Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/13/16

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia : SCOTUSblog

Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia : SCOTUSblog: Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin ScaliaJustice Antonin Scalia was found dead today at a ranch in Texas, after apparently having died in his sleep. This blog’s Tom Goldstein provides first reactions and explains what happens to this Term’s close cases.Early coverage comes from NPR’s Nina Totenberg, Tony Mauro of The National

by mike simpson / 4min 

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip | deutsch29

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip | deutsch29: US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip On Saturday, February 13, 2016, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia died apparently of natural causes while at a West Texas luxury resort.Scalia appeared to be the wild card vote in Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association, an arguable attempt

by mike simpson / 41min 

The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case | Diane Ravitch's blog: The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case  The unexpected death of Justice Scalia has dominated the news all afternoon. Most observers agree that the Republican Senate is not likely to appoint any Justice nominated by President Obama. They will wait to see who is elected president in N

by mike simpson / 43min 

What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog

What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog: What happens to this Term’s close cases?The passing of Justice Scalia of course affects the cases now before the Court.  Votes that the Justice cast in cases that have not been publicly decided are void.  Of course, if Justice Scalia’s vote was not necessary to the outcome – for example, if he was in the dissent or if the majority included mor

by mike simpson / 1h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.There is no evidence that  frequent reliance  on removing  misbehaving  students improves  school safety or  student behavior. -- Skiba & Losen Rahm and spin team at CPS are cheering the go

by mike simpson / 4h 

4LAKids - STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UPSTANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP: STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UPBy Joe Mathews | from Fox+Hounds | http://bit.ly/1RzoQCX Connecting California Columnist and Editor, Zócalo Public Square, Fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State Universi

by mike simpson / 4h 

The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal |

The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal |: The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was PivotalJanuary 1, 2020With a few tears, the last Success Academy school (SA) closed its remaining campus today. The “SA Trump Institute,” which was formed after the stunning defeat of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election, was seen as a last ditch effort to re

by mike simpson / 4h 

Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise | gadflyonthewallblog

Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise | gadflyonthewallblog: Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget CompromisePennsylvania’s hostage crisis goes into Day 258 Saturday.Republican lawmakers continue to block the passage of a state budget that was required by law at the end of June 2015.In fact, Gov. T

by mike simpson / 6h 

A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools | The Progressive

A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools | The Progressive: A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools  How should public schools and classroom teachers address a student population increasingly traumatized by the effects of chronic poverty?A majority of children attending the nation’s public schools now come from low-income families, according

by mike simpson / 6h 

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children: Alert for California Parents of School-Age ChildrenCalifornia School Students Information Scheduled to be ReleasedA Court Order detailing the security protocols that are to be put in place to safeguard sensitive student information has been provided to the ITRC. This document is a public record.  This information was not provided on the opt-out

by mike simpson / 6h 

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess: NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess I'm guessing that New Jersey's pension "reformers" are thinking the same thing: now that Chris Christie's absurd run for the White House is over, they should make their push to screw public employees out of their pensions now, rather

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations

CURMUDGUCATION: Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations: Beauty, the Rip, and ExpectationsBack in May of 2015, Shea Glover, a student at the Chicago High School for the Arts in Ukranian Village, created an art project for her class. The project, she said, "evidently turned into a social experiment."The result became a viral sensation, so you may have seen this before. Even if have (and especia

by mike simpson / 7h 

Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … – Welcome to the Testing Games

Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … – Welcome to the Testing Games: Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … Listen. The tests are a joke. We all know it. Our children are suffering. Our schools are falling apart. Our teachers are quitting in droves. It is time to do something. Will you?Here is my state: The Florida Standards Assessment test que

by mike simpson / 7h 

Don’t forget Marc – Missouri Education Watchdog

Don’t forget Marc – Missouri Education Watchdog: Don’t forget Marc Marc Tucker must be mad.  Bill Gates gets all the credit for our current transformation of education, when Marc was the mastermind of this “wholly restructured school system”.  Creating national standards for academics and standards for workforce (and national assessments for both), turning schools into workforce apprenticeship tra

by mike simpson / 7h 

Keeping retirement weird. I could have been a contender. | Fred Klonsky

Keeping retirement weird. I could have been a contender. | Fred Klonsky: Keeping retirement weird. I could have been a contender. Retirement has meant me working out on a regular basis with my trainer Mike at the gym. Not as regular as my trainer Mike would like.But, you know.Regular.The results of the past three years seem remarkable to me. I am down 20 to 30 pounds, depending on the month and th

by mike simpson / 7h 

Russ on Reading: Want Great Literacy Instruction? Trust the Teacher

Russ on Reading: Want Great Literacy Instruction? Trust the Teacher: Want Great Literacy Instruction? Trust the Teacher In the final chapter of the book, Research-Based Practices for Teaching Common Core Literacy, James V. Hoffman and P. David Pearson take an historical perspective on where trust is placed in the teaching of reading. Summing up more than three-hundred years of literacy education h

by mike simpson / 7h 

With A Brooklyn Accent: Privatizing What Should Be Public; The True Face of Inequality in Parks and Schools in NYC

With A Brooklyn Accent: Privatizing What Should Be Public; The True Face of Inequality in Parks and Schools in NYC: Privatizing What Should Be Public; The True Face of Inequality in Parks and Schools in NYC During the late 1970's, under pressure from a banker led Emergency Financial Control Board, two important public agencies- the Department of Parks and the Department ( then the Board) of Educat

by mike simpson / 7h 

School Choice Fails to Make a Difference - Bloomberg View

School Choice Fails to Make a Difference - Bloomberg View: School Choice Fails to Make a DifferenceThis is the kind of news that school-choice advocates and skeptics alike need to pay attention to: The Economist magazine reports that a team of academic economists found that students who won a lottery in Louisiana to receive vouchers to go to the public or private school of their choice did worse t

by mike simpson / 8h 

Success Academy undercover video shows no-excuses discipline at its ugliest.

Success Academy undercover video shows no-excuses discipline at its ugliest.: That Brutal Charter School Video Shows That Rich People Love No-Excuses Discipline ... for Other People’s Kids oday, the New York Times published undercover video taken at a Success Academy elementary school in Brooklyn that’s part of the controversial charter network known for “no excuses” discipline. It shows a first g

by mike simpson / 8h 

Marie Corfield: The Day NJ Parents Occupied the State DOE

Marie Corfield: The Day NJ Parents Occupied the State DOE: The Day NJ Parents Occupied the State DOEThe February 10th NJ State Board of Education meeting was a watershed moment in the NJ Opt-Out movement. Here's my report from the field. Newton's third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, when Commissioner Hespe, sitting smugly on his throne at the February

by mike simpson / 8h 

Romano: The topsy-turvy tale of charter schools and whom they really serve | Tampa Bay Times

Romano: The topsy-turvy tale of charter schools and whom they really serve
| Tampa Bay Times:Romano: The topsy-turvy tale of charter schools and whom they really serve Here is a hand basket.And here is your state Legislature continually packing Florida up like so many groceries ready for final delivery.Granted, today's outrage is more sneaky than blatant. It's more sleazy than audacio

by mike simpson / 8h 

School policies have gotten smarter in the decade after ‘No Child Left Behind’ - The Washington Post

School policies have gotten smarter in the decade after ‘No Child Left Behind’ - The Washington Post:School policies have gotten smarter in the decade after ‘No Child Left Behind’Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Chester E. Finn Jr. is a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus of the institute. Both hold fellowships at Stanford University’s Hoover Inst

by mike simpson / 8h 

Sacramento’s next mayor has a full plate | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento’s next mayor has a full plate | The Sacramento Bee:Sacramento’s next mayor has a full plateAfter eight years of Kevin Johnson, Sacramento’s next mayor will be a very different politician and personality. Which is fine because what the city requires right now is less celebrity and drama. It needs a steady, intelligent leader to build on Johnson’s accomplishments – and take on new challen

by mike simpson / 8h 

Rick Snyder's Gag Order Fails to Block Teachers - HeraldCourier.com: News

Information freeze thaws after injunction on election law - HeraldCourier.com: News: Information freeze thaws after injunction on election law LANSING, Mich. (AP) — An information freeze on local and school officials is thawing after a federal judge put a preliminary injunction on a new Michigan election law that critics called a "gag order."The injunction was a relief to many local and

by mike simpson / 8h 

YESTERDAY

Guest columnist: Privatizing our schools

Guest columnist: Privatizing our schools: Privatizing our schoolsBeware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTERAstroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by inno

by mike simpson / 20h hide  //  save

Report offers strategies to create successful community schools | EdSource

Report offers strategies to create successful community schools | EdSource: Report offers strategies to create successful community schoolsCalifornia’s new school finance system and the state’s rules regarding Medi-Cal are making it easier for low-performing schools to transform themselves, according to a recent report.Some of those schools are becoming community schools, which emphasize student a

by mike simpson / 22h 

United Opt Out National Fifth Annual Event in Philadelphia, Feb. 26th - 28th

PRESS RELEASE from United Opt Out National for Immediate Release: February 12, 2016: Fifth Annual Event in Philadelphia, Feb. 26th - 28th - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: United Opt Out National Fifth Annual Event in Philadelphia, Feb. 26th - 28thUnited Opt Out National is hosting their fifth annual event.  This year’s sold- out conference, “Transcending Resistance

by mike simpson / 23h 

Jersey Jazzman: "Success"

Jersey Jazzman: "Success": "Success"Looks like Eva Moskowitz has yet another p.r. disaster to contend with, courtesy of the New York Times: a one-minute video of a Success Academy teacher ripping into her first grade student because... well, honestly, I can't tell. Clearly, the girl in the video gets something wrong on her math problem -- but it's also clear this burst of anger

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/12/16

CORPORATE ED REFORMTime for a New Strategy | Tikkun MagazineTime for a New Strategy | Tikkun Magazine: Time for a New StrategyFor those on the front lines of the fight to defend and improve public education, the 2016 presidential election is already a minefield. On July 11, 2015, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten announced that the roughly one-million-member orga

by mike simpson / 1d 

Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia : SCOTUSblog

Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia : SCOTUSblog:

Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia

Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead today at a ranch in Texas, after apparently having died in his sleep. This blog’s Tom Goldstein provides first reactions and explains what happens to this Term’s close cases.

Early coverage comes from NPR’s Nina Totenberg, Tony Mauro of The National Law Journal(subscription or registration required), Susan Page and Richard Wolf of USA Today, Adam Liptak ofThe New York Times, Robert Barnes of The Washington Post, CNN, Gary Martin and Guillermo Contreras of San Antonio Express-News, Julie Fancher of The Dallas Morning News, and Harper Neidig and Ian Swanson of The Hill.

Early commentary comes from Rick Hasen at his Election Law Blog, Ian Millhiser at ThinkProgress, and Sam Levine of The Huffington Post.

Posted in Round-up

Recommended Citation: Andrew Hamm, Evening round-up: Death of Justice Antonin Scalia,SCOTUSblog (Feb. 13, 2016, 7:14 PM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/evening-round-up-death-of-justice-antonin-scalia/

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip | deutsch29

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip | deutsch29:

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia Dies on Texas Hunting Trip



 On Saturday, February 13, 2016, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia died apparently of natural causes while at a West Texas luxury resort.

Scalia appeared to be the wild card vote in Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association, an arguable attempt to kill unions by defunding them. The Supreme Court appeared to be divided along party lines, except possibly for Scalia.

Now, the Obama administration will have the opportunity to nominate another justice–  surely a Democrat.

This could bode critically well for the unions– and for the Democratic Party, which relies on union funding.

“Could” is the key word.

The issue at hand is whether a Republican Congress would honor Obama’s nomination. They might hold out for the next administration. (UPDATE: Congress already said no to an Obama appointee.)

Thus, for now, Friedrichs could result in a 4-4 deadlock. So, it seems that the defunding of unions via Friedrichs is not likely to come to pass as soon as it seemed even yesterday.

For a quick read on the Friedrichs case, click here.

  Anthony Scalia

Schneider is a southern Louisiana native, career teacher, trained researcher, and author of the ed reform whistle blower, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who In the Implosion of American Public Education.

She also has a second book, Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools?.

Don’t care to buy from Amazon? Purchase my books from Powell’s City of Books instead.

The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case | Diane Ravitch's blog:

The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case 

 The unexpected death of Justice Scalia has dominated the news all afternoon. Most observers agree that the Republican Senate is not likely to appoint any Justice nominated by President Obama. They will wait to see who is elected president in November.

 Scalia’s death may have a decisive effect on the Friedrichs vs. CTA case. The plaintiffs in the case argued that teachers should not be required to pay union dues, even as they enjoy the benefits negotiated by the union. Observers predicted that Justice Scalia would be the swing vote. In the past, he had written an opinion against “free riders,” workers who collect benefits without paying for them. On the other, he might have voted in favor of weakening the unions. No one could predict which way he might go.

Thus, because of Justice Scalia’s death, the Friedrichs case could end in a 4-4 deadlock, leaving the current laws unchanged.The Implications of Justice Scalia’s Death for Key Education Case | Diane Ravitch's blog:

What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog

What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog:

What happens to this Term’s close cases?

The passing of Justice Scalia of course affects the cases now before the Court.  Votes that the Justice cast in cases that have not been publicly decided are void.  Of course, if Justice Scalia’s vote was not necessary to the outcome – for example, if he was in the dissent or if the majority included more than five Justices – then the case will still be decided, only by an eight-member Court.

If Justice Scalia was part of a five-Justice majority in a case – for example, the Friedrichs case, in which the Court was expected to limit mandatory union contributions – the Court is now divided four to four.  In those cases, there is no majority for a decision and the lower court’s ruling stands, as if the Supreme Court had never heard the case.  Because it is very unlikely that a replacement will be appointed this Term, we should expect to see a number of such cases in which the lower court’s decision is “affirmed by an equally divided Court.”

The most immediate and important implications involve that union case and Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, in which the Court was expected to limit affirmative action in public higher education.  Conservative rulings in those cases are now unlikely to issue.  Other significant cases in which the Court may now be equally divided include Evenwel v. Abbott (on the meaning of the “one person, one vote” guarantee), the cases challenging the accommodation for religious organizations under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, and the challenge to the Obama administration’s immigration policy.

The Court is also of course hearing a significant abortion case, involving multiple restrictions adopted by Texas.  In my estimation, the Court was likely to strike those provisions down.  If so, the Court would still rule – deciding the case with eight Justices.

There is also recent precedent for the Court to attempt to avoid issuing a number of equally divided rulings.  In Chief Justice Roberts’s first Term, the Court in similar circumstances decided a number of significant cases by instead issuing relatively unimportant, often procedural decisions.  It is unclear if the Justices will take the same approach in any of this Term’s major, closely divided cases.What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog:

First reactions on the passing of Justice Scalia

The first and most important reaction is to extend our sympathies to Justice Scalia’s wife, Maureen, and his entire family, including his nine children and numerous grandchildren.  The Justice is a historic figure, surely one of the most influential legal minds – on and off the Court – of the last century.  His contributions to the law are incalculable.  They substantially reframed discussions of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law.

The most immediate implications involve the presidential election.  President Obama of course has the power to nominate a successor, with the consent of the Senate.  In the ordinary course, because the opening was unexpected, the nomination would not be forthcoming for a couple of months and then the confirmation process would take several more months.

Theoretically, that process could conclude before the November election.  But realistically, it cannot absent essentially a consensus nominee – and probably not even then, given the stakes.  A Democratic president would replace a leading conservative vote on a closely divided Court.  The Republican Senate will not permit such a consequential nomination – which would radically shift the balance of ideological power on the Court – to go forward.

There is the related question of the Court becoming an issue in the election.  Before today, it was unlikely that many voters would choose a presidential candidate for this reason, given the importance of issues like the economy, terrorism, and immigration.  But the fact that there is an immediate vacancy – and a vacancy that could tip the Court’s ideological balance – makes the future of the Court much more concrete.

In the political primaries, the Court is not an issue that divides candidates of the same party.  Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, for example, are clear that they would want to appoint a more liberal successor that would oppose decisions like the Citizens United campaign finance ruling.  The leading Republican candidates would all make clear their support for a nominee who would oppose the Court’s rulings upholding the Affordable Care Act.

In the general election, the Court is also an issue that tends to drive the base of each party, so it may be most relevant to turn-out rather than to changing voters’ minds.  In general terms, conservatives have been more focused than progressives on the Court as a presidential legacy.  But both parties have groups of voters – on the left, supporting abortion rights, and on the right, supporting gun rights and opposing abortion, for example – for which the Court has outsized importance.

What happens to this Term’s close cases? : SCOTUSblog:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.:

Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.

There is no evidence that  frequent reliance  on removing  misbehaving  students improves  school safety or  student behavior. -- Skiba & Losen 

Rahm and spin team at CPS are cheering the good news. District leaders are claiming that they've  expelled and suspended fewer students last school year than the year before. But are their claims real? Partly yes and partly no. Is there much to cheer about? Uh uh.

They've been on a push to reduce school suspensions and expulsions since 2014, when Pres. Obama and the Department of Justice under Attorney GeneralEric Holder released a set of guidelines warning schools that disciplinary policies could not have a “disparate impact” on minorities. Disgraced CEOBarbara Byrd-Bennett did lead a push away from the district's horrible "Zero Tolerance" policies, giving more discretion to principals and school staff is deciding who when to suspend/expel. But African-American and Latino students still are suspended and expelled at extremely higher rates than white Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Little to cheer about latest CPS suspension/expulsion rates. Charters are main culprit.:

4LAKids - STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UPSTANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP:

STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP

By Joe Mathews | from Fox+Hounds | http://bit.ly/1RzoQCX 

Connecting California Columnist and Editor, Zócalo Public Square, Fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (UC Press, 2010)

Friday, February 12th, 2016  ::  Facing Democratic demands for more spending, the Brown administration has been at pains to show that it’s been spending more. The governor’s State of the State speech included lists showing boosts of spending, emphasizing education spending and Obamacare.

An assessment of the budget from Standard & Poors (follows), the credit rating agency, undercuts the idea that spending is up. S&P emphasizes how the budget spending base remains low.

S&P likes this (it wants state credits to get paid back, of course). And so it praises the state for its frugality. Increases in tax receipts have “shrewdly” gone to one-time purposes, like deferred school aid payments that don’t add to the funding base. And “beyond education,” S&P says, “much of the growth in general fund spending since 2011 has similarly been limited to one-time outlays for debt repayment and to capitalize the state’s budget reserves.”

●●smf: Of course credit-raters like S&P got it so wrong in rating collateralized debt obligations and guaranteeing the credit default swaps sold by the securities markets that led to the Big Recession (the reason for California's "shrewd" deferred school aid payments)  ...culminating with Department of Justice investigations and settlements. Standard & Poor’s was hit with a $1.375 billion settlement for defrauding investors in the lead up to the financial crisis ...but didn’t admit to doing anything wrong.  Read or see The Big Short.

S&P also embraces the constitutional budget shackles that have prevented the state from investing more—“constitutional requirements… crowded out room in the budget for all but a few new spending commitments.”
This, S&P added, “had the effect of holding the state’s expenditure base to a lower trajectory than earlier fiscal projections.”

This explodes the idea that the budget has been fixed.

As S&P notes, the budget is still done by formula, not controlled by the governor. “Constitutional funding formulas dictate minimum spending on 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: STANDARD & POORS UNDERMINES THE ARGUMENT THAT CALIFORNIA BUDGET SPENDING IS UP:

The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal |

The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal |:

The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal

January 1, 2020

With a few tears, the last Success Academy school (SA) closed its remaining campus today. The “SA Trump Institute,” which was formed after the stunning defeat of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election, was seen as a last ditch effort to revive the struggling charter school brand after numerous setbacks, including the loss of much of its ancillary funding, the opening up of the job market for English majors, and the rejection by parents and students alike for a curriculum that relied on test scores instead of cognitive development and character building.  The untimely retirement of its founder and CEO, Eva Moskowitz, as well as the indictment and incarceration of poster boy, Andrew Cuomo, did nothing to enhance the brand.

It is widely agreed that the first blow to SA, and the charter school movement as a whole, came with the election of President Bernie Sanders in 2016 and the ensuing 2018 mid-terms which led to the “Sanders’ Minions” taking control of both the House and Senate. With the victory of his “Progressive Power Party,” Sanders undertook economic initiatives which ultimately drained the seemingly endless supply of charter school cash.

Sanders victory led to the “Great Economic Restructuring Act” of 2019, when Janet Yellen was replaced by Ralph Nader as Head of the Federal Reserve. Nader’s first move was to change his title to “Head of Economic Fairness,” and initiated a set of tax reforms which led to the demise of hedge funds, which had been an important source of financial support for SA.  In response, SA founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz was forced to sell off the The Death of Success Academy Charter Schools – Why 2016 Was Pivotal |:

Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise | gadflyonthewallblog

Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise | gadflyonthewallblog:

Entire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise

Pennsylvania’s hostage crisis goes into Day 258 Saturday.

Republican lawmakers continue to block the passage of a state budget that was required by law at the end of June 2015.

In fact, Gov. Tom Wolf – a Democrat – released his spending plan this week for the fiscal year 2016-17 – yet the previous year’s budget still has not been approved!

Even after numerous difficult concessions made by Democrats, Republicans still decline approval of any spending plan but their own.

I call this a “hostage crisis” because their actions are not supported by the majority of Pennsylvanians.

The overwhelming majority of residents want a budget. The overwhelming majority of voters cast ballots for Democrats in the last election, but the GOP remains in control of the legislature purely because of gerrymandering. That’s why the majority of residents booted out the former Republican Governor and overwhelmingly approved Democrat Wolf to replace him.

Meanwhile, legislative Democrats lead by Gov. Wolf have made numerousEntire State of Pennsylvania Held Hostage by Handful of Ideologues Refusing Budget Compromise | gadflyonthewallblog:  

A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools | The Progressive

A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools | The Progressive:

A New Lawsuit Challenges The Legality Of 'No Excuse' Charter Schools 

 How should public schools and classroom teachers address a student population increasingly traumatized by the effects of chronic poverty?

A majority of children attending the nation’s public schools now come from low-income families, according to a study released a year ago by The Southern Education Foundation. And there are more homeless students in American schools than ever before.

We’ve long recognized the impact of poverty on the future wellbeing of children. Students who come to school hungry have more difficulties focusing on schoolwork. Students who grow up without books in the home, or without computers or Internet access at home are at a severe disadvantage in school. Students who don’t have stable home lives or lack clothing or medical care are more apt to have behavioral problems.

What are schools to do? This question is urgent at a time when budget cuts have decimated student health services traditionally provided by social workers, counselors, nurses, and other support staff.

Recently, a popular answer to that question, at least in policy and media circles, has been to promote the idea that the impact of childhood poverty and trauma is an "excuse" for academic problems. Teachers who practice in “no excuses” schools are encouraged not to accommodate children's problems that are created by adversity, but to lay down strict rules and rigid expectations that challenge children to overcome—even ignore—their personal backgrounds and circumstances.

Educators who follow a progressive "child-centered" model for teaching are repulsed by the

- See more at: http://progressive.org/pss/new-lawsuit-challenges-legality-no-excuse-charter-schools#sthash.5PhpgWOM.dpuf

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children:

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children

California School Students Information Scheduled to be Released

A Court Order detailing the security protocols that are to be put in place to safeguard sensitive student information has been provided to the ITRC. This document is a public record.  This information was not provided on the opt-out notification.

Parents should review this document carefully when deciding whether or not to opt-out of sharing their student/s information. There are seven different databases that are encompassed in the attachment to the court order.  They are listed on pages 7-12 of the PDF file.  The data security process can be found on the last two pages of the attachment to the court order.  It should be noted that the concerns regarding appropriate security protocols, and the consequences of lost or compromised data, are discussed in the document.

Proposed E-Discovery Protocol - Safeguarding the Security of the Produced Data

The Special Master has significant concern about the storage and use of the highly sensitive student data that will be produced by CDE to the Plaintiffs. Loss or compromise of the produced data could result in the notification of literally millions of persons under state and Federal breach notification requirements, at a cost of millions of dollars. Such notification could also affect persons who are now residents in other states, and trigger breach notification laws in those states.

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The Identity Theft Resource Center and Privacy Rights Clearing House want to alert all parents of school-aged children throughout California about a pending deadline to Opt-Out on the potential release of their child’s sensitive personal identifying information. The deadline for parents and adult students to object to the disclosure of personal information and records is April 1, 2016.

PROTECT YOUR CHILD'S STUDENT RECORDS FROM BEING RELEASED BY FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE STEPS:

• Click on this link and complete the objection form (complete one form per child)
  
• Mail this completed form via regular mail to:
  United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller
  c/o Clerk of the Court
  Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse
  501 I Street, Room 4-200
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  Attn: Document Filed Under Seal

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A court granted the release of documents subject to a protective order, stemming from a lawsuit between the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and the California Department of Education. This would allow for the release of extremely sensitive information stored on the CDE databases and network drives to be released to the parties of the lawsuit, their attorneys and consultants, and the Court.  The ITRC believes that all California parents should be aware of this event and need to decide for themselves if they wish to opt-out.  Some families may feel strongly that providing this information for this purpose is Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children:

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess

Jersey Jazzman: NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess:

NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess

I'm guessing that New Jersey's pension "reformers" are thinking the same thing: now that Chris Christie's absurd run for the White House is over, they should make their push to screw public employees out of their pensions now, rather than later when we are nearly certain to have a Democratic governor.

Hence the crush of op-eds by folks like Tom Byrne, a member of Christie's pension commission. Byrne is very, very sorry he has to shaft middle-class workers out of the benefits they are owed on a pension plan they were forced to participate in -- but, alas, there just isn't any choice:

Benefit levels are far higher for New Jersey public employees than is common in the private sector. It is the Obama administration, not Republicans, that has said health benefits at the New Jersey level should be subject to a luxury tax.
So there are two paths.

1. Ask taxpayers to continue subsidizing a level of health benefits that even the Obama administration says is too rich.

1. Put those benefits at or near the highest level specified under Obamacare, and use those savings to fill the hole in the pension funds. 

Certain Democrats say "just make the payments." But when the governor asked a joint session of the legislature for a show of hands on who was willing to vote for higher taxes in order to do so, not a hand went up.  

It is fair enough to say that neither the governor nor legislative leaders should have signed a 2011 deal that was premised on unrealistic revenue projections.  Let's not compound that mistake this time with a constitutional straitjacket and more unrealistic revenue assumptions.  

Delay may allow politicians to posture and build alliances. But until they

- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2016/02/nj-teachers-should-refuse-to-be-sole.html#sthash.toeXkjFe.dpuf

CURMUDGUCATION: Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations

CURMUDGUCATION: Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations:

Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations

Back in May of 2015, Shea Glover, a student at the Chicago High School for the Arts in Ukranian Village, created an art project for her class. The project, she said, "evidently turned into a social experiment."

The result became a viral sensation, so you may have seen this before. Even if have (and especially if you haven't), take a look at it now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

At the moment, the video is closing in on ten million views. Numerous videos inspired by this one are out there, as well as an ad campaign from Dove that lifts the idea.

It's simple and striking. Glover tells her subject that they are beautiful, and they become more beautiful. You couldn't ask for a more powerful, clear and simple demonstration of the power of positive expectations.

It stands, of course, in sharp contrast to the gut-wrenching video that surfaced yesterday showing a teacher emotionally abusing a small child at Success Academy, the roughly sixty-gazillionth piece of evidence about SA's emphasis on brow-beating students into either excellence or departure.

There are many folks who don't get it. We see it in "no excuses" and other brutally over-controlling versions of classrooms-- this idea that "high expectations" means rain down shame and an ass-kicking to students who don't meet those expectations. It's ugly and unpleasant and when we see it in its raw naked form as in the SA video, we see just how awful it is. But it's not an anomaly at Success Academies-- or if it is, it's an anomaly so common that many, many people can step forward to say they've seen it, and can, independent of each other, say that it has a name at SA-- "rip and return."

I'm not advocating for a warm, gooey classroom where every student is effusively praised just for holding a pencil and making random marks on paper. Students will make mistakes, often, and we can't pretend they don't, or shouldn't. But mistakes are an opportunity for growth, not a cause for CURMUDGUCATION: Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations:

Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … – Welcome to the Testing Games

Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … – Welcome to the Testing Games:

Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … 

Listen. The tests are a joke. We all know it. Our children are suffering. Our schools are falling apart. Our teachers are quitting in droves. It is time to do something. Will you?

Here is my state: The Florida Standards Assessment test questions were rented from Utah for 5.4 million after Utah realized the test was so bad, they threw it out. Then, Florida computer systems crashed for weeks making testing a complete joke. You remember the posts. Now, 11 months later and 2 weeks before the kids start testing again, they finally release scores … and people care what grade their school got?

Are you kidding me?

Listen.

Wherever you live, do this instead … call every news station, every news paper, and every politician running theirmouth about school testing grades, and give them the hell. Flood their emails. Tie up their networks and media pages Are You Kidding Me? Here’s Where You Can Put Those Test Scores … – Welcome to the Testing Games:

Don’t forget Marc – Missouri Education Watchdog

Don’t forget Marc – Missouri Education Watchdog:

Don’t forget Marc

 Marc Tucker must be mad.  Bill Gates gets all the credit for our current transformation of education, when Marc was the mastermind of this “wholly restructured school system”.  Creating national standards for academics and standards for workforce (and national assessments for both), turning schools into workforce apprenticeship training programs,  and combining community college and high school, was all part ofMarc’s plan. Gates was just the money man.

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It seems Marc gets overlooked often.  Take Lumina Foundation’s recent idea to create a National Department of Talent, combining Departments of Education, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor and the talent recruitment functions of the Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security.  This idea sure sounds like Marc’s idea from 1992 to create the National Institute for Learning, Work and Service.

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People forget that Marc already tried “Outcome Based Education” (OBE),  also sometimes called “Standards Based Education”.  The high school diploma associated with Marc’s Outcome Based Education was called a   “Certificate of Initial Mastery” (CIM).  Marc tried this OBE, CIM project in Washington and Massachusetts schools.   Sadly for Marc, and all the school children exposed to this experiment, it failed.   Some would say Don’t forget Marc – Missouri Education Watchdog: