Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/28/15

Special Nite Cap - Catch Up on Today's Post 4/28/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Education tech funding soars -- but is it working in the classroom? - Fortune

Education tech funding - Fortune: Education tech funding soars -- but is it working in the classroom? Technology has captured the American education system. As it does, the money keeps flowing in — and so do questions about its impact.From iPads in kindergarten to virtual classrooms in high schools to online graduate degrees, technology has captured the American education system. As it does, the m

by mike simpson / 16min 

Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes -- ScienceDaily

Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes -- ScienceDaily: Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes Creating small high schools improves outcomes for students in the overall school district -- both in new small schools and existing larger schools -- according to a study of New York City schools by researchers at New York University, Syracuse University, and Arizona State U

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition (LRN)

K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition (LRN): K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive TransitionBy Brian Stoffel | More Articles April 28, 2015 | Comments (2)K12 traditionally caters to students and families who work better in smaller, at-home, individualized settings. Photo: K12. For-profit educator K12 (NYSE: LRN  ) released its quarterly report today, handily beating expectations for both revenue a

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Vouchers on the Move: Return to School Segregation? | PR Watch

Vouchers on the Move: Return to School Segregation? | PR Watch: Vouchers on the Move: Return to School Segregation? Twenty-five years ago, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson signed the nation's first school voucher bill into law. Pitched as social mobility tickets for minority students, Wisconsin vouchers allow children to attend private, and sometimes religious, schools on the taxpayers' dime.But

3 by mike simpson / 4h 

solidaridad: New Report Finds Over $200 Million in Fraud and Abuse at Charter Schools

solidaridad: New Report Finds Over $200 Million in Fraud and Abuse at Charter Schools: New Report Finds Over $200 Million in Fraud and Abuse at Charter Schools“The Tip of the Iceberg: Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse” Exposes Costly Consequences of Lacking Charter Schools Accountability, Transparency** Full report available here: http://bit.ly/1DDlpjM **A new report by the

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

‘Teachers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your rubrics.’ - The Washington Post

‘Teachers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your rubrics.’ - The Washington Post: ‘Teachers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your rubrics.’Hardly a week goes by where some education-related group gathers somewhere to talk about something, but a gathering of education activists this past weekend in Chicago was different from the usual.  It was the second annual conf

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

Sacramento School Kids Continue to Pay for City's Privatization Scheme

Proposed Sacramento budget follows Mayor Kevin Johnson’s priorities http://bit.ly/1QFD1ViSacramento School Kids Paying for City's Privatization Scheme? http://bit.ly/1aXDonrAfter-school programs could be cut at Sacramento schoolsAccording to a city of Sacramento staff report, the 4th “R” program is facing a budget deficit of $458,000 for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That gap is partly the r

2 by mike simpson / 6h 

Corporate Education Reform: Are We Getting It Right? Can We Make More Money?

Global Conference 2015 | K-12 Education Reform: Are We Getting It Right? » Milken Institute: K-12 Education Reform: Are We Getting It Right?Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / 9:30 am - 10:30 am ModeratorLowell Milken, Co-Founder, Knowledge Universe Education; Founder, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET)SpeakersRudolph Crew, President, Medgar Evers College, the City University of New York;

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Recess and Behavior Problems: Foolproof Methods to Help Students Succeed

Recess and Behavior Problems: Foolproof Methods to Help Students Succeed: Recess and Behavior Problems: Foolproof Methods to Help Students SucceedAPRIL 28, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY 1 COMMENTThis will be my last post for those teachers who asked what they could do to deal with a student’s behavior if they couldn’t keep them in for recess. Troubling student behavior in today’s overcrowded, diverse class

by mike simpson / 8h 

Chicago school cleaning contract millions over budget

Chicago school cleaning contract millions over budget: Chicago school cleaning contract millions over budgetAramark has so far billed Chicago Public Schools $86 million for what was supposed to cost $64 million The promise of cleaner schools at a lower price has turned out to be just that -- a promise.Chicago Public Schools’ three-year contract with Philadelphia-based Aramark to manage all school

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

If Teachers Feel Undervalued It's Because They Are - Forbes

If Teachers Feel Undervalued It's Because They Are - Forbes: If Teachers Feel Undervalued It's Because They Are Teachers are used to being on the sharp end of public criticism, but even by these standards the results of a recent survey are disturbing.According to the survey, eight out of 10 teachers do not feel their profession is valued by society. Among school leaders, the proportion who feel te

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Pearson Should Pay for Poor Performance - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Pearson Should Pay for Poor Performance - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Pearson Should Pay for Poor Performance Today, Joe Nathan writes about widespread testing problems in Minnesota. Deborah Meier will respond on Thursday.Because of massive, widespread problems with Minnesota's testing program, learning has been disrupted in the past two weeks for thousands of Minnesota students. The st

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Holyoke teachers union president Gus Morales says creationism discussion a concern | masslive.com

Holyoke teachers union president Gus Morales says creationism discussion a concern | masslive.com: Holyoke teachers union president Gus Morales says creationism discussion a concern HOLYOKE -- Inclusion of creationism in a school project here is inappropriate and a concern but not a surprise, teachers union president Agustin Morales said Monday (April 27).Morales said teachers have told him they f

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Leaders for teachers union try to stop LAUSD from laying off educators

Leaders for teachers union try to stop LAUSD from laying off educators: Leaders for teachers union try to stop LAUSD from laying off educators One week after negotiating a double digit pay raise that creates a $140 million deficit in Los Angeles Unified School District’s budget, the teachers union Monday rallied in support of 609 educators whose jobs would be eliminated.The school district notifie

by mike simpson / 9h 

Proposed Sacramento budget follows Mayor Kevin Johnson’s priorities | The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee

Proposed Sacramento budget follows Mayor Kevin Johnson’s priorities | The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee: Proposed Sacramento budget follows Mayor Kevin Johnson’s prioritiesWith Measure U and the rebounding economy, this is the second budget in a row with a surplus. But this is a time for frugality, and for spending more only on the most important priorities.Three themes come through clearly in

by mike simpson / 9h 

Teach for America Expands Influence in Latin America

Teach for America Expands Influence in Latin America: Teach for America Expands Influence in Latin America Which country has the world’s worst education system? According to the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests taken in 2012 by 15-year-olds in 65 countries, the South American country of Peru was at the bottom.The overall average score for all countries in Math was 494, R

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Tucker Searches for Misplaced Standards

CURMUDGUCATION: Tucker Searches for Misplaced Standards: Tucker Searches for Misplaced StandardsMarc Tucker has been working at education reform even before it was cool (and highly lucrative). While he's best remembered by some folks as the author of the infamous Dear Hillary letter (a 1992 missive that lays out a vision of a centrally organized cradle-to-career pipeline), I've often found him wil

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Fox in Charge of the Hen House? - Change The LAUSD

Fox in Charge of the Hen House? - Change The LAUSD: Fox in Charge of the Hen House? “Based on conservative estimates, California stands to lose more than $100 million to charter school fraud in 2015.”- Risking Public Money: California Charter School FraudLast year California’s charter schools received $3 billion in public funding. While these schools are designed to be “free from most regulations

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

After years of layoffs, California schools on a teacher hiring binge | The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee

After years of layoffs, California schools on a teacher hiring binge | The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee:After years of layoffs, California schools on a teacher hiring bingeAfter years of pink slips and layoffs, California school districts have emerged from the recession with plans to hire 21,500 teachers for the 2015-16 academic year at a pace not seen in a decade, according to new state data

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

Randi, Lily, and Their Common Core Fidelity | deutsch29

Randi, Lily, and Their Common Core Fidelity | deutsch29: Randi, Lily, and Their Common Core FidelityI was in Chicago this past weekend for the second annual conference of the Network for Public Education (NPE).(A number of videos of conference sessions will be available here. In the first video, the session to which I refer in this post is around 2:10:00.)One of the sessions I attended was the Sun

1 by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/27/15 #‎NPEChicago‬

Special Nite Cap - Catch Up on Today's Post 4/27/15Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMCharter School Operators Charged with Interfering with, Coercing Employees Seeking to Form Union - California Teachers AssociationCharter School Operators Charged with Interfering with, Coercing Employees Seeking to Form Union - California Teachers Association: CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATORS CHARGED WITH INTERFERING W

7 by mike simpson / 23h 

Education tech funding soars -- but is it working in the classroom? - Fortune

Education tech funding - Fortune:

Education tech funding soars -- but is it working in the classroom?

 Technology has captured the American education system. As it does, the money keeps flowing in — and so do questions about its impact.

From iPads in kindergarten to virtual classrooms in high schools to online graduate degrees, technology has captured the American education system. As it does, the money keeps flowing in — and so do questions about its impact.

In 2014, venture funding for education technology reached $1.87 billion dollars. It’s expected to hit $2 billion this year. That’s a big jump from $385 million in 2009,according to CB Insights, the first year the venture capital research firm started tracking education funding.

“The education space is attractive because it’s a big and important part of the economy,” said Rob Hutter, managing partner of Learn Capital an education based venture capital firm. “The edtech companies that get funding can be important 50 years down the line, and not just in a few years.”

And it’s a good business to be in, said Bob Sun, founder of online math site, First in Math.

“There’s a high profit margin with no warehouses and not much cost except for research and development,” explained Sun, who also said his firm has grown 20% in the past six years and hasn’t needed outside funding.

But while many sing the praises of education technology in the classroom, some question if it’s having the desired effect.

“Education technology is not yet a proven solution for learning, and limits the experience of education and human interaction,” argued Art Langer, academic director and faculty member of the Executive Masters in Technology Management at Columbia University.

Education technology takes off

The beginnings of education technology have mirrored the advancement of tech itself. As computers got better and faster in the 1960s, colleges like the University of Illinois introduced computer terminals where students could access resources on a course and listen to pre-recorded lectures. By the 1980s many college courses were accessible online at university libraries.

Then along came video conferencing which reached thousands of students. The 1990s and 2000s saw the explosion of the internet and online classes. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates the number of K-12 students enrolled in online distance learning programs increased by 65% from 2002 to 2005.

Add to this smartphone apps, laptops and iPad accesses, and classrooms of all ages have some sort of technology at their fingertips. And at least one study says it’s all for the good.

“Education technology allows students to share their work and collaborate beyond their schools walls,” said Wendy Eiteljor, director of education technology for pre-K to grade 12 at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Penna.

“It’s also providing alternative ways for students to participate in discussions,” she added.

Drawbacks to high tech

But some in the field see roadblocks to all the technology that’s flooding the system. One of the biggest areas of concern, among many, is access, said David Liu, COO ofKnewton, a learning technology provider that develops platforms to personalize educational content.

“It can heighten the disparity between rich schools and poor schools, putting disadvantaged students even Education tech funding - Fortune:

Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes -- ScienceDaily

Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes -- ScienceDaily:

Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes

 Creating small high schools improves outcomes for students in the overall school district -- both in new small schools and existing larger schools -- according to a study of New York City schools by researchers at New York University, Syracuse University, and Arizona State University.

The findings, published in the April issue of Educational Researcher, help to answer questions of whether introducing small high schools comes at an expense to the rest of the school district.

"Our findings suggest that there was real, meaningful improvement in New York City's high school outcomes as small school reform was implemented," said Leanna Stiefel, professor of economics at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and associate director of the Institute for Education and Social Policy. "Small school reform lifted all boats."

Small school reform, in which new, small high schools replace large, comprehensive high schools, has been adopted by major U.S. cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Boston. Studies in New York and Boston have found that small high schools deliver better outcomes -- including higher graduation rates -- than large high schools for urban students.

While research shows that students attending new small schools fare better than those attending old schools, little has been done to explore changes to districts as a whole. The question remained: is better performance at small schools gained at the expense of losses elsewhere, or does small school reform lift the whole district?

Stiefel and her colleagues examined New York City's small school reform, in which hundreds of new small high schools were built in less than a decade. They studied four cohorts of high school students: two groups set to graduate in 2001 and 2002, before school reforms began, and two expected to graduate in 2007 and 2008, after small school reforms were underway.

Using demographic data on individual students, as well as measures of student outcomes -- graduation rates, rates of students taking the English and math Regents tests, and English and math Regents scores -- the researchers estimated effects of the school reform on student outcomes. They found that introducing small schools improved outcomes for students in all types of high schools: large, small, continuously operating, and new.

New York City's graduation rates increased from 51 percent in 2001 to 64 percent in 2007 and 68 percent in 2008. While students in small high schools had the highest graduation rates, roughly 13 percentage points higher than their peers in continuously operating schools in 2007 and 2008, the graduation rates increased across all types of schools. Regents test taking and passing rates also improved significantly from 2001 to 2008 across new and existing high schools.

The researchers noted that other changing factors in New York City and New York state, including increased spending on education and new teacher certification regulations, may have influenced their results. However, the findings still suggest that small school reform can play a role in systemic reform.

"Our evaluation is relevant for policymakers who aim to initiate small high school reform in an environment -- like that found in many urban school districts in the U.S. today -- where change and reform is ongoing and 'business as usual' involves continual change," said Stiefel.Small high school reform boosts districtwide outcomes -- ScienceDaily:

K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition (LRN)

K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition (LRN):

K12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition

By Brian Stoffel | More Articles 
April 28, 2015 | Comments (2)

K12 traditionally caters to students and families who work better in smaller, at-home, individualized settings. Photo: K12. 

For-profit educator K12 (NYSE: LRN  ) released its quarterly report today, handily beating expectations for both revenue and earnings. Revenue came in at $244 million -- about $6 million ahead of what was forecast -- and earnings came in at $0.45 per share, far ahead of the expected $0.37 per share. Yet the stock itself is up less than 5% as of mid-day.

In order to understand why the reaction was so muted, it's important to grasp where K12 has been, where it's going, and the massive transformation it is undertaking to make its business model more sustainable.

A tale of two approachesTraditionally, K12's bread and butter was in what are now called "Managed Schools." With such schools, K12 would set up a charter school subsidiary in a local community. The company would handle essentially all of the schooling -- teaching, curriculum, assessment, etc. -- for students whose families chose to use the company's online offerings instead of attending the neighborhood school.

The model itself started running into serious problems back in 2011. Parents, educational officials, and some short-sellers claimed that the company was recruiting students for the program based solely on meeting booming enrollment expectations. This led many to accuse the company of accepting students who were doomed to fail in the at-home environment simply to make an extra buck.

As education officials began to investigate these claims, the company began exploring other ways to provide e-learning solutions to schools. That gave birth to what are now referred to as "Non-Managed Schools." In these schools, K12 principally provides the content and online platform for classroom teachers to use in augmenting their instruction.

Diverging resultsAs you might expect, growth in enrollment and revenue from managed schools has screeched to a halt, while non-managed programs have been growing by leaps and bounds. Altogether this is a very positive development: focusing on non-managed programs allows K12 to adopt an approach that is both sustainable and will keep the company out of the public's cross-hairs.

The problem: managed programs still bring in much more revenue than non-managed onesK12, Inc. Continues Its Massive Transition (LRN):