Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Charter Teacher Fired for Assigning Reading + The Faux Progressive Polka

CURMUDGUCATION:

Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

FL: Charter Teacher Fired for Assigning Reading

1by Peter Greene / 9min

The Franklin Academy charter chain of Florida says it takes its inspiration from Ben Franklin, "a founding father who personified the pursuit of excellence, discovery and creativity." But they apparently also credit Franklin with being a champion of compliance and test prep, and they apparently don't share his respect for teaching. 7th grade English teacher Elliott Herman has been fired by the Pa

NOV 17

The Faux Progressive Polka

24by Peter Greene / 1d

It has always been one of the curiosities of the reformster movement-- the insistence that they are Progressives and Democrats, while they have embraced and pushed policies linked to the privatization of public education. How could it be that Bush II's ed policy could flow seamlessly into Obama's? How could it be that Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton saw each other as simpatico when it came to educati

MA: Charter Lessons

14by Peter Greene / 1d

By now, you've heard that the folks who threw a giant pile of money at Question 2, the initiative to free charter-preneurs from their chains so that they could romp freely in fields of money-- those guys lost, and lost hard. There have been plenty of pieces that dissected the victory for public education from the public education advocate side of things. But I found some interesting points to note

NOV 16

Chait Sends Ed News from Alternate Universe

9by Peter Greene / 2d

New York magazine ran a piece by Jonathan Chait that considers some more ed policy possibilities from the upcoming Trump administration-- but just to switch things up a bit, his article throws around pieces of news from some alternate universe. "Will Trump Give Education Reform the Kiss of Death?" is a legitimate question, but Chait throws in some ideas that are just counterfactual. The hook here

Trump Teaching Lesson

24by Peter Greene / 3d

There's an aspect of Candidate Trump's success that I think is both under-discussed and also a good lesson/reminder for those of us in the teaching biz. Trump never made folks feel stupid. Seriously. Members of the public would figuratively run up to him hollering, "Good lord, did you see this terrible story on the internet," and without batting an eye, Trump would respond "I know!! Incredible, ri

The Open Door

21by Peter Greene / 3d

I have news. Not political news or even education news, but completely personal news. My wife and I are expecting. In fact, we're expecting twins. This is only partially a surprise. There was some science involved, but science does not account for the twin part. So that was a bit of a shock. We have moved past the Really Freaking Out stage for the moment. We are due in June, so we have time to pla

NOV 15

Help Back Backpack

34by Peter Greene / 3d

Sarah Mondale is a documentary filmmaker and teacher. Ten years ago, she and her partners created the multi-part documentary School: The Story of American Education ( you can find the book form at many booksellers ). Now she has a new project and it deserves your support. Backpack Full of Cash is a look at the privatization of education in America , how the drive to make schools into a profitable

Jeb's Charterpalooza Coming Soon

9by Peter Greene / 3d

Proud to say that today's email includes my media registration invitation to this years convention thrown by Jeb Bush (out-of-work politician) & Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE)-- Transforming Lives Through Education. I am interested in seeing what happens next to Jeb!, who now occupies a weird sort of reformster twilight zone. On the one hand, Herr Trump appears to fully embrace Bush'

NOV 14

Yes, It's That Bad

400+by Peter Greene / 4d

We have the first names of the Trump administration, and people are worked up. The choice of Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff is one more sign that folks who wanted Trump to completely turn his back on the establishment and drain the swamp-- well, that is going to be the first of many disappointments for them. But the choice of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist is bad news. Exceptionally bad news.

NOV 13

OH: One Third Won't Graduate

51by Peter Greene / 5d

Back in the summer of 2014, the Ohio legislature approved a New! Improved! plan for measuring student achievement. Two years later, it's not looking so good. The plan was to expand over and above the old Ohio Graduation Test, which would be replaced with seven other tests. Four of the new exams will be based on the new multi-state Common Core standards that Ohio is starting to use in all schools.

Adieu, Core Warriors: The Post-Election Realignment

100+by Peter Greene / 6d

It was going to happen sooner or later. The folks lined up against the forces of reformsterdom, like the forces of reformsterdom themselves, represented an odd patchwork of alliances, an alignment of a few interests that prompted overlooking a few others. But now, with Trump's election, alliances on both sides will be ended. Folks are going to have to throw away their old dance cards and grab some

ICYMI: Special Take a Breather Edition

14by Peter Greene / 6d

Man, I just can't. I've been reading election-related stuff all week, and either you have, too, or you have given up. Either way, you don't need any more. So let's just take a break, for a few moments, before we wade back into it again. Gunhild Carling is a musical prodigy from Sweden. Genius duet between Astaire and Eleanor Powell, the unfairly forgotten Queen of Tap. Fun to watch Astaire work on

NOV 12

Uganda Shuts Down For-Profit Ed Provider

25by Peter Greene / 6d

We can get so focused on the USA aspects of reformsterism that we forget how much privatization is being exported. Take, for instance, the export of some of our worst, most developmentally-inappropriate ideas to schools in Ecuador. But one of the thriving edu-exports has been the business of selling school-in-a-can t9o nations in Africa. Bridge Academies are one such edu-business , founded by a no

Principled Bullies

53by Peter Greene / 6d

At the end of this seemingly endless week (perhaps it just seems linger because I've spent so little of it sleeping), what I most treasure are people of principle. And I'm going to ask you to do something for me here, because if you get mad and check out in the middle of this piece, you are going to miss the point. One of the most striking and disappointing things about many Trump supporters has b

NOV 11

Education's Trumpian Crystal Ball

23by Peter Greene / 7d

Today's new cottage industry is Trumpian predictive activities-- what will he do, what will happen next, what will he decide about My Favorite Issue. This is a bit of a fool's game-- on the one hand, Trump has told us pretty clearly what he's 

CURMUDGUCATION:

No Tea Party for Rhee: President-Elect Trump should remember 'The Snake' song before he meets with Michelle Rhee today

Blog: President-Elect Trump should remember 'The Snake' song before he meets with Michelle Rhee today:

 President-Elect Trump should remember 'The Snake' song before he meets with Michelle Rhee today

Donald Trump plans to meet with Michelle Rhee today, according to his communications director. Rhee is considered to be on the short list of the President-Elect's candidates for education secretary. Hopefully, Team Trump will practice due diligence and not allow the former chancellor of DC Public Schools and CEO of the billion dollar StudentsFirst organization to slither her way into Trump's cabinet.

Rhee's radical roots go deep.  She is not only a gun control advocate, she supports Michael Bloomberg on this issue as well.

In a December 18, 2012 StudentsFirst memo Rhee urged staff to publicly oppose SB59 in Michigan-- legislation that would allow  concealed pistol license holders who completed additional training to carry a concealed pistol in schools and other places that currently are off-limits.

From Rhee's memo:

Accordingly, I have come to the conclusion that StudentsFirst must publicly oppose legislation that would bring firearms into schools, anywhere. That includes opposing SB 59 in Michigan. We urge our members to voice their opposition as well. While gun control issues fall outside our direct policy agenda, I have absolutely no reluctance taking this position. I am convinced that allowing firearms in schools cannot help advance student achievement or put the interests of students first. 

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is right when he says that our nation’s leaders must not let this moment pass without taking strong action.

Michelle Rhee also happens to be a registered lobbyist, a no-no on Trump's list of pros and cons.

Moreover, Rhee had a board member on StudentsFirstNY show up in the wikileaks email scandal. Douglas Band served on the board in 2013 and has been called “the man at the center of Bill Clinton, Inc.” Band was the author of a memo, leaked in the Podesta leaks, that shows how much money he raised for Bill Clinton in his various and conflicting “non-profit” and for-profit ventures 

On Common Core, Rhee accused Republicans not supporting the initiative of having "lost their minds."

From this youtube video:

Michelle Rhee:  “I'm sorry, so. I'm a Democrat. I don't dislike Republicans, but Republicans have lost their minds when it comes to common core. Ya'll are wrong on this one. Okay? Common core is just, I mean, it's obvious, you need a set of internationally-benchmarked national standards to ensure that every kid regardless of where they live, whether its in Jackson, Mississippi or Sacramento, California or Kansas City, Missouri. The expectations that we have for them are high and uniform. There is nothing wrong with that. But, you know, now Common Core has become this, basically like a political football. And its because after Obamacare it was like “what else do we want to attack Barack Obama on-- oh yeah lets he's trying to take over, you know, the federal role in education,” which is just ridiculous."

This is the height of Rhee's duplicity.  Not only did Obama strong-arm cash-strapped school districts into adopting Common Core State Standards in order to receive federal funds, Common Core also altered the method and content of what was being tested. 

Rhee knew this since the non-profit she founded, The New Teacher Project, issued a 2013 report in collaboration with David Coleman's Student Achievement Partners (SAP) (Yes, the same Coleman that not only designed Common Core, but showed up as the Treasurer for StudenstFirst until 2012) that explicitly tied the standards to subject matter.    

The observation tools used in the past to rate teachers have not been updated, the authors complained, "to reflect the Common Core -- especially the importance the standards place on teaching the right content." (emphasis mine)

Rhee’s own New Teacher Project collaborators then wrote the organization was developing a rubric that will direct the "observer" in the classroom to Common Core language and math standards in order to "ground conversations about lessoncontent in the language of the relevant standards."

According to its own creators, Rhee’s New Teacher Project and David Coleman, Common Core was designed to broaden the federal role into education beyond testing standards into content—the very goal Rhee mocked Republicans for suggesting in the video.

Mr. Trump needs to get a broom and sweep this rattler out of contention as fast as he can.

H/T Beth FlynnBlog: President-Elect Trump should remember 'The Snake' song before he meets with Michelle Rhee today:

Bobay: California abandons Career Technical Education

Bobay: California abandons Career Technical Education:

Bobay: California abandons Career Technical Education

Students from Silicon Valley Career Technical Education classes renovated this San Jose house and brought it up to code as part of their career training. (Mercury News File Photo)

Thirty years ago, the “one way to win” paradigm in education became popular in high schools. Counselors only promoted classes that would lead teenage students to college. In the long term, this wiped out vocational programs, known now as Career Technical Education (CTE).

In 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown created the new Local Control Funding Formula to redirect the investments in special programs. He stated if districts value a program, they will fund it. His idea of funding Career Technical Education was to throw $500 million out to both school districts and CTE centers to compete for grants. In addition, grants must be matched with district funds.

The programs become sustainable when the grants conclude.

We need legislators in California to stand up for future funding for career education, the way Congressmen Joe Heck from Las Vegas and John Kline from Minnesota stood up recently to authorize federal CTE funds.

How do you make sustainable programs at Career Technical Education centers that serve over 200,000 students in California when there is no future for them?

On a positive note, the funds that have been awarded through grants have been put to good use starting cutting-edge programs. This is what the state needs. But when the grants run out, so do the services and programs for these centers.

Silicon Valley and cities across the United States continue to diversify their economies to keep pace in a rapidly changing global marketplace; we need a well-educated, highly trained workforce to fill the jobs of the future. Students enrolled in CTE programs are challenging themselves and learning advanced and highly technical subjects that will help them fill current in-demand jobs.

According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, there are about 4 million job openings in the United States. Among the top industries are: manufacturing, engineering, cybersecurity, and healthcare. Where does the governor think students can receive this training? Especially now that ITT Tech, Heald Business College and Corinthian College have all shut down?

Career Technical Education Centers produce more than 2,000 trained students per year, per community. The centers serve all students, but they tend to attract a higher percentage of under-represented populations. More than 70 percent of the students studying in the Health Careers field go on to college, making them both college and career ready.

Superintendents in California have been fighting for CTE dollars for over a quarter of a century. It is time to invest in our centers and programs that can put people to work in today’s jobs. We are a service that needs to stay open and have adequate funding for workforce development in our communities.

Daniel Bobay is a Milpitas Unified School District trustee and board president of the Metropolitan Education District, which operates Silicon Valley Career Technical Education for six local school districts. He wrote this for The Mercury News.Bobay: California abandons Career Technical Education:

Update: Trump camp calls off meeting with state school chiefs from across U.S.

Update: Trump camp calls off meeting with state school chiefs from across U.S. | National | thenewsherald.com:

Update: Trump camp calls off meeting with state school chiefs from across U.S.

Updated at noon Friday: State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and other state education leaders from across the U.S. gathered at an annual policy forum were informed Friday morning that their planned meeting with a representative of President-elect Donald Trump has been cancelled.

The agenda for the three-day, annual gathering of the Council of Chief State School Officers in Baltimore, Maryland, originally included a Saturday morning session on the transition to a new presidential administration.

The event agenda stated that “the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump is sending a senior representative to discuss and answer questions about the education priorities of the incoming Administration.”

Steffie Corcoran, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Department of Education, said shortly after Council officials informed Hofmeister and the other state chiefs that the Trump camp meeting was off, the organization issued an official statement.

"The Council of Chief State School Officers has been in discussions with President-Elect Trump’s transition team on the priorities state leaders in education have set to ensure every child – regardless of background –graduates prepared for college, careers, and life. At this time, we understand the new administration is working on its transition in a number of areas as they prepare to take office. We look forward to continuing to work with the transition team and new Secretary of Education and to facilitate a conversation with state education chiefs in the near future," said Melissa McGrath, communications director at the CCSSO, in the written press statement.

Questions abound in public education about what Trump’s advocacy for major new investments in school choice will look like, as well as implications on their ongoing implementation of the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act.

“There are definitely questions that we all have and we’re in the middle of implementing ESSA while awaiting guidance from the (U.S. Department of Education),” Hofmeister told the Tulsa World.

“I don’t know if Trump will have a new secretary (of education) announced by then, but every state is wondering what this means.”

ESSA, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act, offers little wiggle room on the school accountability systems every state must maintain.

It specifies five required indicators of school performance, Hofmeister said: academic achievement as measured by the annual state assessments, a “valid and reliable” statewide academic indicator for elementary and middle or junior high schools, high school graduation rate, progress in English-learners achieving English language proficiency, and, finally, at least one indicator of school quality and success “with greater weight placed on the first four indicators.”

States are still waiting on the U.S. Department of Education to adopt final regulations for how they are to implement ESSA.

Rumors are swirling about whether Trump will select a non-traditional individual as U.S. secretary of education — or whether he will forgo having a cabinet member over education altogether.

That move could signal his campaign vow to greatly reduce or even eliminate the federal government’s role in public education.

The implications of what happens next could quickly trickle down to the local school level.

“With the (ESSA) law being fairly new and the regulations just now under development, it certainly makes it uncertain for those of us in school districts and states,” said Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist, who previously served as the state education leader for Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.

“As far as accountability systems and assessments, I don’t think there will be shifts that will be noticeable to the public because they’re much more technical, but we’re just standing by to see will there be a shift in philosophy in the way in which those are implemented.”

As for other opportunities for the president-elect’s philosophies on education to affect students and families relying on public schools across the U.S., Gist said all indications point to one particular area.

“The only real education policy that President-elect Trump talked regularly about during the campaign is school choice, so we are standing by to see what exactly that will mean to him and for the rest of our programming,” she said.

Andrea Eger 

918-581-8470

andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Twitter: @AndreaEger

This article originally ran on tulsaworld.com.

Update: Trump camp calls off meeting with state school chiefs from across U.S. | National | thenewsherald.com:

Trump school voucher plan comes against backdrop of opposition in California | EdSource

Trump school voucher plan comes against backdrop of opposition in California | EdSource:

Trump school voucher plan comes against backdrop of opposition in California

While K-12 education issues were rarely mentioned in the 2016 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trumps’s proposal to give children taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend a range of schools, including private schools, could find fertile ground in his administration.

It’s an idea that has never been popular among California voters, and one that union leaders and those close to them view with trepidation.

Josh Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, said that with Congress under GOP control, enactment of Trump’s voucher plan was a “scary prospect.” Steve Zimmer, president of the Los Angeles Unified school board, worried that Trump would promote a “radical deregulation policy” that would include “federally implemented vouchers.”

In part because so few education issues were raised by either Clinton or Trump during the campaign, his $20 billion “school choice” plan to give government-funded vouchers to all low-income children in the United States to attend schools of their choice stands out.

He derisively referred to public schools as “failed government schools.” He said that it was a “civil right” for millions of inner city children “trapped” in those schools to be able to attend schools of their choice – whether private schools, charter schools, magnet schools or traditional public schools.

“There is no failed policy in more urgent need of change than our government-run education monopoly,” he said.

Although California offers parents a generous choice of charter schools, Californians have not been receptive to the idea of issuing vouchers for private Trump school voucher plan comes against backdrop of opposition in California | EdSource:

Cartoons on Teachers and Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Cartoons on Teachers and Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Cartoons on Teachers and Kids in School 

For this month, I am returning to an old theme for cartoons–school interactions between students, teachers, and parents. Enjoy!

 see more cartoons at: Cartoons on Teachers and Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: