CORPORATE ED REFORM
California School Boards Association says the State is Violating Students’ Rights by Stiffing public schools | EdSource
Plaintiff in lawsuit updates costs of inadequate funding | EdSource: Plaintiff in lawsuit updates costs of inadequate fundingThe California School Boards Association has updated spending numbers from studies published a decade ago to support the argument its attorneys will make Wednesday in an appeal of a lawsuit claiming the state is violating students’ rights by inadequately funding public schoo
Giant chicken contract 'test case' for LAUSD's new food guidelines - LA School Report
Giant chicken contract 'test case' for LAUSD's new food guidelines - LA School Report:Giant chicken contract ‘test case’ for LAUSD’s new food guidelinesIt appears that the LA Unified school board is headed for a showdown with the giant chicken industry.As the second largest school district in the nation, LA Unified has traditionally been one of the largest purchasers of chicken in the country but
Choosing Democracy: Teachers: We Need Chicano History in the California Textbooks - Act Now.
Choosing Democracy: Teachers: We Need Chicano History in the California Textbooks - Act Now.: Teachers: We Need Chicano History in the California Textbooks - Act Now.By Duane CampbellThe Mexican American Digital History Project and a broad group of allies have been working for over a year to add Chicano history to the California History/Social Science Framework, the document that determines what g
Horror Inside: A No Excuses Charter School #SCW – Cloaking Inequity
Horror Inside: A No Excuses Charter School #SCW – Cloaking Inequity: Horror Inside: A No Excuses Charter School #SCWIt’s school choice week! Today Cloaking Inequity has an exclusive story written by Jennifer Ventimiglia, a veteran charter school teacher. She describes the “no excuses” practices and teacher quality issues plaguing the first charter school established in Oakland.The story has two pa
Flint class-action suit lawyers subpoena Snyder records | Blogs | Detroit Metro Times
Flint class-action suit lawyers subpoena Snyder records | Blogs | Detroit Metro Times: Flint class-action suit lawyers subpoena Snyder recordsThe deadline has just passed for subpoenas to be delivered to the Snyder administration requesting records, the first credible legal action against the governor related to Flint we've heard of. It was less than a week ago when Gov. Snyder, as part of his Sta
Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Realities: Red Bank, NJ
Jersey Jazzman: Charter School Realities: Red Bank, NJ: Charter School Realities: Red Bank, NJLet me show a pie chart Bruce Baker made that I keep coming back to: This is from a dataset I made (with Bruce's guidance) of charter schools and their affiliated charter management organizations (CMOs). We hear a lot these days about KIPP or Uncommon or Success Academies; however, we hear much less abou
Outrage in Flint, Michigan as Kids Stand in Line to be Tested for Lead
Ethan's house gets healthier with a visit from the lead poisoning prevention team. - 19571 | Library Collection | localhost: Outrage in Flint, Michigan as Kids Stand in Line to be Tested for LeadParents fuming as because they are being still being billed for contaminated water potentially linked to lead poisoning.ABC Breaking News | Latest News VideosThese images of kids getting their blood tested
Personalizers On the March – Save Maine Schools
Personalizers On the March – Save Maine Schools: Personalizers On the MarchLast year, public school districts across the country fell victim to a coordinated assault by next-gen ed reformers.These billionaire-backed reformers from the upper echelons of Corporate America weaseled their agenda to transform our education system into one that is personalized and competency-based (and thus dependent up
Government Run Like a Business Poisons Children
Government Run Like a Business Poisons Children: Government Run Like a Business Poisons ChildrenThe people of Michigan hired themselves a GOP businessman to be governor in 2011. And what they got was children poisoned by public water in Flint.That is, what they got was a government run based on GOP business values.To line the pockets of CEOs and shareholders, corporations cut corners in ways that
Schools aren't startups and kids aren't consumers - LA Times
Schools aren't startups and kids aren't consumers - LA Times: Schools aren't startups and kids aren't consumersProtesters rally against Eli Broad's charter expansion plan outside the L.A. school board meeting on Oct. 13, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times)The Los Angeles Unified School District will wrestle with enormous challenges in the year ahead. It's on the brink of financial insolvency
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Life In the Clay Pool
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Life In the Clay Pool: Life In the Clay PoolRahm Emanuel knew what he was doing when he brought educational know-nothing, Forrest Claypool over from the CTA to run the schools. Claypool, who like Rahm, sends his kids to private school, didn't come to CPS to lead an educational transformation. With apologies to Shakespeare, he came to bury public ed, not to praise it.
Corporate Education Reform Goes Global | Al Jazeera America
Corporate Education Reform Goes Global | Al Jazeera America:Corporate education reform goes globalBusiness interests have captured the United Nations education agendaFrom its inception in 1945, the United Nations has been involved with education on a global scale. The U.N. viewseducation as crucial to eradicating poverty, building peace and fostering intercultural dialogue, and it remains committe
Detroit teachers denounce legal witch-hunt - World Socialist Web Site
Detroit teachers denounce legal witch-hunt - World Socialist Web Site: Detroit teachers denounce legal witch-hunt“This isn’t just our fight, it’s for public education across the country.”On Monday 200 students, parents and teachers rallied in front of the Michigan Court of Claims to oppose the efforts by the emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools (DPS) to criminalize the teacher sickouts.Desp
Massachusetts education officials release teacher evaluation data | masslive.com
Massachusetts education officials release teacher evaluation data | masslive.com: Massachusetts education officials release teacher evaluation data Report cards are out and Massachusetts educators received high marks, overall.The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released educator evaluation ratings on Tuesday. More than 79,000 educators in 366 districts across Massachusetts partic
Teacher: How school reformers have redefined my profession — and diminished it - The Washington Post
Teacher: How school reformers have redefined my profession — and diminished it - The Washington Post: Teacher: How school reformers have redefined my profession — and diminished itFor years now, teachers have been speaking out about changes in their profession that have resulted from school reforms that educators say have, among other things, diminished their authority in the classroom and altered
Schools Matter: TN's Cheap Choice School Model for the Needy
Schools Matter: TN's Cheap Choice School Model for the Needy: TN's Cheap Choice School Model for the NeedyLast spring Tennessee passed a limited school voucher bill that offers just over $6,000 per year to disabled students who, otherwise, would attend public schools. Ostensibly, the purpose of the legislation was to give parents more educational choices for their special needs children. When we
Chris Cuomo’s dreadful debate performance | Bob Braun's Ledger
Chris Cuomo’s dreadful debate performance | Bob Braun's Ledger: Chris Cuomo’s dreadful debate performanceChris Cuomo is to moderating a presidential debate what his brother Andrew is to running a state. Dreadful.What was with his fixation on Bernie Sanders’ age–which he got wrong, in any event? First, he asks obtuse questions about the candidate’s athletic prowess as a child, making Sanders talk
EXCLUSIVE: The Federal Role and ESSA: Part 8 | Diane Ravitch's blog
EXCLUSIVE: The Federal Role and ESSA: Part 8 | Diane Ravitch's blog: EXCLUSIVE: The Federal Role and ESSA: Part 8EXCLUSIVE: Lamar Alexander’s Staff Explains ESSA: PART 1 | Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1QlmO8KEXCLUSIVE: Senator Alexander’s Staff: ESSA and Teacher Evaluation, Part 2 | Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1RzT9KjEXCLUSIVE: What Does ESSA Say About Bottom 5% of Schools: Part 3 | D
Ohio Punishes Poor School Districts with Low Rankings without Providing Needed Funds | janresseger
Ohio Punishes Poor School Districts with Low Rankings without Providing Needed Funds | janresseger: Ohio Punishes Poor School Districts with Low Rankings without Providing Needed FundsLast week the Ohio Education Policy Institute, in research funded by the Ohio School Boards Association, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, once ag
How Deportation Takes an Emotional and Educational Toll on Undocumented Immigrants' Kids - The Atlantic
How Deportation Takes an Emotional and Educational Toll on Undocumented Immigrants' Kids - The Atlantic: How Fears of Deportation Harm Kids’ EducationThe threat of raids could be preventing some undocumented immigrants from sending their children to school.Alexa Narvaez, 9, along with other protesters, during a rally for deportees in downtown San Diego, California in 2014For many, the New Year rep
Kansas City teacher – where’s the “merit pay” for love? | The Edvocate Blog
Kansas City teacher – where’s the “merit pay” for love? | The Edvocate Blog: Kansas City teacher – where’s the “merit pay” for love?The ruthless politics of “education reform” takes no prisoners. Lawmakers and lobbyists have joined hands with vendors and ROI philanthropists to dismantle public schools and discredit teaching. Their millions of victims range from hopeful kindergartners to wise vete
This dangerous official state poster encouraged Flint residents to bathe babies in poisoned water
This dangerous official state poster encouraged Flint residents to bathe babies in poisoned water: This dangerous official state poster encouraged Flint residents to bathe babies in poisoned waterint, Michigan continues to grapple with the poisoning of its water supply system. For months the city government of Flint and the state government of Michigan— led by Governor Rick Snyder— ignored scienti
Nonprofits: Beware The Hand That Feeds | PopularResistance.Org
Nonprofits: Beware The Hand That Feeds | PopularResistance.Org: Nonprofits: Beware The Hand That FeedsCan we really depend on big money to fund change?Above Photo: Money comes with strings that can undermine a revolutionary’s mission. | ReutersInjustice is not happenstance. It’s systemic. Police shoot more unarmed black men than white because the slave system put a target on their backs centuries
The share of the General Fund dedicated to Connecticut’s children shrank from 32.4 percent to 30.6 percent - Jonathan Kantrowitz
The share of the General Fund dedicated to Connecticut’s children shrank from 32.4 percent to 30.6 percent - Jonathan Kantrowitz: The share of the General Fund dedicated to Connecticut’s children shrank from 32.4 percent to 30.6 percent Despite an economic recovery: child poverty is at an all-time high, statewide wage and poverty gaps by race are wider than they were pre-recession and economic seg
Is Cullerton serious about education funding? | Fred Klonsky
Is Cullerton serious about education funding? | Fred Klonsky: Is Cullerton serious about education funding?Democratic Party Senate President John Cullerton at the City Club yesterday.John Cullerton spoke at the City Club yesterday. It was the first time he spoke publicly since last week’s blundering pronouncement by Governor Rauner about a deal over public employee pensions.Several hours after the
The lies in the new SAT (by Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?
The lies in the new SAT (by Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?: The lies in the new SAT (by Wendy Lecker)Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and his State Department of Education are engaged in an unethical effort to spin their new “mandate” that every Connecticut High School Junior (11th grader) MUST take the NEW SAT test on March 2, 2016.Driven by their support for the Common Core, the Common Core testin
Q&A: A look at the Detroit Public Schools teacher sick-outs - Yahoo News
Q&A: A look at the Detroit Public Schools teacher sick-outs - Yahoo News: Q&A: A look at the Detroit Public Schools teacher sick-outsDETROIT (AP) — Detroit Public Schools teachers have complained for several years about poor pay, overcrowded classrooms, a lack of supplies, unsafe building conditions and uncertainty about their futures as the district struggles under a mountain of debt. Rol
Meet the heroic professor who helped uncover the Flint lead water crisis - The Washington Post
Meet the heroic professor who helped uncover the Flint lead water crisis - The Washington Post: Meet the heroic professor who helped uncover the Flint lead water crisisVirginia Tech professor Marc Edwards shows the difference in water quality between Detroit and Flint after testing, giving evidence after more than 270 samples were sent in from Flint that show high levels of lead during a news co
Former dean questions costs of ‘no excuses’ charter schools on students of color - The Washington Post
Former dean questions costs of ‘no excuses’ charter schools on students of color - The Washington Post: Former dean questions costs of ‘no excuses’ charter schools on students of color“No excuses” charter schools have become a prominent feature of modern school reform. What exactly are they? This is how Joan Goodman, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania
Charter School Allegedly Forces Out Students With Disabilities | ThinkProgress
Charter School Allegedly Forces Out Students With Disabilities | ThinkProgress: Charter School Allegedly Forces Out Students With DisabilitiesEva Moskowitz of Success Academy Charter Schools during a charter school rally outside the state Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, in Albany, N.Y.Success Academy Charter Schools, a well-known charter school network in New York City, is being accused of di
School Reform Commission is rigged against Philadelphia schoolchildren
School Reform Commission is rigged against Philadelphia schoolchildren:School Reform Commission is rigged against Philadelphia schoolchildren"I have pent-up emotions about the way the district has allowed many of our schools in low-income neighborhoods to fail our students and their families," Sylvia Simms said.THE PHILADELPHIA School District, a $3 billion enterprise whose job is to edu
A Bold Shift to Make Public Schools Serve Poor Students by Abigail Savitch-Lew — YES! Magazine
A Bold Shift to Make Public Schools Serve Poor Students by Abigail Savitch-Lew — YES! Magazine: A Bold Shift to Make Public Schools Serve Poor StudentsLast year, New York City began turning schools in poor neighborhoods into community schools—combining rigorous instruction and extracurricular enrichment with a broad social support system.A dance class at Renaissance School of the Arts (Jhanel McWh
The Chilling Rise of Islamophobia in Our Schools | Mother Jones
The Chilling Rise of Islamophobia in Our Schools | Mother Jones: The Chilling Rise of Islamophobia in Our SchoolsAccusations, beatings, even death threats—that's life for Muslim kids in America.Four million Syrians like Nour have fled the brutal civil war. Now she's trying to help other Muslim kids feel safer at school. Photo: Mark Murrmann"WHAT DO YOU MISS about Syria the most?" I ask N
He brokered deals for an empire of California charter schools -- and now faces a felony charge - LA Times
He brokered deals for an empire of California charter schools -- and now faces a felony charge - LA Times: He brokered deals for an empire of California charter schools -- and now faces a felony chargeBy the time Steve Van Zant left the Mountain Empire Unified School District in 2013, he had overseen the authorization of more than a dozen charter schools to operate in other districts throughout S
Deal or no Deal contract violated state competitive bidding and conflict-of-interest laws | Comstock's magazine
Deal or no Deal | Comstock's magazine: Deal or no DealAfter critical court decision, future California lease-leaseback contracts stand on shaky ground.For the past four years, Star Academy in Natomas didn’t look like a regular school. Due to overcrowding, elementary kids went to class in a commercial building that faced a major street and had warehouse space in the back. The district wanted a new
Do vouchers work? Real data needed, not spin | Editorials | www.journalgazette.net
Do vouchers work? Real data needed, not spin | Editorials | www.journalgazette.net: Do vouchers work? Real data needed, not spinIndiana’s school voucher supporters are bringing in the star power to mark National School Choice Week this week.TV personality Campbell Brown is the keynote speaker for the Quality Education Celebration at the Statehouse on Monday, an annual event to rally expansion of t
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BustED Pencils Trending News: Tim; Prevent; Charges | BustED Pencils
BustED Pencils Trending News: Tim; Prevent; Charges | BustED Pencils: BustED Pencils Trending News: Tim; Prevent; ChargesTim Slekar deeply cares about the lives of children and teachers, particularly within the public schools. He is courageous in his writings and interviews as he tells the truth that is not often heard. He carries the voice of the child and teacher. He sees the pain, sadness an
My Blog Is Three Years Old Today :) | deutsch29
My Blog Is Three Years Old Today :) | deutsch29: My Blog Is Three Years Old Today :) I started this blog three years ago today, on January 25, 2013.I thought I’d write a brief, celebratory post.But first of all, a bit of financial disclosure is in order:Here is a comprehensive listing of all of the billionaire-financed, education nonprofits ponying up that luscious, public-ed-annihilating dough to
CURMUDGUCATION: Vouchers: Why Do Conservatives Love 'Em?
CURMUDGUCATION: Vouchers: Why Do Conservatives Love 'Em?: Vouchers: Why Do Conservatives Love 'Em?If the plaintiffs in Friedrichs vs. California Teachers (or the people for whom they're sock puppeting) don't like paying union fees (they already don't have to pay dues) because the union will spend their money on activities with which they do not agree, boy, they would really hate school vouchers.Th
Two Teachers Attend Friedrichs v. CTA - LA Progressive
Two Teachers Attend Friedrichs v. CTA - LA Progressive: Two Teachers Attend Friedrichs v. CTAAt 6:45 a.m., braving about 30º weather, we took a cab down to the Supreme Court building. Although we got there around 7 a.m., we were still 30th in line. We understood clearly that were were in line to witness the case that could destroy the unions that we belong to with pride—Melissa as a member of the
Taking Back Your Name – The Pros and Cons of Political Correctness | gadflyonthewallblog
Taking Back Your Name – The Pros and Cons of Political Correctness | gadflyonthewallblog: Taking Back Your Name – The Pros and Cons of Political Correctness“What I think the political correctness debate is really about is the power to be able to define. The definers want the power to name. And the defined are now taking that power away from them.”–Toni Morrison“Never trust anyone who says they do
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/25/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMWhat Happens When My Student Curses At Me [Teaching Tolerance] | The Jose VilsonWhat Happens When My Student Curses At Me [Teaching Tolerance] | The Jose Vilson: What Happens When My Student Curses At Me [Teaching Tolerance] I had the honor of writing for Teaching Tolerance, one of the premiere teacher resources for anything related to social justice. They asked me to write a pi
