Obama Dept. of Ed. Imposes Dangerous Rules to Evaluate Colleges of Education | janresseger

Obama Dept. of Ed. Imposes Dangerous Rules to Evaluate Colleges of Education | janresseger:

Obama Dept. of Ed. Imposes Dangerous Rules to Evaluate Colleges of Education

The Obama Department of Education has less than three months left to impose its test-obsessed, accountability-driven agenda for school reform.  To cap its record of technocratic policy, the Department of Education just published final regulations requiring states to evaluate and rate teacher education programs—whether traditional college-based programs or shorter alternative programs like the five-week summer training for Teach for America.  The new regulations are Arne Duncan’s project.  Draft rules were distributed for feedback in 2014, and John King has filled the position of Secretary of Education for less than a year.

Here is how Inside Higher Education describes the final rules: “The new rules require reporting of program-level data on graduates’ job placement and retention, consistent with what the Obama administration is doing in other aspects of higher education; feedback from graduates and their employers; and learning outcomes of students taught by graduates of prep programs.  The final rules give significant flexibility to states to determine the specific measures used to gauge student learning outcomes.”

Emma Brown of the Washington Post explains further the controversial idea that programs to train teachers will be judged by the achievement of the students eventually taught by a program’s graduates: “In the regulations, the Education Department still requires states to judge teacher training programs based on whether students are learning. But the new regulations leave it up to states to decide how to measure student learning and how much that variable should count toward an overall rating… States must rate programs ‘low–performing,’ ‘at-risk,’ or ‘effective’; those rated less than effective for two out of any three years will be stripped of their eligibility for federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education, or TEACH, grants—up to $4,000 a year for aspiring teachers who commit to working in high-needs schools after graduation.”

Stiffening evaluation of colleges of education has been part and parcel of the teacher-blaming strategy of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top—federal programs that have demanded ever rising scores on standardized tests without addressing poverty, segregation, and unequal Obama Dept. of Ed. Imposes Dangerous Rules to Evaluate Colleges of Education | janresseger:

Colorado: James Walton Fund Is Looking for an Education Director | deutsch29

Colorado: James Walton Fund Is Looking for an Education Director | deutsch29:

Colorado: James Walton Fund Is Looking for an Education Director

It seems that Walton grandson, James, is trying to spread the Walton Family Foundation vision for corporate ed reform via Montessori schools in Colorado.

Apparently the older Waltons are positioning James to operate his own “fund” in Colorado, temporarily named the James Walton Fund, with the purpose of proliferating the Walton vision of what Montessori schools should be. (Given the Walton penchant for expanding charter schools under the umbrella of test-centric education– and for the Walton affinity for drive-thru “education” organizations like Teach for America and Relay Graduate School of Education– it stands to reason that the Walton goal for Colorado’s Montessori is to process and expand it while melding it with test-score-driven reform.)

As such, the Walton Family Foundation is advertising for an education director to run the James Walton Fund. The following is the complete job advertisement as posted in the September 28, 2016, Chronicle of Philanthropy (note that the same ad appears in Joining Vision and Action and ColoradoNonprofits.org):

Education Director, James Walton Fund (Name TBD) of the Walton Family Foundation

The Walton Family Foundation

Posted: September 28, 2016

Location: Colorado, United States

Position: Administrative

Field: Advocacy, Education, Other fields, Research

Salary: Not specified

Website:http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/who-we-are

Application Deadline: Open until filled

Category: Other administrative

Employment Level: Full-time

About the Walton Family Foundation and James Walton

Sam and Helen Walton had an unshakeable belief in the power of people to transform their lives. As Sam said, there is no limit to what individuals can accomplish if “given the opportunity, the encouragement and the incentive to 

Colorado: James Walton Fund Is Looking for an Education Director | deutsch29:

Badass Teachers Association: VOTE!

Badass Teachers Association: VOTE!:

VOTE!

While most of the political news in your social media feed and in news broadcasts may revolve around the upcoming presidential election, there is so much more at stake...and we have run the risk of neglecting that.

So many of us have become disenchanted with the process that, in some areas, the risk of low voter turnout has become very real.

Regardless of how you feel about our current offerings of presidential candidates, it is important to remember that this election is about so much more. Below we have listed some of the state items that relate to our mission and viewpoints. (Direct education issues are in bold print.)

Alabama:

• Amendment 8 would create right-to-work language in the state constitution

Arizona:

• Proposition 206 will raise the minimum wage

California:

• Proposition 51 allows the state issuing $9 billion in bonds to fund improvement and construction of school facilities for K-12 schools and community colleges.
• Proposition 58 will allow non-English languages to be used in public educational instruction.

Colorado:

• Amendment T would remove part of the Colorado Constitution that allows forced, unpaid labor by convicted criminals
• Amendment 70 will increase minimum wage

Georgia:

• Amendment 1 would authorize the state to form an Opportunity School District that would govern certain elementary and secondary schools determined to be "chronically failing."
• Amendment 2 would provide penalties for court cases involving certain sex crimes in order to allocate the generated revenue for the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund.

Hawaii:

• Amendment 2 would add bond and pension payments as alternative dispositions of excess general fund revenues.

Louisiana:

• Amendment 2 would allow college boards to establish tuition and fee amounts for their respective institutions without legislative approval.

Maine: adding a section to the Montana Constitution that would give crime victims specific rights to ensure their interests are respected and protected under the law.

• Question 2 would approve an additional 3 percent surcharge on the portion of any household income exceeding $200,000 per year. Revenue would be earmarked to fund public education.
• Question 4 would increase minimum wage.

Massachusetts

• Question 2 would raise the cap on charters schools and authorize the approval of up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions in existing charter schools by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education per year.

Montana

• CI-116 would add a section to the Montana Constitution that would give crime victims specific rights to ensure their interests are respected and protected under the law.

Nevada:

• Question 2 would allow adults aged 21 or older to possess, consume, and cultivate some marijuana for recreational purposes. The initiative would create a new 15 percent excise tax, with revenue from the tax being spent on enforcing the measure and schools.

New Jersey:

• Public Question 1 would allow the state legislature to pass laws allowing for two additional northern counties to each have one new casino.
• Public Question 2 is a proposal to dedicate all revenue from gas taxes to transportation projects.
• *Special note - Atlantic City has a local ballot issue that would allow school vouchers and tax credit for home-school families. Linwood has a ballot vote to change the current appointed school board to an elected school board model.

New Mexico:

• Bond Question B would issue no more than $10,167,000 in general obligation bonds for academic, public school, tribal, and public library resource acquisitions.
• Bond Question C would issue no more than $142,356,000 in general obligation bonds for higher education, special schools, and tribal schools capital improvements and acquisitions.

North Carolina:

• Public Improvement Bond would issue $2 billion in bonds for economic development and infrastructure projects in 76 counties - including $980,000,000 in funding for various building renovations and construction at several University of North Carolina universities and $350,000,000 in funding for construction, repairs and renovations at various North Carolina community colleges

North Dakota:

• Constitutional Measure 2 would authorize the legislature to allocate excess revenues from oil extraction taxes from the foundation aid stabilization fund for education purposes.
• Constitutional Measure 3 would incorporate existing state statutes related to crime victims' rights into the state constitution.

Oregon:

• Measure 97 would tax the largest corporations with $25 million or over in Oregon sales to fund schools, health care, and elder services.
• Measure 99 would create an "Outdoor School Education Fund," sourced from state lottery proceeds, to fund outdoor school programs for all Oregon students.

Rhode Island:

• Question 4 will approve issuing $45,500,000 in general obligation bonds to invest in higher education related projects.
• Question 7 will approve issuing $50,000,000 in general obligation bonds to fund affordable housing and urban revitalization.

South Dakota

• Constitutional Amendment R would allow the South Dakota Legislature to determine a separate entity, board or procedure to run technical schools and preventing the South Dakota Board of Regents from running such schools.
• Constitutional Amendment S would expand the rights of crime victims.

Utah:

• Amendment B would modify certain provisions and language relating to distribution, investment, and expenditure for the State School Fund and the Uniform School Fund.

Virginia

• Right to Work Amendment would add a section to the constitution that would make it illegal for workplaces to require mandatory labor union membership for employees as a condition for employment, making it nearly impossible for future legislators to change current right to work laws.

Washington:

• Initiative 735 would urge the Washington state congressional delegation to propose a federal constitutional amendment that reserves constitutional rights for people and not corporations.
• Initiative 1433 would raise the minimum wage.

While these are not all of the state ballot initiatives that are up for your consideration this year, these are ones that stood out to us. We urge you to research these issues and decide your vote before going to the polls. For a more comprehensive look at what issues you will need to decide upon, visit Ballotpedia at https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page and get ready to VOTE!

Badass Teachers Association: VOTE!:

What Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits? : NPR Ed : NPR

What Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits? : NPR Ed : NPR:

What Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits?

Andy Baker/Getty Images/Ikon Images

For Ross Roberts, it was a lack of resources that drove him from the classroom. For Danielle Painton, it was too much emphasis on testing. For Sergio Gonzalez, it was a nasty political environment.

Welcome to the U.S. teaching force, where the "I'm outta here" rate is an estimated 8 percent a year — twice that of high-performing countries like Finland or Singapore. And that 8 percent is a lot higher than other professions.

The teaching force is "a leaky bucket, losing hundreds of thousands of teachers each year — the majority of them before retirement age," says a recent report from the Learning Policy Institute.

Why are so many teachers leaving?

There are, of course, many reasons both personal and professional.

Let's start with money. While teachers don't get into the profession for the dough, money is a factor. Beginning teachers make about 20 percent less than college graduates in other fields.

But overall, teachers and researchers say, educators want a bigger voice in school policies and plans. Many feel left out of key discussions.

"Working conditions are even more important for keeping people in once they've made the choice to teach," says Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of the Learning Policy Institute.

Another key factor is preparation.

"Teachers who are well prepared leave at more than two times lower rates than teachers who are not fully prepared," Darling-Hammond says.

So what can we learn from teachers who've left? We asked four of them to give us their reasons:

Robert Lutjens 39, is a former middle school science teacher in Sugar Land, Texas, near Houston.

"It sounds a little bit dramatic, but part of it was I was not allowed to fail students," he says. "There was a phrase that kept going around that I heard from administrators: 'We need to make sure they succeed, we need to guarantee their success.' Which was code for: 'They need to pass.' "

Lutjens says he just couldn't support passing students if they weren't learning the material. In addition, he says, the paperwork that came with the job was ludicrous, burdensome and plentiful: "I felt that I had a lot of not very effective hoops to jump through."

What would have helped him stay?

"There's not a simple solution," he says. "I would like to see more of an emphasis on — rather than passing — to have an emphasis on actually learning. The culture of the What Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits? : NPR Ed : NPR:

NPR ED

Frustration. Burnout. Attrition. It's Time To Address The National Teacher Shortage

Unions finally get trial date in state’s maligned teacher evaluation system - The Santa Fe New Mexican: Local News

Unions finally get trial date in state’s maligned teacher evaluation system - The Santa Fe New Mexican: Local News:

Unions finally get trial date in state’s maligned teacher evaluation system

Unions finally get trial date in state’s maligned teacher evaluation system

Randi Weingarten, left, the national president of the American Federation of Teachers, answers questions Monday after attending a hearing on teacher evaluations in New Mexico District Court. Weingarten said that New Mexico’s teacher evaluations are one of the worst in America. New Mexico AFT president Stephanie Ly is at right. Clyde Mueller/The New Mexican

A judge on Monday finally scheduled a trial date in a long-running lawsuit launched by a teachers’ union to stop New Mexico’s controversial system of evaluating teachers.

But the trial won’t start until a year from now, on Oct. 23, 2017, state District Judge David Thomson announced. The American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation and others sued the state Public Education Department over the evaluation process in 2014.

The unions argue that the system, which heavily relies on student test scores to measure a teacher’s worth, violates the state’s School Personnel Act. The Public Education Department changed some aspects of the teacher evaluation plan without legislative approval. As a result, the state can use the evaluation system to fire teachers, the unions said.

Lawyers for both sides agreed to the yearlong hiatus so they can include any new data or regulations that the Public Education Department may release.

Thomson said he will continue an injunction that prohibits the education department from using the teacher evaluations for personnel actions, such as firing teachers or putting them on a professional improvement plan.

Randi Weingarten, national president of the 1.6-million member American Federation of Teachers union, attended Monday’s hearing in Santa Fe. She said the fact that Thomson enjoined the state from using the evaluations to discipline teachers is “a pretty big red flag that there is a problem.”

Weingarten called New Mexico’s teacher evaluation system “terrible … political and ideological as opposed to educational.”

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration implemented the teacher evaluation system by rule in 2012. An earlier attempt to enact the changes by statute did not clear the state Legislature.

The annual assessments rely on a combination of student test scores, classroom observations by principals, student and teacher surveys and other measures. Teachers can be rated as “exemplary,” “highly effective,” “effective,” “minimally effective” or “ineffective.”

The education department says the system holds teachers accountable, rewarding the best and allowing those with lower scores to receive professional help. Critics, including various Democratic legislators, say the evaluation measures are too convoluted to understand and hurt good teachers. They also say that no matter how good the state’s intentions may be, the results are sometimes muddled by inaccurate or missing data.

Weingarten, who lives in New York, was in New Mexico to campaign for national and local Democratic candidates in the November election. She said the slow pace of the litigation is keeping educators and lawmakers “in suspense … kind of like Donald Trump holds us in suspense.”

She was referring to Republican presidential nominee Trump’s comment at least week’s presidential debate that he would keep the nation in suspense in terms of whether he would concede a loss to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The National Education Association of New Mexico filed a separate lawsuit in 2014 to stop the evaluation system, claiming that it unlawfully takes control of teacher evaluations and supervision away from local school districts.

Todd Wertheim, attorney for that union, said by phone Monday that he is engaged in settlement negotiations with the education department regarding that case. He said if it is not resolved by the end of the year, it will likely go to trial next spring.

During the past two years, the Public Education Department has been unsuccessful in its efforts to stop either suit or combine them.

Contact Robert Nott at 505-986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com. Unions finally get trial date in state’s maligned teacher evaluation system - The Santa Fe New Mexican: Local News:

New Layers of Dirt on Charter Schools

New Layers of Dirt on Charter Schools:

New Layers of Dirt on Charter Schools

An earlier review identified the "Three Big Sins of Charter Schools": fraud, a lack of transparency, and the exclusion of unwanted students. The evidence against charters continues to grow. Yet except for its reporting on a few egregious examples of charter malfeasance and failure, the mainstream media continues to echo the sentiments of privatization-loving billionaires who believe their wealth somehow equates to educational wisdom.

The Wall Street Journal, in its misinformed way, says that the turnaround of public schools requires "increasing options for parents, from magnet to charter schools." Wrong. As the NAACP affirms, our nation needs "free, high-quality, fully and equitably-funded public education for all children." For all children, not just a select few.

The NAACP has called for a moratorium on charter schools. And Diane Ravitch makes a crucial point: "Would [corporate reformers] still be able to call themselves leaders of the civil rights issue of our time if the NAACP disagreed with their aggressive efforts to privatize public schools?"

Here are the four big sins of charter schools, updated by a surge of new evidence:

1. Starve the Beast

Corporate-controlled spokesgroups ALEC, US Chamber of Commerce, and Americans for Prosperity are drooling over school privatization and automated classrooms, with a formula described by The Nation: "Use standardized tests to declare dozens of poor schools 'persistently failing'; put these under the control of a special unelected authority; and then have that authority replace the public schools with charters." But as aptly expressed by Jeff Bryant, "As a public school loses a percentage of its students to charters, the school can’t simply cut fixed costs for things like transportation and physical plant proportionally...So instead, the school cuts a program or support service."

It's an insidious and ongoing process, aided and abetted by business-friendly mainstream media outlets, to convince Americans that "every family for itself" is better than the mutual support and cooperation of a public school system.

2. Cream and Segregate and Discard

Urban charter schools primarily enroll low-income minority students. That seems admirable upon first reflection, but selective admissions of the best students from ANY community will make an individual school look good, leading to the belief that the concept will work on a larger scale. Success is much harder to achieve if a school accommodates special needs and English-learner students.

Numerous sources reveal the high degree of segregation in charter schools -- white or black, and by income and special need.

As expressed in the report "Failing the Test," "School choice is just that — except that charter schools are doing the choosing instead of communities."

It gets worse. Prominent New York charter network Success Academy has been accused of "counseling out"students who are low-performing or disruptive or otherwise difficult to teach. Even worse are charters that shut down, stranding hundreds of students, while their business operators can just move on to their next project. Nearly 2,500 charter schools closed their doors from 2001 to 2013, leaving over a quarter of a million kids temporarily without a school.

3. Scream 'Public' to Get Tax Money, Plead 'Private' to Hide Salary Data

Charter schools are increasingly run by private companies, or by private trusts. The National Labor Relations Board affirms that charters are private, not public.

As private entities, they are unregulated and lacking in transparency, and, as concluded by the Center for Media and Democracy, they have become a "black hole" into which the federal government has dumped an outrageous $3.7 billion over two decades with little accountability to the public.

4. Engage in "Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement" New Layers of Dirt on Charter Schools: