NYC Public School Parents: Testimonies of four mothers, speaking about how their children have been affected by the unacceptably large classes in city schools

NYC Public School Parents: Testimonies of four mothers, speaking about how their children have been affected by the unacceptably large classes in city schools

Testimonies of four mothers, speaking about how their children have been affected by the unacceptably large classes in city schools

The testimonies of parents, educators and advocates at the class size hearings at City Hall on Friday were so powerful that I am going to post many of them on this blog.  Here is video of the proceedings -- nearly six hours.  The hearings would have lasted even longer if many of the parents who wanted to testify hadn't been shut out because the room was too crowded. Here's an article about the hearings from Chalkbeat.

Below are the heartbreaking statements of four mothers, Alexa Aviles, Emily Hellstrom, Karen Sprowal and Naila Rosario. Two of these mothers have children with special needs; but none of their kids were served adequately because of the unacceptably large classes in the city's public schools.

The plight of English language learners is also mentioned in Alexa Aviles' testimony, who asked, can you imagine such a child in a class of 32? It would be like trying to learn in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Karen Sprowal's statement is especially illuminating as she points out how much the city is now paying  for her son to attend a private school where he could be provided with the smaller classes he needs -- $93,000 per year. The expense to the city of private school placements for special needs kids is growing fast -- this year more than  $325 million,  a direct result of the large classes in the city's schools that parents are so desperate to get their children out of.

As Karen put it, "Even as class size reduction may be costly, I would like the DOE and our elected officials to think about the costs of NOT lowering class size."  CONTINUE READING: NYC Public School Parents: Testimonies of four mothers, speaking about how their children have been affected by the unacceptably large classes in city schools

My Book, A Practical Guide to Digital Research, Is Now Available! | deutsch29

My Book, A Practical Guide to Digital Research, Is Now Available! | deutsch29

My Book, A Practical Guide to Digital Research, Is Now Available!

I just received the news in a congratulatory email from Denny Taylor of Garn Press:

My latest book, A Practical Guide to Digital Research: Getting the Facts and Rejecting the Lies, is now available for purchase on Amazon.

Garn Press will have the book available for purchase on March 03, 2020.

About the book:

In A Practical Guide to Digital Research, Schneider draws on her years of experience as an educational researcher to offer an easy-to-read, easy-to-digest, concise tutorial for equipping both novice and more experienced researchers in navigating numerous research sources. These include nonprofit tax form search engines, newspaper archives, social media sites, internet archives, campaign filings/ethics disclosures, teaching credential search engines, and legal filings. Also covered are tips on conducting both email and in-person interviews, filing public records requests, and conducting pointed, fruitful Google searches.This powerful, practical text is built upon a foundation of actual examples from Schneider’s own research in education—examples that she dissects and explains as a means of teaching her readers how to effectively make these valuable lessons their own. Though Schneider’s own research is chiefly in the education reform arena, the resources, skills and techniques offered in A Practical Guide to Digital Research transcend any single research field and are indispensable for confronting a variety of research queries. Useful as a classroom text or for independent research study, the book provides foundational learning for those new to research investigation as well as surprising, valuable lessons for more experienced researchers challenging themselves to learn even more.

For those interested, Amazon allows readers to view the book, including its table of contents.

The the idea for this book stems from a presentation I participated in with colleagues Andres Gabor and Darcie Cimarusti on tracking the funding related to the promotion of market-based education reform titled, “Where Did All This Money Come From??: Locating and Following the Dark Money Trail” at the 2018 Network for Public Education (NPE) conference in Indianapolis.

In preparing for our presentation, Darcie asked me to send her the information I wished to include on my presentation slides. In a moment, I thought, “To do this information justice, I would need to write a book.”

A Practical Guide to Digital Research is that book and then some.

Many thanks to Denny Taylor and Garn Press for their support and belief in the value of my work. 

My Book, A Practical Guide to Digital Research, Is Now Available! | deutsch29

Garn Press - https://www.garnpress.com/

How does the coronavirus and the stock market correction/dip/slide/plunge impact teachers and education? | Ed In The Apple

How does the coronavirus and the stock market correction/dip/slide/plunge impact teachers and education? | Ed In The Apple

How does the coronavirus and the stock market correction/dip/slide/plunge impact teachers and education?

The sudden outbreak of the coronavirus reverberated in the stock market. Over the past week the stock market, as measured by the Dow-Jones has taken a hit, meaning a drop of over three thousand points, more than 10%, a drop reminiscent of the beginning of the 2008 recession.

The economies of China, the European Union and the United States are irrevocably intertwined.  Cell phones, computers, refrigerators, thousands upon thousands of products are made in China; lower wages mean lower prices for the end use consumer. The longer the Chinese economy is stalled the greater the shortages, the higher the prices, that old supply and demand thing.

In uncertain times corporations and individuals are wary, they stash dollars in interest-bear accounts, they decide not to buy the house or buy a car or expand a business. The entire economy stalls, jobs begin to dry up as expansion moves to contraction.

How does this crisis impact schools and teachers?

If the economy slows tax revenues slow, states, and localities collect fewer dollars and state and local budgets are reduced.

In a month New York State will agree on a budget for the 20-21 year, and, the governor and the legislature are bickering over how to address a 6.1 billion dollar increase in Medicaid funding. The State Department of Education asked for a $2 billion increase in state aid,  the governor’s budget only included $800 million. CONTINUE READING: How does the coronavirus and the stock market correction/dip/slide/plunge impact teachers and education? | Ed In The Apple

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Making Up My Mind Edition (3/1)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Making Up My Mind Edition (3/1)

Making Up My Mind Edition

I've held onto the privilege of not having to make up my mind about the Dem race, but more and more I find myself gravitating to Elizabeth Warren. Not perfect, but none of them are. I like her combination of policy, plan and temperament. And the whole smartness thing. Anyway. I figured you were just dying to know. Here's some reading from the week.

The Myths of Learning Styles  
From the Atlantic, a reminder that learning styles are bunk.

Budget Turmoil at Philly's Second Largest Charter School   
One more example of how charters manage to go off the rails, and avoid transparency while they're doing it.

Who's Behind America's Superintendents and School Transformation
Nancy Bailey takes a look at what's going on when the nation's school administrators get together. It is not encouraging.

We Need To Change the Law on Cyber Charter Schools
At PennLive, an op-ed arguing for PA's cyber charter policy makeover.

Michael Bloomberg's Disastrous Public Education Legacy
Plenty of New Yorkers have stepped forward to talk about what a disaster Mayor Bloomberg was. Leonie Haimson takes a particularly thorough look at how he trashed public education.

Democrats Are Asking the Wrong Questions To Protect Charter School Students
Adam Laats in the Washington Post providing another useful history lesson about clever education ideas.

Public oversight of Michigan charter school inadequate, report says
A Michigan-based research group has  issued a "scathing" report showing that Michigan's charters are seriously unmoored from necessary oversight and accountability.

Kids Don't Need To Stay 'On Track' To Succeed 
Madeline Levine in the Atlantic reminding us that success is not a straight line from A to B.

A Primer on Voucher Misinformation  
A look at the talking points for voucher fans in Ohio (and elsewhere), with a calm clear explanation of why these points don't hold water.

Public Education: A Love Story    
Finally, Nancy Flanagan with a personal reflection for Public Schools Week. Your must-read of the week.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Making Up My Mind Edition (3/1)

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION

AND DON'T FORGET PETER GREENE ON FORBES CLICK HERE 

What Ever Happened To AltSchool?

27by Peter Greene / 1d

You remember AltSchool, the miraculous Silicon Valley technoschool that was going to Change the Game. We've checked in on them from time to time, and it's time to see what has happened since the Altschool ship ran aground on the shores of reality a while ago. After two years of tinkering and tweaking, AltSchool burst on the scene with a flurry of PR in 2015 . Founded by Max Ventilla, formerly of G

FEB 27

How Do High Expectations Change A Classroom

by Peter Greene / 2d

Teachers know that expectations matter. They know that having high expectations in a classroom can both support (“I know you can do this”) and spur (“I’m not going to accept your bare minimum effort”) students. The power of teacher expectations is part of every college’s Teacher 101. But modern education reform has weaponized the term. “The soft bigotry of low expectations,” coined by Michael Ger

6 Things To Know About The Trump-DeVos Education Freedom Plan

500+by Peter Greene / 2d

As expected, Trump used a chunk of his State of the Union Address to plug a voucher-style program that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been pushing for months under the name “Education Freedom.” The Houston Chronicle reports that Ted Cruz pitched the plan to Trump ; Cruz has taken the lead on trying to turn DeVos’s dream into actual legislation . In fact, the Trump budget proposal favors t

Schools And Other Shared Public Spaces

31by Peter Greene / 2d

One of my first jobs in education was minding the cassette player. The actual job was assistant marching band director, and my duties included chaperoning the freshman/sophomore bus to away games. It was the mid-80s, and the "good" schoolbuses in our district had built-in cassette players, and the students brought their favorite music, vying for control of the stereo that everyone had to listen to

FEB 25

Call for Federal Charter Transparency Law

42by Peter Greene / 5d

We've been here before. For instance, in 2015 while Congress was wrestling with what would eventually become ESSA, Sherrod Brown introduced the Charter School Accountability Act , which had some modest goals-- require greater charter transparency, mandate some reporting from charter authorizers, and compel charter operators to talk to the community before opening up. The bill was promptly sent to

FEB 24

Montana and the Wall Between Church and State

46by Peter Greene / 5d

Sarah Vowell is a fave of mine, with a fabulous grasp of US history and that special gift of being able to illuminate big ideas with the perfect specific detail, plus she has the gift of balance, of being able to recognize the god and the not-so-good, and most of, the gift of recognizing the humanity of the people she writes about. Her writing about colonial US history is excellent-- if you need

FEB 23

ICYMI: So Long, February Edition (2/22)

by Peter Greene / 7d

A reminder that you can help amplify the voices that you think need to be heard. Go to the original post and share with your network. Do your part to make sure folks are heard whose message speaks to you. Now for this week's list. Borrowing a Literacy Strategy from Band An interesting notion from Edutopia. After all, reading music is readin. "Reading in band has an additional hitch: Students have

FEB 22

Social and Emotional Learning Is Drawing Fire

21by Peter Greene / 8d

I told you so. If you are of a Certain Age, you remember Outcome Based Education, the Next Big Education Thing of the 1990s . Its basic idea was to reduce education to observable behaviors-- all those lesson plans with "The Student Will Be Able To...," are artifacts of OBE. The architects were intent on reducing all learning to something cold, hard and observable instead of fuzzy objectives like "

CURMUDGUCATION - http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/

NANCY BAILEY: There’s No “Science of Reading” Without School Libraries and Librarians, A Predictor of Student Success

There’s No “Science of Reading” Without School Libraries and Librarians, A Predictor of Student Success

There’s No “Science of Reading” Without School Libraries and Librarians, A Predictor of Student Success

The loss of libraries and qualified librarians in the poorest schools has reached a critical mass. Yet those who promote a Science of Reading (SoR), often supporting online reading programs, never mention the loss of school libraries or qualified librarians.

Ignoring the importance of school libraries and certified librarians delegitimizes any SoR. Children need books, reading material, and real librarians in public schools. If reading instruction doesn’t lead to reading and learning from books, what’s the point? Why should children care about decoding words if there’s no school library where they can browse and choose reading material that matters?

How do school districts prioritize reading when they shutter the only access some students have to books? Who will assist students when qualified school librarians are dismissed?

Across the country, as noted below, public school districts have chaotically closed school libraries and fired librarians. They have done this despite the fact that school libraries and qualified librarians are proven positive factors in raising reading scores in CONTINUE READING: There’s No “Science of Reading” Without School Libraries and Librarians, A Predictor of Student Success

Think school board races are sleepy? Not in Los Angeles, where big bucks and attack ads are flying - The Washington Post

Think school board races are sleepy? Not in Los Angeles, where big bucks and attack ads are flying - The Washington Post

School board races are ho-hum, right? Not in Los Angeles, where big bucks and attack ads are flying

If you think local school board races are sleepy electoral exercises, you have not been paying attention to Los Angeles.

A majority of seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot. Millions of dollars in campaign contributions are flowing in. Some candidates have been attacked with false accusations, and, in one campaign, anti-Semitic propaganda.

The key issue: charter schools, and whether voters will elect a board that wants to help them expand in the district — or a board that does not.

More than $7 million has poured into campaigns — with most of it going to three candidates who support charter schools. Millions of dollars have come from people and groups outside California who support the expansion of charters, which are publicly funded but privately operated, and want to see them spread nationally.

Pro-charter forces are being funded substantially by a retired California businessman named Bill Bloomfield, according to the Los Angeles Times. He has spent nearly $2 million to help candidates who are pro-charter school. But in a letter to the Times, he said he was not acting as a “surrogate” for the political arm of the California Charter Schools Association, the Advocates. Instead, he said he was acting to help children.

Candidates who do not support the expansion of charter schools are funded largely by United Teachers Los Angeles. Union President Alex Caputo-Pearl has repeatedly called out “billionaires” who, he said in CONTINUE READING: Think school board races are sleepy? Not in Los Angeles, where big bucks and attack ads are flying - The Washington Post

Being The Black Male Educator That Students Wish They Had And Know They Need - Philly's 7th Ward

Being The Black Male Educator That Students Wish They Had And Know They Need - Philly's 7th Ward

BEING THE BLACK MALE EDUCATOR THAT STUDENTS WISH THEY HAD AND KNOW THEY NEED

Teaching is one of my greatest gifts. Seeing my mother’s life’s work as a teacher in Dekalb County created my blueprint for what the life of a “game-changer” looks like, and the many influential teachers I experienced during my time in Atlanta Public Schools helped me to nurture my own gifts along the way. 

I DIDN’T REALIZE THE IMPACT OF HAVING BLACK MALE TEACHERS THEN, BUT I DO NOW.

I attribute my love for teaching to the influence of my first Black male educators: Mr. Gordon from F. L. Stanton Elementary School in Atlanta and my father. I didn’t realize the impact of having Black male teachers then, but I do now. They taught me invaluable life lessons that I not only use to this day, but I also incorporate them into my teaching. One important lesson they taught me was to know our history and to apply it.

Today, I’m able to incorporate Black history, Atlanta’s history and world history into my lessons—a skill that has helped me to connect people and to connect with people.

TEACHING HAS NEVER BEEN JUST A JOB FOR ME

As a Black male educator, I don’t just get to talk about it; I have to be about it. Every day I have an opportunity to shift the narrative on how Black boys—who will grow into productive citizens like me—are accepted, treated, perceived and depicted in the world.

Black boys often show some of the highest levels of deficiency in areas CONTINUE READING: Being The Black Male Educator That Students Wish They Had And Know They Need - Philly's 7th Ward