Monday, August 3, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/3/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP

CORPORATE ED REFORM

How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform? | Brookings Institution

How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform? | Brookings Institution: How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform?Americans are more polarized than at any point in recent history. On issue after issue—abortion, the Affordable Care Act, or just about anything else— Democrats stand on one side and Republicans stand on the other. It can be difficult for leaders to b

by mike simpson / 1h

Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards - NEA Today

Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards - NEA Today: Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability StandardsSince he was first elected to the Nashville Board of Education in 2012, Will Pinkston has been a vocal and tenacious advocate against the proliferation of charter schools. According to the operators who have rolled into

by mike simpson / 3h

Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children? | Bob Braun's Ledger: Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children?Julian Ferreira will attend the Oliver Street School.Julian Ferreira will get to go the school behind his house–and his mother Sara deserves a lot of credit for standing up to the administration of Newark pu

by mike simpson / 3h

My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison) | Cooperative Catalyst

My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison) | Cooperative Catalyst: My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison)Mark Naison is a Professor of African-American Studies and History at Fordham University and Director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program. He is the author of three books and over 100 articles on African-American History, urban history, and the history of sports

by mike simpson / 3h

Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!

Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!In case you missed it, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, erstwhile presidential candidate, declared on CNN Sunday that teachers unions need a “punch in the face.” Faced with declining numbers in the polls and with being out bullied by Donald Trump, Christie has decided to come out swinging – at teac

by mike simpson / 4h

With A Brooklyn Accent: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales

With A Brooklyn Accent: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus MoralesGus MoralesFSCSs in Holyoke: A Panacea for our Schools?Prior to state receivership, the Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) implemented a large number of programs and work

by mike simpson / 4h

Thompson: Project Fatherhood - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: Project Fatherhood: Thompson: Project FatherhoodWhen writing her excellent Project Fatherhood, the UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap exposed herself to a daunting risk. Leap accepted a degree of physical danger but it was the professional risk that could have been intimidating. Leap defied academic convention and spoke honestly about race, family, child-rearing, domesti

by mike simpson / 5h

A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement | deutsch29

A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement | deutsch29: A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community DisenfranchisementJennifer BerkshireI do believe I just read the best piece of journalism to date regarding the stunning community disenfranchisement brought about by test-driven school reform i

by mike simpson / 5h

SCUSD Board Vote on Re-Opening Washington Elementary | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

SCUSD Board Vote on Re-Opening Washington Elementary | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: SCUSD Board Vote on Re-Opening Washington ElementaryThe Sacramento City Unified School Board will be voting on the authorization to reopen Washington Elementary School this Thursday August 6th. The meeting begins at 6:30 PM and the item is scheduled for 8:03 PM. If you can't be at the meeting,

by mike simpson / 5h

Chris Christie wants to punch the teachers union in the face. But he isn’t the only candidate attacking educators. - The Washington Post

Chris Christie wants to punch the teachers union in the face. But he isn’t the only candidate attacking educators. - The Washington Post: Chris Christie wants to punch the teachers union in the face. But he isn’t the only candidate attacking educators.Leave it to Chris Christie to come up with a new way to court voters in his sagging quest to win the 2016 Republican presidential nomination: direct

by mike simpson / 6h

Teach For America Counter-narratives: Two Alumni Books Reframe the Discourse - Living in Dialogue

Teach For America Counter-narratives: Two Alumni Books Reframe the Discourse - Living in Dialogue: Teach For America Counter-narratives: Two Alumni Books Reframe the Discourse - Living in DialogueBy Jameson Brewer and Sarah Matsui.What are counter-narratives? And why are they significant in the conversation? Counter-narratives are essentially “little stories” of individuals and groups of peopl

by mike simpson / 6h

Stop starving public education - journalreview.com: Opinion

Stop starving public education - journalreview.com: Opinion: Stop starving public educationI had not intended to rebut my friend Michael Gleeson’s column on school vouchers. But I have received several requests from public school educator friends who, for reasons of their own, do not wish to appear in print.No one disputes that there is a place for the private school as an educational choice. What

by mike simpson / 7h

Malloy and the Democratic State Central Committee - In plain English it’s called obstructing Justice - Wait What?

Malloy and the Democratic State Central Committee - In plain English it’s called obstructing Justice - Wait What?: Malloy and the Democratic State Central Committee – In plain English it’s called obstructing JusticeConnecticut’s MUST READ news article of the weekend, in case you missed it, was Jon Lender’s “Delay In Enforcing Subpoena Of Democratic Party Records Raises Questions.”As Wait, What? re

by mike simpson / 7h

It's time to reconsider the parent trigger - LA Times

It's time to reconsider the parent trigger - LA Times: It's time to reconsider the parent triggerFive years after California's parent-trigger law was passed, it has not had the dramatic effect on public schools that its proponents hoped it would. Yet it is already at a crossroads in its young life.The law, passed in haste in 2010 in an effort to empower parents at lower-performing schools, lets th

by mike simpson / 7h

Global Privatization of Schools IS the Goal | The Economist

The $1-a-week school | The Economist: The $1-a-week schoolPrivate schools are booming in poor countries. Governments should either help them or get out of their wayACROSS the highway from the lawns of Nairobi’s Muthaiga Country Club is Mathare, a slum that stretches as far as the eye can see. Although Mathare has virtually no services like paved streets or sanitation, it has a sizeable and growing

by mike simpson / 7h

State budget protects districts from low-performing virtual schools

State budget protects districts from low-performing virtual schools: State budget protects districts from low-performing virtual schoolsA little-known provision slipped into the budget signed by Gov. Scott Walker would keep low-performing virtual charter schools from dragging down the report cards of districts that host them.The new law excludes the achievement scores of virtual charter schools fr

by mike simpson / 8h

Is the Friedrichs case an “existential threat” to the teachers' unions? | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Is the Friedrichs case an “existential threat” to the teachers' unions? | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute: Is the Friedrichs case an “existential threat” to the teachers' unions?As you’ve probably heard by now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Friedrichs vs. California case next year, giving it a chance to strike down union “agency fees” as unconstitutional abridgements of teachers’ First

by mike simpson / 8h

Does cursive writing still have cred?

Does cursive writing still have cred?: Does cursive writing still have cred?My mother, now in her 70s, has beautiful handwriting. As a young girl, I admired and emulated her expressive script, ultimately winning a couple of penmanship awards for my efforts. My mom was proud and so was I.But with cursive writing instruction in decline since the 1970s in many elementary schools, widespread pride in

by mike simpson / 8h

William Lager, Charter Czar, Makes the Drop to Ensure Lack of Regulation of Ohio Charters | janresseger

William Lager, Charter Czar, Makes the Drop to Ensure Lack of Regulation of Ohio Charters | janresseger: William Lager, Charter Czar, Makes the Drop to Ensure Lack of Regulation of Ohio ChartersIt is no longer acceptable to deprecate women as Mike Royko does in his 1978 column “Bucking Hard for the Equal Rights Amendment,” but just for today I am going let Mike Royko’s references to “do gooder lad

by mike simpson / 8h

DFT Exec Board Puts President Conn on Trial Monday - Detroit Federation of Teachers

Detroit Federation of Teachers | Stateweb: DFT Exec Board Puts President Conn on Trial MondayVery unfortunately, Ivy Bailey and the other members of the DFT Executive Board have decided to put me on trial on internal union misconduct charges. They are planning to hold the trial this Monday morning, August 3, at 115 West Willis St., the DAEOE (DPS Secretaries) union hall.This is a huge distraction

by mike simpson / 8h

Perdido Street School: Where Do Education Progressives Go Politically?

Perdido Street School: Where Do Education Progressives Go Politically?: Where Do Education Progressives Go Politically?The following is a guest post by Harris Lirtzman, former Director of Risk Management for the New York City Retirement Systems in the NYC Comptroller's Office from 1996-2002 and former Deputy State Comptroller for Administration from 2003-2007.The fight against the federal testing

by mike simpson / 9h

If Every Child Achieves Student Success we're Screwed! | BustED Pencils

If Every Child Achieves Student Success we're Screwed! | BustED Pencils: If Every Child Achieves Student Success we're Screwed! The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965 as one of the pillars of the War on Poverty and was a major progressive victory. It recognized that inequitable funding of our public schools created disastrous learning conditions for children and families in

by mike simpson / 9h

“Reform” makes broken New Orleans schools worse: Race, charters, testing and the real story of education after Katrina - Salon.com

“Reform” makes broken New Orleans schools worse: Race, charters, testing and the real story of education after Katrina - Salon.com: “Reform” makes broken New Orleans schools worse: Race, charters, testing and the real story of education after KatrinaAn all-charter-school system was heralded as the future for urban schools. The future is filled with flawsHere is all you need to know about the New O

by mike simpson / 9h

NJEA calls on Christie to resign for 'bully' comment (VIDEO) | NJ.com

NJEA calls on Christie to resign for 'bully' comment (VIDEO) | NJ.com: NJEA calls on Christie to resign for 'bully' comment (VIDEO)MANCHESTER, N.H. — The head of New Jersey's largest teachers' union called on Gov. Chris Christie to resign Sunday after the governor suggested the group's national counterparts deserve a punch in the face.Wendell Steinhauer, president of the New Jersey Education Assoc

by mike simpson / 10h

Red Flags on the Road to ESEA Rewrite - Education Week

Red Flags on the Road to ESEA Rewrite - Education Week: Red Flags on the Road to ESEA RewriteBy Lauren CameraPrinter-FriendlyEmail ArticleReprintsComments"The pundits told us it would never happen—that Republicans and Democrats will never agree on a way to replace No Child Left Behind."So said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., just hours before the U.S. Senate did just that—

by mike simpson / 10h

YESTERDAY

Punching Teachers in the Face – a New Low in Presidential Politics. | gadflyonthewallblog

Punching Teachers in the Face – a New Low in Presidential Politics. | gadflyonthewallblog: Punching Teachers in the Face – a New Low in Presidential Politics.Chris Christie wants to punch me in the face.Gosh!I’ve never even met the man. I don’t even live in New Jersey!But in an interview, the Republican presidential candidate told the media that the national teachers union deserves a punch in the

by mike simpson / 19h

The Washington Teacher: NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities Investigation

The Washington Teacher: NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities Investigation: NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities InvestigationTCCS Principal Worrell-Breeden By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice PresidentStatements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, AFT, Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) or its members

by mike simpson / 21h

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Short-selling hedge-fund billionaire throws millions more at Moskowitz charters

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Short-selling hedge-fund billionaire throws millions more at Moskowitz charters: Short-selling hedge-fund billionaire throws millions more at Moskowitz chartersCharter hustler Moskowitz & her billionaire hedge-funder PaulsonClout-heavy Eva Moskowitz runs N.Y.'s Success Academy which is already one of the richest charter school networks in the city. Tax docum

by mike simpson / 21h

Why Is Jeb Bush So Cozy With A Discredited Charter School Mill? | Observer

Why Is Jeb Bush So Cozy With A Discredited Charter School Mill? | Observer: The Company You Keep: Why Is Jeb Bush Cozy With a Discredited Charter School Mill? Jeb Bush, who often touts his education policy expertise as a job qualification, has long backed a charter school company with an appalling record At the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Jeb Bush posed the following question: Ev

by mike simpson / 23h

Breast may be best, but teachers don’t have the right to pump at work in many states - The Washington Post

Breast may be best, but teachers don’t have the right to pump at work in many states - The Washington Post: Breast may be best, but teachers don’t have the right to pump at work in many statesAll Anna Johnson-Smith wanted was some time each afternoon to pump breast milk for her infant. But when she returned to work as a kindergarten teacher in Marlin, Tex., her principal denied her request, puttin

by mike simpson / 23h hide // save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/2/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMPillars or Propaganda - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial VoicePillars or Propaganda - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Pillars or PropagandaWhen you hear the word “pillars,” does it invoke an image of strong supports? Who would have thought this innocent but persuasive word would be used against us in the education reform wars?The four pillars of No Child Left Be

by mike simpson / 23h

How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform? | Brookings Institution

How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform? | Brookings Institution:

How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform?

Americans are more polarized than at any point in recent history. On issue after issue—abortion, the Affordable Care Act, or just about anything else— Democrats stand on one side and Republicans stand on the other. It can be difficult for leaders to build consensus around policy when the two sides each have their own base of support. But is the public so divided over school issues?

Last year, Education Next conducted a poll asking Americans about 17 education issues. On eight of these issues, there is no evidence that parties differ. Democrats are no more or less supportive than Republicans when it comes to universal vouchers, vouchers for students in failing schools, tax credits for donations to scholarship programs for private schools, higher pay for teachers in hard to staff subjects, higher pay for teachers in hard to staff schools, and awarding tenure on the basis of student performance.

There are differences on other issues—increasing spending, raising teacher pay, government funded universal preschool, government funded preschool for low income families, charter schools, vouchers for low-income families, merit pay, tenure, and Common Core—but these differences hardly pit the parties in opposing corners of the ring. In only one case does the majority from one party oppose the majority from the other. Nearly three-fourths of Democrats favor more spending on public schools, and 54 percent of Republicans oppose it.

More typically, one of the parties musters a majority while the other splits. For example, 66 percent of Republicans oppose government funded vouchers for students from low-income families, but 42 percent of Democrats oppose and 45 percent support. For two issues, majorities of both parties are on the same side despite a gap in support. Sixty two percent of Republicans favor merit pay, but so do 54 percent of Democrats. Seventy one percent of Democrats want to raise teacher pay; so do 52 percent of Republicans.

Without partisan division surely the door is open for bipartisan school reform? Not exactly. The lack of polarization on school issues probably has more to do with confusion than consensus.

The opinions that most Americans express on school issues are not well-informed, not organized in any coherent way, and not consistent over time. The 2014 survey contained factual questions about Common Core. Nearly two-thirds of respondents had either never heard of the standards or answered “don’t know” to the factual questions. In 2013 another survey asked Americans factual questions about charter schools. Half of the respondents said they did not know the answers while another 20 to 30 percent gave the wrong answers. Other past surveys have shown that Americans consistently underestimate per-pupil spending and teacher salaries.

If a coherent belief system underlay the opinions expressed on the 2014 survey, we could expect that a person would take similar positions on similar issues. They do not. Knowing where someone stands on charter schools does not reveal much about where they stand on vouchers or merit pay, much less tenure, testing, or spending. Responses across these How far apart are Democrats and Republicans on school reform? | Brookings Institution:

Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards - NEA Today

Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards - NEA Today:

Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards

Since he was first elected to the Nashville Board of Education in 2012, Will Pinkston has been a vocal and tenacious advocate against the proliferation of charter schools. According to the operators who have rolled into the city over the past couple of years and their allies in local government, he is unapologetically “anti-charter.”

Not so, Pinkston insists.

“I’m not anti-charter. I have voted to approve some charter schools,” he says. “Now, what I am against is these new schools chewing up every dime of available new revenue at the expense of traditional public schools, their students and their teachers – especially when they are not held to basic, common sense standards of accountability.”

Pinkston attracts a fair amount of local press for his outspoken and often blunt criticism of the way charters do business in Nashville, but he is hardly alone in sounding the alarm over the consequences of unabated charter growth. His colleague on the board, Amy Frogge, has worked tirelessly to spotlight what she calls“charter school games” that obscure shoddy fiscal and academic records. And a thriving movement of educators, parents and other members of the community are standing up to demand a greater level of charter school accountability.

“Charters aren’t going away,” says Amanda Kail, a teacher at Margaret Allen Middle School. “But we need to do everything we can to help make them the best schools.So the public needs to bear in mind that many of these schools are not working for students and are wasting taxpayer money and we need to figure out ways to make them better.”

This past spring, Kail testified before the school board to urge adoption ofaccountability standards created by Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Under each of the seven Annenberg standards is a set of concrete policy and practical recommendations applicable to state legislatures, charter authorizers, and communities. The target is the waste, fraud and abuse in the charter sector. The goal is greater transparency, equity and other forms of Nashville Stands Up to Powerful Charter Industry, Sets New Accountability Standards - NEA Today:

Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children?

Julian Ferreira will attend the Oliver Street School.

Julian Ferreira will get to go the school behind his house–and his mother Sara deserves a lot of credit for standing up to the administration of Newark public schools run by Christopher Cerf, Gov. Chris Christie’s agent in the state’s largest school district. But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other children in Newark who will not be allowed to attend the schools nearest their homes. Their struggle goes on.

“I wasn’t going to give up this time,” said Sara Ferreira. She tried and failed last year to enroll Julian in the pre-school at Oliver Street School, a school that abuts the Ferreira family property on Pacific Street.

She tried again this year but was again denied–twice. Sara Ferreira, herself a graduate of he Oliver Street School, wouldn’t stop pushing, however. She reached out to the parent organization, #ParentPower, head by Frankie Adao as well as local and state elected officials. Sara also agreed to tell her story here.

Her willingness to go public brought provoke extensive reaction, including complaints from other parents whose efforts to enroll their children in nearby schools was frustrated by the state’s insistence on pushing the so-called “One Newark” plan. That plan, originally devised by Cerf himself, seeks to close neighborhood public schools and launch new charter schools.

On Friday, one of Cerf’s bureaucrats called Sara Ferreira and said the school had somehow found room for Julian. It has been typical of the state’s reaction to try to resolve small crises before they erupt into larger ones.

Cerf headed a private consulting firm, Global Education Advisers. The firm was paid $500,000 to come up with an enrollment plan for Newark–but Cerf denied ever receiving the money. He was working on the plan when Christie named him state education commissioner. The plan’s general outlines were included in “One Newark” and are followed today.

Cerf named his protégé, Cami Anderson, to be the Newark superintendent. Then Julian will go to a neighborhood school–but what about all the other Newark children? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison) | Cooperative Catalyst

My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison) | Cooperative Catalyst:

My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison)

Mark Naison is a Professor of African-American Studies and History at Fordham University and Director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program. He is the author of three books and over 100 articles on African-American History, urban history, and the history of sports. His most recent book White Boy: A Memoir, published in the Spring of 2002, was reviewed in the New York Times, the Nation and the Chronicle of Higher Education and was the subject of feature stories on Black Entertainment Television, New York One News and the Tavis Smiley show on National Public Radio. One of his most popular courses at Fordham, “From Rock and Roll to Hip Hop: Urban Youth Cultures in Post War America” has also received media attention, becoming the subject of stories on National Public Radio, Bronx Net, and WFUV. His most recent course, “Feeling the Funk: Research Seminar on Music of the African Diaspora” focuses on Latin and Caribbean traditions on American Popular Music.

I am extremely critical of current trends in education policy which involve deluging schools with standardized tests and rating teachers, administrators and whole institutions based on test result. Such policies result in school disengagement on the part of students, destroy teacher morale, and magnify health problems in poor and working class communities by crowding out exercise and the arts.

Given my criticism of existing policies, skeptics have a right to ask-“What do you want to see urban schools doing that they are not doing now.” So let me take the time to lay out my own vision of what kind of things urban schools should be doing that will promote student engagement, parent involvement, teacher excitement, and transform schools into centers of community empowerment

Portions of what I am talking about are already being done by schools all over the country. I invite you to see what Professor Henry Taylor and his colleagues are doing to embed schools on the East Side of Buffalo into a larger program of community development; to visit Urban Academy on the East Side of Manhattan, an innovative multiracial high school that is project based rather than test based, and PS 140 in the South Bronx a school which has developed a museum devoted to community history; but it would be difficult to broadly implement what I recommend unless Federal and state educational policies give schools far more freedom to experiment, and reverse the current emphasis on high stakes testing.

Basically, I would like to see urban schools emphasize community involvement, artistic expression, and physical and emotional health on the part of their students. We have to end the pretense that poverty- reflected in homelessness and housing overcrowding, poor nutrition, high levels of violence and stress- are not factors shaping students academic engagement and performance. Schools should be places where young people know they are going to be fed, nurtured, protected, loved and have their confidence built up in many spheres of life and where parents and community members can go to discuss and solve broader community problems.

This means in the first instant, that schools be open from the crack of dawn till 9 or ten in the evening and open to community groups for public meetings, as well as for concerts, festivals and recreational activities.

But it also means that we should emphasize activities now deemed “expendable” in test driven . To that end, I would like the following.

That at least an hour of every school day be devoted to recreation and physical activity, whether it be recess, physical education classes or school sports.
That at least an hour of every school day be devoted to the arts, be it music, theater, visual arts, poetry and creative writing.
That urban agriculture and health education be made an integral part of schools curricula, fueling My Vision for Urban Education (Guest Post by Mark Naison) | Cooperative Catalyst:

Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!

Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!:

Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!

In case you missed it, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, erstwhile presidential candidate, declared on CNN Sunday that teachers unions need a “punch in the face.” Faced with declining numbers in the polls and with being out bullied by Donald Trump, Christie has decided to come out swinging – at teachers.

Of course the teachers union has no literal face and the leaders of both major teachers unions, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Lily Eskelson Garcia of the National Education Association are women. I don’t think even a Republican candidate for president could get away with punching a woman in the face. Belittling them, yes. Berating them, yes. Taking away the choice of what they do with their bodies, yes. But not striking a woman, especially with a Hillary running on the Democratic side.

So, taking all this into consideration, I would like to step up and offer Christie my face to punch.

I am well qualified for the job. I have been a public school teacher and administrator for 45 years. I have been the president and the chief negotiator of my local teachers union. I have been sharply critical of Christie’s education policies on my blog. I deserve that punch in the face. I have earned it. Not only that, I live just a stone’s throw from the statehouse in Trenton, so I could meet the Governor there at any time, if he ever happens to get back to New Jersey.

I am sure it would give Christie a boost in the polls and solidify his standing as a violent, bullying looney worthy of Republican voter support. It might even be enough to get him on the stage at one of the primary debates where he could punch Wolf Blitzer in the face and garner even more support.

Better yet, forget the debate and let Trump and Christie duke it out in a steel cage wrestling match. I would certainly pay money to see Christie and Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!:

With A Brooklyn Accent: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales

With A Brooklyn Accent: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales:

How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales

Gus Morales

FSCSs in Holyoke: A Panacea for our Schools?

Prior to state receivership, the Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) implemented a large number of programs and worked with an assortment of contracted consultants and organizations on school turnaround efforts. Commissioner Chester provided the most recent brief summary in December of 2014, listing America’s Choice and the District Management Council as the most recent partners, each with particular focus and approach (http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/docs/2015-03/item7-Timeline.pdf). We agree with the assessment that these programs and partners did not produce the intended results, even if these results were narrowly defined as improved standardized scores. Significantly, teachers have been overwhelmed by the quick switches from one program and one partner to the next. Teachers have not been meaningfully consulted about the various approaches based on our expertise and knowledge of our students. These new initiatives have garnered additional resources, often without a public accounting, and a general lack of rigorous outside evaluation. It is in this context that we approach the topic of family and community engagement today, focusing on the Full Service Community School model (FSCS), the District strategy for family and community involvement being implemented at four of our schools so far.

Full Service Community Schools (FSCSs) developed as a strategy of service coordination intended to break down silos and allow for collaboration between agencies serving children at their schools, thus facilitating providing all of the support services children need in one location. Inspired by the success of the Harlem Children’s Zone, championed by the Coalition of Community Schools, and embraced by federal and state education leaders seeking to meet the needs of low-income children, the approach was an attractive one for reform-minded school administrators and their community partners in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The Harlem Children’s Zone approach has been difficult to replicate in other locations around the country because it was an intensive one that involved working with children before they entered school. The approach began by engaging the parents or caretakers in the home and obtaining support services for families very early in the children’s lives, and most distinctly, by delineating a specific concentrated geographic area for concentrated delivery of coordinated services. Children 0-3 and their parents participated in Baby College; children from 3 to 5 years of age in the Path to Promise program, and only children winning With A Brooklyn Accent: How the Community Schools Concept Was Implemented in Holyoke, Mass- A Critique. Guest Post by Gus Morales:

Thompson: Project Fatherhood - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: Project Fatherhood:

Thompson: Project Fatherhood

When writing her excellent Project Fatherhood, the UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap exposed herself to a daunting risk. Leap accepted a degree of physical danger but it was the professional risk that could have been intimidating. Leap defied academic convention and spoke honestly about race, family, child-rearing, domestic abuse and, even, the “P-stuff” or post-traumatic shock.

Much of the credit for Project Fatherhood’s open and candid discussion of some of the 3^rd rails of social policy must go to “Big Mike” Cummings, who guided her and the quest they shared with felons and fathers in Watts. Big Mike was exceptionally astute in coaxing the project’s participants into an honest appraisal of the causes and the effects of domestic abuse, as well as fathers not holding up their share of family responsibilities.

Scholars and educators often shy away from the issues tackled by Leap and Big Mike, and correctly argue that it is not just fathers - of whatever backgrounds - who have failed our kids. The horrific conditions of the inner city are a legacy of history, of economic exploitation and oppression, and of abusive political and criminal justice systems. It is often feared that a conversation about child-rearing will be seen as “blaming the victim” or excuse-making.

We cannot improve inner city schools without building trusting relationships, however, and neither can we establish those bonds with students and patrons without dialogues about fatherhood. As Leap writes, “These men – who routinely used guns and dealt drugs and brutalized women and went to prison and had no clue how to father their own children – needed first to be fathered themselves.”

One of the first things that an inner city teacher seeking to build relationships should learn is that students will test them. It should be clear that much of the chronic disorder of urban classrooms is due to high-risk kids acting out their pain. A crucial reason is less obvious, however, and it is made much more understandable by the chapter entitled “Are You Gonna Leave Us, Too?” Teachers aren’t being tested to see if we are tough enough; students, like their fathers before them, want to see whether mentors are “for real.” These fathers also doubt whether outsiders, who may seek to do good, will care enough to stick it out when the going gets rough.

The key lesson of the chapter “Big Mama” should be equally apparent to teachers and social workers, but the way that Big Mike and Leap drew out the fathers produced an incredibly nuanced explanation of why the fathers pass on contradictory attitudes towards the women in their lives. On one hand, the normative mentality was illuminated by the father who observed, “My daddy hit my mama, and my stepdaddy hit my mama, I guess I was used to it.”

But, men (and male students) who perpetuate a cycle of violence towards women have very different feelings about their mothers. Project Fatherhood explains how and why “no one utters a negative word about his mother.” The universal commitment to each person’s own mother is the “protected territory of the hearts, demilitarized zone in lives of conflict.” But, this attitude also helps pass down a simplistic mentality among people in the hood that is the mirror image of the quick fix mentality of too many education and social policy advocates. “What’s really wrong with Watts,” it is maintained, “is we don’t have any more big mamas and grannies to take care of our kids.”

After decades of wrestling with the challenges of the inner city, I still can’t completely understand why sincere education reformers and social activists have been so allergic to open communication about the deep wounds produced by families cracking under the stresses of poverty, racism, and inequality. Teens certainly want to discuss these issues that frighten adults. As Father Greg Boyle This Week In Education: Thompson: Project Fatherhood:

A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement | deutsch29

A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement | deutsch29:

A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement

Jennifer Berkshire

I do believe I just read the best piece of journalism to date regarding the stunning community disenfranchisement brought about by test-driven school reform in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Published on August 03, 2015, in Salon, the article is entitled, “Reform” makes Broken New Orleans Schools Worse: Race, Charters, testing, and the Real Story After Katrina,” and it is written by my very capable colleague, Jennifer Berkshire.

What one discovers is what is common sense tho those not vested in marketing the marvels of test-score-driven corporate reform:

No fabricated or real test score gains can cleanse (much less heal) the festering sore that is the disenfranchised New Orleans community.

One might as well put expensive band-aids on a cancer and call it “problem solved” as to believe the narrative that It’s Ten Years After Katrina and New Orleans Is Making Progress.

In her Salon article, Berkshire illustrates as much remarkably well.

I am pleased to offer readers an excerpt and to encourage continued reading via a link at the end:

Here is all you need to know about the New Orleans schools before Hurricane Katrina hit, 10 years ago this summer: They were awful. The schools were awful, the school board was awful, the central office was awful—all of them were awful. At a recent conference held to tout the progress made by the schools here since Katrina, Scott Cowan, an early proponent of the all-charter-school model that exists here now, described New Orleans’ pre-storm schools as mired in “unprecedented dysfunction.” In other words, they were awful.
The problem with a story like this isn’t just that it leaves out anything that doesn’t fit but that it can be hard to contain once it gets going. Before long, this “awfulizing narrative,” as it was described to me more than once during the 10 days I recently spent in New Orleans, spread past the school yards and central offices, sweeping up in its wake parents, children, indeed the whole hot mess that is New Orleans. The awful story was at the root of the decision to fire 7,000 teachers after the storm, the majority of whom were black New Orleanians and the backbone of the city’s middle class. It is the reason why so few locals can be found among the ranks of education reform groups here. And it is a rarely acknowledged justification for the long school day favored by charters here—10, even 12 hours when you factor in the cross-city bus trips that a choice landscape necessitates.
“When you start from the point of view that the communities these kids come from are broken, then the goal becomes to keep kids away from them as
A Remarkable Piece of Journalism on Post-Katrina New Orleans School “Reform” Community Disenfranchisement | deutsch29: