Will Flint’s Lead Poisoning Wake Us Up to Disaster of State Takeovers and Austerity Budgets? | janresseger

Will Flint’s Lead Poisoning Wake Us Up to Disaster of State Takeovers and Austerity Budgets? | janresseger:

Will Flint’s Lead Poisoning Wake Us Up to Disaster of State Takeovers and Austerity Budgets?

State takeovers of various sorts have been a favorite policy response of governors and state legislatures who seek an efficient solution to the problems of America’s poorest cities and school districts.  The question today is whether the lead poisoning of Flint, Michigan’s water supply and the attempt for months to hide the seriousness of this situation, all under Emergency Manager Darnell Earley—now serving as Emergency Manager of the Detroit Public Schools—will sufficiently awaken the public to the widespread neglect by state governments of so many of our poorest cities and school districts.

Last August, the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools released a major report, Out of Control: The Systematic Disenfranchisement of African American and Latino Communities Through School Takeovers, that traces the state takeovers of school districts and the abrogation of democracy as appointed state overseers commence to manage operations without the usual checks and balances imposed by elected boards of education.  That report describes the long-running New Jersey takeovers of Jersey City (since 1989), Paterson (since 1991), and Newark (since 1995); the Louisiana Recovery District that has fully charterized the New Orleans schools since Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the Tennessee Achievement School District that operates schools in Memphis and now in Nashville; the Michigan Education Achievement Authority by which Governor Rick Snyder has taken over 15 schools in Detroit since 2013; and two new state takeovers in 2015—the takeover of Milwaukee Schools that was logrolled last summer into the Wisconsin state budget, and Arkansas’ takeover of the schools in Little Rock.  The 2015 legislation to enable Ohio to take over Youngstown’s schools was too recent to have been covered in the report, and Nathan Deal’s proposal for a Georgia “Opportunity School District” has passed the legislature but must be affirmed by voters in a referendum in November, 2016.

Additionally, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has the power to appoint emergency fiscal managers for municipalities and school districts deemed to be in financial emergency.  Emergency fiscal managers were first authorized by state law in Michigan in 1988.  In a Will Flint’s Lead Poisoning Wake Us Up to Disaster of State Takeovers and Austerity Budgets? | janresseger:

 

Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Without a Doubt, Say Researchers - NEA Today

Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Without a Doubt, Say Researchers - NEA Today:

Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Without a Doubt, Say Researchers

The accountability pressures ushered in by No Child Left Behind more than decade ago reached into the nation’s kindergarten classrooms, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia. In “Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?”Daphna Bassock, Scott Lathem and Anna Rorem tracked the level of academic focus in kindergarten from 1998 and 2010. While they expected to find some degree of increased attention on the reading and math skills emphasized by the now-replaced NCLB, the researchers were somewhat surprised by the magnitude.

“We’ve seen the kindergarten experience essentially transformed,” says Bassock. “Academic skill-building has really taken center stage in today’s kindergarten classrooms in a way that just wasn’t the case” in the late 1990s.

Many educators and parents are concerned that the heightened focus on academics in kindergarten is accelerating learning at the expense of play and other traditional activities and skills.

There’s nothing wrong obviously with higher expectations, but real concerns persist over how these young students are learning. “We know that early social skills are important predictors of students’ learning trajectories,” Bassok explains. “So our worry is that if done inappropriately, the focus on academics may have really pushed these other kind of learning opportunities aside.”

The researchers compared data from the 1998 and 2010 Early Childhood Studies, which used nationally-representative surveys of kindergarten teachers, to examine how instruction, assessment, expectations and even classroom spaces have changed in kindergarten classrooms.

The frequency of instruction in specific literacy and math skills grew significantly over the 12 year period (see graph below). Ninety-four percent of teachers, for example, reported in 2010 that they taught students how to write sentences on a weekly basis, compared to 67 percent in 1998. Instruction in writing math equations more than doubled over the same period.

