Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/29/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ignite Yourself (or something like that)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ignite Yourself (or something like that):  Ignite Yourself (or something like that)I normally don't publicize events or Ed Lab stories from the Times.  (We're not fans of each other and I'll leave it at that although I have enjoyed working with a number of ed reporters there.)But, in the interest of my readers perhaps having a great public education idea AND wantin

by mike simpson / 1h 

Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble - State EdWatch - Education Week

Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble - State EdWatch - Education Week: Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political TroubleTennessee's state-run Achievement School District, which takes over low-performing schools and either runs them directly or hands them over to charter organizations, has run into partisan political trouble.Several Democratic state lawmakers said Mon

by mike simpson / 1h 

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO - The Washington Post

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO - The Washington Post: Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEOSome education activists are furious at Rex Tillerson, the chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, for remarks he made about public schools — and one activist teachers organization is calling for a boycott of the petroleum giant.Tillerson’s 2014 comments

by mike simpson / 3h 

What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools | Seattle Education

What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools | Seattle Education: What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schoolsIn response to my post on the Broad Foundation spending millions to force the Los Angeles Unified School District into converting at least 50% of public schools in the district into charter schools, a Seattle teacher posted the follow

by mike simpson / 4h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS: Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLSBy Jill Tucker, Educataion Writer, San Francisco Chronicle | http://sfchron.cl/1NOJHPgPhoto: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Melissa Iglesias (l to r), 15; Abel Regalado, 16; and Vanessa Martinez

by mike simpson / 4h 

Find Your Opt Out Group in FL | The Opt Out Florida Network

Find Your Opt Out Group in FL | The Opt Out Florida Network: Find Your Opt Out Group in FLDon’t See a Link on Your School District?Contact Us to Start an Opt Out group in your Area!Follow us on Facebook!AlachuaBayBradfordBrevardBrowardCalhounCharlotteCitrusClayCollier ColumbiaDeSotoDixieDuvalEscambiaFlaglerFranklinGadsdenGilchristGladesGulfHamiltonHardeeHendryHernandoHighlandsHillsboroughHolmesInd

by mike simpson / 5h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Diagnosing Rahm Emanuel: Does he have 'affluenza'?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Diagnosing Rahm Emanuel: Does he have 'affluenza'?: Diagnosing Rahm Emanuel: Does he have 'affluenza'?No citizen is a second-class citizen in the city of Chicago. If my children are treated one way, every child is treated the same way. -- Rahm's tearful apologiaDon Rose, a long-time activist/critic/observer of the Chicago political scene, thinks Rahm Emanuel is suffe

by mike simpson / 5h 

Holiday Retailers Staffed with NC Teachers / Public News Service

Holiday Retailers Staffed with NC Teachers / Public News Service: Holiday Retailers Staffed with NC TeachersRALEIGH, N. C. – During your holiday shopping, you may have bumped into your child's teacher working in a seasonal retail job. According to many teachers, in most cases it's not just to earn mad money or take advantage of an employee discount. The average teacher's salary in North Carolina i

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Best Way To Honor Tamir Rice is by Reforming Our Broken Justice System | gadflyonthewallblog

The Best Way To Honor Tamir Rice is by Reforming Our Broken Justice System | gadflyonthewallblog: The Best Way To Honor Tamir Rice is by Reforming Our Broken Justice SystemMichael Brown – no indictment.Eric Garner – no indictment.Sandra Bland – no indictment.And now Tamir Rice.How many times will our justice system refuse to charge police with killing unarmed black people?What will it take for our

by mike simpson / 7h 

Ed Reform Groundhog Day | Save Maine Schools

Ed Reform Groundhog Day | Save Maine Schools: Ed Reform Groundhog DayDuring a conversation about education reform at a holiday party I attended last week, a long-time high school teacher said to me, “You’ll see as you get more years of experience.  You start to feel like: haven’t we seen this already?”I laughed and said it’s like that cliché you always hear about insanity: doing the same thing ove

by mike simpson / 7h 

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools – so, close the schools?

