6-13-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

“Response: The Role Of Arts Education In Schools”

Response: The Role Of Arts Education In Schools is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. There’s certainly been a lot of interest in this topic, and I’ve included many readers’ comments in this post. In addition, I’m featuring guest responses from three educators — Virginia McEnerney, David Booth and Heather Wolpert-Gawron. Here are some excerpts:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17min 

The Best Tweets Of 2014 — So Far

Here’s my latest mid-year “The Best…” list. You might also be interested in: The Best Tweets Of 2013 The Best Tweets Of 2013 – So Far Best Tweets Of 2012 Best “Tweets” Of 2011 Best “Tweets” Of 2010 Best “Tweets” Of 2009 I’ve used Storify to “curate” them: [View the story "Best Tweets Of 2014 -- So Far" on Storify]

by Larry Ferlazzo / 18min 

My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2014 – So Far

I write many posts about recent research studies and how they can relate practically to the classroom. In fact, I post a regular feature called Research Studies of the Week. In addition, I write individual posts about studies I feel are particularly relevant to my work as a teacher. I’m continuing with my mid-year “Best” lists, and it makes sense now to publish one on recent studies. You can see

by Larry Ferlazzo / 27min 

TED-Ed Video: “The colossal consequences of supervolcanoes”

TED-Ed has published this video about supervolcanoes (you can find the entire lesson here). I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6min 

6-12-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: The Day After The “Vergara” Decision: Here Are More Thoughtful Reflections From Around The WebHere are some more thoughtful reflections on yesterday’s Vergara decision that I’m adding to California Court Rules It’s All The Teachers’ Fault: Informed Student Advocates Pursue Reforms that, Unlike Vergara v. California, Actuall

by mike simpson / 5h 

6-13-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Working Families Party Desperate To Keep Zephyr Teachout From Challenging Cuomo In Democratic Primary

In case you haven't relinquished all support for the Cuomo-toadying Working Families Party, this news ought to get you there:The Working Families Party, which launched Zephyr Teachout’s New York political career, is now trying desperately to prevent her from moving forward without its support in opposition to the candidate it chose over her: Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Since Teachout lost the WFP endorseme

by reality-based edu... / 16min 

Quid Pro Cuomo Raises Millions From Real Estate Interests And Other Donors Through Campaign Finance Loophole

Here's your champion of public campaign finance, Working Families Party:When he ran for office four years ago, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pledged to close a loophole in the state's campaign finance regulations allowing corporations and individuals to pour unlimited amounts of money into politics.Instead, he's become the loophole's biggest beneficiary.New York State forbids corporations from giv

by reality-based edu... / 6min 

Cuomo: I Am Not A Tax Deadbeat

From Politics on the Hudson: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today he didn’t know that an assessor wasn’t allowed into the Westchester County home he shares with TV cooking star Sandra Lee. “I don’t know how the town system works itself,” Cuomo told reporters this afternoon in Peekskill, Westchester County. “But generally the way it works is the town does an assessment, the homeowner then reviews the asses

by reality-based edu... / 0min hide  //  save

Zephyr Teachout Looks To Primary Andrew Cuomo

Game on:It looks like Gov. Cuomo will face a Democratic primary in his bid for re-reelection.Liberal professor Zephyr Teachout told a Manhattan Democratic club that petitions to advance her candidacy will be circulating beginning Friday.Teachout challenged Cuomo for the Working Families Party ballot line last month. Cuomo beat her surprising insurgency but only after much arm twisting by Mayor de

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Cuomo Says No Delay To Teacher Evaluations

In the Daily News: ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo on Thursday said he’s willing to adjust, not delay, the implementation of teacher evaluation systems throughout the state. After the budget was enacted in late March, Cuomo said he believed there should be a delay in tying the results of the controversial Common Core education testing to teacher evaluation. He said Thursday on public radio’s “The Capitol Pres

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

6-12-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: City Council Passes Bill Requiring Charter School Data To Be Made PublicErin Durkin at the Daily News: The city will be required to publish reports that reveal the demographic mix and academic records of every charter school sharing space with a district school under a bill the City Council passed Wednesday. Officials will have to list the number of kids who get free lunch,

by mike simpson / 5h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 6-13-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

Lausd To Pay $5 Million In Telfair Child Abuse Case

LAUSD to pay $5 million in Telfair Elementary teacher molestation case By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1l8tdpi 6/11/14, 12:25 PM PDT  ::  Los Angeles Unified School District officials agreed to a $5 million payout to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of two 11-year-old students who said they were molested by a former Telfair

by smf / 1min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 6-12-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Hiltzik: WHY THAT RULING AGAINST TEACHER TENURE WON’T HELP YOUR SCHOOLCHILDREN ANY MORE THAN DEASY’S iPADSWho's behind the teacher tenure verdict? Millionaires. Think they have your kids' interests at heart?   by Michael Hiltzik in the LOS ANGELES TIMES | http://lat.ms/Uws2VK   Isn't he really the problem? L.A. Schools Supt. John Deasy, awaiting the Ver

by mike simpson / 1h 

Common Core Sparks Flood of Legislation

Common Core Sparks Flood of Legislation:

Common Core Sparks Flood of Legislation

 

By Adrienne Lu, Staff Writer

Mary Natali teaches her first grade class at George Buck Elementary School in Indianapolis. Indiana was the first state in the country to revoke the Common Core math and English standards, leaving teachers reeling from years of change. (AP)

  Follow on Twitter

---

Stephen Colbert mockedit. Comedian Louis C.K.called it a “massive stress ball that hangs over the whole school.” And lawmakers in state capitols spent countless hours over the past few months debating it.

Their target is theCommon Core, a set of math and English language arts standards voluntarily adopted beginning four years ago by all but a handful of states. The standards define what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia initially signed onto the standards in both math and language arts (Minnesota adopted only the language arts standards), hoping to better prepare students for college and careers by the time they graduate from high school. Supporters say the Common Core encourages critical thinking and analytical skills, rather than rote memorization.

But in the past year, criticism over the Common Core has ramped up in state legislatures, school board meetings and classrooms. Critics from both the right and the left, including a very vocal tea party contingent, want to throw out the standards.

As of May 15, lawmakers introduced over 340 bills in 46 states—every state that had had a regular legislative session this year— that addressed college- and career-readiness education standards, including the Common Core, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those, 30 would slow down or delay college- and career-readiness standards and 35 would halt or revoke implementation altogether.

At the same time, implementation of the standards is well underway in most of the states that originally signed on.  Despite widespread debate, only a handful of states have officially backed away from the Common Core, with a few others on the fence.

  TWEET THIS FACT

Criticism has come from the left and right.  Opponents argue that the federal government is forcing Common Core on states. (Although the standards were a state-led effort, the Obama administration has given states incentives to adopt the Common Core through the competitive Race to the Top grant program and No Child Left Behind.) Some argue the standards aren’t academically demanding enough. Others say the implementation has been sloppy, with confusing or subpar curricular materials and inconsistent teacher training.

Battles Rage

About a half dozen governors have weighed in since last year with executive orders on the issue, generally reasserting the rights of states to determine their own education standards. In March, Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed an executive order creating a task force to study and make recommendations on the Common Core Sparks Flood of Legislation:

6-13-14 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):

Teachers union planning a salary rally at LAUSD board meeting

The LA Unified board meeting on June 17 might be more crowded than usual. UTLA, the teachers union, is planning a noon press conference outside the district’s downtown headquarters and handing out leaflets to call attention to the board’s demand for “a fair pay raise” for the coming years. The union’s activities come at a precarious time. The 2014-2015 budget is almost complete, pending a final re

2 9min 

New online course helps parents brush up on education policy

Via Edsource | By John Fensterwald A joke around Sacramento is that it takes a Ph.D. in Proposition 98 to understand how California schools are funded and governed. The truth is that agood short course is probably all that’s needed for the basics of California’s complex education policies. And now there is one – Ed100.org. Created by Jeff Camp, a former Microsoft Corp. manager and a longtime cham

2min hide  //  save

Westside charter school finally finds a new home, or two

Campus shot of Loyola Elementary School, one of Mar Vista’s new homes The long, bitter saga of a westside charter’s move to a new home after an unpleasant year at Stoner Elementary School has finally ended. Officials representing Citizens of the World Mar Vista said yesterday they have accepted an offer from LA Unified to relocate on the campuses of two Westchester elementary schools about 1.4 mil

by Vanessa Romo / 2min 

Commentary: Taking on Teacher Tenure Backfires

Via The New York Times | By Jesse Rothstein BERKELEY, Calif. — In his decision on Tuesday to strike down California’s teacher-tenure system, Judge Rolf M. Treu of Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that laws protecting teachers from dismissal violated the state’s constitutional commitment to provide “a basically equal opportunity to achieve a quality education” and drew parallels with prior cases co

2 14min hide  //  save

Morning Read: Teacher dismissal bill heads to Gov. Brown

California teacher firing bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown Against the backdrop of a ruling declaring California’s teacher dismissal rules unconstitutional, the Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown legislation speeding the teacher firing process. Sacbee CA budget agreement is biggest expansion to early education in a decade Some of California’s tiniest residents loo

2 14min 

6-12-14 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): New flexibility for LA Unified’s breakfast in the classroomActress Sofia Vergara promoting Breakfast in the Classroom programPhoto courtesy L.A. Fund A successful program aimed at providing free classroom breakfast to low-income students in Los Angeles Unified has quietly made a change: it will now allow

by mike simpson / 1h 

6-13-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

On Florida’s School Grade Pause and It’s Polticized Board of Education

The editors of the Tampa Bay Times preface their support for a pause in applying school grades in Florida by reminded readers that the existing scheme is already discredited. And while it’s extremely unlikely that any member of the highly politicized Florida Board of Education would pay attention, the editors make the case that they might want to pay attention to Bill Gates on the matter. Bill Gat

by Bob Sikes / 1min 

6-7-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida ALL Week

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:Scathing Purple Musings  Color me purple in Florida ALL WeekRick Scott’s “Education Investment” a “Paper Tiger”The editors of the Lakeland Ledger focus on Polk County Schools  woes they will experience under the education budget which Governor Rick Scott signed yesterday.

by mike simpson / 9h 

Panning A Charter Takeover of ALL public Schools | Cloaking Inequity

Panning A Charter Takeover of ALL public Schools | Cloaking Inequity:

Panning A Charter Takeover of ALL public Schools

The attempted charter takeover of the nation’s 14th-largest district is underway. Wealthy backers of the hostile takeover attempt have gathered enough signatures to force the anti-democratic maneuver onto the the November ballot. I first discussed the attempted takeover of Dallas in the post Beware: A Hostile Takeover of ALL Dallas Public Schools is Underway. I also visited Dallas on the invitation of several community groups in Dallas to discuss the Home Rule report and takeover. The nation must pay attention to this because this approach, if successful, may become the “reformers” next attack tactic of choice.

Notably, it appears that supporters of the takeover plan do not appear to be following the decades old Texas law that empowers them to takeover the Dallas district. The Dallas Morning News reported that

Dallas teachers group Alliance-AFT filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Dallas ISD, claiming that the district’s process to appoint a home-rule charter commission violates state law.

The lawsuit filed in Dallas County District Court argues that Dallas ISD has not followed the 1995 Texas law that outlines how districts appoint a home-rule charter commission. District trustees are in the middle of appointing 15 members to a home-rule commission to draft a new constitution for the district.

Alliance-AFT claims that DISD hasn’t followed the part of the law that outlines how the 15 members are appointed. By law, a quarter of the 15 members, or four members, must be classroom teachers selected by professionals on the district advisory committee.

Texas law says that the professionals on a district advisory committee must be elected. But Alliance-AFT claims that DISD’s members were appointed.

Alliance-AFT included an affidavit from DISD teacher and committee member Jimmy Guilllory, who said that he was not elected to the district advisory committee.

Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings, former Pizza Hut CEO, has been publicly supportive of the charter takeover (what he Panning A Charter Takeover of ALL public Schools | Cloaking Inequity:

6-13-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Latest on Advanced Learning in Seattle Public Schools

From the SPS webpage:- Summer Testing: For students who moved to Seattle after October 2013 and were not able to test for Advanced Learning eligibility, a summer testing opportunity is available. Information and Application Form. Applications are due by August 1, 2014.- For students found eligible for Advanced Learning programs, a School Choice Form must be completed in order to enroll. Forms are

by Melissa Westbrook / 20min 

Compare and Contrast How Vergara Decision is Viewed

An ad in USA Today by yet ANOTHER group.  As Diane Ravitch notes,Funny the ad doesn’t mention that the highest performing states in the U.S. on the NAEP are Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut, all of which have strong unions.Or that the states at the bottom of the NAEP ratings do not have strong unions (or, in some states), none at all.The ad was underwritten by the deceptively named “Cent

by Melissa Westbrook / 15min 

Friday Open Thread

Found this kind of fun looking gaming science/math site - might be worth bookmarking for those long summer days. A sobering look at school shootings.  Here's a list of every school shooting since Jan 2013.  Did you hear?  A mom in Philadelphia, a mother of seven with four currently in school, was jailed for two days over her children's truancy fines.  She died in jail.  On a lighter note, here's s

by Melissa Westbrook / 0min hide  //  save

The Supreme Court: Ball's in your court, Legislature

The Supreme Court had something to say about the lack of progress in fulfilling the McCleary Decision.  It's short but sweet.  They ordered the State to appear before them on September 3, 2014 to address why they should not be held in contempt by the Court.  The State must reply by July 11, 2014.Here's what they say they can do to address the request for "relief requested by the plaintiffs:&q

by Melissa Westbrook / 0min 

6-12-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Math Pathways, Middle School, and Equitable AccessThe District has claimed that equitable access to quality programs and services for all students is important to them. They say that, but where are the efforts to provide equitable access beyond the flowery talk?In one step towards equitable access the District math department has standardized math placement in midd

by mike simpson / 5h 

Tyranny of the Majority Threatens Protection of Educational Opportunity in Ohio | janresseger

Tyranny of the Majority Threatens Protection of Educational Opportunity in Ohio | janresseger:

Tyranny of the Majority Threatens Protection of Educational Opportunity in Ohio

Posted on June 13, 2014 by janresseger

There is one old joke told and retold about school finance lawsuits.  I’ve heard it for twenty-five years as keynote speakers begin their remarks.  It isn’t very funny, but I suppose it would be hard to make a really funny joke about the constitutional protection of public education.  Yesterday afternoon as I sat in a meeting of the Education Committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, I wondered if a lot of the people in the room were drifting away—pretty much along the lines of the old joke:  “School finance is like a Russian novel.  It’s long, and it’s boring, and in the end everybody gets killed.”

A lot of the people observing the hearing were more likely worrying about the grand larceny—as schools designated “dropout recovery” cyber-charter schools suck money from the K-12 state education budget even as the dismal graduation rates of many of these schools are themselves driving up Ohio’s overall dropout rate. And many of the other observers were likely more worried about the impact of high-stakes testing in their classrooms or the layoff of teachers as funds are cut and even more funds follow children to charters. Lots of others were probably wondering whether this discussion might somehow affect whether they can pass a local school levy on the November ballot.  School finance itself seems too long and too boring.  We know that even after more than a decade of the DeRolph school funding litigation, which included four supreme court decisions that found Ohio school funding unconstitutional, our supreme court released jurisdiction in the case and never required the legislature to design a remedy.  Nobody really looks forward to starting that all over again.

But that’s what this hearing was all about: the right of citizens to bring a lawsuit to challenge the way we fund our schools in Ohio. The Ohio General Assembly has established the Constitutional Modernization Commission to update a 163-year-old document for the twenty-first century.  According to the Commission’s website, Ohio’s constitution has not been updated since 1970.  The Commission is made up of legislators and public members appointed by the General Assembly.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Education Committee of the Commission, we were treated to two-hours of expert testimony—a theoretical presentation on the history and meaning of Article VI, Section 2 of our state constitution—from Charles Wilson, a professor emeritus of constitutional law at the Ohio State University.  As Professor Wilson shaped what I soon Tyranny of the Majority Threatens Protection of Educational Opportunity in Ohio | janresseger: