Portfolio School Reform: What Does It Mean in Chicago? Newark? New York City? | janresseger

Portfolio School Reform: What Does It Mean in Chicago? Newark? New York City? | janresseger:

Portfolio School Reform: What Does It Mean in Chicago? Newark? New York City?

Contriversy about charter schools has heated up this spring in New York City, over whether charter schools should be co-located into buildings shared by traditional public schools and whether charter schools ought to be charged rent; in Newark, over Governor Chris Christie and state appointed caretaker superintendent Cami Anderson’s One Newark Plan that would close traditional schools and fire tea

by janresseger / 53min 

YESTERDAY

The Koch Brothers Are Part of What’s the Matter with Kansas

Since when does school funding legislation have to come with a quid pro quo legislative tidbit for the Koch Brothers? Here is some background for what happened in Kansas last weekend.  The legislature had been warned by the state’s supreme court that the state’s school funding had slipped far from parity.  The Court gave the legislature until July 1 to allocate more state money to the poorest scho

by janresseger / 7h 

Columnist Susie Kaeser Imagines Educational Nightmare

This column by Cleveland Heights, Ohio public education activist Susie Kaeser flips our point of view about what has come to be called “corporate school reform.” Imagine — “When it comes to academic success, all children are immune to such factors as their parents’ situation, access to food and health care, vision or hearing issues, early childhood education or enrichment experiences, stress, expe

by janresseger / 7h 

It’s a Myth That Charter Schools Take Everybody

On March 30, Paul Krugman (the Princeton economist and NY Times opinion writer) wrote a column that introduced the concept of a zombie idea — “an idea that should have been killed by evidence, but refuses to die.”  There are a lot of these mythical, zombie ideas in the world of so-called education “reform,” with one of the most persistent being that charter schools do a better job of educating the

by janresseger / 7h 

Governor Cuomo Orchestrated Charter School Deal at Behest of Campaign Supporters

In New York last month there appeared to be a welling up of concern by parents because the new mayor, Bill de Blasio, had threatened to change course.  He planned to turn away from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s overwhelming support for the charter schools that serve 6 percent of the city’s children and move support to the traditional public schools serving 94 percent of the children along with adding

by janresseger / 7h 

Scandal of Ohio Charter School Governance Finally Gets Some Attention

Nearly a billion dollars flowing out of the state’s public education budget every year.  Scandals brought to light years after a charter school closes, money not recoverable because it’s been so long, no news coverage in time to make a difference.  Blog postings here and there about outrageous profits for Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow czar, William Lager.  Charter czars and management companies

by janresseger / 7h 

Zombie Ideas and Conventional Wisdom: Why NYC’s School “Reform” Matters to the Rest of Us

Paul Krugman, the Princeton University economist and NY Times columnist, wrote a column earlier this week about myths in economics.  He calls them “zombie ideas.”  Here is how Krugman defines a zombie idea: “one of those things that everyone important knows must be true, because everyone they know says it’s true.”   Back in 1958 in a famous book, The Affluent Society, another economist John Kennet

by janresseger / 7h 

Akron Beacon Journal Launches Investigation of Ohio’s Charter Schools

On Sunday, a long article appeared in the print edition of Cleveland Plain Dealer, the launch of an investigation of Ohio’s 393 charter schools.  The reporters phoned or faxed each of the state’s charter schools to begin to create a data base.  Reporters asked: Who runs the building? Who is that person’s supervisor? Is there a management company and what company is it? Who serves on the school’s s

by janresseger / 7h 

Ravitch on Charters: NY Review of Books and Bill Moyers Interview

According to the NY Times, a deal has been cut in a New York state budget bill that will stop New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from charging rent to charter schools and also prevent his halting the practice of co-location (putting charter schools in buildings that already house a traditional public school).  The budget agreement will preserve these policies of Mayor Bloomberg that Mayor de Blasi

by janresseger / 7h 

In New Jersey, Abbott School Districts Model Unified, Enriched Pre-Kindergarten

This morning the NY Times reports new analysis from economist James Heckman showing that the North Carolina Abecedarian Project, a study developed in the 1970s to mitigate hardship in early childhood, had long term health benefits added to its intellectual benefits for the impoverished children who received fully enriched services.  There is much talk these days of the need for public programs to

by janresseger / 7h 

Jeff Bryant and Amy Stuart Wells Show How Test-and-Punish Contributes to School Segregation

In an important and insightful piece yesterday for the Education Opportunity Network, How ‘Education Reform’ Perpetuates Racial Disparity, Jeff Bryant examines a new report (released late last week by the U.S. Department of Education) about racial disparities in public schools. Bryant writes:  “America was shocked, shocked, by new data from the U.S. Department of Education last week showing that a

by janresseger / 7h 

The Three La. Common Core Development “Teachers” Work for LDOE | deutsch29

The Three La. Common Core Development “Teachers” Work for LDOE | deutsch29:

The Three La. Common Core Development “Teachers” Work for LDOE

April 9, 2014

This is the story of two press releases and three Louisiana “mystery” teachers involved in “developing” CCSS.

The first is the July 2009 National Governors Association (NGA) press release for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics work groups– the “inner circle” that is the only group identified as “developing” CCSS based upon the language in the CCSS MOU (memorandum of understanding).

This first press release does not clearly identify any Louisiana classroom teachers.

As it turns out, both NGA and its CCSS copyright owner, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released another document dated September 2013 on the Louisiana Regents website, supposedly listing the same information: CCSS ELA and math work group membership.

The names on the two documents do not exactly match. In fact, the 2013 Louisiana Regents document– publicized three years after CCSS was completed– includes what appears as an effort to show that “teachers” were involved in “developing” CCSS.

Most of the additions have either university or state department of education affiliations.

Two Louisiana “Teachers” on the Math Work Group

Only four members of the 50-member CCSS math work group are listed as classroom 

“Student needs index” identifies highest needs L.A. schools | EdSource Today

“Student needs index” identifies highest needs L.A. schools | EdSource Today:

“Student needs index” identifies highest needs L.A. schools

April 9th, 2014 | Add a Comment | 
By Louis Freedberg

The Advancement Project, the Los Angeles-based civil rights and advocacy organization, has come up with what it calls a “student needs index” to identify the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District with the greatest needs.

The organization, partnering with the Community Coalition and InnerCity Struggle, argues that most of the additional funds the district will receive from the state based on its enrollments of low income students, English learners and foster children should be targeted toward 242 schools its index shows have the highest needs.  These schools are heavily concentrated in southern and eastern Los Angeles, as well as in the the Pacoima area in the San Fernando Valley, as this map shows. 

The publication of the index coincided with the release of the draft Local Control and Accountability Plan by Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy on Tuesday.  (Go here for an EdSource report on the release of the draft plan.)

Because it is by far the state’s largest district, with nearly 1,000 schools, the district is being closely watched by policy makers and key education constituencies to see how the state’s new funding formula will be implemented. The district will receive a projected $837 million in additional grants based on the number of low-income students, English learners and foster children enrolled in the district.

“We understand and applaud the governor’s framework (for school financing) to focus on the highest-needs students,” said John Kim, the Advancement Project’s managing co-director.  But he said there are “large swaths of disparities between the highest- and lowest-needs schools.”  The index, he said, offers a way for the district to prioritize how and where it spends state education funds.

The  index is based on a dozen different factors. These include 3rd and 8th grade test scores, high school dropout rates, access to child care, the presence of crime-prevention services, and a 

Los Angeles Unified’s draft accountability plan shows promise of new funding law - by Louis Freedberg

The potential of the state’s new education funding system was on full display this week when Los Angeles Unified School Superintendent John Deasy presented a draft accountability plan that included a dizzying array of new ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit the Edsource Today website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

by Louis Freedberg / 14min

SCUSD Annouces Its Withdrawl From the CORE Waiver | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

SCUSD Annouces Its Withdrawl From the CORE Waiver | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

SCUSD Annouces Its Withdrawl From the CORE Waiver

At  a press conference today at the offices of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, Sacramento City Unified Board President Patrick Kennedy announced that SCUSD will not be applying for a renewal of the CORE waiver from No Child Left Behind; although the waiver might have seemed that it would benefit the district, the way in which it was entered into has created an atmosphere of distrust. He stated that the district is committed to working collaboratively with its partners to rebuild that trust.

SCTA President Nikki Milevski said that while it did bring some flexibility in supplemental education service funds, teachers could not support the waiver which had no community or teacher input and threatened local control of the district. Sacramento City teachers applaud the district's decision and are committed to  working together to implement the Common Core Standards and a method of evaluating teachers that all mutually agree on.

Your Kids Don't Actually Feel Like They Belong After All - The Jose Vilson

Your Kids Don't Actually Feel Like They Belong After All - The Jose Vilson:

Your Kids Don’t Actually Feel Like They Belong After All

by JOSE VILSON on APRIL 9, 2014

in JOSE

Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Act Signing

Today, a friend forwarded me a report from the Pew Research Center that focused on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. An excerpt:

But as historic as it was, a half century later many Americans — particularly blacks — still believe that the country has a ways to go in overcoming racial disparities.

A CBS News poll conducted in late March found that while 59% of Americans — including 60% of whites and 55% of blacks — considered race relations in the U.S. to be generally good, about half (52%) thought there was real hope of ending discrimination altogether while 46% said there would always be a lot of prejudice and discrimination. About six-in-ten blacks (61%) held the view that discrimination will always exist compared to 44% of whites.

In other words: people of color have a much different view of race relations in this country. Again.

The implications for this get even more complicated when we look at the accompanying statistics about public schools. When asked whether Blacks were treated less fairly than whites in local public schools, only 15% of whites, 35% of Latinos / Hispanics, and 51% of Blacks believe this. In other words, for every white person who believes this, 2 Latinos and 3 Black people are

- See more at: http://thejosevilson.com/kids-dont-actually-feel-like-belong/#sthash.kPOoxHXd.dpuf

Paul Vallas stops ripping off taxpayer money as he collects six-figures of Illinois political insider money and runs for the #2 spot on the gubernatorial slate of public education destroyers | Reclaim Reform

Paul Vallas stops ripping off taxpayer money as he collects six-figures of Illinois political insider money and runs for the #2 spot on the gubernatorial slate of public education destroyers | Reclaim Reform:

Paul Vallas stops ripping off taxpayer money as he collects six-figures of Illinois political insider money and runs for the #2 spot on the gubernatorial slate of public education destroyers

Posted on April 9, 2014by Ken Previti

Paul Vallas intends on saving taxpayers money by closing schools, firing teachers, stealing pensions funds, etc. as he continues to rip-off indirect tax money for himself – legally, kinda -sorta.

Because Connecticut dumped him, Vallas returns to the scene of his previous crimes, Illinois.

(This is NOT about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago’s billionaires and multimillionaires, ALEC and corruption.)

Vallas will immediately be collecting some serious cash – a “six-figure job as a financial consultant” from a political insider as he establishes residency in Illinois in order to be Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate in the November election. Where does this salary come from?

“Vallas began his position with DSI Civic, an affiliate of Chicago-based Development Specialists Inc., on April 1, said DSI CEO and President Bill Brandt, who serves as the chair of the Illinois Finance Authority – an unpaid post he was appointed to by Quinn. Brandt donated $100,000 in December to Quinn’s re-election effort.” Read the entire Tribune articleHERE.

This six figure allowance doesn’t even take into consideration his income from his personal private education consulting firm which has collected its money from education funds in Haiti, Chicago, Philadelphia, Connecticut, New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. Save tax money? His life has been dedicated to saving tax money in his own pockets while sharing it with his cronies in the public-private-

As California standardized testing gains steam, help center 'inundated' with teacher calls | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

As California standardized testing gains steam, help center 'inundated' with teacher calls | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

As California standardized testing gains steam, help center 'inundated' with teacher calls

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | April 9th, 2014, 5:44pm

Getty Images

Students type on computers.

It's week three for California’s new web-based standardized tests and some schools are reporting hair-pulling moments.

“Our students are becoming frustrated,” said Bonnie Tanaka, principal of Madrid Middle School in El Monte. She said screens are freezing up, and  - unlike what was promised - tests don’t resume where a student’s left off after a break, and students can’t review previous answers.

“So they are not putting in as much effort as they did" under the former, multiple-choice pencil-and-paper state tests, she said.

At some Los Angeles Unified schools, the problem was the computers and networks themselves, not the testing web site, come teachers said.

“The iPads sent by the district most didn’t work,” said Graff, a fifth grade teacher at Pomelo Community Charter School. “We couldn’t even use them as part of testing.”

Everything about the test is new: new Common Core standards, new online portal and, for those using tablets, even new devices to test on.

Many schools are sending an SOS to the California Department of Education.

“Our testing contractor hosts a help desk and that help desk has been inundated with calls,” said Cindy Kazanis, director of the department's data division.

Last week, the help desk received an average of 637 calls each day from teachers As California standardized testing gains steam, help center 'inundated' with teacher calls | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Is the CORE Waiver in Trouble? Sacramento Bails on NCLB Flexibility - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Is the CORE Waiver in Trouble? Sacramento Bails on NCLB Flexibility - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Is the CORE Waiver in Trouble? Sacramento Bails on NCLB Flexibility

By Michele McNeil on April 9, 2014 8:41 PM

In a joint press conference today, the Sacramento school district and its teachers' union announced they are withdrawing from a first-of-its-kind No Child Left Behind Act waiver the U.S. Department of Education granted less than a year ago.

In August, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan surprised many education policy advocates, and sparked some outrage, when he bypassed the State of California and granted the so-called CORE waiver to eight districts in the state. Essentially, Duncan allowed these districts, which also include Los Angeles and Long Beach, to set up their own accountability system outside of the state of California's—and largely police themselves through their own board of directors. (CORE stands for California Office to Reform Education.)

In a memo to staff today, interim Superintendent Sara Noguchi said, "It has become clear that [the district's] participation in the waiver from No Child Left Behind has impeded progress towards working more collaboratively to move our schools and classrooms forward." She referred to the waiver as a distraction.

In a statement to the press, she said that the withdrawal does not mark an endorsement for NCLB, which is still in effect in California since it was unable to obtain a federal waiver. She said, "While we will once again be subject to all rules and regulations of NCLB, we will continue to evaluate how we can best support our students within the framework of the law and continue to advocate for more systemic changes to its top-approach to accountability."

The waiver was causing huge problems between the district and the union. Teachers were highly critical of the process (which they viewed as not collaborative) that former superintendent Is the CORE Waiver in Trouble? Sacramento Bails on NCLB Flexibility - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Sacramento City Unified to abandon high-profile consortium plan - Education - The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento City Unified to abandon high-profile consortium plan - Education - The Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento City Unified to abandon high-profile consortium plan

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Apr. 9, 2014 - 5:16 pm

The Sacramento City Unified School District announced Wednesday it will abandon a plan to work with seven other California school districts on employing new performance standards that were intended to satisfy federal education officials.

The announcement at the Sacramento City Teachers Association office in East Sacramento is a victory for the teachers, who had broadly criticized the district’s participation in a consortium of California districts that agreed to tie student test scores to teacher evaluations.

Patrick Kennedy, president of the school board, recounted the initiatives sought through the California Office to Reform Education plan, including a holistic approach to evaluating school performance and an agreement to carry out the new Common Core State Standards.

But, he said, “It has become clear we will not be able to sustain the initiatives unless all of our partners are engaged and working together.”

CORE made headlines last year when the U.S. Department of Education granted the consortium the nation’s first district-level waiver from No Child Left Behind, a departure from the normal practice of granting waivers to states. The federal NCLB law expects all students to reach a “proficient” level on state tests by this school year, a bar so high that 42 states and the District of Columbia, in addition to the CORE districts, obtained waivers on the promise they will find alternate ways to improve education.

Central to the CORE waiver was the commitment by the eight participating districts to link teacher evaluations and student test scores.

The Sacramento teachers union argued that the plan gave too much power to the outside consortium.

“We believe that in working collaboratively with the district and the community, we can make many of the more positive initiatives contained within the (CORE) application a reality without the loss of local control to the unelected California Office to Reform Education,” SCTA President Nikki Milevsky said in Wednesday’s joint announcement.

“Student test scores are not an accurate measure of teacher quality,” she said after the meeting.

The district for the balance of this academic year continues to operate under the waiver, which encompasses more than 1 million students in school districts in Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Sanger and Santa Ana.

Today’s announcement means the district returns July 1 to mandates of No Child Left Behind, the federal law that has drawn criticism from both educators and teachers groups. The seven other school districts must meet a May 1 deadline to apply for a second year of waiver. CORE Executive Director Rick Miller said all seven plan to move ahead.

Sacramento City Unified, during its first year under the waiver, gained autonomy in spending about $4 million in federal dollars to aid low-income students. Under No Child Left Behind starting in July, much of that money, as before, could go to for-profit companies that provide tutoring.

Under the CORE waiver this year, the district also paired teachers from different schools and different CORE districts to share teaching methods and best practices. Under a return to the federal law, that practice will be kept within each campus.

The district this year made no progress in linking student test scores to teacher evaluations, an effort that would have required approval from the teachers’ union.

In addition, teachers were harshly critical of the district for joining CORE with scant public comment, failing to engage the teachers association about the idea and claiming meetings with teachers that did not occur. The labor group began a petition drive with backing from several activist community groups to have the district withdraw from the consortium.

Last month, schools’ Superintendent Sara Noguchi worried aloud that the teachers’ mistrust could keep the district from moving ahead on the district’s new approach to improving schools’ performance.

“Nothing can usurp the collective bargaining agreement,” she said then. “If we are not in agreement, it’s pointless.”

---

Call The Bee’s Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073. Follow her on Twitter @LorettaSacBee.

• Read more articles by Loretta Kalb

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/09/6311003/sacramento-city-unified-withdraws.html#storylink=cpy