9-10-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks:

Hearing opens on Crenshaw teachers' claims of anti-union bias - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-utla-crenshaw-20140911-story.html?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Feducation+(L.A.+Times+-+Education) Hearing opens on Crenshaw teachers' claims of anti-union bias Twelve former Crenshaw High teachers alleged during opening arguments in a labor hearing Wednesday that the Los Angele

by Rene Diedrich / 2min 

DEASY WANTS YOU TO KNOW Teachers are Family , too ( Red Headed Step Children?)

Dear LAUSD family, The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) cares about you - your health, success and wellbeing - now and for your future. Without the dedication of each-and-every one of us, the District could not execute our mission of all youth achieving. We are grateful to all of our employees for their service.   Teachers represent the majority of our employees. They lead classes ever

by Rene Diedrich / 0min 

Forget the L.A. schools' iPads. What we need to know about are the grenade launchers - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-lausd-grenade-assault-rifles-20140910-story.html Forget the L.A. schools' iPads. What we need to know about are the grenade launchers Opinion  You could, sort of, maybe, see how a large school district might be able to use a military mine-resistant vehicle. Say there were a really dangerous situation going on once a century or so; the veh

by Rene Diedrich / 1h hide  //  save

Don’t blame trial lawyers for LAUSD’s lawsuit problems: Guest commentary

http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20140909/dont-blame-trial-lawyers-for-lausds-lawsuit-problems-guest-commentary Don't blame trial lawyers for LAUSD's lawsuit problems: Guest commentary By Thomas M. MooreIn her opinion piece, "Largest school district, highest litigation costs" (Sept. 3), Gabriella Holt asserts "frivolous" lawsuits brought against LAUSD by "u

by Rene Diedrich / 2h 

Los Angeles Unified School District

http://home.lausd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=178743&type=d&pREC_ID=367410 Los Angeles Unified School District Dr. John E. Deasy's Bio Dr. John E. Deasy is the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest school district. In this role, Dr. Deasy leads the thousands of teachers, administrators and staff in serving the diverse population of mo

by Rene Diedrich / 1h 

LA school board agrees to destroy internal emails after a year | 89.3 KPCC

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2014/09/09/17277/la-school-board-agrees-to-destroy-internal-emails/ LA school board agrees to destroy internal emails after a year FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to buy a Microsoft email archiving service programmed to automatically destroy staff emails after one year. The decision comes less than t

by Rene Diedrich / 2h 

LA school board agrees to destroy internal emails after a year | 89.3 KPCC

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2014/09/09/17277/la-school-board-agrees-to-destroy-internal-emails/ LA school board agrees to destroy internal emails after a year FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to buy a Microsoft email archiving service programmed to automatically destroy staff emails after one year. The decision comes less than t

by Rene Diedrich / 3h 

The Government-Industry Conspiracy that Promotes Crap Food in School | Alternet

http://www.alternet.org/food/dirty-secret-behind-dairy-junk-foods The Government-Industry Conspiracy that Promotes Crap Food in School People often ask me, "How does lobbying work?" Last week it was with fat and sugar, when the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) hosted its 32nd annual Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party. Some 6,000 bowls of ice cream were served up to Sen. Tom Harkin

by Rene Diedrich / 4h 

This Is What America's School Lunches Really Look Like : The Salt : NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/11/20/246400702/this-is-what-america-s-school-lunches-really-look-like This Is What America's School Lunches Really Look Like i Courtesy of DoSomething.org School lunch has never been the stuff of foodie dreams. I'm still haunted by the memory of my elementary school cafeteria's "brain pizza" – a lumpy oval thing topped with fleshy white

by Rene Diedrich / 4h 

If only American kids could eat school lunches like they do in France - Salon.com

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/09/if_only_american_kids_could_eat_school_lunches_like_they_do_in_france_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow If only American kids could eat school lunches like they do in France - Salon.com This article originally appeared on AlterNet. The standard school lunch for an American child often contains dishes brimming with preservatives and sodium. Wh

by Rene Diedrich / 4h 

Caputo Pearl Makes A Scene Before the BoE about Raises &MiSIS but the Real News is Members Voted to Spend $1/4 Million to Wipe Out their Emails from the Last Year. (we need to file an Injunction to stop that )

