REPORT CARD: Dubious Standards for Charter Schools - The Brooklyn Rail

REPORT CARD: Dubious Standards for Charter Schools - The Brooklyn Rail

REPORT CARD: Dubious Standards for Charter Schools

by Liza Featherstone

Community Roots Charter School (CRCS) is across the street from the housing projects in Fort Greene,and the bathrooms and the lunchroom look plenty run-down. But don’t be fooled: the kids are all right.

Kindergarteners are given “research notebooks” and taught how to interview people. One morning in late January, in one first-grade classroom, everyone was quietly reading a book, many of the kids comfortably sprawled on the floor. Fourth-graders were working in pairs, “editing” each other’s writing. Children here have music, art, and science twice a week.

Because of superb, well-rounded schools like CRCS, many Brooklyn parents respond with tail-wagging eagerness to any noise that includes the following buzzwords: “school choice,” “new schools,” and “charter schools.” But the education on tap at CRCS has nothing to do with the Department

Bloomberg Speaks Out Against Protesters At School Closing Meeting - NY1.com

Bloomberg Speaks Out Against Protesters At School Closing Meeting - NY1.com

Bloomberg Speaks Out Against Protesters At School Closing Meeting

By: NY1 News

On his weekly radio show this morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had some harsh words for those who lashed out at last night's Panel for Educational Policy meeting, at which it was decided 12 more city schools will be phased out at the end of the year.

"This is embarrassing for New York City, for New York State, for America. This is not democracy. We have gotten into a culture where it is fair game to take shots. That's not good,” said the mayor. “When you're yelling at a meeting last night, you're yelling at our teachers, you're dissing them, you're

Seven things you need to know about the second PEP meeting | GothamSchools

Seven things you need to know about the second PEP meeting | GothamSchools

Seven things you need to know about the second PEP meeting

by Philissa Cramer

Seven takeaways from this week’s second marathon Panel for Educational Policy meeting, for those who don’t have time for 6,000-plus words, minute-to-minute updates:

1. The teachers union and charter school advocates have different ideas about how to get their points across.

On Tuesday night, Success Charter Network sent hundreds of parents to Brooklyn Tech, and many stayed until the wee hours of the morning, with sleepy young children in tow, until they could each comment publicly. Last night, the United Federation of Teachers held a rally outside the hearing and then filled the auditorium with supporters.

But just over an hour into the meeting, most of the union supporters walked out. We haven’t heard from the union

#Educon, Edu-Nerds, Chris Lehmann, and A Slice of Race in the 21st Century | The Jose Vilson

#Educon, Edu-Nerds, Chris Lehmann, and A Slice of Race in the 21st Century | The Jose Vilson

#Educon, Edu-Nerds, Chris Lehmann, and A Slice of Race in the 21st Century

by Jose

Cocoa Puffs On The Ground

I had the pleasure of attending EduCon 2.3 last weekend, surrounded by people I mostly met digitally and students I only envisioned through the stories of the Science Leadership Academy’s Chris Lehmann and social studies super-pedagogue Diana Laufenburg. I was impressed by the warmth and camaraderie in a place full of edulebrities and edunerds (I’m either / or depending on the day) from across the nation convening not in a large convention hall but in a school. Appropriate, but rarely happens for conferences of this newly found magnitude.

As I arrived, my lady and I went to a conversation (the un-conference word for meeting) with elementary school

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Decision 2011: Miguel del Valle's CatalystChicago Questionnaire

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Decision 2011: Miguel del Valle's CatalystChicago Questionnaire

Decision 2011: Miguel del Valle's CatalystChicago Questionnaire

by Joanna2011

Miguel del Valle was elected City Clerk of Chicago in 2006, following almost 20 years in the Illinois Senate, where he chaired the elementary and secondary education committee. He was the first Hispanic senator in the Illinois General Assembly. Currently, he chairs the states P-20 Council, which seeks to align education at all levels. He co-founded a number of many Hispanic groups, including the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and Illinois Latino Advisory Council on Higher Education.

For more information, go to the Chicago Tonight web site.

Do you want control of the Chicago Public Schools? If so, how should Board of Education members be selected? Should some of them be elected?

There are pros and cons regarding mayoral control, but on balance I believe the next mayor should maintain control over the Chicago

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle, in Wake of Army and Lou’s Closure after 65 Years of Service, Pledges to Fight for Black-Owned Businesses

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle, in Wake of Army and Lou’s Closure after 65 Years of Service, Pledges to Fight for Black-Owned Businesses

Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle, in Wake of Army and Lou’s Closure after 65 Years of Service, Pledges to Fight for Black-Owned Businesses

by Joanna2011

Del Valle urges reform in spirit of frequent diner Harold Washington

February 4, 2011 (CHICAGO)--City Clerk and mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle visited today a frequent dining destination of the public servant who inspired him to seek political office 25 years ago.

After 65 years of service to South Side residents, local politicians like the late Harold Washington, and the City of Chicago, soul food restaurant Army and Lou’s closed its doors.

“This is a sad day for Chicago,” del Valle said, standing outside the closed restaurant. “This is just another example of why we need to make our neighborhoods more friendly to small business owners. As mayor, I will do everything I can to make sure vital Chicago businesses

Where’s the Pork? Mitigating the Damage of State Aid Cuts « School Finance 101

Where’s the Pork? Mitigating the Damage of State Aid Cuts « School Finance 101

Where’s the Pork? Mitigating the Damage of State Aid Cuts

by schoolfinance101

This is a very long and complicated post, so I’ll give you a few take home points up front…

Take home points

1. Crude assumptions advanced by the “new normal” pundit crowd that across the board state aid cuts are a form of shared sacrifice are misguided and dreadfully oversimplified.
2. State aid cuts hurt some districts and the children they serve more than others, even when those aid cuts are “flat” across districts. Districts with greater capacity will readily cover their losses (and then some) with other revenue sources. Those who can’t are out of luck.
3. State aid cuts as a proportion of state aid are particularly bad because they take the most from those

40 Percent of Latinos in Toronto High Schools Drop Out - Hispanically Speaking News

40 Percent of Latinos in Toronto High Schools Drop Out - Hispanically Speaking News

40 Percent of Latinos in Toronto High Schools Drop Out

According to a recent study, the high school drop out rate for Latinos in Toronto is now 40 percent, and despite attempts to change this, the school district has, so far, been unable to find a solution.

The study, by University of Toronto states that the drop out rate is almost double that of the overall population. So what is it? Why are Latino students there not finishing high school?

Well to answer that, the researchers spoke to some of the Latino students themselves. A number of current students said they we’ve been labeled slow learners because they don’t speak English, while others stated they are made outcasts, made fun of and mocked for not speaking English. Also, Rubén A. Gaztambide-Fernández who headed up the study, said

Documentary sparks discussion of organizing in Philly | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Documentary sparks discussion of organizing in Philly | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Documentary sparks discussion of organizing in Philly

by Guest blogger on Feb 04 2011 Posted in Community voices

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Tags:

• community organizing
• parent organizing
• student activism

We have another guest blog post this week. Kendra Royster, an intern with the ACLU, attended a recent film screening and discussion about community organizing in education.

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A recent screening of “A Community Concern,” a film by documentary filmmaker Susan Zeig, inspired dialogue about the needs of organizers in Philadelphia’s education community. Zeig and Fernando Carlo, a youth organizer featured in the film, attended the showing at The Enterprise Center in mid-January.

The film focused on the struggles of people working to make change in public schools. The most inspiring theme of the film was the shared belief that the community’s can fight for, and win, improvements in the schools.

After the film, a panel and discussion commenced with members from Philadelphia Student Union, Parents in Action Council, and Teacher Action Group. The discussion quickly turned to Philadelphia’s community of organizers and what is

Shanker Blog » School-Based Early Childhood Education Program Yields High Economic Benefits

Shanker Blog » School-Based Early Childhood Education Program Yields High Economic Benefits

School-Based Early Childhood Education Program Yields High Economic Benefits

by Burnie Bond

Each dollar spent on a high-quality early childhood program in the Chicago Public Schools yields $4 to $11 in benefits to the economy, according to a new cost-benefit analysis. (Full disclosure: Barbara Bowman, Chicago’s Chief Early Childhood Education Officer, who oversees the program, was a key advisor on our early childhood education report.)

According to a press release from the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the federally funded Chicago Child-Parent Centers (CPC) by surveying former students and their parents, and analyzing students’ education, employment, criminal justice and child welfare records for the participants through age 26. Since the program was first established in 1967, researchers have

Bring on the Noise: Let’s Get Loud! « EdVox

Bring on the Noise: Let’s Get Loud! « EdVox

Bring on the Noise: Let’s Get Loud!

by edvoxny

by Carol Boyd

Two years ago in the midst of the mayoral control crusades, Mayor Bloomberg retorted regarding the school governance legislation that “If the Senate passes something that differs by one word or more it is saying to the city: We want to resurrect the Soviet Union, we want to bring back chaos.” Perhaps Mr. Bloomberg was consulting his private oracle, for in fact what New York City public schools, students, and parents are currently grappling with is nothing short of utter chaos.

When the NY State legislature reauthorized mayoral control of the NYC public schools, they tried to strengthen protections to ensure that the voices of parents and the vox populii would not be silenced. Instead, parents and the general public have been forced to “fade to Black” from the school governance arena.

An editorial that appeared in the NY Daily News yesterday (just in time for last nights Panel for

The Revival of the Private School Voucher Movement - Dana Goldstein

The Revival of the Private School Voucher Movement - Dana Goldstein

The Revival of the Private School Voucher Movement

by Dana Goldstein

A few years ago, the private school voucher movement looked pretty much dead. The definitive study of the nation's largest such program, in Milwaukee, found no evidence that 20,000 students who won vouchers to attend inner city parochial schools performed better academically than students in traditional inner city public schools. Barack Obama hit the campaign trail as an education reformer not afraid to piss off teachers' unions, but made it clear he wasn't all that interested in compromising on vouchers, calling himself a "skeptic" and a "critic" of such policies. One of his first acts as president was to cut funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships, a small voucher program with mixed results.

Even prominent Republicans lined up to offer mea culpas on vouchers, prompting Greg Anrig to ask in aWashington Monthly essay, "How did one of the conservative policy world's most cherished causes crumble so quickly?"

Well. One mid-term shellacking and a few Tea Parties later, vouchers are back, and in a very big way. Yesterday

Interview with Safe Schools Advocate, Shannon Cuttle: One Hundred Days of Bullying « Feminist Teacher

Interview with Safe Schools Advocate, Shannon Cuttle: One Hundred Days of Bullying « Feminist Teacher

Interview with Safe Schools Advocate, Shannon Cuttle: One Hundred Days of Bullying

by feministteacher

Shannon Cuttle, founder and director of the Safe Schools Action Network (photo courtesy, Shannon Cuttle).

Today is the 100^th day of school. It’s also the 100^th day of battling bullies.

No one is fighting this battle on the ground with more passion and energy than Shannon Cuttle. Cuttle, founder and director of the Safe Schools Action Network (SSAN), knows from personal experience as both a former elementary school teacher and administrator how important it is for all schools to be free of bullying against LGBT and gender-nonconforming

SCUSD Board Supports Sending Brown-Backed Tax Extension to Voters - Rosemont, CA Patch

SCUSD Board Supports Sending Brown-Backed Tax Extension to Voters - Rosemont, CA Patch

SCUSD Board Supports Sending Brown-Backed Tax Extension to Voters

The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education supports giving voters the option to extend 2009 tax increases.

By Cody Kitaura | Email the author | 10:00am

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Voters should have the chance to extend tax increases that would provide key funding to K-12 schools under Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2011-12 budget proposal, the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education decided Thursday.

Brown’s budget plan, released last month, proposes heavy cuts from many public sectors, but includes few reductions in K-12 school funding–as long as voters decide to renew a 2009 tax hike that affects income, sales and vehicle taxes.

But in order for voters to have that option, two-thirds of the state legislature would have to support placing the tax extension on a June ballot.

Thursday night, the seven-member board unanimously urged legislatures to do just that. The board