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools – so, close the schools?: Guest Post: Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools – so, close the schools?Students walk the halls at De Burgos Elementary School. (Emma Lee/WHYY)by Daun KauffmanDaun Kauffman is  North Philadelphia public school teacher. This article is posted on his blog  LucidWitness.comDecember 28, 2015 The Pennsyl

by mike simpson / 7h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Common Core Revealed: the Bad and the Ugly (Jury's out on the Good)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Common Core Revealed: the Bad and the Ugly (Jury's out on the Good): Common Core Revealed: the Bad and the Ugly (Jury's out on the Good)Fortune MagazineFortune magazine has a special report that came out this week on Common Core -Business Gets Schooled. It provides a window into the thinking of big business and public education and folks, it is, by turns, sad and h

by mike simpson / 7h 

Will Charter face Class Action Lawsuit? | Cloaking Inequity

Will Charter face Class Action Lawsuit? | Cloaking Inequity: Will Charter face Class Action Lawsuit?Will a prominent corporate charter school chain face a class action lawsuit for their alleged refusal to serve special education students?I first blogged about BASIS in the post What BASIS?: Nepotism and aggrandizement in charters? At the time, I included Charter School Scandals uncovered special re

by mike simpson / 7h 

Jersey Jazzman: Corporate Education Reform Gets a Stranglehold On the Media

Jersey Jazzman: Corporate Education Reform Gets a Stranglehold On the Media: Corporate Education Reform Gets a Stranglehold On the MediaFortune magazine as a big, new article about the Common Core State Standards out this week. I first got wind of it from Julie Borst, who was as stunned as I was at the hubris of this quote from Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson:“I’m not sure public schools understand that w

by mike simpson / 7h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Randi & Lily: Why all the smoke-and-mirrors about new law's opt-out provisions?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Randi & Lily: Why all the smoke-and-mirrors about new law's opt-out provisions?: Randi & Lily: Why all the smoke-and-mirrors about new law's opt-out provisions?ESSA allows parents to opt a student out of required assessments for any reason. -- AFTESSA maintains the right of parents to opt their children out of statewide academic assessments and allows states

by mike simpson / 8h 

Preschool Without Walls - The New York Times

Preschool Without Walls - The New York Times: Preschool Without WallsSEATTLE — Three-year-old Desi Sorrelgreen’s favorite thing about his preschool is “running up hills.” His classmate Stelyn Carter, 5, likes to “be quiet and listen to birds — crows, owls and chickadees,” as she put it. And for Joshua Doctorow, 4, the best part of preschool just may be the hat he loves to wear to class (black and

by mike simpson / 8h 

CURMUDGUCATION: The Soft Bigotry of Baloney + "Fail"

CURMUDGUCATION: The Soft Bigotry of Baloney: The Soft Bigotry of BaloneyYou may not know Michael Gerson's name, but odds are you know one of his most famous pieces of writing-- "the soft bigotry of low expectations."Well, Gerson was in the New York Times yesterday expressing his displeasure with the new version of ESEA. At the same time, he was serving up the hard baloney of reformster i

by mike simpson / 8h 

With A Brooklyn Accent: What Is The Paper Clip Revolution?

With A Brooklyn Accent: What Is The Paper Clip Revolution?: What Is The Paper Clip Revolution?The paper clip became a symbol of resistance in Nazi Occupied Norway. Thousands of Norwegian teachers who refused to teach the fascist curriculum were sent to prison camps. The resistance of these teachers, as well as over 200,000 parents caused the government to abandon their plan. We as educators have d

by mike simpson / 8h 

1942 Norwegian Teachers’ Nonviolent Resistance to Nazis | PopularResistance.Org

1942 Norwegian Teachers’ Nonviolent Resistance to Nazis | PopularResistance.Org: Got Fascism? 1942 Norwegian Teachers’ Nonviolent Resistance to Nazis Has AnswersAbove Photo: From CreativeResistance.org. Rooftop Revolutionary Pick: Fuck Fascism And Care For The Earth.With bigotry and hatred on the rise in the United States and politicians like Donald Trump giving everyone the nightmares of an Ameri

by mike simpson / 8h 

These 5 education stories will dominate headlines in 2016 - Yahoo Finance

These 5 education stories will dominate headlines in 2016 - Yahoo Finance: These 5 education stories will dominate headlines in 2016(REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis) As 2015 comes to a close, it's becoming clear that certain education stories will heat up over the next year. From a revamped SAT exam to a Supreme Court case that may change college admissions, these are the big education stories to watch.1.

by mike simpson / 8h 

Teacher: What happened when a troubled little boy appeared at my classroom door - The Washington Post

Teacher: What happened when a troubled little boy appeared at my classroom door - The Washington Post: Teacher: What happened when a troubled little boy appeared at my classroom doorHere’s a post that shows the reality of teaching in a high-poverty school in a way that goes beyond the usual policy talking points. This is what teachers and students really deal with — and how a thoughtful teacher de

by mike simpson / 9h 

Education as Told by Charts, Graphs, Videos, and More - The Atlantic

Education as Told by Charts, Graphs, Videos, and More - The Atlantic: Education in 2015 VisualizedSome of the most important issues of the year, from school discipline in elementary schools to students saddled with debt long after graduation. Education issues can be difficult to grasp; they can feel  overwhelming, intangible, or even irrelevant. Sometimes, the best and most effective means of conv

by mike simpson / 9h 

School curricula should not shield students, but let them think for themselves | TheHill

School curricula should not shield students, but let them think for themselves | TheHill: School curricula should not shield students, but let them think for themselvesPrincipal Art Hall of Friends' Central School in Wynnewood, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pa., has decided that Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" should be removed from the school curriculum, presumably because of

by mike simpson / 9h 

Get Ready for the Education Session…Again | Northeast Indiana Public Radio

Get Ready for the Education Session…Again | Northeast Indiana Public Radio: Get Ready for the Education Session…AgainHoosier School Heist TV is Doug Martin's channel featuring videos of his book tour across Indiana speaking on the corporate takeover of public education. Order Hoosier School Heist at http://hoosierschoolheist.com/.Follow Hoosier School Heist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ho

by mike simpson / 9h 

Vital labor case gets more time from Supreme Court - News - Canton Daily Ledger - Canton, IL - Canton, IL

Vital labor case gets more time from Supreme Court - News - Canton Daily Ledger - Canton, IL - Canton, IL: Vital labor case gets more time from Supreme CourtWhen the U.S. Supreme Court last month approved a request from government attorneys to extend time for oral arguments in “Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association” – a case involving the right of public unions to require workers in bargai

by mike simpson / 9h 

Arne Duncan’s Former Spin Master: Lamar Alexander’s ‘Bipartisan’ Education Bill Locks in Common Core - Breitbart

Arne Duncan’s Former Spin Master: Lamar Alexander’s ‘Bipartisan’ Education Bill Locks in Common Core - Breitbart: Arne Duncan’s Former Spin Master: Lamar Alexander’s ‘Bipartisan’ Education Bill Locks in Common CoreThe former assistant Secretary for Communications to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan writes that Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)21%’s enthusiasm for his “bipartisan” education bill – on

by mike simpson / 9h 

Michael Gerson: Bipartisan deal on education costs students | The Sacramento Bee

Michael Gerson: Bipartisan deal on education costs students | The Sacramento Bee: Michael Gerson: Bipartisan deal on education costs studentsPresident Barack Obama shakes hands with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a co-sponsor of the Every Student Succeeds Act, at the bill’s signing on Dec. 10. EVAN VUCCI The Associated PressRead more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article51952870.html#s

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools — so, close the schools? — NewsWorks

Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools — so, close the schools? — NewsWorks: Pennsylvania is failing Philly's schools — so, close the schools?File image: Students walk the halls at De Burgos Elementary School. (Emma Lee/WHYY) The Pennsylvania Senate's effort to amend the PA School Code (H.B. 530), is part of the backroom wrangling over our state budget.Senate amendments to the bill require the s

by mike simpson / 21h hide  //  save

A List of Things I've Learned in 2015 | The Jose Vilson

A List of Things I've Learned in 2015 | The Jose Vilson: A List of Things I’ve Learned in 2015For one, don’t make lists because it makes people reach for things that aren’t there.2015 is the year people forgot some of my titles. I am a full-time teacher at a middle school with a predominantly Dominican-American student body. I am a father to a toddler, a partner to a wonderful woman, a writer for

by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/28/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMSeattle Schools Community Forum: Why I Won't Be Debating Charter Schools for the Next Couple of MonthsSeattle Schools Community Forum: Why I Won't Be Debating Charter Schools for the Next Couple of Months: Why I Won't Be Debating Charter Schools for the Next Couple of MonthsLately at the blog, my observation is that much of the discussion around charter schools is about whether

by mike simpson / 23h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ignite Yourself (or something like that)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ignite Yourself (or something like that):

 Ignite Yourself (or something like that)

I normally don't publicize events or Ed Lab stories from the Times.  (We're not fans of each other and I'll leave it at that although I have enjoyed working with a number of ed reporters there.)

But, in the interest of my readers perhaps having a great public education idea AND wanting to get it out there, here's the details on an upcoming Times event.  Basically, you send in an idea for a 5-minute talk/slideshow.  

That’s why we’re holding an event we’re calling Ignite Education Lab. We’re asking you to pitch us your best, most thought-provoking idea for a five-minute talk about your experiences with education.

Not familiar with the Ignite format? Since 2006, Ignite Seattle has held nearly 30 events that bring together Seattleites for fast-paced, five-minute talks on topics ranging from “Fighting Dirty in Scrabble” to “How Science is Destroying my Childhood” to “Surviving as an Introvert in an Extroverted World.” Ignite presenters use 20 slides with each slide timed to appear for 15 seconds.

Ignite Education Lab
When: Thursday, Jan 21, 2016; Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and event begins at 7 p.m.
Where: Town Hall Seattle
Cost: There are a limited number of individual and group tickets available for free.
How: Click here to RSVP 

I had planned to go but I am speaking at another event on the SPS levies and public education funding in Washington state.  Details to come.Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ignite Yourself (or something like that):

Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble - State EdWatch - Education Week

Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble - State EdWatch - Education Week:

Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble

Tennessee's state-run Achievement School District, which takes over low-performing schools and either runs them directly or hands them over to charter organizations, has run into partisan political trouble.

Several Democratic state lawmakers said Monday they will propose bills this upcoming legislative session to either shut down the turnaround district, which mostly is based in Memphis, or severely limit its authority to take over schools. Citing a recent Vanderbilt University study, the politicians said district-led turnaround efforts in Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville have academically outpaced the state's and that until the state-run district can begin to show academic progress, it shouldn't be allowed to take over more schools. 

"The ASD should go back to its original goal and refocus on intense intervention at a small number of schools," state Rep. Brenda Gilmore, chairwoman of the Black Caucus of State Legislators said during a press conference Monday.

Party caucus leaders echoed that sentiment on Twitter.  

Couldn't be there in person, but I stand w/ Chairlady Gilmore & the Black Caucus. #TNLeg #TNEdu #EducationMatters https://t.co/H2K0ESDwlX

— Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (@craigfitzhugh) December 28, 2015

Democrats don't have much political sway in the state's Republican-controlled legislature, and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam and his appointed commissioner Candice McQueen said recently that they still support the turnaround initiative, which was created under the state's waiver from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. Several bills were proposed last year to limit or shut down the ASD though only one actually passed. That bill limited the ASD to taking over schools that have failed to make any academic improvement.  

"The ASD is one of multiple strategies to reach students in our lowest-performing schools, and we have seen schools perform better the longer they're in the ASD," a statement from Haslam's office said.

In recent weeks, the state-run district's takeover process has led to loud parking lot shouting matches and rowdy protests in several impoverished communities on the north and south end of Memphis. Shelby County Schools district leaders, which operate Memphis schools, have aggressively fought to pull students from the ASD to avoid funding cuts associated with a decreased enrollment. The Shelby County Schools board last month signed a resolution this month for the legislature to place a moratorium on the district. 

Within the ASD, enrollment at several of the 27 schools has lagged, and YES Prep Public Schools, a nationally ranked charter operator based in Houston, abruptly abandoned its efforts to expand in Memphis after its leaders said they wouldn't be able to meet enrollment projections. 

Academically, the district's charter operators in Memphis have struggled to cope with the city's entrenched poverty and the abnormally high mobility rate of its student body. Leaders have alsostruggled to hire and retain quality and experienced teachers.  Its superintendent, Chris Barbic, resigned this month. 

Just days after Vanderbilt released its study in early December comparing the state-led and district-led turnaround efforts, the state took over four more schools. Parents involved in the Tennessee's State-Run District Runs Into Political Trouble - State EdWatch - Education Week:

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO - The Washington Post

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO - The Washington Post:

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO

Some education activists are furious at Rex Tillerson, the chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, for remarks he made about public schools — and one activist teachers organization is calling for a boycott of the petroleum giant.

Tillerson’s 2014 comments were part of a new Fortune magazine article about the Common Core State Standards, titled “Business Gets Schooled,” that details the involvement of big corporations in the Core initiative, saying, “In truth, Common Core might not exist without the corporate community.” In the article, Facebook founder Bill Gates is described at one point as attempting to persuade Charles Koch to stop funding right-wing groups who were fighting the Core — an expression of how surprised business leaders were when the right began to oppose the Core.

[How Bill Gates pulled off the Common Core revolution]

The article, by Peter Elkind, is subtitled “When Exxon Mobil, GE, Intel, and others pushed for the education standards, they incurred the wrath of Tea Party conservatives and got a painful lesson in modern politics.” It says in part:

It was a strange thing indeed to hear Rex Tillerson, CEO of Texas-based Exxon Mobil, bemoaning his impotence at a 2014 panel discussion in Washington, D.C.  But such is the frustration of serving on the frontline in this war. Like other CEOs engaged in education reform, Tillerson sees high national standards as a “business imperative.” Companies simply can’t find enough skilled American workers.

But Tillerson articulates his view in a fashion unlikely to resonate with the average parent. “I’m not sure public schools understand that we’re their customer—that we, the business community, are your customer,” said Tillerson during the panel discussion. “What they don’t understand is they are producing a product at the end of that high school graduation.”

The Exxon CEO didn’t hesitate to extend his analogy. “Now is that product in a form that we, the customer, can use it? Or is it 

Why education activists are furious at ExxonMobil’s CEO - The Washington Post:

Dear Mr. Tillerson of ExxonMobil: ‘Please leave our children alone’

Here is a letter to Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil’s chairman and chief executive, from veteran educator Carol Burris, in response to remarks he made about public schools, which are described in full in the previous post.

The remarks were included in a Fortune magazine story on the Common Core  entitled, “Business Gets Schooled,” in which author Peter Elkind chronicles in detail the involvement of big business in the development of the Common Core State Standards, as well as the lengths to which prominent individuals, including Bill Gates, have gone to sell the Common Core to politicians and the public.

In Elkind’s story, Tillerson emerges as a new character in the Common Core battle, one who threatens politicians who do not support the Common Core.Tillerson, who will be mandated to retire within the next few years, refused to speak with Elkind.

Using Tillerson’s public remarks, Elkind attributes the following to the CEO:

 “I’m not sure public schools understand that we’re their customer—that we, the business community, are your customer,” said Tillerson during the panel discussion. “What they don’t understand is they are producing a product at the end of that high school graduation…Now is that product in a form that we, the customer, can use it? Or is it defective, and we’re not interested?” American schools, Tillerson declared, “have got to step up the performance level—or they’re basically turning out defective products that have no future. Unfortunately, the defective products are human beings. So it’s really serious. It’s tragic. But that’s where we find ourselves today.”

Here is the letter Burris wrote in response to these comments:

 Dear Mr. Tillerson,

Please leave our children alone. We do not need you to develop them as products. They are neither kerogen nor shale.

Your Dickensian thinking has been “outed” and this holiday season, you are as welcome as the ghost of Christmas past. The common-folk for whom the Core you adore was designed, do not like it—only 24 percent of public school parents want it used in their school. And they certainly do not like to hear their children referred to as “defective products.” Mr. Tillerson, you have made the mommies and daddies mad.

I understand their reaction must confound you. In a world in  Dear Mr. Tillerson of ExxonMobil: ‘Please leave our children alone’

What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools | Seattle Education

What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools | Seattle Education:

What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools

In response to my post on the Broad Foundation spending millions to force the Los Angeles Unified School District into converting at least 50% of public schools in the district into charter schools, a Seattle teacher posted the following.

All of the information cited can be found online at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Awarded Grants page.

Can you imagine how our public schools could benefit from such a largesse?

From my Facebook page:

Sounds suspiciously like the Gates Foundation spending at least $52,000,000trying to force charters down our state’s throat in the last three years. I recently looked at Gates grants, and these are the ones directly tied to WA (certainly there is other Gates funding directed at WA, but buried in other grants to national orgs, etc.) Just as in LA, this money goes to building charter infratructure and influencing the legislature and the public.

Summit Schools – to provide support to Summit Schools, CREATE [caps mine] Summit Washington and LAUNCH two charter 9-12s and one charter 6-12 – $8,000,000

Pacific Charter School Development, Inc – to support facility needs of WA charters – $4,000,000

Washington State Charter Assoc.- to support charters in WA – $6,350,000 (2014)

WSCSA – to build capacity for charters $4,200,000 (2013)

Puget Sound Educational Service District – consult on SpEd in charters – $250,000

PSESD – to support the development and implementation of and to provide back office support and operations support services for WA charters – $200,000

Craft3, Ilwaco WA (?!) – to support charter school facility development for low income children – $2,000,000

Washington Charter School Development, Inc, Seattle – to support the facility needs of What Bill Gates has spent so far in our state to support charter schools | Seattle Education:

4LAKids - Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS:

Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS

By Jill Tucker, Educataion Writer, San Francisco Chronicle | http://sfchron.cl/1NOJHPg

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Melissa Iglesias (l to r), 15; Abel Regalado, 16; and Vanessa Martinez, 15, all students at ARISE High School register at the XQ roadshow on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 in Oakland, Calif. 

December 28, 2015 Updated: December 28, 2015 5:09pm   ::  A national contest with a $50 million prize pool and a billionaire backer has spurred teams across the country to reinvent the American high school, overhauling an antiquated model that hasn’t changed in 100 years.

At least five winners will each get about $10 million over five years to make their schools come to life. The competition hopes to stimulate out-of-the-box thinking, with the eight-figure award luring public, private and nonprofit contestants, including San Francisco Unified School District, to vie for the money offered up by Palo Alto heiress Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

“In towns and cities far and wide, teams will be rethinking and building public schools that prepare students for the rigorous challenges of college, jobs, and life,” according to the contest literature from XQ: The Super School Project.

If the sales pitch sounds familiar, it’s because cash-prize contests to spur school reform are not new, having been bolstered by several philanthropic billionaires and a couple of U.S. presidents — often with less-than-stellar results. Yet, the contests continue, with cash-starved schools lining up to compete.

The XQ contest — like IQ, but with an X-factor — is funded by Powell Jobs through her nonprofit Emerson Collective, which advocates for social issues like education and immigration reform.

‘Wherever life takes them’

The $50 million has pushed her effort into high-profile territory, prompting hundreds of teams to work on entries that are due in February, with at least five winners expected to be announced in August. The competitors represent both traditional and charter schools, and their new or revamped programs would then launch the following fall.

“Imagine a learning environment you can’t see today that brings the best of technology, the best of teaching, that truly prepares young people to make choices, to be ready for wherever life takes them after high school,” said Russlyn Ali, chief executive of the XQ Institute.

The country’s high schools were last transformed in the early 1900s to accommodate the industrial revolution and factory work. That new system required students to spend an hour a day in each course, a standardization of education based on time spent in classroom seats. That’s a problem, Powell Jobs said at the September launch of the contest.

“Nearly every aspect of our daily lives — from how we communicate to how we work and play — has changed dramatically,” she said. “But our high schools have stayed frozen in time.”
While the contest leaves the door wide open to the kinds of changes teams can propose, several themes have popped up in the concepts submitted and reviewed by XQ officials in4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Here we go again: BILLIONAIRE'S $50 MILLION CONTEST AIMS TO MODERNIZE HIGH SCHOOLS: