Friday, February 27, 2015

Scott Minnick - Parent, Teacher and Board of Ed member says opt out! - Wait What?

Scott Minnick - Parent, Teacher and Board of Ed member says opt out! - Wait What?:

Scott Minnick – Parent, Teacher and Board of Ed member says opt out!

Parents Can Opt Out - United Opt Out National

Click Here to go to United Opt Out National :

Click Here to go to the Website- United Opt Out Team

Westport, Connecticut joins the Wall of Shame by lying to parents telling them,

THERE IS NO PROCESS FOR OPTING OUT OF THE TESTING,

Meanwhile, Scott Minnick, a public school teacher in Glastonbury and resident and Board of Ed member of East Hampton, Connecticut explains why parents should join him in opting their children out of the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium SBAC Test.

Scott Minnick and Martin Walsh are challenging the incumbent officers of the Connecticut Education Association in this spring’s CEA election. Walsh is running for President and Minnick is running for Vice President.

Minnick’s MUST READ piece, “Alert! We are Under Attack! This is Not a Test,” can be found in its entirety at CTNewsjunkie. Scott Minnick writes,

Our society accepts the sad fact that in our free-market democracy, money influences politicians.
Money-hungry corporations, which have recently discovered the untapped and unending resource called public education, know this. They have worked the political system to get what they want – Education Reform – with little concern for the collateral damage to our children and our country’s future. This “fracking” of our educational system for profit is criminal!
In Connecticut, education reform started in 2010 with the acceptance of the Common Core State Standards. As a stand-alone concept, the CCSS, which aims to help standardize national K-12 benchmarks in math and English, has some merit, but, tragically, it masks a much darker purpose, which is to systematically destabilize, dehumanize, and vilify public education. The Common Core is the equivalent of a Trojan horse packed with SBAC cyber attack testing, accountability bombs for teachers and public schools. The coup de grace is the continuing privatization of education by the expansion of charter schools predestined to “rebuild” in the wake of the destruction.
Fortunately, we can counter this surprise attack because parents are free from legislative education reform mandates and can write a simple letter to opt out their children, knowing very well that the U.S. Constitution also backs them. I see education from several lenses and so my reasons to opt out our children are many.

Minnick then lays out the issues clear and concisely from the point of view as (1) The Scott Minnick - Parent, Teacher and Board of Ed member says opt out! - Wait What?:

The Brightest Students: What risks do they suffer from PARCC and other high stakes tests? | Reclaim Reform

The Brightest Students: What risks do they suffer from PARCC and other high stakes tests? | Reclaim Reform:

The Brightest Students: What risks do they suffer from PARCC and other high stakes tests?

Posted on February 27, 2015by Ken Previti

Childhood suicide is to be feared most.

The brightest children of all ages are often the ones who suffer from crash-and-burn behavior. They can be publicly shamed and lose their place in their world.

Since there can be no definite proof that high stakes testing alone is responsible for childhood suicides, we must simply use our own observations.

Childhood suicide rates have increased tremendously during the same years that No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top with their high stakes testing have existed.

Actual and perceived pressures by children often cause extreme behaviors, but the destruction of their own persona, the “smart” one or the “top” one, can be destroyed with one bad grade on an easy test, a high stakes mandated test, that “everyone” else passed.

Freeze on one day during one high stakes test? Be publicly shamed. Peer shamed. Be re-labeled for life. Crash-and burn.

This is a taboo subject. No adult wants to read about or experience this horrific reality. As parents, we must face it and do all we can to prevent it.

High stakes tests and childhood suicides

Why risk it? Take the pressures off by refusing or opting out for your child. Go to United Opt Out National for state-by-state sample letters and directions. You and your child have basic parental and civil rights. This is no time to be overly polite or timid because some The Brightest Students: What risks do they suffer from PARCC and other high stakes tests? | Reclaim Reform:

NEA - Educators urge U.S. House to continue to work on federal education law rewrite

NEA - Educators urge U.S. House to continue to work on federal education law rewrite:

Educators urge U.S. House to continue to work on federal education law rewrite

All eyes turn to the U.S. Senate to get ESEA right

Call and Tweet your House Rep and ask him/her to vote ‪#‎NOonHR5‬ http://bit.ly/17s6O1b

WASHINGTON - February 27, 2015 -

Citing a legislative logjam involving funding for the federal Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. House of Representatives today temporarily pulled from the floor a final vote on a bill, H.R. 5, to reauthorize the federal education law No Child Left Behind.

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement:

“We urge the House of Representatives to continue to work hard to capitalize on the opportunity to get ESEA right.

“During the robust debate on amendments yesterday, we saw positive signs that lawmakers were willing to put students ahead of politics. For example, they adopted a number of important amendments on testing, adding: flexibility for locally-designed assessments to be used; audits to eliminate unnecessary state and local tests; and requiring districts inform parents of ‘opt out’ policies.

“We welcome that bipartisan spirit and cooperation and we applaud lawmakers for acknowledging the growing problem with too much federally-mandated testing and approving commonsense amendments that would again allow educators to inspire students’ natural curiosity, imagination, and desire to learn.

“Now, all eyes turn to the U.S. Senate, where they will have an opportunity to usher a new vision for our nation’s public schools, a vision that promotes opportunity, equity and excellence for all students regardless of the zip code in which they live.

“Getting ESEA right means creating a new generation accountability system that includes an “opportunity dashboard”—indicators of school quality to identify opportunity and resource gaps that must be addressed to support learning; less testing and more flexibility on the types of tests given so students have more time to learn; and ensuring qualified educators for students and empowering them to lead. These core principles will allow educators to focus on what is most important: installing a love of learning in their students.

“We urge Congress to get ESEA right. We stand ready to work with members of both parties to fix this badly broken law.”

###

The National Education Association (www.nea.org) is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

The Student Heroes of Newark | Daniel Katz

The Student Heroes of Newark | Daniel Katz:

The Student Heroes of Newark

Sometimes, in the midst of powerful interests steamrolling communities, we are reminded that silence is a choice. One example was last November in the small city of Richmond, California where oil and gas giant Chevron put down $3 million to buy the city council election but were beaten back by a slate of candidates with only $50,000 to spend. Another example has been unfolding in Newark, New Jersey where state appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson has wreaked havoc upon the school system with her "One Newark" plan that was put into full implementation this school year. One Newark, the fruition of a partnership between Governor Chris Christie and the former mayor of Newark, Senator Cory Booker, and backed by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, throws open the entire school district to school choice and expanded charter school options. In practice, the implementation has spawned chaos and situations that would be intolerable to parents and students anywhere, but which have been forced upon the district with no recourse due to state control of the schools.

Bob Braun, the former education reporter for the New Jersey Star Ledger, has relentlessly documented Anderson's tenure as superintendent and the series of rolling disasters One Newark has spawned. Braun has documented schools that were slated to close under Anderson even though they were succeeding and beloved. He has documented Anderson's abrupt decision to stop attending board of education meetings from which she has been absent a full year. He was there to cover the insensitive and incompetent summer enrollment where parents who had taken time away from work just to get put into the school selection pool waited for hours and were sent away with nothing. He was a main source of information on Barringer High School where parents and students marched out to protest the deplorable conditions that persisted well past the opening of the school year.

Anderson, for her part, has remained an elusive figure in the city but has traveled widely to talk about education. However, even outside of Newark, she has refused to face the people whose school system she runs, canceling a public talk at the American Enterprise Institute in November when Newark students and parents arrive in Washington, D.C. to demand answers from her. Even state legislators have had to make repeated requests and wait nearly a year for Anderson to appear at the joint committee on education to answer questions about her performance in Newark.

In the face of this superintendency characterized by arrogance, silence, and disregard for community, few adults have managed to bring adequate attention to the situation. And then there is the Newark Students Union, a collection of young activists acting as the conscience of Brick City. The students, who have staged a number of direct action protests this school year, made national and international headlines on February 17 when they walked out of another board meeting where Anderson was absent and occupied the Superintendent's office suite, refusing to leave until Anderson met with The Student Heroes of Newark | Daniel Katz:

ATTENTION ALL READERS – I saw the web film that is going to bring down the PARCC test! | Poetic Justice

ATTENTION ALL READERS – I saw the web film that is going to bring down the PARCC test! | Poetic Justice:

ATTENTION ALL READERS – I saw the web film that is going to bring down the PARCC test!

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Poetic Justice

I just previewed a short (about four minutes) but very powerful and moving web film that I truly believe is going to bring down the PARCC test. The video is on the continuous test preparation and the deleterious effects on our students and how parents are crying out for the abuse to be stopped now. It is full of parents voicing the truth about how their precious children are being damaged and how the love of learning is being destroyed before it has a chance to bud and blossom.

When I watched the film, it brought tears to my eyes and it also made me extremely angry. I felt really angry because just stopping the PARCC/SBAC tests is not going to stop the abuse. We have to stop the test – the evaluations – and the intrusion of profiteers into our classrooms. This film is one huge step in this war against the dehumanization of education.

So set your clocks and start the countdown now. The PARCC is going to come down with the premiere of this web film this Sunday March 1, 2015 at 5 PM EST, 4 PM CST and 2 PM PST. I will be posting it and will be asking all of you to post it far and wide.

So please get the word out that this web film is on the way.

ATTENTION ALL READERS – I saw the web film that is going to bring down the PARCC test! | Poetic Justice:

solidaridad: The Network for Public Education Endorses Bennett Kayser for LAUSD District 5

solidaridad: The Network for Public Education Endorses Bennett Kayser for LAUSD District 5:

The Network for Public Education Endorses Bennett Kayser for LAUSD District 5

Dear Robert D.,

NPE Board President, Diane Ravitch says, “Bennett Kayser has been a strong advocate for public education, for class size reduction, and for careful oversight of the LAUSD budget. As an experienced teacher, he understands the schools' needs.”

Network for Public Education endorses Bennet Kayser's re-election for LAUSD School Board District 5 and asks you to support him in any way you can -- voting for him, volunteering in the next five days or donating to his campaign.

Bennett Kayser is a champion for our students:

He says, "My top priority is to continue to grow the district and lower-class size so that teachers and students are provided with every opportunity to achieve."

Kayser understands the importance of early childhood education. He directed $34 million dollars to education of our earliest learners for the next four years.
Kayser supported the growth of the District’s Supper program expanding this service to an additional 80,000 students—many of whom would go home hungry without it.

Bennet Kayser says, "We should not close schools because that is a clear sign to our students, teachers, communities that we have abandoned them. We must focus on improving schools, not closing them." He will vote to protect STUDENT PRIVACY and fight school closures.

HIs opponent is running a smear campaign against him. Corporate money and pro-privatization money is flowing into his opponent's race because of his support of charter schools. Bennett needs a quick infusion of cash to help get him elected and protect PUBLIC EDUCATION.

Donate what ever you can -- big, small, all of it will help.

According to Martha Infante, teacher at Los Angeles Academy Middle School, “It is those who have been closest to the classroom who have the confidence of teachers, students, and parents. Only they seem to understand the negative impact of class sizes in the 40’s and 50’s on students learning. Only former teachers like Kayser realize the damage the misspending of iPad funds has had on public confidence."

Public education activist, Robert Skeels says, “Bennett Kayser has been a staunch advocate for Students with Disabilities (SWD), as well as an important ally for programs serving the community, including Adult Education. His first term will be best remembered for his drafting and sponsoring the historic Ethnic Studies resolution, which makes research proven, culturally relevant curricula a requirement for graduation.”

Kayser has been both a public school teacher and an administrator. The first health teacher on the LAUSD Board, Kayser taught 7th Grade Science and Health at King and Irving Middle Schools and was Director of Information Technology for the Pasadena Unified School District. Later he worked with at-risk youth as the Technology Coordinator for LAUSD’s Independent Studies Program through the City of Angels School.

When NPE decided to endorse candidates we promised we would support candidates who support public education. We don't have the money to compete with the billionaires. But as Diane says, there is power in our numbers! We hope our support will persuade parents, students and teachers to get out and vote. This election will be a low turnout and your vote will really make a difference.

PLEASE vote for Kayser Bennet on March 3rd.

For more information or to volunteer check out Kayser Bennett's website.
or donate online here.

WE ARE MANY. THERE IS POWER IN OUR NUMBERS. TOGETHER WE WILL SAVE OUR SCHOOLS.

solidaridad: The Network for Public Education Endorses Bennett Kayser for LAUSD District 5:

House Republicans put off No Child Left Behind vote - Maggie Severns - POLITICO

House Republicans put off No Child Left Behind vote - Maggie Severns - POLITICO:

House Republicans put off No Child Left Behind vote

Call and Tweet your House Rep and ask him/her to vote ‪#‎NOonHR5‬ http://bit.ly/17s6O1b

House Republicans decided not to vote Friday on their proposed rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, the Student Success Act, after House leadership struggled to lock down support for the bill and debate over Department of Homeland Security funding eclipsed education plans.

The House passed a nearly identical bill in 2013, but discontent with the Common Core academic standards and concerns about federal government intrusion have grown, and conservatives have said they want to get more out of an education bill in the newly Republican-controlled Congress. That left House leadership facing new criticism from the right because the GOP bill omits school vouchers, radical reductions to federal mandates and other right-wing proposals.

Story Continued Below

“My district doesn’t like it. They just feel that we’re moderating No Child Left Behind. They hate No Child Left Behind,” Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said.

It’s not clear when a vote on No Child Left Behind will take place.

And that’s not to say the Student Success Act didn’t have issues of its own: On Thursday night, House leadership was still trying to shore up support for the bill, several GOP aides and lawmakers said. At a Friday morning press conference held by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and others at a charter school in the Anacostia neighborhood of D.C., lawmakers didn’t talk about the Student Success Act and didn’t hold scheduled press availability. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline didn’t even attend, though he was originally listed to be there: He was on Capitol Hill whipping votes for his bill.

Despite anger that has built up over the law’s far-reaching scope, the politics constrained how far to the right Republicans pushing the Student Success Act could go.

Kline needed a bill that would pass the House with support from moderates. He has made clear that a bill with private school vouchers would not have the votes to pass the chamber and would not fly with President Barack Obama, who has

Charter schools do not equal education reform - Baltimore Sun

Charter schools do not equal education reform - Baltimore Sun:

Charter schools do not equal education reform

As Philadelphia's Superintendent of Schools, I recommended the approval of more than 30 charter schools because I thought it would improve educational opportunity for our 215,000 students. The last 20 years make it clear I was wrong.

Those advocating change in Maryland's charter law through proposed legislation are equally committed to educational improvement. They are equally wrong. New policy should not build on current inequities and flawed assumptions, as the proposed charter law changes would do.

Mixed academic results: Charters, on the whole, do not result in significant improvement in student performance. It's mixed at best. In some evaluations, charter schools overall actually underperform regular public schools.

Funding and unequal opportunity: Charter funding is also negatively affecting regular public schools. Charter advocates rely on the premise that as money flows from a regular school to a charter school, the costs of the regular school go down proportionately. Sounds good; it's just not true. Costs in schools sending students to charters cannot shift as fast as students and revenue leave. The costs for the principal, heating, lights, building debt and many other things remain; thus, the remaining children face the prospect of larger class sizes and cuts to core academic programming, music, art and other inequities. Opportunity for the 13,000 charter school students in Baltimore City is in part funded by the loss of opportunity for the remaining 70,000 students without a commensurate performance improvement by charter school students.

According to Moody's Investors Service, charter schools pose the greatest credit challenge to school districts in economically weak urban areas and may even affect their credit ratings.

Further, the proposed legislation also assumes all students cost the same to educate. Again, not true. It costs more to provide a quality education to some, such as those with severe disabilities, who are rarely served by charter schools, leaving traditional schools to disproportionately bear this cost at the expense of all students.

States with "stronger" charter laws are not doing better: Advocates say we need a "stronger" charter law, noting that Maryland ranks near the bottom. Pennsylvania's law is ranked much higher, yet its charter growth is contributing significantly to a funding crisis that includes draconian cuts to teachers, nurses, arts, music and counselors in Philadelphia.

We need the best and brightest teachers: The proposed "stronger" law undermines collective bargaining that protects teachers from politics and favoritism and has been crucial to improvement in compensation and benefits. It would create a two-tiered system in which charter teachers would have to organize and bargain separately with each charter opting out of the larger system's contract. Unionization is not the problem. There are no unions in many of the nation's worst educational performing states. All schools, charter or traditional, must pay competitive salaries and benefits to attract experienced, skilled teachers who can succeed with all children.

Charters do not serve students with the greatest challenges: Charters will be quick to point out they enroll high percentages of low-income students. Some do. However, the citywide charter lottery inherently skims. Every student chosen has someone (parent, Charter schools do not equal education reform - Baltimore Sun:

Georgia’s education chief has some words for Arne Duncan - The Washington Post

Georgia’s education chief has some words for Arne Duncan - The Washington Post:

Georgia’s education chief has some words for Arne Duncan

Richard Woods became the State School Superintendent of Georgia last month after spending 22 years in public education in various roles: teacher, teacher mentor, assistant principal, principal, curriculum director, testing coordinator, pre-K director and alternative school director. He is also a former small business owner and was a purchasing agent for a multi-national laser company. This week, Woods wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and sent it, too, to members of Georgia’s delegation in the U.S. Congress and to the House and Senate education committees, which are currently working on legislation to rewrite No Child Left Behind. One of the key issues is whether annual standardized testing, as mandated in NCLB for grades 3-8 and once in high school, will continue in a new education law.

Woods, in his letter to Duncan, urges changes to federal mandates on standardized testing, saying in part:

Our broken model of assessment is too focused on labeling our schools and teachers, and not focused enough on supporting our students. Our current status quo model is forcing our teachers to teach to the test. We need an innovative approach that uses tests to guide instruction, just as scans and tests guide medical professionals. Oftentimes, we hear teachers called professionals because they have the knowledge and skill set to reach the needs of their individual students, yet in our accountability measures we have not supported or given value to diagnostic tools and tests that teachers need to fully utilize that knowledge or those skills. We must find a balance between accountability and responsibility.

Here’s the letter, which was first published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and which I am republishing with permission from Woods.

Dear Secretary Duncan,

With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) comes an opportunity to address the valid concerns of students, parents, teachers, and communities regarding the quantity and quality of federally mandated standardized tests.

As Georgia’s School Superintendent, I have a constitutional duty to convey those concerns and provide ideas on how to move my state and our nation forward. Georgia recently entered into a $108 million contract to deliver federally mandated standardized tests to our students. That figure does not include the millions of dollars spent to develop and validate test questions and inform the public about the new tests.

This adds to the need for an audit to provide information on the number of tests and loss of instructional time our children
Georgia’s education chief has some words for Arne Duncan - The Washington Post:

Call and Tweet your House Rep and ask him/her to vote ‪#‎NOonHR5‬ http://bit.ly/17s6O1b

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash - #NOonHR5

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash

By Lauren Camera on February 27, 2015 10:54 AM

UPDATED

By Lauren Camera and Alyson Klein

House leaders may hold off until next week on a final vote on a Republican-backed bill to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, amid pushback from powerful GOP lobbying groups who may have succeeded in convincing enough Republicans that the measure is not conservative enough, according to several sources.

Not helping matters: House GOP conservatives are unhappy with their leadership's handling of a bill that would temporarily continue funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which administers a controversial immigration program created through executive authority by the Obama administration.

House leaders had initially hoped to have the bill over and done with Friday. But a morning notice from Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who keeps track of how many members of his party support measures as they come to the floor, did not specify a final vote for the bill, which he normally would have if it were to occur during a series of votes scheduled for later this morning.

And while Republicans have the procedural ability to vote on bill as soon as amendment debate is over, the notice from Scalise did not specify that.

Congressional education leaders did not confirm that the vote would be delayed.

"We are moving forward and expect to continue debating the bill later today," said Brian Newell, communications director for education committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., the author of the bill.

But a congressional aide with knowledge of the proceedings said, for now, the final vote on the NCLB rewrite appears likely to be bumped to next week. At that point, Republican leaders will probably be able to muster the neccesary votes to get the bill through the chamber, sources say. But if not, the bid to update the NCLB law this year could be in serious trouble.

Ahead of the Thursday debate, the Club for Growth and Heritage Action, two powerful conservative lobby organizations, blasted out emails to House Republicans in opposition to the bill. They warned that if members voted in favor of the measure, it would count against them in a scoring rubric the organizations use to rate which members are most faithful to conservative principles and the GOP Party. The groups' problem with the NCLB overhaul? It's not conservative enough.

Among other things, the groups wanted to see legislation that knocks the federal government entirely out of education, which they view as strictly a state and local responsibility. They also hoped to see provisions in the bill that would have allowed federal funds for low-income students to be used at private schools.

Part of the problem here is timing, sources say. Conservative Republicans are angry at House leaderships's handling of immigration legislation—and they are taking their frustration out on what some see as a relatively moderate education bill.

Get ready for Election Day on April 7 #Chuy2015

I will vote - Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for Mayor of Chicago:

Get ready for Election Day on April 7

Check your voter registration status »

Submit your vote by mail (absentee ballot) by April 2 »

Early vote March 23 - April 4 at any of 51 locations citywide, regardless of where in Chicago you live »

Find your designated polling place and vote on April 7 »

Revisa el estatus de tu registración de votante »

Registrese para votar antes del 10 de Marzo »

Vote por correo (absentee ballot) antes del 2 de abril »

Vote temprano del 23 de marzo al 4 de abril en cualquier de las 51 localidades a traves de la ciudad, sin importar en que parte de Chicago vive »

Ecuentre su lugar designado para votar el 7 de abril »

You can call the Chicago Board of Elections at 312-269-7900 with any further questions or concerns.