Shaun Johnson: Are Parents a Privileged Class in Education?

Shaun Johnson: Are Parents a Privileged Class in Education?:

Are Parents a Privileged Class in Education?

The question titling this post comes from a genuine and sincere place. And by "privileged" I mean in this context "an immunity from critique" in the conversation on education.

I've participated in a lot of furious debate on- and offline about education, particularly on testing and the role of public schools. Those like me, for whom education is a profession, constantly extol parental involvement. It is often noted as the crucial factor in student achievement, particularly in high-needs or low-income areas. Overall parental support is essential to preserving and reforming our system of public education in a lot of ways.

But my position on parental involvement feels a little different because I don't have children of my own. So, the connection I have to education is that it's my profession and something I've spent

Arne Duncan Hops On A Bus To Address Rust Belt School Districts

Arne Duncan Hops On A Bus To Address Rust Belt School Districts:

Joy ResmovitsJoy.resmovits@huffingtonpost.comBecome a fan of this reporter

Arne Duncan Hops On A Bus To Address Rust Belt School Districts

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan kicked off his three-day Great Lakes bus tour here, in a city he calls a national model for school reform.

"It wasn't a coincidence that we wanted to start this bus tour in Pittsburgh," Duncan told a gymnasium full of students, teachers and parents at Martin Luther King Elementary School. "I know you've had some tough conversations behind closed doors. But I know what you're doing collectively is also a model for the country."

Pittsburgh was just the first stop on Duncan's back-to-school tour, which will roll through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. The education secretary is aiming to spread his gospel of teacher accountability, pushing education reform in the face of massive state budget cuts and his own recent decision to unilaterally waive components of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

In Pittsburgh, Duncan stepped off what he called "the magic school bus" to be greeted by a

New Orleans Liberation Academy: Values, Attitudes and Capacities for Democratic Citizenship

New Orleans Liberation Academy: Values, Attitudes and Capacities for Democratic Citizenship:

Values, Attitudes and Capacities for Democratic Citizenship

by New Orleans Liberation Academy

As we prepare to begin our first school year at New Orleans Liberation Academy we wonder what this journey will bring. We are also spending time reflecting a lot on what it means to learn and grow in a "Democratic Community" and considering what it means right now for our students to be "Democratic Citizens" and working to understand what our role as educators will be in helping them to develop values, attitudes and capacities they'll need to find success in the 21st Century.

In engaging in this type of personal reflection while reaching out to our allies in democratic schools around the country, we were reminded of some work by David Sehr (Social Studies Teacher at West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey) in his 1997 book (part of a series on “Democracy and Education” edited by the

District coughs up entire Ackerman payout | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

District coughs up entire Ackerman payout | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

District coughs up entire Ackerman payout

by Dale Mezzacappa on Sep 07 2011 Posted in Latest news

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Tags:

• Arlene Ackerman
• INN feed
• Michael Nutter
• School Reform Commission

The School District has paid Arlene Ackerman'sentire $905,000 buyout cost to the former superintendent.

"Almost all" of the anonymous donors who had said they'd contribute $405,000 have backed out, according to a District statement, which was attributed to the School Reform Commission.Philadelphia's Children's First Fund, a nonprofit that was to funnel the private donations to the District, has returned what

Release of EHCY Program RFA 2012–13 - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Release of EHCY Program RFA 2012–13 - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

Dear County and District Superintendents and Direct-Funded Charter School Administrators:

RELEASE OF THE EDUCATION FOR HOMELESS
CHILDREN AND YOUTH PROGRAMS
REQUEST FOR APPLICATION 2012–13

The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce the opportunity to request funds for fiscal year 2012–13, the first of a three-year grant cycle. The grant award period is from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2015, contingent upon federal funds and successful requests for continuation funding by local educational agency (LEA) grantees. These funds are made available to LEAs to ensure that homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschool education, as provided to other children and youth.

Interested applicants may access the application and instructions on the CDE Available Funding Web page athttp://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/af/. If an LEA intends to submit an application for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Grant Program, a letter of intent is required to be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

The EHCY program contains provisions that are designed to improve academic achievement for children and youth who are homeless. To acquire a copy of the complete legislation, please visit the CDE Homeless Children & Youth Education Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs/cy/.