A greater focus on academic skills can lead to something else getting pushed out or sidelined. In between 1998 and 2010, music and art declined significantly. The Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Without a Doubt, Say Researchers - NEA Today:

Save Our Schools March – Detroit Teachers “Sick” of Learning and Working Conditions

Save Our Schools March – Detroit Teachers “Sick” of Learning and Working Conditions:

The Deplorable Learning Conditions Of Detroit Public Schools Are Unethical, Not Our Protests

Mr. Earley,

I have been a teacher in Detroit Public Schools for 24 years. I feel the need to respond to some of the comments you madeduring your press conference this week.

You described the actions of protesting teachers as “unethical.” I’m curious, then, how you would characterize the learning conditions of the children of Detroit Public Schools that have existed for years. These deplorable learning conditions happen to also be the teachers’ working conditions.

We deal with unsafe environments — both in the neighborhoods surrounding our schools and often within the schools themselves. Unlike you, students and teachers do not have a driver and security guards. Students who travel to and from school pass numerous abandoned, dangerous buildings and have been robbed, assaulted and raped. Teachers have been victims of violent crimes and have had their vehicles and personal property damaged and/or stolen, sometimes repeatedly. They suffer verbal abuse and some have been assaulted by angry students or parents.

“The children of Detroit have been used as pawns. Their voices have indeed been drowned out. But make no mistake, this has not been done by the teachers.”

Many schools have numerous plumbing problems in the lavatories, drinking fountains and sinks. Many outdated school buildings are crumbling — roofs, floors, windows, doors and locks that are broken or in desperate need of repair. Far too many classrooms are overcrowded, creating conditions that are not even safe, let alone conducive to learning.

Gardner Elementary School (Courtesy of Detroit Federation of Teachers)

I’m wondering where the concern and outrage over that has been? In the past decade, teachers have lent the district almost $10,000 that we now fear we may never get back. We have taken a 10 percent pay cut in a salary that was already significantly Save Our Schools March – Detroit Teachers “Sick” of Learning and Working Conditions:

EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog

EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog:

EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1

 David P. Cleary, chief of staff to Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, has prepared a series of answers to questions I posed about the new “Every Student Succeeds Act.” I am very grateful to have my questions answered by the staff of the Senator who led the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. Instead of speculating about what the law says or means, we can get answers directly from those who drafted the law.

Readers, your comments are welcome, as always, but I ask you to be polite and civil. You may not like the law, but it is a darned sight better than NCLB, the Death Star of American education. It is now up to us as citizens to interact with our elected local and state officials to make the new law work to improve education.

David P. Cleary writes, to begin the discussion:

Diane:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to engage with you and your readers about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As with any new law, there are lots of questions that will take time to play out as the law is implemented both at the federal level and the state and local level.

Chairman Alexander plans vigorous oversight of the implementation of the law with hearings and regular meetings with the administration to ensure that the law is faithfully implemented. It is helpful to know what questions people have so we can work through hearings and oversight to ensure that the law is implemented as written.

One of the driving principles behind Chairman Alexander’s efforts to fix No Child Left Behind was to restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement. This will enable governors, chief state school officers, superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, students, advocates, and the public could grapple with these difficult issues and reach conclusions that work for their state and community.

Most importantly, the new law ends No Child Left Behind’s accountability system and also allows states to move in a different direction, if they choose, from many of the policies of No Child Left Behind and the waivers of the past several years.

In many ways, ESSA is just the beginning of the story because states will now need to figure out what to do with all of this new flexibility and responsibility.

Thanks again for this opportunity.

David

David P. Cleary

Chief of Staff/HELP Committee Staff Director

I will post my question and the response of Senator Alexander’s staff every day for the next nine days.

The response:

1. How will ESSA affect testing? Most educators and parents believe that there is too much testing and they want less of it. What does ESSA do to reduce testing and the high stakes attached to it?

Short answer:

ESSA should significantly affect testing. Through testimony we learned that although the federally required math and reading tests provide valuable information on student learning to teachers, parents, states, and the public, many states and school districts administer many more tests than necessary, largely in part to prepare for the one-time high-stakes tests required under No Child Left Behind. State and school district leaders agree that shorter and fewer tests are needed. For example, we learned that a Fort Myers, Fla., school district gave its students more than 160 tests in preparation for the federal test[s] required under NCLB.

ESSA creates an opportunity for states to reevaluate the amount of tests EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog:

CURMUDGUCATION: CA: Teacher Spanked for Tech Generosity

CURMUDGUCATION: CA: Teacher Spanked for Tech Generosity:
CA: Teacher Spanked for Tech Generosity

A story from California reminding us that reformsters are not responsible for every single stupid thing that school administrations do.

Chowchilla is a small place, located on the highway between Bakersfield and Modesto, just a little north of Fresno. So, not the lush, money-soaked part of California. This story comes from the Modesto Bee.

Union High School English teacher Kim Kutzner thought she could team up with her husband to help her students out, and the two of them bought a reported almost $80,000 worth of used laptops at auction. The mister refurbished the ninety computers and hooked them into a custom-made classroom network. The classroom network has no internet access; Kutzner talks mostly about using the computers for writing projects.

Chowchilla is not a large place, with a population of around 19,000-- counting the population of the men's and women's prisons in town. Otherwise it is an agricultural town, "completely surrounded by farmland and dairies." Free and reduced lunch school population runs around 67%, but with a graduation rate of 92%. The high school has about 950 students, and over 50% of them are Hispanic. The school has some computer labs, but few classrooms have sets. The school has one computer tech and one IT director (whose education includes Evergreen Valley, San Jose State and University of CURMUDGUCATION: CA: Teacher Spanked for Tech Generosity:

SUNY opens probe into charter school over ‘forced out’ students | New York Post

SUNY opens probe into charter school over ‘forced out’ students | New York Post:
SUNY opens probe into charter school over ‘forced out’ students

The State University Charter School Institute has opened a probe into whether a Success Academy charter school in Brooklyn improperly used its disciplinary policy to force out struggling students, The Post has learned.

SUNY — which licenses charter schools — plans to demand more information from the high-performing Success Academy and other charter-school operators about their disciplinary and suspension policies before signing off on new charter applications or renewals.

SUNY officials are responding to a bombshell “Got to Go” list of troubled students kept by Candido Brown, who recently stepped down as principal of Success Academy in Fort Greene.

“Our focus is on making sure that suspensions and discipline are not being used improperly to encourage students to dis-enroll,” institute Director Susan Miller Barker said in a letter to Success Academy chairman Samuel Cole.

Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz said she is confident SUNY will find that Success Academy acted “quickly and decisively” at the Fort Greene school.SUNY opens probe into charter school over ‘forced out’ students | New York Post:

Kindergarten the new first grade? It’s actually worse than that. - The Washington Post

Kindergarten the new first grade? It’s actually worse than that. - The Washington Post:

Kindergarten the new first grade? It’s actually worse than that.

FILE: Kindergarteners Noah Bellamy, L, and Morgan Creek read together during their kindergarten class library visit at Peabody Elementary School on Wednesday, February 25, 2015, in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

There is a newly published study out of the University of Virginia titled, “Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?” (based on a 2014 working paper) which finds, not surprisingly, that it is. This work should not be confused with the the 2009 study  “Crisis in the Kindergarten” from the non-profit Alliance for Childhood which said:

Kindergartners are now under great pressure to meet inappropriate expectations, including academic standards that until recently were reserved for first grade.

Nor should this be confused with a 2004 story that I wrote for The Washington Post that said:

Kindergarten, which is German for “children’s garden,” is serious stuff these days. With half-day programs giving way to full days in state after state, the curriculum once saved for first grade has been pushed down to 5- and 6-year-olds. Nearly 98 percent of youngsters in the United States attend

Yes, we’ve been asking if kindergarten is the new first grade — and declaring that it is — for well over a decade.  It has been years now that academics came to dominate kindergarten as the importance of standardized tests grew in the No Child Left Behind era, and play-based learning receded.

The new study — by Daphna Bassok, Scott Latham and Anna Rorem of the University of Virginia, and published Jan. 7 by  AERA Open, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association — says there  has been until now “surprisingly little empirical evidence about the extent to which kindergarten classrooms have changed over time.” The researchers compared kindergarten and first-grade classrooms between 1998 and 2010 and found that kindergarten classes had become increasingly like first grade.

But anybody following education and visiting classrooms has seen the evidence up close and personal. Five- and six-year-old kids now spend hours Kindergarten the new first grade? It’s actually worse than that. - The Washington Post:

Hilariously honest teacher responses to common student questions

Hilariously honest teacher responses to common student questions:

Hilariously honest teacher responses to common student questions

Being a teacher is one of the most essential and rewarding professions in the world — but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a frustrating job. Like all professions, academia comes with its own set of trials and tribulations; and trying to figure out your own life while contributing to the development of 100 others isn’t the easiest task.

Starring the incredible comediennes of The Katydids, TV Land’s new series Teachers gives a glimpse of what school would look like if teachers were a little more honest in their everyday — and it’s all kinds of hilarious. It can be easy to forget that superhero teachers aren’t always going to be perfect, and the show gives a glimpse of what teachers really talk about when they’re watching over us. We finally get to see the darker side of working at an elementary school — and it’s amazing.

Whether dealing with an extra rowdy class or trying to keep kids from running each other down on the playground, the show proves that teachers truly deserve all the praise in the world for their work. We can’t wait to tune in when it airs Wednesday nights at 11pm on TV Land. But because a huge part of being a teacher is practicing restraint, here are a few commonly asked questions in class — and how teachers would answer them if they were being honest.

1. Do we have homework? Yes. It’s on the blackboard underneath the word “homework,” in all caps and underlined twice.

2. When’s it due? I have no idea why I bother writing all of this on the board.

3. Can I play with this? That is not a toy, so definitely not.Hilariously honest teacher responses to common student questions:

LFC: Charter schools get disproportionate amount of funding - The Santa Fe New Mexican: News

LFC: Charter schools get disproportionate amount of funding - The Santa Fe New Mexican: News:

LFC: Charter schools get disproportionate amount of funding

Though New Mexico’s charter schools only serve 7 percent of the student population, they have received 46 percent of public-school funding increases over the past seven years, Legislative Finance Committee staff members told lawmakers Monday.

The Public Education Department countered that the statistics are explainable because charter school enrollment increased by more than 100 percent during that period, and that the state’s funding formula for schools follows the students.

But the issue could lead legislators to again seek changes in the way the state divvies up education funding to school districts based on the number, grade level and types of students they serve. Students who need extra services, such as special education students and English-language learners, are given more under the formula.

During the hearing at the Capitol, Legislative Finance Committee members discussed whether charter schools receive disproportionate funding. The talk focused on the performance, cost and governance of charter schools.

The funding formula gives additional weight to small schools. That benefits charter schools with smaller enrollments, the staff report says.

“Charter schools dilute the amount of state money available to all public schools through size adjustment program units, enrollment growth, transportation, funding and overall cost per student,” LFC analyst Yann Lussiez told the committee Monday.

But the Public Education Department, in a three-page response to the LFC findings, countered that “districts receiving small school size adjustments receive more per student than charters receiving small school size adjustments.”

Using data from six charter schools from around the state, the LFC report also focuses on a number of challenges facing charter schools, such as gaps in oversight and proficiency levels that are, in general, not much better than traditional public schools.

New Mexico has about 100 charter schools. Charters can be authorized either by the state Public Education Commission or individual school districts. Santa Fe, for example, has four charter schools in this district, only one of which — the LFC: Charter schools get disproportionate amount of funding - The Santa Fe New Mexican: News:

Charter schools cost more for similar results, report says

SANTA FE – Rapidly expanding charter schools in New Mexico are spending more per student with academic results similar to those of traditional public schools, state program analysts told lawmakers on Monday.

The evaluation of six selected schools out of 97 in the state by staff at New Mexico’s Legislative Finance Committee warned that charter schools are diluting the amount of funds available at all schools as charter schools continue to be authorized independently of the state’s budget process.

The study found that charter schools received $8,663 per student, while traditional district schools received $7,597 during the budget year that ended in June 2015. New Mexico’s charter schools have received nearly half of school funding increases since mid-2007, while serving about 7 percent of all students, the report said.

Presenting the findings to lawmakers, program evaluator Yann Lussiez said state-authorized charter schools with the highest grades tended to have the lowest percentage of economically disadvantaged students.

The study looked specifically at six charter schools with divergent educational approaches and structures. The presentation touched off a discussion among legislators about governance and accountability at charter schools that do not have publicly elected boards.

Representatives from the New Mexico Department of Education agreed with the findings about academic results, but insisted charter schools can better engage students and provide special opportunities.

Matthew Pahl, policy director for the department, said greater administrative oversight is planned.

“We’re working at hiring an auditor that just looks at charter schools right now in recognition of the fact that there should probably be some more oversight,” he said.

The Legislative Finance Committee agreed to sponsor legislation that would prevent double funding of certain students at charter schools under a formula that recognizes rapid enrollment increases. The committee also supports a bill to avoid overfunding of transportation at charter schools.

Charter school directors said they have not received enough recognition for the various ways they address the special needs of their students.

New Mexico had 97 charter schools serving about 22,000 students last year, up from 59 in 2010 and just two in 2000. That steady growth mimics the growth of nationwide attendance at charter schools, which surpasses 2.5 million students.

The state evaluation raised specific concerns about costs and performance at so-called virtual charter schools that provide remote online courses. New Mexico has two virtual schools – New Mexico Connections Academy and New Mexico Virtual Academy – that both have ties to for-profit organizations.

The virtual schools have an average of 41 students per teacher, with much greater demands on middle and high school teachers, and did not provide expected savings on infrastructure costs. The evaluation recommended the creation of new statutory requirements for funding and student achievement at virtual schools.

Charter schools cost more for similar results, report says

Study: Don't Make Mortgage Industry Mistakes with Charter Schools | Video | NJTV News

Study: Don't Make Mortgage Industry Mistakes with Charter Schools | Video | NJTV News:

Study: Don’t Make Mortgage Industry Mistakes with Charter Schools

The study warns policy makers to beware of treating the charter school industry like the mortgage industry in the mid-2000s when risky and lax lending led to a glut of home loans that borrowers really could not afford, causing them to lose their houses to foreclosure and crippling the economy.

“And the primary problem that we found was this emphasis by supporters of charter school expansion in calling for multiple authorizers,” said Preston Green III, professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.

Authorizers other than the local school board, such as from the private sector or universities, says UConn professor Green. He led the study entitled, “Are We Heading Toward a Charter School ‘Bubble’?: Lessons from the Subprime Mortgage Crisis.”

Green and professors from Montclair State, Rutgers andWisconsin fear the impact of too many authorizers who are not connected to local school districts in African-American and urban areas.

“If a charter school does not do well and is slated for closing, then it is the school district in which those children are living that have to assume the responsibility of providing an education for those children. And so because of this natural lack of risk, or assumption of the risk, these charters may be much more likely to engage in lax screening,” Green said.

“I think those charges are unfounded particularly in New Jersey where we have very strong charter authorization,” said Shavar Jeffries, former president of Newark Schools Advisory Board.

Jeffries says it’s about educating children and holding schools accountable.

“New Jersey has really led the way in that regard and in our state Study: Don't Make Mortgage Industry Mistakes with Charter Schools | Video | NJTV News:

Cerf’s power grab over contract benefits–is this the end of the Newark Teachers Union? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Cerf’s power grab over contract benefits–is this the end of the Newark Teachers Union? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Cerf’s power grab over contract benefits–is this the end of the Newark Teachers Union?

Here’s the question now in the Newark schools: Will the charm offensive pressed by Christopher Cerf, the governor’s man running the district, overpower the contractual rights of teachers and other school employee unions? Will Cerf’s sweet-talking to the school board and his road show with the mayor result in a major—perhaps fatal–blow to public employees and their bargaining units?

Cerf is trying to ignore his contractual obligations to bring in a new prescription drug provider with business connections to the insurance broker run by George Norcross, the South Jersey Democratic boss and virtual co-governor with Chris Christie. The Newark Teachers Union (NTU) is trying to fight the switch.

Cerf’s antipathy to the union is long-standing. The opportunity to break the union’s remaining power is obvious. Since Christie cut a deal with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to bring in Cerf, the former state education commissioner and national charter school champion, as Newark superintendent, virtually all vocal community opposition to state control and privatization has ceased.

Jose Leonardo–a voice against the state has been silenced.

The loudest voices in he past—including those of the Newark Students Union and members of the elected school advisory board—have oddly fallen silent. Indeed, the charismatic leader of the Newark Students’ Union, Jose Leonardo, has quit his leadership position in the union–but remains a member of the rump “Newark Cerf’s power grab over contract benefits–is this the end of the Newark Teachers Union? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

BATs WALL OF SOLIDARITY! BATs RUNNING FOR LOCAL AND STATE UNION OFFICE! Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

BATs WALL OF SOLIDARITY! 

BATs RUNNING FOR LOCAL AND STATE UNION OFFICE!

Badass Teachers Association:

The Badass Teachers Association encourages our members to be an important and active participant in their local, state, and national unions.  We encourage our members to run for office so that unions represent rank and file members, are run using a true democratic system, exist as entities that are about great education for all children, and support a framework for social justice.   

BATs would like to offer a powerful message of solidarity to BATs around the country who are running for union office and being proactive members of their local and state unions.   If you are running for a local or state union office, and are involved and engaged in the BAT network, please email us your election platform so that we can add it to our BAT  Wall of Solidarity. You can email your platform to our Executive Director Marla Kilfoyle and Asst. Executive Director Melissa Tomlinson atcontact.BATmanager@gmail.com   We wish you luck and stand with you in a united vision of great schools, healthy workplaces, and social justice. 

We offer BAT Solidarity to the following members who are running for local and/or state offices.

Broward Teachers Union-Florida

Green Apple BATs in Broward

Anna Fusco – President

Terry Preuss – Vice President

Election Platform:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/14qG2-VfodYJHd4Y5u4KRL1KsjT-or0C5CF_MRJ3q7U8/pub

**Adding candidates to this letter of solidarity is NOT  considered an endorsement.  The Badass Teachers Association will only engage in national election endorsements through the guidance of our NEA BAT Caucus.  We will not be endorsing at the state or local level.     

Marie Corfield: Study Commission Pt.3: What Public Testimony?

Marie Corfield: Study Commission Pt.3: What Public Testimony?:

 Study Commission Pt.3: What Public Testimony?

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I dissected the report issued by the Study Commission on the Use of Student Assessments in New Jersey. In Parts 3 and 4 (coming tomorrow), education activist Sue Altman reports on the public testimony that was not only downplayed in the final report in terms of numbers of persons who testified, but completely ignored in the commission's recommendations.

Here's Sue's report:

On three separate dates in early 2015, in three locations in New Jersey, over 200 individuals testified on the issue of high stakes testing in New Jersey as part of the Study Commission on the Use of Student Assessments in New Jersey.  It took a full year for the report to be published to the public; in fact, while the original document was dated November 30, 2015, the document was not released to the public until January 11, 2016.  This was the same day as a Board of Education meeting at which I spoke on this very issue:

​.  

So, who testified?

The Department held testimony at three locations, and also provided an opportunity for people to submit testimony via email.

Submitted Written Testimony	118
Jersey City	26
Jackson	42
Blackwood	23
TOTAL:	209

(The State report states there were 100.)

Jerseyans from all walks of life took part in this democractic exercise, and that in itself is inspirational.  There Marie Corfield: Study Commission Pt.3: What Public Testimony?: