Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/10/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please' : NPR Ed : NPR

A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please' : NPR Ed : NPR: A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please'Any classroom can get out of control from time to time. But one unique teaching method empowers teachers to stop behavior problems before they begin.You can see No-Nonsense Nurturing, as it's called, first-hand at Druid Hills Academy Charlotte, NC."Your pencil

by mike simpson / 1h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents): Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents)I say "good luck" only because I read this thing twice and the level of detail that you are supposed to track and follow is hard to believe.  Anyone new to this district and its AL system would be scratching their head.From the district:The Advanced Learning offi

by mike simpson / 2h 

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah JardineAn Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine Dear Parent,I write this to you on this night because you're on my mind. You live in Detroit and you send your child to Detroit Public Schools. You trust me everyday with your children. I feel that I owe you an apology. I apologize because I should have stood up. I kept quiet as

by mike simpson / 5h 

NYC Public School Parents: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!

NYC Public School Parents: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!Please send your own letter to the Commissioner, the Regents and Legislative leaders to halt this new student data collection and disclosure by clicking here.  Tha

by mike simpson / 6h 

Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM | VAMboozled!

Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM | VAMboozled!: Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAMRecall from a prior post that a set of teachers in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), with the support of the Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT) are taking their district to federal court t

by mike simpson / 6h 

Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does? - The Washington Post

Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does? - The Washington Post: Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does?The Supreme Court (The Associated Press)On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that holds important implications for organized lab

by mike simpson / 6h 

Marie Corfield: No armed police in my school, please

Marie Corfield: No armed police in my school, please: No armed police in my school, please"It'll be a sad day for this country if children can safely attend their classes only under the protection of armed guards." ~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower  On January 8th, NJ.com reported:A bill before the state Legislature would create a new category of police officer, stationing armed, retired

by mike simpson / 6h 

From Compassionate Schools To A Compassionate Society | PopularResistance.Org

From Compassionate Schools To A Compassionate Society | PopularResistance.Org: From Compassionate Schools To A Compassionate SocietyThis is the 4th and final post in a series on childhood trauma. In the 1st post, I expose my personal reasons for being an example in this struggle to create Compassionate Schools. In the 2nd post, I tell the stories of how children who have walked through my classroo

by mike simpson / 7h 

GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH BRONX ENLIGHTENED THIS “WHITE SHADOW”. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH BRONX ENLIGHTENED THIS “WHITE SHADOW”. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing: GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH BRONX ENLIGHTENED THIS “WHITE SHADOW”.WARNING: URBAN LANGUAGE  AHEADWilliam Wordsworth wrote in his famous poem, TheRainbow, “The child is the father of the man.” It sure applies to me.I went to kindergarten in PS 96, the Bronx. At the time it was in the mostly Jewish Pelham

by mike simpson / 7h 

Jersey Jazzman: Can We Please Get the Facts Right About Newark's Schools?

Jersey Jazzman: Can We Please Get the Facts Right About Newark's Schools?: Can We Please Get the Facts Right About Newark's Schools?Let me start by saying I like David Kirp's work enormously; I think everyone who cares about education policy should read Improbable Scholars, a detailed and thoroughly readable piece of qualitative research about school reform in Union City, NJ. I have some issues wi

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: NC: Covering Charter Butts

CURMUDGUCATION: NC: Covering Charter Butts: NC: Covering Charter ButtsThis week, reporter Ann Doss Helms of the Charlotte Observer and Lynn Bonner of the News & Observer both offered accounts of a striking example of 'how the sausage is made" and how public officials make sure that the sausage carries a nice chartery taste.Wednesday was the day to present the state department of public in

by mike simpson / 8h 

Connecticut’s historic school funding trial finally begins next week - Wait What?

Connecticut’s historic school funding trial finally begins next week - Wait What?: Connecticut’s historic school funding trial finally begins next weekAs Connecticut education advocate and columnist, Wendy Lecker, reports in her latest commentary piece in the Stamford Advocate, Connecticut’s children finally get day in court.Of the many disappointments that have arisen since Governor Dannel Malloy

by mike simpson / 8h 

Details on the Success Academy “Got to Go List” Lawsuit | deutsch29

Details on the Success Academy “Got to Go List” Lawsuit | deutsch29: Details on the Success Academy “Got to Go List” LawsuitSuccess Academy Fort Greene (SAFG) opened in the 2013-14 school year as an elementary school with grades K-1, with the intention of adding a grade each year until the school served grades K-4.An archived SAFG web page from March 27, 2014, features SAFG’s first principal, form

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

On Professionalism and Good Intentions: More on Education and Journalism | the becoming radical

On Professionalism and Good Intentions: More on Education and Journalism | the becoming radical: On Professionalism and Good Intentions: More on Education and JournalismWhile journalist Nichole Dobo has not corresponded with me since I posted Dear Journalists Covering Education, Let Me Explain, Dobo has posted a Tweet I believe deserves additional consideration:@yikesers With all due respect, I do

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Lead Poisoning and “No Excuses”

Lead Poisoning and “No Excuses”: Lead Poisoning and “No Excuses”It is appalling to hear about the situation in Flint, Michigan where lead has been pouring into the drinking cups of children for months. Lead is known to cause serious health problems, including cognitive disorders and learning disabilities. The effects can last, and most exposed children will need special education.And, if the trend

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

How to Fix the Country’s Failing Schools. And How Not To. - The New York Times

How to Fix the Country’s Failing Schools. And How Not To. - The New York Times: How to Fix the Country’s Failing Schools. And How Not To.A QUARTER-CENTURY ago, Newark and nearby Union City epitomized the failure of American urban school systems. Students, mostly poor minority and immigrant children, were performing abysmally. Graduation rates were low. Plagued by corruption and cronyism, both dist

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Yong Zhao: What Easter Island’s colossal stone statues teach about the dangers of modern school reform WaPo

What Easter Island’s colossal stone statues teach about the dangers of modern school reform - The Washington Post: What Easter Island’s colossal stone statues teach about the dangers of modern school reformEASTER ISLAND, CHILE: A tourist walks behind a platform with seven huge statues (moais in Rapa Nui language), the only ones facing the sea, in Ahu Akivi in Easter Island, 3700 km off the coast o

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Christie: Teachers union ‘single most destructive force’ in education | TheHill

Christie: Teachers union ‘single most destructive force’ in education | TheHill: Christie: Teachers union ‘single most destructive force’ in educationNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says real education reform is impossible as long as teachers unions remain a powerful force for the status quo.“The single most destructive force for public education in this country is the teachers union,” Christie

by mike simpson / 9h 

Editorial: Good news for charter schools - Spokesman.com - Jan. 10, 2016

Editorial: Good news for charter schools - Spokesman.com - Jan. 10, 2016: Editorial: Good news for charter schoolsCharter schools still have a fighting chance, thanks to two bipartisan bills in the Legislature, some creative thinking and a timely grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.We support the schools because they provide an outlet for innovation and a learning environment for stud

by mike simpson / 9h 

Out of Options, California Ships Hundreds of Troubled Children Out of State | Alternet

Out of Options, California Ships Hundreds of Troubled Children Out of State | Alternet: Out of Options, California Ships Hundreds of Troubled Children Out of StateOne 14-year-old boy’s search for care takes him to Utah as his home state struggles to safeguard its most challenging children.At 14, Deshaun Becton’s life is a roadmap to California’s faltering efforts to care for its most troubled chil

by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

BATs LEGISLATIVE ACTION TEAM WEEKLY UPDATE - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association: BATs LEGISLATIVE ACTION TEAM WEEKLY UPDATENATIONAL LEVELOn Monday, January 11th the Supreme Court will hear Friedrichs vs. CTA.  In a nutshell, if the Court rules in favor of Friedrichs we will become a RIGHT TO WORK NATION.  It is important that we all spread the word about this.  Here are some materials that you can share which describe what this case is really about

3 by mike simpson / 20h 

How Standardized Testing is Contributing to the Rise in Charter Schools – Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance

How Standardized Testing is Contributing to the Rise in Charter Schools – Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance: How Standardized Testing is Contributing to the Rise in Charter SchoolsMore and more charter schools are appearing around the country, and in many cities, such as in Philadelphia (alternet), they are replacing public schools that have been shutdown.  For the most part, these school c

1 by mike simpson / 21h 

Are Charter Schools Todays Version of Sub Prime Mortgages? - YouTube

Are Charter Schools Todays Version of Sub Prime Mortgages? - YouTube: Are Charter Schools Todays Version of Sub Prime Mortgages? Mark Naison debunks Charter School mythology in this episode of Education News. Comparing the Charter School explosion to the subprime mortgage collapse, Naison reveals the startling failures and false promises of the Charter mystique.Are Charter Schools Todays Version o

1 by mike simpson / 21h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/9/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM"Gaslighting & Turnaround Schools" by Peggy Robertson from Peg With Pen - Garn Press"Gaslighting & Turnaround Schools" by Peggy Robertson from Peg With Pen - Garn Press: “Gaslighting & Turnaround Schools” by Peggy Robertson from Peg With Pen“Gaslighting & Turnaround Schools” by Peggy Robertson from Peg With PenBy Peggy Robertson| Originally po

by mike simpson / 1d 

A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please' : NPR Ed : NPR

A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please' : NPR Ed : NPR:

A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please'

Any classroom can get out of control from time to time. But one unique teaching method empowers teachers to stop behavior problems before they begin.

You can see No-Nonsense Nurturing, as it's called, first-hand at Druid Hills Academy Charlotte, NC.