President of UTLA, Alex Caputo-Pearl * UPDATED With a new contract on the line, the LA Unified teachers union, UTLA, is stepping up its attack on Superintendent John Deasy, blaming him for problems large and small and the opening line the district has taken for a new contract with teachers. Union president Alex Caputo-Pearl ratcheted up the tension at the district board meeting this morning, wi

by Rene Diedrich / 4h hide  //  save

Why LETTING ANY LAUSD OIG RETURN TO THE IPAD BIDDING ETHICS IS A COP OUT

100% with you on this Lenny.  When Cynthia and some of us met casually and discussed this some weeks ago, I insisted on an external independent audit. Never would I go along with yet another internal audit by the IG.  This is neither logical, nor an informed public policy suggestion. All of this investigation must now be done for the public good, and done outside of the auspices of the possibl

by Rene Diedrich / 4h 

Rubber Room Reality and the Uncertain Future of Veteran Teachers and Public Schools

ED Notes one hopes this year will be kess brutal than the last few. The description is actually tame compared  to  Some of what has gone on. There are reasons to believe it will be less aggressive now but it is not necessarily better and far from safe because there are desperate creatures in the driver seat and  they can be very dangerous.Also the union will not lose much with interns paying dues

by Rene Diedrich / 5h 

You know How LAUSD and Deasy are Bragging About Lower Suspension Stats....? Well NYC sheds some clues with the help of Mercedes Schnieder. Plus Mayoral Control vs Municipal Oversight R Diedrich

Data driven districts like LAUSD are constantly throwing Scores, stats and projections at the public to justify how it does things , but  their incompetence and corruption is hardly mitigated by the slight gains here or the unlikely boast about numbers there . They go anyway that suits their purposes. Illegally assigning rating to teachers based in test scores with no integrity is a case in point

by Rene Diedrich / 5h 

9-9-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks: LAUSD Codes of Conduct WITH STUDENTS Explicatedby Rene Diedrich / 3min Ratliff Meets Ratliff in a Rare Look at Educratic Fashion Statements and the Political Trends Predicted for Next SeasonI hope Monica Ratliff is tenacious about the  release of the report on iPad Ethics l she could shed a light in many things if she is thorough and earnest. If  she can usher in true change

by mike simpson / 41min 

Lessons of 9/11: Closer to the Heart | WagTheDog

Lessons of 9/11: Closer to the Heart | WagTheDog:

Lessons of 9/11: Closer to the Heart

Schools should be in the “business” of creating diverse and stimulating learning environments and experiences where a child’s academic, athletic, artistic, social, and emotional skills and desires are free to flourish and thrive.

We should prepare our children to be thoughtful, caring, resilient, and responsible leaders and learners who can make meaningful and lasting contributions to our challenging and vibrant world. They need to learn how to make courageous and quality choices as they communicate and collaborate with others.

Powerful and privileged reformers like David Coleman deny the importance of thoughts and feelings because they often operate in isolation and are incapable or unwilling to consult and collaborate with others.

Reformers may hold powerful positions of leadership, but their inability to empathize and connect with other people, limits their ability to effectively guide and direct Lessons of 9/11: Closer to the Heart | WagTheDog:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A real-estate and hedge-fund concern that happens to have a college attached

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A real-estate and hedge-fund concern that happens to have a college attached:

A real-estate and hedge-fund concern that happens to have a college attached

Annie Lowrey writes in NY Mag:

There's an old line about how the United States government is an insurance conglomerate protected by an army. Harvard is a real-estate and hedge-fund concern that happens to have a college attached. It has a $32 billion endowment. It charges its rich students — and they are mostly from rich families, with many destined to be rich themselves — hundreds of millions of dollars in tuition and fees. It recently embarked on a $6.5 billion capital campaign. It is devoted to its own richness. And, as such, it is swimming in cash.

If it wanted to maximize its $32 billion worth of utility, it could, say, admit more students, especially poor ones, reduce its focus on property development, and double down on its focus on research, which currently makes up $800 million of its $4.2 billion in annual operating expenses.

Harvard alum include a gaggle of current corporate school "reformers" and ed profiteers, including Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, TFA's Wendy Kopp,John Schnur, Geoffrey Canada and Joel Klein. This group alone may be reason enough to yank Harvard's non-profit status.

But it has also produced some of our best old (W.E.B. DuBois, Ted Sizer...) and current thinkers, researchers and progressive ed activists like... Well, I'm sure there are some (just kidding). There are some great and distinguished education faculty in the Graduate School of Education. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot comes to mind as does Linda Nathan, Eleanor Duckworth, Marshall Ganz, Howard Gardner, Patricia Graham and others too numerous to mention.

Susan Moore Johnson

Here's a good one. Harvard GSE Prof. Susan Moore Johnson has produced several studies showing the Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A real-estate and hedge-fund concern that happens to have a college attached:

PARCC and SBAC States Agree to Deliver Student-level Data to USDOE | deutsch29

PARCC and SBAC States Agree to Deliver Student-level Data to USDOE | deutsch29:

PARCC and SBAC States Agree to Deliver Student-level Data to USDOE

September 9, 2014

In September 2010, two assessment consortia “won” federal Race to the Top (RTTT) money for the “design, development, and evaluation of the assessment system” known as Race to the Top Assessment (RTTA): The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

PARCC received $170 million, and SBAC, $160 million, plus an additional $16 million to each consortium to “support efforts to help participating States successfully transition to common standards and assessments.”

Their award letters can be found here for PARCC and here for SBAC.

In the award letters, both PARCC and SBAC were expected by January 7, 2011, to “negotiate and complete a final cooperative agreement” with the federal government regarding the usage of the “common standards” assessments.

The fine print for taking college-and-career-ready dough from the feds.

Both cooperative agreements can be found here for PARCC and here for SBAC.

I have heard individuals ask about whether one of the requirements of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is the release of student-level data to the federal government. I have heard pro-CCSS officials dismiss this idea as unfounded.

Not so.

PARCC and SBAC are the federally-funded, CCSS-assessment consortia. In order to receive those federal millions for CCSS assessment development, both consortia had to agree to deliver student-level data to USDOE.

Data is control, and USDOE wants control over state education affairs. (If you doubt USDOE’s desire for control over states, google “Arne Duncan NCLB waivers” and do a bit of reading.)

Don’t let the pro-CCSS crowd corner you with semantics: CCSS is wed to the USDOE-funded, consortia-developed CCSS assessments, and both federally-funded PARCC and SBAC States Agree to Deliver Student-level Data to USDOE | deutsch29:

Does Bill Gates Think Teachers are All Miss Trunchbulls?:

Does Bill Gates Think Teachers are All Miss Trunchbulls?

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENT

At school there’s Miss Trunchbull, two hundred menacing pounds of kid-hating headmistress. Get rid of the Trunchbull and Matilda would be a hero. But that would take a superhuman genius, wouldn’t it?

From Matilda by Roald Dahl

Does Bill Gates hold a vendetta towards teachers? Does he see them as Trunchbulls and is he planning on being the superhuman genius to eventually get rid of them? Is this why he wants virtual learning, because computers are easier, in his mind, to get along with than teachers?

I revisited the darkly funny children’s story Matilda where two extreme teacher types are on display. There is the “tyrannical monster” Miss Trunchbull who’d throw you in the cupboard “Chokey” in an instant (a cement walled closet with glass and nails too narrow for you to sit), as compared to the lovingly, adored Miss Honey who treasured everything sunshiny and joyful, which included taking children outside to the playground! RECESS!

I got to thinking about this  when I read CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin’s piece in The New York Time’s about Bill Gates and his “Great History Project.” The whole plan to take over history in public schools unfolded in Gates’s mind as he walked on his treadmill listening to a DVD “Great Course’s” tape. Everyone better read it if you care about history instruction, because it will be coming to a high school near you, whether you like it or not, if it isn’t there already.

But Sorkin’s piece really hits me with a particular passage and what Gates says about teachers he once had and grades. Gates is talking with David Christian, the fascinating history professor from Australia whose DVD about history enthralled Gates so much he knew it had to be what public schools taught.

The reporter says:

But his [Gates] curiosity about education is innate and at times obsessive. Without Does Bill Gates Think Teachers are All Miss Trunchbulls?:

Pedagogy First (A Note on Elizabeth Green's Building A Better Teacher) | The Jose Vilson

Pedagogy First (A Note on Elizabeth Green's Building A Better Teacher) | The Jose Vilson:

Pedagogy First (A Note on Elizabeth Green’s Building A Better Teacher)

 SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 JOSE LEAVE A COMMENT

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Every so often, I love reading other folks talk about standards without any current teachers present in their conversation. Even a cursory read of education history in this country shows how intellectual [white] men throw their moral and scholarly swag about what teachers should and shouldn’t be focused on. On the other hand, the teachers I eavesdrop on try to out-intellectual the folks imposing their “thought leadership” onto those of us in schools. Over and again, I see templates and talking points, and less about the day-to-day events and adjustments we as teachers have to make to make school work when other adults can’t.

Thankfully, Elizabeth Green’s book Building A Better Teacher does quite a bit of this.

As an urban middle school math teacher going into my 10th year, I valued getting a different perspective about teaching. Hearing things about Finland, Singapore, and Japan are nice, and all the cool kids who get to travel over there and tell us how their talking points matched with their experience over there is all well and good, but on more than one occasion found myself saying, “So what does that have to do with me?”

Green’s book, in sharp contrast, expounds on ideas I’ve only heard in passing, like the heavily-touted Japanese model of lesson study or Magdalene Lampert’s TKOT. I appreciated hearing the trials and failures of these pedagogical movements as well. It’s great to hear that teachers want to observe each other, come together, and make observations about how they can improve their pedagogy and assessments. It’s great to hear that people had the time and resources to work with each other and feel vested in this intellectually challenging work. It’s great to hear that, at some point, a group of folks actually wanted to disband the “ed-schools from afar” approach.

It also felt weird that, simultaneously, article after article came out disputing some of the claims in the book, which I found odd. For instance, Reiko Watanabe came out with an article Pedagogy First (A Note on Elizabeth Green's Building A Better Teacher) | The Jose Vilson:

This Is Not A Test

"Out of this cacophony rises a beautiful, lyrical voice—one that is uncompromisingly self-aware, reflective, and analytical. That transcendent voice belongs to “The” José Luis Vilson."

- Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union

My debut solo book, This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education already has endorsements from Karen Lewis, Pedro Noguera, Raquel Cepeda, Gregory Michie, Chris Lehmann, Randi Weingarten, Dennis van Roekel, Diane Ravitch, Barnett Berry, Renee Moore, Cindi Rigsbee, and many more ...

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Our leaders, the kids | Bob Braun's Ledger

Our leaders, the kids | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Our leaders, the kids

Students rally around the statue of Lincoln outside the Essex County Courthouse

Newark’s political and organizational leaders will, I know, scoff at this but, right now, the leaders of the struggle against “One Newark” and the privatization of public education are the hundreds of high school students who early this morning marched from three high schools to Military Park and who, tomorrow, are expected to take even bolder action against the policies of Cami Anderson, her puppet master Chris Christie and Christie’s privatization guru, Cory Booker.

The stduents were peaceful and the police made good on the mayor’s promise to protect dissent

That doesn’t mean a few hundred high school students from Science Park, Arts, and Central will bring down Anderson but what it does mean is this: For now, they are keeping the fight alive, they are serving as the conscience of the Newark community, and they are reminding everyone that real people–mothers and fathers and children–are hurt every day by the disruption caused by this mindless reorganization plan.

No one listens to poor parents when they can suck up to Anderson, Hespe, and Christie. Poor parents can do nothing for anyone’s career.

The students–and the students alone– are making personal sacrifices for a righteous cause –and that cannot be said of any other group. Not the ministers. Not the unions. Not the politicians.

NU President Kristn Towkaniuk speaks while Chris Christie scowls

This morning I spoke with a courageous 15-year-old young woman, a sophomore at Arts High School, who knew precisely why she was Our leaders, the kids | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Foundation still determined to eliminate future pension plans for Oklahoma teachers | Red Dirt Report

Foundation still determined to eliminate future pension plans for Oklahoma teachers | Red Dirt Report:

Foundation still determined to eliminate future pension plans for Oklahoma teachers

Brett Dickerson / Red Dirt Report

Bobby Stem (at the end of the table) leads the conversation while struggling to gain support.

BRETT DICKERSON | SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

CATEGORY: 

RED DIRT NEWS

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An informal meeting Friday night, September 5th, between several education officials and Bobby Stem, a long-time lobbyist in Oklahoma, did not turn out the way that he wanted it to.

Stem's business card identifies him as the Executive Director of the Association of Oklahoma General Contractors. Those are the companies who build the big projects around the state, very often for the State of Oklahoma in the form of roads and bridges.

The original invitees to the meeting were some of the Oklahoma Education Association's board of directors and other officials of certain locals. The OEA, sometimes called a “teachers union,” is the primary organization that advocates for public teachers.

As the meeting developed, it was obvious that most around the table, especially those who are in decision-making positions with the OEA, were strongly opposed to his ideas. At least the people there just wouldn't budge. The meeting ended abruptly as those closely associated with the OEA stood up, thanked Mr. Stem for inviting them, and walked out. His proposal was not far off from what the Arnold Foundation has been promoting nationwide, which is to reduce the costs of public employee pensions by converting them to "defined contribution" plans from the current "defined benefit" plans that have been in place for years.

It was also a repeat of what was successfully pushed through the Oklahoma Legislature this last session for other state employees. The Arnold Foundation argument strongly resists any idea that tax subsidies for corporations should be reduced to pay for obligations to state and municipality employees. In their approach, the cost of reform, should be carried solely by the employees.

This year, Stem's idea is to get teachers to agree to the same kind of conversion of their pension plan. The proposal was to develop an “8-year plan”: to fund roads and bridges and to convert pensions for new teacher hires onto a defined contribution pension plan that would be similar to current 401(k) plans.

The difference is that the older public employee defined benefit plans make a commitment to the public employee that if they commit to so many years of service, they will be guaranteed a certain level of benefits -- thus, “defined benefits.” Any kind of “defined contribution” plan is structured so that they employee is required to invest a

- See more at: http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-news/foundation-still-determined-eliminate-future-pension-plans-oklahoma-teachers#sthash.kLeTx1DB.dpuf

State Board of Education Appeals - Resources (CA Dept of Education)

State Board of Education Appeals - Resources (CA Dept of Education):

State Board of Education Appeals

Resources for submitting an appeal to the California State Board of Education.

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If the governing board of a school district denies a petition for the establishment of a charter school, the petitioner may elect to submit the petition for the establishment of a charter school to the county board of education. If the petitioner elects to submit a petition for establishment of a charter school to the county board of education and the county board of education denies the petition, the petitioner may file a petition for establishment of a charter school with the State Board of Education (SBE). An appeal for the establishment of a charter school should include:

• A complete copy of the petition as denied, including the signatures required by California Education Code 47605 ; and
• Evidence of the school district governing board’s action to deny the petition (e.g. meeting minutes) and the governing board’s written factual findings specific to the particular petition, when available, setting forth specific facts to support one or more of the grounds for denial set forth in Education Code 47605(b) ; and
• A signed certification stating that petitioner(s) will comply with all applicable laws; and
• A description of any changes to the petition necessary to reflect the county board of education or the SBE as the chartering entity, as applicable.

Please refer to 5 California Code of Regulations sections 11967, 19967.5 and 11967.51, which can be found by searching theCalifornia Code of Regulations , for the documentation required for an appeal of the establishment of a charter.

If either a school district governing board or a county board of education, as a chartering agency, does not grant a renewal to an existing charter school, the charter school may submit its petition for renewal with the SBE. An appeal for the renewal of a charter school should include:

• Documentation that the charter school met at least one of the criteria specified in Education Code Section 47607(b) ; and
• A copy of the renewal charter petition, as denied, including a reasonably comprehensive description of how the charter school has met all new charter school requirements enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed; and
• A copy of the school district governing board’s written factual findings denying the petition for renewal, and evidence of the county governing board’s denial or, if the county board of education failed to act, evidence that the timeline set forth in 5CCR Section 11966.5(d), which can be found by searching the California Code of Regulations , has expired; and
• A description of any changes to the renewal petition necessary to reflect the SBE as the chartering entity.

Please refer to Education Code 47607  and 5 CCR Section 11966.6, which can be found by searching the California Code of Regulations , for the documentation that is required for the submission of an appeal of the denial for the renewal of a charter.

Timeline for Submitting an Appeal to the State Board of Education

To provide sufficient time for Charter Schools Division staff to thoroughly review and analyze all appeal documents it is suggested that all appeal documentation be submitted to the Charter Schools Division three months before the SBE meeting at which the petitioner wishes to be heard, thereby allowing the petition to be heard first at the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools meeting occurring the month before each SBE meeting. The following table of dates reflects the suggested submission for appeals.

State Board Meeting	Submission Due
November 2014	August 2014
January 2015	October 2014
March 2015	December 2014
May 2015	February 2015
July 2015	April 2015
September 2015	June 2015
November 2015	August 2015

Appeal documentation must be in Word format. Please send one hard copy and one CD-ROM to:

Charter Schools Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 5401
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901