Some provisions of the legislation include the following:

• Every LEA is required to have a homeless liaison for children and youth who are homeless. Some of the duties of the liaison are to ensure access to education and support services, identify children and youth in homeless situations, and disseminate notice of educational rights.
  
  
• Every LEA is required to keep children who are homeless in the same school they attended when permanently housed, or the school they last attended, if that is the choice of the parent or guardian. Under the law, these children and youth may remain in that school for the duration of their homelessness, or, if they become permanently housed during the academic year, for the remainder of the academic year.
  
  
• Every LEA is required to provide transportation to ensure that homeless children and youth can continue their education in the school they had been attending before becoming homeless, or the school they last attended, at the request of the parent or guardian.
  
  
• Every LEA is required to immediately enroll children and youth who are homeless, even if they do not have the documentation normally required for enrollment.

The CDE will host three Request for Application presentations after the release of the actual application. The schedule is as follows:

Date	Location	Time	R.S.V.P.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011	Clovis Unified Professional Development Building, Rooms 1 and 2 1680 David E. Cook Way Clovis, CA 93611	Noon to 4 p.m.	September 26, 2011 Lucy Keola, CDE lkeola@cde.ca.gov
Tuesday, October 11, 2011	Glenn County Office of Education 311 South Villa Avenue Willows, CA 95988	9 a.m. to noon	October 3, 2011 Lucy Keola, CDE lkeola@cde.ca.gov
Wednesday, October 26, 2011	West End Educational Service Center 8265 Aspen Avenue, Suite 200 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730	9 a.m. to noon	October 3, 2011 Lucy Keola, CDE lkeola@cde.ca.gov

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Leanne Wheeler, Education Programs Consultant, Title I Policy and Program Guidance Office, by phone at 916-319-0383 or by e-mail at lwheeler@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson

TT:lw

cc: Title I Directors
Homeless Liaisons

What? Michelle Rhee's Key Hire Finds Difficulty In Diffusing Union Distrust

Michelle Rhee's Key Hire Finds Difficulty In Diffusing Union Distrust:

Michelle Rhee's Key Hire Finds Difficulty In Diffusing Union Distrust

First Posted: 9/7/11 04:51 PM ET Updated: 9/7/11 05:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- Attempts to bridge the divide between self-styled education reform groups and teachers unions, backed by progressive organizations, hit another snag last week, raising doubts about whether the two sides will ever be able to find true synchronicity.

The most recent flashpoints are, inherently, rehashes of old arguments. A new book authored by Steven Brill, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools, makes the argument that absent a buy-in from unions, comprehensive school reform is likely elusive. Meanwhile, it was recently reported that the American Federation of Teachers helped originate a website attacking Michelle Rhee, a former Washington D.C. school chancellor and prominent education reform advocate, as beholden to

Using Classroom Technology to Learn Media Literacy -- and World War II History - Dana Goldstein

Using Classroom Technology to Learn Media Literacy -- and World War II History - Dana Goldstein:

Using Classroom Technology to Learn Media Literacy -- and World War II History

by Dana Goldstein

There's been a lot of commentary on the Times' A1 story about an Arizona school district that spent $33 million on fancy high-tech toys, like Smart Boards and educational software, but saw test scores stagnate. I agree with Robert Pondiscio's common-sense take: "Maybe the medium is not the message"--in other words, the what of learning (curriculum) matters just as much, if not more, than the how (via a laptop vs. a textbook).

That said, I've been giving a lot of thought lately to media literacy, and I think it's incredibly important for schools to use technology to teach young people how to find information sources and determine whether or not they are reliable. Before I describe a high school social studies lesson I oberved that did just that, a quick anecdote: Over Labor Day weekend, at a restaurant in a well-heeled Hudson Valley town, I

Alexander Russo: Meet the Poster Child for Charter School Burnout

Alexander Russo: Meet the Poster Child for Charter School Burnout:

Alexander Russo

Freelance Education Writer And Consultant

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Meet the Poster Child for Charter School Burnout

Posted: 9/7/11 03:30 PM ET

A young charter school administrator named Jessica Reid played a small but important role in Steve Brill's book, Class Warfare, both in illustrating how some of the higher-performing charter schools do things and in highlighting the wear and tear that such efforts can create.

What's it been like for her to be part of the book -- her second stint as a character in a nonfiction account of school reform -- and what does she think about key issues such as sustainability, ending LIFO, and unionization? Read the interview below. You might be surprised:

Did you have any idea that you and your career decisions were going to be such a hotly-debated part of debate surrounding the Brill book this summer?