"Your pencil is in your hand. Your voice is on zero. If you got the problem correct, you're following along and checking off the answer. If you got the problem incorrect, you are erasing it and correcting it on your paper."

Math teacher Jonnecia Alford has it down pat. She then describes to her sixth graders what their peers are doing.

"Vonetia's looking at me. Denario put her pencil down, good indicator. Monica put hers down and she's looking at me."

In No-Nonsense Nurturing, directions are often scripted in advance and praise is kept to a minimum. The method is, in part, the brainchild of former school principal Kristyn Klei Borrero. She's now CEO of the Center for Transformative Teacher Training, an education consulting company based in San Francisco.

Klei Borrero says the foundation of the program isn't new. It just puts into practice what she's observed from high-performing teachers. That is, keeping expectations high by only praising outstanding effort.

"It notices students who are doing the right thing. It creates this positive momentum, but also gives the students who might have missed the directions another way of hearing it without being nagging, and also seeing it in action," says Klei Borrero.

The center has worked with more than 250 schools across the country since 2009. Many of those are charter schools, but some are traditional public schools in places like Denver and Cleveland. All of them have similar populations: students from low-income families, many of them black and Hispanic. Nine of those schools are in Charlotte.

No-Nonsense Nurturing makes some education specialists uncomfortable, though. "Maybe we are doing them a favor by teaching them codes of power, but maybe we're also participating in some kind of, I don't know, colonization," says Barb Stengel, an education professor at Vanderbilt University. "We're simply teaching kids to look like me."

She worries there's too much emphasis on compliance, not engagement.

School leaders in Charlotte say No-Nonsense Nurturing gives their students structure A 'No-Nonsense' Classroom Where Teachers Don't Say 'Please' : NPR Ed : NPR:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents):

Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents)

I say "good luck" only because I read this thing twice and the level of detail that you are supposed to track and follow is hard to believe.  Anyone new to this district and its AL system would be scratching their head.

From the district:

The Advanced Learning office will notify families (who referred a child by the Oct. 8 deadline) via email about a child’s eligibility as Cognitive Abilities Test scores are received and processed from late January through February. Families who haven’t received an eligibility email by Feb. 29 should contact Advanced Learning at alsupportanalysts@seattleschools.org with the subject line “Eligibility Letter.”

Important notes:

Enrollment: Families who would like their child to participate in Advanced Learning programs or services in a school other than the attendance-area school should enroll the child duringOpen Enrollment, Feb. 17 to March 1. Families should submit a School Choice Form during this window even if they have NOT received eligibility results by this time.

Ineligible Students and Appeals: Families who wish to appeal must provide all appeals documents no later than THREE WEEKS from the date of the eligibility email. (We have tightened the appeals window in order to accommodate budget and staffing timelines.) 

Eligible Students and Enrollment 

• Highly Capable-eligible students: HC services are guaranteed, Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning Updates (Good luck, parents):

Seattle Schools This Week

It's a fairly busy week in the district.

Monday, Jan. 11th
Curriculum&Instruction meeting, 4:30-6:30 pm, JSCEE.  Agenda

Start of the Washington State legislative session.

Tuesday, Jan. 12th
Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council Meeting, 5:30-7:30 pm, JSCEE 2765
Highlights of agenda include discussion of Sped issues(including restraint and isolation), CTE, annual report on Equitable Access and Instructional Philosphy.  They will also be discussing what the committee's workplan and goals are for the year.

Thursday, Jan. 14th
Audit&Finance Committee, 4:30-6:30 pm, JSCEE.  Agenda not yet available.

Transition Workshop for Sped Parents, 6-8 pm at Old Van Asselt building, 7201 Beacon Ave. S.
This workshop will focus on helping families of children who receive Special Education Services to understand the Transition Process in developing vocational, social, and independent living skills so that they may transition to adult life as productive community members. We are providing this workshop in partnership with Open Doors for Multicultural Families.
Saturday, Jan. 16th - Director Community meetings
Director Geary - Montlake Library from 11 am-1 pm
Director Harris - SW Library from 3:00-4:30 pm

Seattle Schools Community Forum http://bit.ly/1OJ3lxz

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine

 Dear Parent,

I write this to you on this night because you're on my mind. You live in Detroit and you send your child to Detroit Public Schools. You trust me everyday with your children. I feel that I owe you an apology. I apologize because I should have stood up. I kept quiet as they dismantled our schools. I was silent when they took your schools from you. I didn't protest in the streets when they put our schools in State control. I said nothing when they took your democracy. I should be ashamed of myself. I, the teacher you trusted, had power to start a revolution, and fight for you, and I didn't fight back. Tonight, I am going to make you a promise that I won't sit quiet any longer.

You're going to hear in the news, and in the papers, about how I don't care about the students. You're going to hear that taking days for sick-outs is selfish of teachers. I agree I have been selfish but it was my inaction that was selfish. It was me sitting in my position of authority in your children's life and doing nothing to protect them. I am sorry, I let this get so far. I promise that although I want a living wage that is not what brings me to action today. What makes me fighting mad is that your child, who I call "one of my kids", is learning in an environment that is in total chaos. I am sending a message to Michigan politicians that they must sit at the table and legislate to come up with a solution to the financial crisis that they caused.

I am fighting for these demands:

Supplies Art Music Gym Recess/Play space Proper Maintenance Clean Buildings Safe Buildings Interpreters Support Staff Quality Food Programs Class Size Your Democracy

I also want to say that I take offense when the politicians involved in this say that the children go hungry if they don't eat at school. I know you take excellent care of your child and that isn't the case at all. I thank you for everything you do and all of your support. I stand with you as we fight to take back your schools.

Sincerely,
Sarah Jardine
Teacher of Adapted Physical Education for Students with Autism
Detroit Public Schools

An Open Letter to DPS Parents from DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine

NYC Public School Parents: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!

NYC Public School Parents: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!:

Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!

Please send your own letter to the Commissioner, the Regents and Legislative leaders to halt this new student data collection and disclosure by clicking here.  Thanks!

Class Size Matters, the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and NYS Allies for Public Education on Friday wrote Commissioner Elia and the Board of Regents, urging them to put a stop to the new Gates-funded data collection plan until there is more transparency concerning what personally identifiable student and teacher information will be collected, why they are needed, with whom the data will be shared, how they will be stored, and what their ultimate disposition will be, as well as why aggregate anonymous student data is not sufficient.

In addition, the 2014 student privacy law must be fully enforced, including the appointment of a permanent Chief Privacy Officer with expertise in privacy issues, who will develop a Parent Bill of Rights with parent input -- as the law says should have happened by July 29, 2014. There must also be a Stakeholder Advisory Board with representation from parent and privacy organizations to oversee the collection and disposition of personal student data in the NY State's Student Longitudinal Database, including assurances that this data will never be placed in the State Archives, as the state currently plans.

Class Size Matters and NYSAPE Letter to Commissioner Elia and Board of Regents re new student data project

NYC Public School Parents: Please help us put a stop to the new Gates-funded state plan to collect and share personal student data!:

Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM | VAMboozled!

Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM | VAMboozled!:

Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM

Recall from a prior post that a set of teachers in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), with the support of the Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT) are taking their district to federal court to fight for their rights as professionals, and how their value-added scores, derived via the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS), have allegedly violated them. The case, Houston Federation of Teachers, et al. v. Houston ISD, is to officially begin in court early this summer.

More specifically, the teachers are arguing that EVAAS output are inaccurate, the EVAAS is unfair, that teachers are being evaluated via the EVAAS using tests that do not match the curriculum they are to teach, that the EVAAS system fails to control for student-level factors that impact how well teachers perform but that are outside of teachers’ control (e.g., parental effects), that the EVAAS is incomprehensible and hence very difficult if not impossible to actually use to improve upon their instruction (i.e., actionable), and, accordingly, that teachers’ due process rights are being violated because teachers do not have adequate opportunities to change as a results of their EVAAS results.

The EVAAS is the one value-added model (VAM) on which I’ve conducted most of my research, also in this district (see, for example, here, here, here, and here); hence, I along with Jesse Rothstein – Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of California – Berkeley, who also conducts extensive research on VAMs – are serving as the expert witnesses in this case.

Last fall we both submitted our affidavits, which I cannot share now but they will likely be Houston Lawsuit Update, with Summary of Expert Witnesses’ Key Findings about the EVAAS VAM | VAMboozled!:

Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does? - The Washington Post

Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does? - The Washington Post:

Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does?

The Supreme Court (The Associated Press)

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that holds important implications for organized labor. Here’s what it’s about, from a story by my Post colleague Bob Barnes:

The justices will hear a challenge from a group of California teachers who say it violates their First Amendment rights to be forced to pay dues to the state’s teachers union.

The state is one of about 20 in which public employees are required to either join the union or pay a fee to support the union’s collective-bargaining activities. The unions say this is only fair because they are required to negotiate on behalf of all workers, not just their own members.

The non-members are not required to subsidize the union’s political activities, and the Supreme Court approved such a system in 1977, turning down a challenge that it was a violation of the fee-payer’s speech and association rights. But in a 2014 case involving health-care workers from Illinois, four of the court’s conservatives signed onto an opinion from Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. that called the decades-old decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, “questionable on several grounds.” Rebecca Friedrichs and other California teachers have given the majority a clear chance to overrule the precedent.

Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation in Is the Supreme Court about to take aim at teachers unions? And what happens if it does? - The Washington Post: