Big Education Ape

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Senate committee approves DeVos nomination | TheHill

Senate committee approves DeVos nomination | TheHill:

Senate committee approves DeVos nomination

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Tuesday morning approved Betsy DeVos’s nomination to lead the Department of Education.

DeVos was confirmed 12-11 along party lines. Her nomination will now go to the Senate floor, where she’ll need only need a simple majority to be confirmed as the secretary of Education.

The billionaire GOP donor faced a contentious hearing earlier this month when Senate Democrats questioned her commitment to public education and grilled her on her conflicts of interest.

DeVos stumbled on some questions, notably when Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked her about a contentious debate within education policy circles.

But Republicans on the committee praised her education credentials, signaling that she won’t have an issue getting through the GOP’s 52-seat majority in the upper chamber.

The executive session for the HELP Committee had been postponed one week, giving senators more time to review DeVos’s letter to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) where she outlined how to avoid conflicts of interest.

Democrats repeatedly asked for a second round of questioning at her hearing, but HELP Committee chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) denied the request and only gave himself and Murray additional time.

Senate Democrats pushed for a second hearing, writing in a letter to Alexander that they were “extremely disappointed” by the first one. The Tennessee Republican rejected holding another hearing.

In the days leading up to the hearing, Franken said that no Democrats would vote for DeVos and liberal groups jammed senators’ phone lines with thousands of calls urging them to oppose her nomination.

But, so far, no Republican defections have materialized.Senate committee approves DeVos nomination | TheHill:

Betsy DeVos Invests in a Therapy Under Scrutiny - The New York Times

Betsy DeVos Invests in a Therapy Under Scrutiny - The New York Times:

Betsy DeVos Invests in a Therapy Under Scrutiny

A group of brain performance centers backed by Betsy DeVos, the nominee for education secretary, promotes results that are nothing short of stunning: improvements reported by 91 percent of patients with depression, 90 percent with attention deficit disorder, 90 percent with anxiety.

The treatment offered by Neurocore, a business in which Ms. DeVos and her husband, Dick, are the chief investors, consists of showing movies to patients and interrupting them when the viewers become distracted, in an effort to retrain their brains. With eight centers in Michigan and Florida and plans to expand, Neurocore says it has assessed about 10,000 people for health problems that often require medication.

“Is it time for a mind makeover?” the company asks in its advertising. “All it takes is science.”

But a review of Neurocore’s claims and interviews with medical experts suggest its conclusions are unproven and its methods questionable.

Neurocore has not published its results in peer-reviewed medical literature. Its techniques — including mapping brain waves to diagnose problems and using neurofeedback, a form of biofeedback, to treat them — are not considered standards of care for the majority of the disorders it treats, including autism. Social workers, not doctors, perform assessments, and low-paid technicians with little training apply the methods to patients, including children with complex problems.

In interviews, nearly a dozen child psychiatrists and psychologists with expertise in autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., expressed caution regarding some of Neurocore’s assertions, advertising and methods.

“This causes real harm to children because it diverts attention, hope and resources,” said Dr. Matthew Siegel, a child psychiatrist at Maine Behavioral Healthcare and associate professor at Tufts School of Medicine, who co-wrote autism practice standards for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “If there were something out there that was uniquely powerful and wonderful, we’d all be using it.”

Neurocore rejects any suggestion that its treatments do not work as advertised. Dr. Majid Fotuhi, Neurocore chief medical officer, said, “There is significant research to support the efficacy of neurofeedback for a variety of mental and behavioral health issues.”

Ms. DeVos, whose appointment as education secretary is expected to be voted on Tuesday morning by a Senate committee, had said she would leave Neurocore’s board, but would retain her investment in the company, which she valued at $5 million to $25 million, according to documents filed this month with the Office of Government Ethics.

Last Friday, a group of Democratic senators sent Ms. DeVos a letter saying Betsy DeVos Invests in a Therapy Under Scrutiny - The New York Times:

How big a factor is Trump's school choice support in the LA charter school debate? | 89.3 KPCC

How big a factor is Trump's school choice support in the LA charter school debate? | 89.3 KPCC:

How big a factor is Trump's school choice support in the LA charter school debate?

Luna Cruz, 9, pushed through the crowd at the teachers union rally in front of her school, Grand View Boulevard Elementary. A teacher had asked if she would speak in front of the gathering — a protest of President Donald Trump on the eve of his inauguration.

The crowd had swelled beyond the "dozens" the union had expected. Hundreds turned out to hear speaker after speaker denounce what they termed Trump's anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric — and also to criticize the president for his nomination of private school voucher and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education, whose confirmation hearing in a U.S. Senate committee is scheduled for Tuesday.

In front of the large crowd, Luna, a fourth grader, couldn't gather the nerve to speak. But later, after the crowds around her west Los Angeles school had begun to disperse, she said this was what she wanted to tell the president:

"It’s not fair that you’re doing this," she said. "You shouldn’t be doing this. You need to stop."

Stop what? "Trying to turn public schools into charters."

President Trump has promised to spend $20 billion on expanding "school choice" — meaning, policies which give students more chances to attend private or charter schools. DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist and prominent Republican donor, was critical in bringing charter schools to her home state of Michigan.

But in deep-blue L.A., some charter school leaders say the Trump administration’s embrace of school choice has complicated the local political debate over charter schools.

They're worried Trump's support at the federal level might prove toxic enough that it ends up helping local opponents of charter schools — publicly-funded schools run, not by a school district, but by an outside organization such as a non-profit.

"It would be much more valuable for me, frankly, if [the president] just said he hates charter schools," said Caprice Young, chief executive officer and superintendent of the Magnolia network of charter schools.

"The fact," Young added, "that Trump supports charter schools gives the opposition to charter schools in California an opportunity to equate charter schools with the things that Trump cares about, that most Californians are opposed to."

"Certainly what’s happening at the national level is trickling down," said California Charter Schools Association spokesman Jason Mandell. "And yes, it does provide How big a factor is Trump's school choice support in the LA charter school debate? | 89.3 KPCC:

The Vulnerable Young People Denied Access to What We Call the American Dream | janresseger

The Vulnerable Young People Denied Access to What We Call the American Dream | janresseger:

The Vulnerable Young People Denied Access to What We Call the American Dream

As he promised during the campaign, President Donald Trump is cracking down on immigration—pledging to deport anyone who is caught without papers and creating chaos and injustice with an outrageous executive order late last week that suspends entry for all refugees for 120 days, entirely bans refugees from Syria and for 90 days bars immigrants from seven Muslim countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

But so far, at least, Trump has done nothing about DACA. DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, was established by President Barack Obama’s executive order to protect adolescents and young adults—brought here by their parents when they were small children—from deportation and to allow these young adults to obtain work permits. The protection established by President Obama under DACA is for two years and is renewable.

These young people call themselves Dreamers, named for a bill introduced in Congress in 2001 by Senator Dick Durbin, a bill that has never been passed, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Bill—the DREAM Act. President Obama established DACA because Congress had never acted on the broader bill that would have expanded access to higher education by guaranteeing in-state tuition and access to federal financial aid and to scholarships at state colleges and universities.

In Sunday’s NY Times Magazine, Dale Russakoff published an extraordinary profile of one Dreamer, a young woman named Indira, who left Mexico with her parents when she was six years old. Her parents, both medical doctors in Mexico but working in menial jobs in the U.S. ever since, brought their family to the United States on an immigrant visa and never returnedThe Vulnerable Young People Denied Access to What We Call the American Dream | janresseger:

January Grassroots Education Network Newsletter - Network For Public Education

January Grassroots Education Network Newsletter - Network For Public Education:

January Grassroots Education Network Newsletter

When we emailed Grassroots Network members earlier this month, we asked you to encourage your members to call senators and ask them to “say no” to Betsy DeVos.

The response across the country has been unprecedented, with Politico, The Hill, and others reporting that Senate phone lines have been jammed with callers demanding senators #DumpDeVos.

DeVos’s confirmation hearing performance was abysmal, proving that her knowledge of K-12 education is shockingly limited, making her unfit to be the nation’s next Secretary of Education.

Under pressure from public education supporters around the country, including amazing grassroots groups like Public School Watchdogs (you’ll learn more about them below), it has been confirmed that all democrats will vote against DeVos.

The Momma Bears in Tennessee are joining in a call for a Town Hall Meeting with HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, who has emerged as a staunch DeVos ally. Grassroots groups and individuals across the state are demanding that Alexander listen to his constituents, who have overwhelmingly expressed their opposition to DeVos.

Another grassroots group, Tennessee Organizers Against Betsy DeVos, held a demonstration outside of Alexander’s Nashville office to urge him to oppose DeVos’s nomination.

If you missed NPE President Diane Ravitch’s open letter to Lamar Alexander about DeVos, make sure to read and share it.

In it she writes:

This is not “reform.” This is backsliding. This is wiping out nearly two centuries of hard-won progress towards public schools that enroll boys and girls, children of all races and cultures, children with disabilities, and children who are learning English. We have been struggling to attain equality of educational opportunity; we are still far from it. School choice promotes segregation and would take us further away from our national goal.

It is clear – DeVos’s school choice agenda is dangerous for our country and our schools. We must keep up the pressure. The HELP Committee will vote on DeVos’s nomination this morning. If the Committee votes to confirm her, the vote will then go on to the full Senate. Call your Senators’ office (again), collect letters or postcards, visit offices, stage a protest, and send out a press release about your efforts – just do something to make your voice heard and demand that your senator listen to their constituents.

The work that has been done across the country to oppose DeVos’s nomination has been inspiring. On Saturday, DeVos protestors took to the streets of her home town of Holland, Michigan. You can watch a news clip of that protest by clicking the image below.

Whether or not DeVos is confirmed, there will be a tremendous amount of work ahead. The little that Trump has revealed about his education plan is frightening – 20 billion in block grants to states taken from existing federal education funds to follow children to the school of their choice – private, charter or online.

The grassroots reports below highlight the issues we will face, and what we can do to push back against the coming wave of school choice. We hope you find these reports from Indiana, New York City and Kentucky inspiring and useful.

January Grassroots Education Network Reports

Read this report from former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz, in which she details Mike Pence’s school choice January Grassroots Education Network Newsletter - Network For Public Education:

Russ on Reading: The Writing Strategies Book, by Jennifer Serravallo A Review

Russ on Reading: The Writing Strategies Book, by Jennifer Serravallo A Review:

The Writing Strategies Book, by Jennifer Serravallo A Review

Jennifer Serravallo calls herself a “dedicated reading and writing workshop teacher.” As any dedicated reading and writing workshop teacher will tell you, teaching in this fashion is both tremendously rewarding and damned hard work. In her new book, The Writing Strategies Book,Serravallo has given the hard-working literacy teacher just the kind of help she needs. The Writing Strategies Book is a companion book to The Reading Strategies Book, which Serravallo released two years ago and which I reviewed here. Like the earlier book, The Writing Strategies Book has Serravallo’s characteristically thoughtful organization, grounding in research, and helpful format. Whatever your concern about the needs of a particular writer or group of writers in grades K-8, you are likely to find assistance here.

The book is organized around ten goals, arranged in a loose hierarchy. Serravallo’s view (reflecting Hattie’s research) is that the skillful writing teacher assists students to articulate a goal and then provides strategies and feedback to help them achieve that goal. The ten goals are composing with pictures, engagement, generating ideas, focus, organization/structure, elaboration, word choice, conventions, and partnerships and clubs. These goals are then arranged in such a way to allow teachers to pick and choose appropriately for students at different levels of writing development.

Each chapter introduces the goal and suggests how to know if the teacher is choosing the right goal for a particular writing student. The chapters also contain dozens of strategies to help the harried teacher meet the individual needs of students at varying levels of control of the writing process. These strategy sheets,Russ on Reading: The Writing Strategies Book, by Jennifer Serravallo A Review:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos appointment is central part of Trump's coup. Say 'NO'!

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos appointment is central part of Trump's coup. Say 'NO'!:

DeVos appointment is central part of Trump's coup. Say 'NO'!

Alaskans gathered outside U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Anchorage office urging her to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary Monday. (Bill Roth / Alaska Dispatch News)

Unless the vote is postponed, today is the day of decision on Betsy DeVos. There are many reasons to oppose the appointment of right-wing billionaire DeVos, from her ignorance of and disdain for public education, her extremism in pushing privatization and "choice" (privately-managed charters and vouchers) to her imposition of religious fundamentalism into the schools, crossing the constitutional separation of church and state.

But more importantly, the DeVos appointment, along with the rest, should be seen as part and parcel of the Trump/Bannon/corporatist/white nationalist coup d'etat. This is not simply a matter of her competence as an administrator or policy adviser to the president.

Senate Democrats, who've been rendering unto Caesar on previous Trump appointments, Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos appointment is central part of Trump's coup. Say 'NO'!:

LAP DANCE

The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Monica Garcia

The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Monica Garcia:

The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Monica Garcia

Please list your top 4 priorities for the elective office you are seeking.

“1. Increase graduation

Increase 3rd grade reading

Reduce suspensions

Reduce drop-outs”

– Monica Garcia

There are many challenges facing the LAUSD. As an example, just last month the District warned state and county officials that it “may not be able to meet its financial obligations in upcoming years because it faces a cumulative deficit of $1.46 billion through the 2018-2019 school year.” It is also fighting a $1 billion lawsuit filed by Mark Geragos against the LAUSD on behalf of teachers who were victimized by the District’s Teacher Jail program. Parents of children with moderate to severe special education needs are also suing the District in an effort to keep special education centers open. Most concerning, incumbent Board member Monica Garcia states that “most of our kids, all of our kids can’t read.”

With these major problems on the table, there is a lot of room to set four top priorities. However, when replying to a questionnaire from the East Area Progressive Democrats, Garcia listed “Increase graduation” and “Reduce drop-outs” as two different priorities. These are two The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Monica Garcia:

CURMUDGUCATION: Beyond Tuesday

CURMUDGUCATION: Beyond Tuesday:
Beyond Tuesday

It's late. I've finished firing off today's set of e-mails and vented some general internet outrage (because, you know, a well-turned tweet from a small town English teacher is totally going to shift the American conversation). And I think I'm settled for tomorrow.

Look, sooner or later one of two things is going to happen. Betsy DeVos is going to be confirmed as Secretary of Education, or she's not. One of those is far more likely than the other, but in both cases, we need to be prepared for what comes next.

The far-less-likely possibility is that she will be defeated and rejected, and that will be a good thing, but if it happens, the next thing that will happen is that Herr Trump will nominate someone else, and that person will be terrible. It might seem like an improvement because it may just be garden variety terrible and not burn-down-the-world terrible. But any education nominee out of this administration is going to be terrible. But still-- remember that Eva Moskowitz and She Who Will Not Be Named (former DC chancellor) were both reportedly considered, and both would suck hugely.

So if far-less-likely option occurs, we are going to have one more terrible Secretary of Education. We will have to do some loin girding and battening of hatches, and we will have to get back to the business of teaching in the storm, dancing into the apocalypse.

The far-more-likely possibility is that she will be confirmed. It is possible that some set of GOP senators will blink, but in case you haven't noticed, DC is not exactly awash in bold vertebrate behavior right now.

If DeVos is confirmed, you're going to hear a lot about how this was a big defeat for teachers and CURMUDGUCATION: Beyond Tuesday:

Tweets from Betsy DeVos Now Signed “-Betsy” | deutsch29

Tweets from Betsy DeVos Now Signed “-Betsy” | deutsch29:

Tweets from Betsy DeVos Now Signed “-Betsy”

On January 20, 2017, Michigan billionaire and USA ed sec nominee Betsy DeVos found herself the subject of embarrassing grammatical errors related to a tweet posted on her Twitter page presumably by her.

The original tweet was corrected and posted on social media, where it made the rounds in short order:

(Click to enlarge)

The “corrected” version on DeVos’ Twitter page does not include all of the corrections noted above and continues to be available as follows:

The original tweet, which included the misused term, “historical,” was edited to include the proper term, “historic,” and was explained via the following tweet:

It seems, however, that DeVos is now delivering the message that even the “apology tweet” was not drafted by her but by staff who have been apparently placed in charge of the Betsy DeVos Twitter account.

Beginning January 23, 2017, some DeVos tweets include the tag, “-Betsy.” In addition, DeVos’ brief Twitter bio now includes the disclaimer, “Tweets from Betsy are signed ‘-Betsy.'”

So, what that means is that if the “historical” Twitter embarrassment had not occurred, then readers of DeVos’ Twitter page might still be led to believe that “-Betsy” was indeed exclusively tweeting her own tweets.

As it stands, neither Betsy DeVos nor her staff have been much into tweeting. As of this writing, DeVos has posted only 24 tweets, with her third tweet being posted on November 23, 2017– the day that Trump announced her as his nominee for US secretary of education.

Of course, that could change. DeVos now has over 63,000 followers, and, as we now Tweets from Betsy DeVos Now Signed “-Betsy” | deutsch29:

Schools Encouraged to Continue Safe Haven Efforts - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Schools Encouraged to Continue Safe Haven Efforts - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Encourages All California Schools to Continue "Safe Haven" Efforts

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today urged all California public schools to continue “Safe Haven” efforts for students and their families, particularly Muslims and refugees targeted by recent federal actions.

“As a teacher, coach, father, citizen, and leader of California’s public school system, I strongly disagree with President Trump’s recent immigration order and want to make sure that our students and families who are refugees and Muslims feel safe and protected in our schools,” said Torlakson. “California public schools welcome all students regardless of their heritage, religion, ethnicity, background, disability, or sexual orientation.

“Diversity is California’s strength. We do not just welcome diversity. We celebrate it. An ill-conceived presidential executive order is not going to change that.”

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday that barred refugees from any nation from entering the United States for 120 days, indefinitely barred refugees from Syria, and also blocked citizens from seven Muslim majority nations from entering the U.S. in the next 90 days. Those nations are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

Torlakson urged school districts to continue to make sure students and their families feel safe at school and reminded educators and the public that existing laws protect students’ records from questions about immigration status.

Torlakson in December wrote a letter to all 1,025 California school districts and urged them to adopt “Safe Haven” resolutions which many districts have or will soon do so. “Engaged parents play a key role in helping students succeed on their way to 21st century careers and college, “Torlakson said.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Is President Trump Psychologically Unstable? Does the Constitution Provide for Removal from Office? | Ed In The Apple

Is President Trump Psychologically Unstable? Does the Constitution Provide for Removal from Office? | Ed In The Apple:

Is President Trump Psychologically Unstable? Does the Constitution Provide for Removal from Office?

Tyrants are seldom free; the cares and the instruments of their tyranny enslave them. George Santayana

Hard to believe, only week two of the Trump suzerainty; he did what Bernie and Hillary were unable to do, unify the young and the old, the progressives and the liberals, he has created a tsunami of democratic opposition.

Today Sean Spicer, the Press Secretary, met, or shall we say confronted the media. Each day his role is to meet with credentialed press and answer questions in a televised setting. He was curt, on the verge of rude, confrontational. He moved from questioner to questioner lecturing them, answering briefly and moving on. It was disrespectful. In my role as a union leader/representative (Watch press conference here) I faced many hostile audiences. I never argued, I was polite, listened, thanked the questioners,

Of course, Spicer has an extremely difficult job, to defend the indefensible, a president who has serious psychological issues: Is he a sociopath, a psychopath?

An op-ed in the NY Daily News, “President Trump exhibits classic signs of mental illness, including ‘malignant narcissism,” shrinks say,” questions the competency of our chief executive.

The article avers,

“Dr. Julie Futrell, a clinical psychologist said, ‘Narcissism impairs his ability to see reality …. So you can’t use logic to persuade someone like that. Three million women marching? Doesn’t move him. Advisers point out that a policy choice didn’t work? He won’t care. The maintenance of self-identity is the organizing principle of life for those who fall toward the pathological end of the narcissistic spectrum'”.

“A top psychotherapist affiliated with the esteemed Johns Hopkins University Medical School said Trump “is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president.”

“The American Psychiatric Association says that anyone exhibiting five of the following nine egotistical traits has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Count up how many Trump exhibits:”

Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).
Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, Is President Trump Psychologically Unstable? Does the Constitution Provide for Removal from Office? | Ed In The Apple:

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