Vergara vs. California: Are the top 0.1% buying their version of education reform? - The Washington Post

Vergara vs. California: Are the top 0.1% buying their version of education reform? - The Washington Post:

Vergara vs. California: Are the top 0.1% buying their version of education reform?

On Tuesday, a California superior-court judge ruled that the state’s teacher tenure system discriminates against kids from low-income families. Based on testimony that one to three percent of California teachers are likely “grossly ineffective”—thousands of people, who mostly teach at low-income schools—he reasoned that current tenure policies “impose a disproportionate burden on poor and minority students.” The ruling, in Vergara v. California, has the potential to overturn five state laws governing how long it takes for a teacher to earn tenure; the legal maneuvers necessary to remove a tenured teacher; and which teachers are laid off first in the event of budget cuts or school closings.

— Dana Goldstein writing for the Atlantic.

The Vergara vs. California decision has garnered a great deal of media attention. It has been covered as an education story, a labor story, a legal story, but the connection to another highly topical subject has been largely overlooked: Vergara vs. California is an income-inequality story.

Put another way, the decision, the course of the trial, even the very existence of the case were largely the result of actions of a small set of very wealthy men. What’s more, this is true for almost every major education reform initiative from Common Core to L.A.’s billion-dollar iPad program to endless charter school pushes. Though the list of names does vary somewhat from story to story, the same figures keep popping up. For instance, it is rare to find a major reform initiative that does not involve someone who has worked for or received support from Eli Broad or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Perhaps more importantly, even when the faces are new, the résumés are remarkably similar: extremely wealthy present or former CEOs, usually male and from the tech industry, with a proclivity for MBA-style rhetoric and approaches. Given the importance of the CEO demographic, it is not surprising that arguably the most powerful figures in the education reform movements of the United States and Britain (David Coleman and Michael Barber, respectively) both worked at McKinsey and Co., the definitive Vergara vs. California: Are the top 0.1% buying their version of education reform? - The Washington Post:

6-24-14 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):

Gov. Brown signs teacher dismissal bill into law

Via Reuters | By Sharon Bernstein California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a law adding “egregious misconduct” to the list of fireable offenses for public school teachers, weeks after a judge said it was too hard to fire incompetent teachers in the most populous U.S. state. Both houses of the legislature unanimously passed the law just days after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge court

6 46min 

Bill to create teacher tenure for small districts dies in committee

Lorena Gonzalez, California Assemblywoman A bill that sought to create teacher tenure for California’s smallest school districts died in committee today when the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, could not generate enough support for passage by the Senate Education Committee. The bill would have required school districts with fewer than 250 students to grant tenure to teachers after t

1min 

California’s services for disabled students ranks low

Via LA Times | Howard Blume California ranks in the bottom rung of states in the academic achievement of disabled students, according to new federal rankings released Tuesday. The new system rates only 18 states and U.S. territories as meeting federal standards, compared with 41 under the old rules for evaluating state programs. The prior method of ranking looked more at process, such as whether s

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Vote for LAUSD board president set for July 1, as planned

The LA Unified school board decided yesterday to hold its annual election for president in the traditional fashion, with an Annual Meeting on July 1, when the six members will choose their leader for the coming school year. While that’s business as usual, it precludes the possibility that a newly-elected board member for District 1, will cast a vote. As the top vote-getters in a primary, George Mc

4min 

Morning Read: Jerry Brown signs teacher pension fund bill

Jerry Brown signs teacher pension fund bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday to begin paying down an estimated shortfall of more than $74 billion in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, acting on the last of a raft of budget-related bills ahead of the July 1 start of the next fiscal year. Sac Bee New York state challenge planned on teacher tenure law A new advocacy group l

4min 

LAUSD board rejoices in passing ‘best budget’ in seven years

LAUSD board members Monica Garcia, Tamar Galatzan and Superintedent John Deasy An extraordinary year for LA Unified came to an extraordinary end yesterday as the school board unanimously approved —  and with minimal debate — its largest budget in seven years. The six board members played musical chairs congratulating one another and Superintendent John Deasy for a job well done. Members were espec

4 by Vanessa Romo / 34min 

6-24-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District)

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Calculus camp at LACES drawing in more LAUSD studentsRobert Vriesman The popularity of calculus classes at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) has skyrocketed, thanks in large part to a unique calculus camp that combines learning with outdoor fun and adventure. Every year, seniors and juni

by mike simpson / 17h

We Party Patriots » Corporate Education Lobby Launches Pro-Charter School PR Blitz Following Damning MI Report

We Party Patriots » Corporate Education Lobby Launches Pro-Charter School PR Blitz Following Damning MI Report:

Corporate Education Lobby Launches Pro-Charter School PR Blitz Following Damning MI Report

   

A new investigative report from the Detroit Free Press reveals a problem in Michigan found in many other states: Charter schools with little oversight and nearly no regulation underperforming to the detriment of students.  The report’s findings led the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), a lobby group focusing on the for-profit education industry, to wage an all-out PR campaign to minimize the postivie impact of this solid journalistic effort.

The report, “State of charter schools: How Michigan spends $1 billion but fails to hold schools accountable,” tells an alarming tale:

– Charter schools spend $1billion per year in state taxpayer money, often with little transparency.

— Some charter schools are innovative and have excellent academic outcomes — but those that don’t are allowed to stay open year after year.

–  A majority of the worst-ranked charter schools in Michigan have been open 10 years or more.

— Charter schools as a whole fare no better than traditional schools in educating students in poverty.

–  Michigan has substantially more for-profit companies running schools than any other state.

– Some charter school board members were forced out after demanding financial details from management companies.

– State law does not prevent insider dealing and self-enrichment by those who operate schools.

Eclectablog explains that MAPSA has bought up ALL of the available ad space on the websites of theDetroit News and the Free Press.  Their efforts include letters to Michigan politicians asking for support.  All of their materials can be found on the Eclectablog website.

Out of control spending and weak outcomes resulting from the pro-corporate education model are becoming an epidemic nationwide, accounting for an estimated $100 million in taxpayer losses. The public’s patience We Party Patriots » Corporate Education Lobby Launches Pro-Charter School PR Blitz Following Damning MI Report:

6-25-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Duncan to Sped Kids; Try Harder

An interesting collection of statements from Sec'y Duncan came out as he issued new regulations on how schools are to serve Special Education students.  From NPR:Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced what he calls "a major shift" in how the government evaluates the effectiveness of federally funded special education programs. "It's not enough for a state to be compliant if stude

by Melissa Westbrook / 2min 

Supreme Court Upholds Cell Phone Privacy

This ruling may be a subject you might want to talk to your kids - especially teens - about at some point.In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court today ruled that police must have a warrant to search the cellphones of people they arrest.  From the NY Times:The old rules, Chief Justice Roberts said, cannot be applied to “modern cellphones, which are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life

by Melissa Westbrook / 13min 

6-24-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Example of how SPS Staff Can't Get it RightTomorrow is the public hearing on the budget.  This is a state-mandated requirement.  There are rules about it.But I noticed that the SPS website - the home page, the Board's home page, the Calendar page - none of them explained how to give input (other than showing up and THEN finding out). No info on length of time at th

by mike simpson / 18h 

Jindal says charters are a successful model. Really? | Missouri Education Watchdog

Jindal says charters are a successful model. Really? | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Jindal says charters are a successful model. Really?

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Last night I heard Governor Jindal speak about the education successes in his state, specifically in New Orleans where he said they were now 90% charters. He said it as if that was the accomplishment of a public directive, as if the public were clamoring for charter schools and they have been successful in getting 90% of their public schools converted. And the other 10% aren’t public schools. The last one of those closed a few weeks ago. (In New Orleans, traditional public schools close for good)  This is supposed to be a good thing because the parents now get to CHOOSE where their kids go to school and school can be tailored to the child. He went on to relate a story about meeting a mother whose child was in a private school in Louisiana, thanks in part to the state Scholarship program they have, what other states might call a voucher program. This young woman, who became a mother in her teens just like her own mother had, was working three jobs to send her child to that school. Jindal said that without the state Scholarship money she would not have been able to send her child there.  The story was meant to be poignant and hopeful at the same time, but I confess it left me scratching my head. How was this woman’s struggle a positive sign?

New Orleans parents faced a unique education crisis post Katrina. Their schools literally ceased to exist overnight. Some say it was a blessing because New Orleans public schools weren’t that great to start with. The state created the Recovery School District to run a number of schools that ranked below average according to state metrics.  RSD schools have made modest gains since Katrina, but most significantly, many of them have been turned over to independently managed charters. The last five remaining traditional public schools under RSD were converted to charters making it the first 100% charter district in the country.

What this has meant for local parents, instead of choice, is a lottery. The parents aren’t doing the choosing, a computer is.

Of the Recovery School District’s 600 employees, 510 will be out of a job by week’s end. All 33,000 students in the district must apply for a seat at one of the 58 public charter schools, relying on a computerized lottery to determine placement.(Washington Post)

Children are no longer automatically accepted at the school that is right in their neighborhood. Some say this is good because they are no longer ” stuck in their zip code.” But the reality means a lot less stability for students, especially very young ones who face long commutes and unknown classmates who don’t live in their neighborhood.  A Tulane University poll showed only 41% of parents supporting the closing of their traditional public schools in favor of charters. They recognize their loss of control. One parent told the Washington Post “They don’t answer to anyone,” said Sean Johnson, the dean of students at Banneker, whose father attended the school while growing up in the Black Pearl neighborhood. “The charters have money and want to make more money. They have their own boards, make their own rules, accept who they want and put out who they want to put out.”

The mother who was working three jobs to send her child to private school did not have access to a free public school in her neighborhood. She might not have had to work three jobs to cover the additional tuition. And while I understand that traditional marriage is becoming unheard of in the African American community, I couldn’t help but think that her life and that of her child would Jindal says charters are a successful model. Really? | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Reformers lose one to a veteran teacher - The Washington Post

Reformers lose one to a veteran teacher - The Washington Post:

Reformers lose one to a veteran teacher

 There’s a new piece on The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog with this headline: “Vergara vs. California: Are the top 0.1% buying their version of education reform?” Anybody paying attention to school “reform” knows that the answer to that question is that some folks in that group are trying their best. But they don’t always win. They didn’t in a highly contested Democratic primary race for a seat on Colorado’s state Board of Education.

The decisive winner for the District 1 seat was Valentina (Val) Flores, a veteran educator of more than 40 years backed by teachers’ unions. She won 59 percent of the vote. Opposing her was Taggart Hansen, a lawyer who had spent two years as a corps member in Teach For America and who was backed by groups financed by hedge fund managers and other very wealthy Americans, including Democrats for Education Reform, Stand for Children and Education Reform Now. The Denver Post endorsed him,  praising his support of the Common Core State Standards. Hansen, who took in about twice as much in donations as Flores, won 41 percent of the vote.

According to Chalkbeat  Colorado:

Flores sounded a bit stunned at her victory, saying, “I think the people won tonight. This is a great win for our children and our public schools.”

Her campaign manager, Dave Sabados, said, “I think Val’s message of good neighborhood schools resonated with voters. I don’t think Democratic voters want the Democrats for Education Reform agenda.”

The Denver Post’s voting guide reveals some of the differences between Flores and Hansen. Here’s on question, with answers from both:

There have been several major education “reforms” legislated — some as unfunded mandates — over the last few years. Prime examples include teacher evaluations and the so-called READ act, which seeks to have students able to read by grade level by the end of the 3rd grade. Explain why you feel they have or have not moved Colorado in the right direction.

Valentina “Val” Flores: It is very sad to see how teachers have been vilified by the media, because legislators do not have the fortitude to admit the failures of the legislature in funding schools.

Taggart Hansen: I support the education reforms – the status quo, in which generations of kids are being inadequately educated, is unacceptable. Such reforms must be funded and constantly evaluated for effectiveness.

Reformers lose one to a veteran teacher - The Washington Post:

An Urban Teacher's Education: Faking Student Data

An Urban Teacher's Education: Faking Student Data:

Faking Student Data

The Education Lab Blog at the Seattle Times today shares some of the stories of four teachers this past year using Washington's new TPEP evaluation system.

Teachers are cited as saying that they found the student growth goals component of the evaluation to be something of a joke. "Teachers were literally joking (I hope) about grading everything ridiculously hard the first time, and then just being easier on the kids the next time."

I appreciate this teacher's desire to be idealistic, but I'm quite sure that a number of teachers in Washington this year did just that.  When you make student growth a component of someone's evaluation and then give them control over how that growth is scored, this is bound to happen.

I don't think it's that teachers are evil, or out to get off easy, as one commenter suggested:

"Is anyone surprised that the first thing these teachers tried to do was game the system or somehow cheat the system into the results they wanted"

In my experience, teachers in many public schools barely have time to do the fundamentals of their job (planning, teaching, and assessing). For teachers on the comprehensive evaluation this year, it was about as much work as teaching an extra class.

Before working in the Highline School District, I worked in Washington DC. There, in 2009, Michelle Rhee rolled out a new evaluation system known as IMPACT. It did many of An Urban Teacher's Education: Faking Student Data:

NYC To Invest $52 Million in Community Schools | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

NYC To Invest $52 Million in Community Schools | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Help Tell The Story of How Education Advocates Won the NYC Mayoral Elections

Education was a center-stage issue in the New York City 2013 mayoral election thanks to the hard work of advocates and organizers across the city. Now those advocates are making a film chronicling their victory and they need your help! Watch the teaser trailer for "Vision to Victory" and help support the film's production! Education was a center-stage issue in the New York C

by jocelyn / 40min 

NYC To Invest $52 Million in Community Schools

Posted on: Wednesday June 25th, 2014

One of best ways to turnaround a struggling school is to transform it into a "community school," a hub for all types of wraparound supports from medical services and tutoring for students to English language classes and job training for parents. In New York City, advocates and organizers have rallied around the idea of community schools and called for the city to expand the few programs that already exist. It looks like they're about to get their wish:  

From Chalkbeat New York:

"The city will spend $52 million in state funds over several years to convert 40 schools into community hubs with medical and dental services, nutrition and fitness programs, tutoring, job training, and other assistance for students and their families, officials announced Tuesday, roughly doubling the current number of such school-based hubs.

That first wave of schools will grow to 100 by 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised, as he joins policymakers around the country in seeking to boost student learning partly by attending to their needs beyond the classroom. The concept — which has been embraced by teachers unions, parent advocates, Governor Cuomo and President Obama — holds that when schools expand into service hubs, students become better prepared to learn, parents grow more invested in schools, and teachers can focus on teaching."

In May, advocates and organizers in New York City rallied for community schools as part of a national day of action with the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools. Check out video from the event below. And check out the Coalition for Community Schools to learn more about what community schools do and the dozens of cities nationwide that are using them successfully. 

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Weingarten Announces $10 Billion Investment in Infrastructure and Workforce

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Weingarten Announces $10 Billion Investment in Infrastructure and Workforce:

Weingarten Announces $10 Billion Investment in Infrastructure and Workforce

Partnership Fulfills Promise Two Years Early

DENVER—Statement of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the announcement that the $10 billion Investment and Training for American Infrastructure commitment, made at CGI America 2011 by the AFT, the AFL-CIO, North America's Building Trades Unions, and others, has been met two years ahead of schedule:

"At a time when we have an urgent need to invest in our nation's infrastructure and Congress has been unwilling to act, I am proud to announce that the labor movement and our pension funds have stepped up—we have secured more than $10 billion to invest in America's crumbling infrastructure, creating tens of thousands of good middle-class jobs from the money already deployed. Labor's pension funds can be a powerful economic engine by investing in U.S. infrastructure, creating good jobs and providing sustainable returns for investors. This shows what can happen when creative and innovative thinking is applied to America's most pressing challenges. Not only are union members committed to providing vital public services to communities across the country, we are equally committed to helping create jobs and rebuild America."

"I am proud to partner with President Bill Clinton, Sean McGarvey, Richard Trumka, Lee Saunders and others as we address the nation's soaring infrastructure needs by investing public pension funds in infrastructure projects that deliver solid returns. With the leadership of pension funds like CalSTRS, $3 billion has already been deployed to rebuild roads like the Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, fund new construction like the Long Beach, Calif., courthouse, and seed new investments like Pennsylvania's Duquesne Light power company."

"I want to thank Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers; Scott Stringer, the comptroller of New York City; Sharon Hendricks, investment chair of CalSTRS; and other leaders and trustees who have seen this potential and contributed to this effort."

"Of the total commitment, $7 billion has yet to be invested, which will create an additional 150,000 good jobs and contribute $10.7 billion to our nation's gross domestic product. And with federal infrastructure spending at a 20-year low, we know that this investment is sorely needed."

"Unions represent the backbone of the American workforce and economy—lifting people out of poverty and helping to create a middle class. We are contributing to the resurgence of the middle class. Nurses, teachers and firefighters across the country are creating good jobs by leveraging their pension assets and driving investment in America."

To learn more about how this commitment was met, click here.