JR: I had no idea. In fact, I didn't really realize that I was going to actually be in Brill's book. He

KOCH OUT News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org:

Ed Schultz: Brad Friedman Discusses Charles Koch Comparing Obama to Sadaam Hussein

The Brad Blog: TRANSCRIPT: 'Inside the Koch Brothers' 2011 Summer Seminar' - Charles Koch's Remarks *-By Brad Friedman, September 6, 2011- * *Charles Koch's Welcome Remarks* *Koch Brothers' 2011 Summer Seminar Ritz-Carlton Beaver Creek Resort - near Vail, Colorado* *Audio recorded June 26, 2011 [Appx 4 mins]* *Transcribed by Emily Levy for The ...

Alternet: Confessions of a GOP Operative Who Left "the Cult": 3 Things Everyone Must Know About the Lunatic-Filled Republican Party *Former GOPer: "If you think Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand-worshipping colleagues aren't after your Social Security and Medicare, I am here to disabuse you of your naiveté."* *-By Mike Lofgren* *September 5, 2011-* Barbara Stanwyck: "We're both ...

America Blog: Koch Bros will be big winners if Keystone sludge-oil pipeline is approved *-by Gaius Publius* *September 4, 2011-* Well, there's a surprise. Obama's worst enemy, and the climate's as well, the ever-famous Koch Brothers and Koch Industries, are positioned to be big winners if (when) the Keystone Tar Sands pipeline is

Back-to-School Bus Tour: Highlights from Tuesday, September 6 | ED.gov Blog

Back-to-School Bus Tour: Highlights from Tuesday, September 6 | ED.gov Blog:

Back-to-School Bus Tour: Highlights from Tuesday, September 6

by Cameron Brenchley

A day before the official start of the Back-to-School Bus Tour, several Department officials hit the road early for events in Ohio and New York. Here are some highlights: Cleveland Middle School Helps Put ED Tour in Motion Acting Assistant … Continue reading →

Secretary Duncan Kicks Off Back-to-School Tour in Pittsburgh

by Daren Briscoe

PITTSBURGH- The U.S. Department of Education’s “Education and the Economy” back-to-school bus tour got off to a rousing start with a brassy welcome at the tour’s first stop, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s arrival at … Continue reading →

Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101 Extra Credit: Marie Corfield

Blue Jersey:: Ed Reform 101 Extra Credit: Marie Corfield:

Ed Reform 101 Extra Credit: Marie Corfield

by Marie Corfield

Early in Chris Christie's tenure, a Hunterdon public school teacher stood up to him at one of his early "Town Hall" meetings carefully stacked with adoring Republicans. To their delight, he used the opportunity to dress her down for the benefit of his cameras (paid for with your tax dollars) in his first "YouTube Moment". Corfield has since become a lightning rod for national coverage of the governor, and of education privatizers whose first step is denigrating public school teachers. And Corfield is also now a candidate for the NJ Assembly, in the 16th District. She wrote this postscript to our Ed Reform 101 series, at our request. - promoted by Rosi

My favorite hero of fiction is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, Atticus, an attorney and single father, defends Tom Robinson, a black man, wrongly accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, and in the process teaches his children invaluable lessons about tolerance, compassion and understanding.

During the trial, Atticus asks Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, why he called for help from everyone except the one person who could really help his daughter-a doctor-because a doctor would have seen right away that Mayella

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: My Public Testimony Tonight at the Seattle Schools Board Meeting

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: My Public Testimony Tonight at the Seattle Schools Board Meeting:

My Public Testimony Tonight at the Seattle Schools Board Meeting

by Melissa Westbrook

I sent the Board my remarks in advance which is something I don't normally do. I did it because I felt very strongly about them and wanted to the Board to be pondering these issues in hopes that they will actually speak up about them at the Board meeting.

In brief, they are:

• despite Dr. Enfield's promises, we still do not know who is paying for TFA. I think she may believe that the donor(s) himself can just pay TFA and remain anonymous. The contract with TFA reflects that SPS is to pay TFA. There is nothing about money passing to TFA from a third-party. This lack of transparency is deeply troubling. It almost feels like any kind of change or program can be bought and installed at SPS if you have the money.

• The overhaul of Board policies (tonight it's the Series 4000 ones) seems to have some urgency to it