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Thursday, March 9, 2017

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/9/17


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/9/17
Featured Post

Confronting, Finally, Obama as Centrist, Incrementalist—Never The Socialist | radical eyes for equity



Federal Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)
Federal Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Asks Federal Authorities to Clarify Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, as part of his efforts to ensure parents and students feel safe at schools regardless of their immigrati
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Bribes
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Bribes : Testing Bribes One of the biggest challenges connected with the Big Standardized Test is also one of the most important-- getting students to actually care . State and district officials all across the country have largely failed-- and they know it. Why, yes, I am very excited about the PARCC test. This is less of a challenge with the littles. A primary teacher ca
Sample letter to your legislator about establishing screen time guidelines | Parents Across America
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Teacher to Ohio Gov. Kasich: ‘You are in the dark about life in the classroom’ - The Washington Post
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The Death Tax on Failing Schools/Bad Teachers and TrumpCare - The Wordsmith - The New York Times
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Common Core Advocates' New Boogeyman: Twitterbots | Truth in American Education
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Media Consensus on ‘Failing Schools’ Paved Way for DeVos | By Molly Knefel | Common Dreams
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Linda Darling-Hammond: Education for Sale? | The Nation
Education for Sale? | The Nation : Education for Sale? School choice and the future of American education By Linda Darling-Hammond O n February 7, Betsy Devos was confirmed as the nation’s new education secretary after a contentious 50-50 vote in the Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie. Coming to the job with no experience in public education—either as a student, parent, educa
Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: A Win for the Christian Right - Rolling Stone
Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: A Win for the Christian Right - Rolling Stone : Betsy DeVos' Holy War Her appointment as education secretary marks the crowning achievement of the Christian right's campaign to infiltrate America's secular institutions A few weeks after September 11th, 2001, with the nation reeling from the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., about 400 or so
Confronting, Finally, Obama as Centrist, Incrementalist—Never The Socialist | radical eyes for equity
Confronting, Finally, Obama as Centrist, Incrementalist—Never The Socialist | radical eyes for equity : Confronting, Finally, Obama as Centrist, Incrementalist—Never The Socialist It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. James Baldwin, No Name in the Street (1972) The Right, specifically the Republican Party, has never been too b
Connecticut Alliance for Privacy in Education speaks out against changes to new student privacy law - Wait What?
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Trump's education adviser promotes private schools - ABC News
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YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/8/17
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/8/17 Featured Post Dutch Treat: Detsy DeVos and the Christian Schools Movement - LA Progressive School offers ‘incentives’ to get kids to take Common Core standardized test - The 

Top Posts This Week




Federal Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Federal Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Asks Federal Authorities to Clarify Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools


SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, as part of his efforts to ensure parents and students feel safe at schools regardless of their immigration status, today asked federal law enforcement authorities to explain if they are changing a policy that had avoided immigration actions near schools.
Torlakson wrote a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and requested information if the agency is still following the “Sensitive Locations” guidance, which directs federal agents to generally avoid enforcement activities at schools, school bus stops, college and universities, and other education-related locations.
His letter was prompted by the need to inform school leaders in California, but also by his alarm at an action taken in late February by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who took Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, a 48-year-old father of four, into custody after he dropped off one of his daughters at Academia Avance public charter school in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.
His 13-year-old daughter was in the car and videotaped the event as she cried, and the images and sounds gained viral attention. Federal authorities said he was arrested for past, nonviolent misdemeanor convictions and an immigration violation.
“I have consistently told students and their families that they must feel safe and protected at our schools, especially families who are refugees, Muslims, or undocumented immigrants,” Torlakson said. “Recent actions by federal law enforcement agents around schools have raised serious concerns.”
If the Sensitive Locations guidance is changing and will affect public schools, the California Department of Education (CDE) needs that information to communicate accurately with the state’s 6.2 million public school students and their families and more than 10,000 public schools, Torlakson said.


# # # #
Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
Federal Policy on Immigration Actions Near Schools - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):



Big Education Ape: Sacramento moves to block immigration officials from student data | 89.3 KPCC - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/03/sacramento-moves-to-block-immigration.html

Image result for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Schools

Big Education Ape: Schools receive guidance on interactions with ICE agents :: SI&A Cabinet Report - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/02/schools-receive-guidance-on.html


Big Education Ape: Educators Prepare for Immigration Agents at the Schoolhouse - The New York Times - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/03/educators-prepare-for-immigration.html



Big Education Ape: California Schools Join Sanctuary Movement To Protect Students From Deportation - BuzzFeed News - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/03/california-schools-join-sanctuary.html






El Superintendente Estatal de Instrucción Pública Tom Torlakson pide a las autoridades federales que aclaren la política sobre las acciones de inmigración cerca de las escuelas




SACRAMENTO - El Superintendente Estatal de Instrucción Pública Tom Torlakson, como parte de sus esfuerzos para asegurar que los padres y estudiantes se sientan seguros en las escuelas independientemente de su estatus migratorio, hoy pidió a las autoridades federales de la ley que expliquen si están cambiando una política que había evitado las acciones migratorias cerca escuelas.



Torlakson escribió una carta al Secretario de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos, John Kelly, y solicitó información si la agencia sigue siguiendo la guía de "Ubicaciones Sensibles", que dirige a los agentes federales para evitar generalmente las actividades de aplicación en las escuelas, paradas de autobuses escolares, -relacionadas.



Su carta fue motivada por la necesidad de informar a los líderes escolares de California, pero también por su alarma por una acción tomada a finales de febrero por agentes de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) que tomaron a Romulo Avelica-González, un padre de 48 años de edad Cuatro, en la custodia después de que él cayó una de sus hijas en la escuela charter pública de Academia Avance en el vecindario de Lincoln Heights de Los Ángeles.



Su hija de 13 años estaba en el coche y grabó en video el evento mientras lloraba, y las imágenes y sonidos adquirieron atención viral. Las autoridades federales dijeron que fue arrestado por convicciones de delitos menores no violentos y una violación de inmigración.



"Siempre he dicho a los estudiantes y sus familias que deben sentirse seguros y protegidos en nuestras escuelas, especialmente las familias que son refugiados, musulmanes o inmigrantes indocumentados", dijo Torlakson. "Las acciones recientes de los agentes de la ley federales alrededor de las escuelas han planteado serias preocupaciones".



El Departamento de Educación de California (CDE) necesita esa información para comunicarse con precisión con los 6,2 millones de estudiantes de escuelas públicas del estado y sus familias y más de 10,000 escuelas públicas, dijo Torlakson.



Unesdoc.unesco.org unesdoc.unesco.org



Tom Torlakson - Superintendente Estatal de Instrucción Pública

División de Comunicaciones, Sala 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100



Política Federal sobre Acciones de Inmigración Cerca de Escuelas - Año 2017 (Departamento de Educación de la CA):

CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Bribes

CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Bribes:

Testing Bribes



One of the biggest challenges connected with the Big Standardized Test is also one of the most important-- getting students to actually care.

State and district officials all across the country have largely failed-- and they know it.


Why, yes, I am very excited about the PARCC test.


This is less of a challenge with the littles. A primary teacher can tell her students, "I need you to put your dead possum on your head while poking yourself in the bellybutton with a red crayon," and those children will knock themselves out racing to grab the best piece of roadkill like it is the Most Important Thing Ever. When you're eight, hardly anything in the world makes sense, so you just trust the adults you love and do your best to make them proud of you.

Even so, the word has gotten out that the BS Test is a waste of everyone's time, and the parent-driven opt out movement has spread the word that you don't actually have to suffer through this baloney.

And by the time students arrive at the high school level, they have caught on to the con. They know there's nothing of any importance to them riding on this aimless exercise in baloney bubbling.

All of this is why, throughout the modern reform era, we have seen a cottage industry in testing pep rallies and testing pep videos and chirpy songs with new lyrics about how [insert your school here] is just the most awesome school that is going to be so awesome with its awesome results on the awesome test. You can watch them by the hundreds on youtube, each one a well-scrubbed American version of a Hitler youth meeting or a Chinese Communist political rally-- just instead of honoring our Beloved Leader, we bow down to the BS Test instead.

This year, the winner of the test-prep excess award is Eva Moskowitz, whose Success Academy has rented Radio City Music Hall for the annual "Slam the Exam So We Can Generate Good Numbers for Our Marketing Rally." RCMH has reportedly cut Moskowitz a deal on the price but it's still worth 
CURMUDGUCATION: Testing Bribes: