequality many working Americans face with real and practical solutions that raise people up—not deepen wealth divisions—by increasing the minimum wage and putting Americans back to work in good jobs with family-friendly policies like paid sick leave, expanding early childhood education, making college affordable, and creating a new retirement savings program called MyRA. And by using the first words of his address to honor the dedication of teachers, the president highlighted the importance of educators and our schools in helping our children achieve their dreams. We cannot rest until we fully re-establish the steps on the ladder to opportunity and give working families a shot at the American dream. The president has heard the American people, and we now must heed his call for action.

"A vibrant economy and a high-quality public education system have been and always will be intertwined. It's no coincidence that when our nation summoned the political will to launch a war on poverty 50 years ago, we not only slashed poverty rates, put Americans back to work and rebuilt communities, but also witnessed a rapid spike in student achievement that has yet to be repeated. The black-white reading gap alone shrank by two-thirds from the 1960s to the 1980s.

"While we can't replicate today the same strategies employed 50 years ago, the American people need leaders willing to expand opportunity and help re-create a path to the middle class. We must build on what the president laid out tonight. It starts with investing in early childhood education, making college affordable, making public schools the center of communities, and, equipping students with essential life skills and offering multiple paths to graduation and the world of work through rigorous career and technical education programs. We need to reject sequestration and austerity, and invest in the services that keep our communities safe and vibrant and our families healthy. We need good jobs with living wages and opportunities for workers to develop new skills and compete in a changing workforce; unions can play an important role in both creating a highway to the middle class for workers, and partnering with government and the private sector to create career-ladder opportunities like we've done for paraprofessionals in New York City, Baltimore and elsewhere. We need to do more to ensure people have a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work. We can create good jobs today and invest in our future by putting Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure. And we need to stop just debating it and finally pass comprehensive immigration reform to end exploitation and strengthen our economy.

"The American people expect and deserve their leaders to act on their behalf to move an agenda the expands economic opportunity and reclaims the promise of public education for all children. With too many families still feeling the sting of an economy tilted against them, we simply can't wait."

Aging School Kitchens Undermine Healthy Meal Preparation | NEA Today

Aging School Kitchens Undermine Healthy Meal Preparation | NEA Today:

Aging School Kitchens Undermine Healthy Meal Preparation

January 29, 2014 by twalker

By John Rosales

It was food delivery day at Glen Landing Middle School in Blackwood, New Jersey, and the 42-year-old walk-in freezer went kaput. Again.

“The food delivery we were supposed to receive that Thursday had to be delivered to another school,” says Marge Vallieu, a 22-year district employee, the last 17 as Glen Landing’s cafeteria manager. “The food was then picked up and brought back to me on Monday.”

Fortunately for the 100 students who ate breakfast and 350 who enjoyed lunch at Glen Landing that Thursday and Friday, a maintenance worker kept the freezer running with duct tape, glue and a prayer until he could install much-needed new parts. Vallieu says Glen Landing still has most of the original kitchen equipment from when the school was built in 1971.

“The repairman said the freezer should have been replaced 10 years ago,” says Vallieu, a member of the New Jersey Education Association. “That’s not going to happen unless we hit the lottery.”

According to Serving Healthy School Meals, a new report by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project(KSHFP), some sort of financial windfall is needed by many schools in order to prepare and serve healthy foods efficiently. For example, only one in 10 school districts surveyed (12 percent) have the kitchen equipment needed to serve nutritious and appealing meals, with only 42 percent having a budget sufficient enough to purchase vital equipment.

To meet current dietary needs, according to the survey, schools need ovens to bake rather than fry foods; refrigerators to hold fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products; and proper infrastructure such as

Kids Bullied During PE Avoid Physical Activities

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center on Educational Statistics noted that at least 13.5 million episodes of bullying were reported in 2011, ranging from insults to threats and physical harm. When kids are bullied during physical activities like PE classes and sports, they tend to withdraw from being physically active — not just in class, but in general. A year later, kids who are pic

by twalker / 16min hide // save

Obama Sells Race to Top, Early-Childhood Education in State of the Union

President Barack Obama placed education at the center of a broad strategy to bolster economic mobility and combat poverty—calling on Congress in his State of the Union speech to approve previously unveiled initiatives to expand preschool to more 4-year-olds, beef up job-training programs, and make post-secondary education more effective and accessible. Source: Education Week Related posts: Equit

by twalker / 16min

The first-ever Grammy Award for a Music Educator goes to... | Lily's Blackboard

The first-ever Grammy Award for a Music Educator goes to... | Lily's Blackboard:

And the Grammy Goes to…

Jan 28th, 2014

by Lily.

And the Award goes to….

It is always with a divided heart that I agree to serve on award panels. It dates back to my year as Utah Teacher of the Year. It was so amazing to be recognized for the things you did for your students; things you loved doing; things that you weren’t even sure anyone knew about. It was such an honor for someone to nominate you and remind you that your work impacted the future of someone’s child and that that is an important thing.

But I also know that it was awkward to know that your colleagues, who were a team and close and friends and hardworking and every bit as deserving as you, were not going to be recognized. It felt wrong to single out one person when so many deserved recognition.

But I agreed to serve on the award’s committee for the first-ever Grammy Award for a Music Educator. And I imagine Kent Knappenberger is going through what I went through when asked how it felt to win. He’s thinking, “Why me? What about my colleagues? I’m not worthy. This is so cool!”

It’s the ultimate multiple-choice answer: All of the above. And all at once. Kent teaches everything musical at Central School in rural Westfield, New York, population 4,896. Not exactly the Big Apple of New York City. But there’s nothing small about Kent Knappenberger’s ambitions. His music program brings big joy, big smiles, big differences in the lives of his boys and girls. He sings and strums and plucks and whistles and rings bells.

He explodes with energy and possibilities and love. It is a law of physics as

1-29-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Buffalo's Rumore Taking Stand in NYSUT Split?

NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi is losing ground in his contested April election.... Philip Rumore, president of the Buffalo Federation of Teachers, said his members are frustrated that the current leadership wasn't as aggressive as they'd hoped in responding to the state's rollout of the controversial Common Core standards. “Many of the Buffalo teachers have not been satisfied with the positions

by ed notes online / 14min

Mollie Bruhn: Challenging “Waiting for Superman” in Kappan Mag

Our film was not the first nor the only thing to clue people in to the dangers of the corporate reform movement, but “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman” has proven to be an important piece of the ever-growing pushback and effort to preserve public education... Mollie Bruhn in Kappan on the making of "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman."This article is ava

by ed notes online / 3min

From the Right: Educational Intelligence Agency on Randi, Common Core and TNTP Slug Tim Daly

If you think she’s (Weingarten) being shifty now, wait until someone asks her about Mulgrew vs. Iannuzzi. ...EIALast week the union announced 13 recipients of the grants. Nine of the grants are geared to ease the implementation of the Common Core standards. The NEA delegates approved the fund by a relatively slim margin (55.6% to 44.4%). The margin might have been slimmer yet, or even entirely ove

by ed notes online / 28min

Randi Shows Up in Newark with Old Pal Cami

“We ask you to stay the course and oppose attempts to impede the successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards,” Weingarten and Engler wrote in their Nov. 26 letter to the governors. None of the governors responded....the next time that Weingarten comes to your town with her bullhorn and satin handcuffs, along with her posse of fellow lawyers trained in obfuscation and the art of th

by ed notes online / 0min

TESTIMONY OF NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR CARMEN FARIñA BEFORE THE STATE ASSEMBLY WAYS & MEANS AND STATE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEES ON THE PROPOSED 2014-2015 EXECUTIVE BUDGET

This is frightening. Very disappointing.She supports common core for IEPs. Unbelievable.---- Parent comments on Farina testimony.Take this for what it is - I don't have the patience to read it. But when I sent it out to listserves some bad reviews were coming in. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28, 2014N-44, 2013-14 TESTIMONY OF NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR CARMEN FARIñA BEFORE THE STATE ASSEMBLY WAY