Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters:

Meeting to Talk Charters

by Melissa Westbrook

As you recall, CRPE's Robin Lake had invited us all (well, most of us) to come for a discussion over coffee today.  I attended part of the discussion as did a couple of SPS parents, two administrators from other districts and a colleague of Ms. Lake's.   I can't tell you what the discussion was about because I was asked not to.

I can tell you that it seems apparent that not everyone knows this initiative as well as you might think.  

And, it certainly help me see that CRPE is not exactly neutral on this topic of charter schools.

But honestly, how could they be?  A large portion of their research is about charters and how great they are and how to grow them.  They are funded (and have been funded) for years by the Gates Foundation which also loves charters.

I can only say that while I would never challenge their expertise about charters, I'm not sure I would believe 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Required Reading

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Required Reading:

Required Reading

One of the BEST things ever written about public education here at The Answer Sheet at The Washington Post.   This is a guest post by Jeff Bryant, a marketing and communication consultant for nonprofits.  He writes about public education policy.

Here's his bottom line (to me - emphasis mine):

Furthermore, nothing about school choice, regardless of the form,guarantees parents get the kind of school quality they desire. Studies have shown that in a typical school choice program, the private school services that parents mostly desire — small class sizes, well-rounded curriculum, individualized services — will still be out of reach for most parents. 

He  talks about people getting a laugh over the Texas GOP's education plank of 

CFPB Report Lays Bare Private Student Loan Market | FDL News Desk

CFPB Report Lays Bare Private Student Loan Market | FDL News Desk:

CFPB Report Lays Bare Private Student Loan Market

by David Dayen

CFPB warns about massive student debt (photo: Kyle James / wikimedia)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delivered a report to the Senate Banking Committee on the rise of the private student loan industry. This industry took a hit after 2010, when the Affordable Care Act included a provision that ended the practice of private banks administering student loans guaranteed by the government, and just had the government issue the loans themselves. Private student debt origination grew from $5 billion in 2001 to $20 billion in 2008, but after the 2010 law, the market contracted to under $6 billion. The recession and tightening credit standards also had something to do with that.
But those loans from 2001 to 2008 are still out there, for the most part, particularly from the 2005-2007 period. And just like in the housing bubble, this period was characterized by reduced underwriting standards and a kind of “subprime” market. Increasingly, banks lent directly to the student, rather than through a college or university 

N.J. Dept. of Ed. releases guide on town spending on public schooling | NJ.com

N.J. Dept. of Ed. releases guide on town spending on public schooling | NJ.com:

N.J. Dept. of Ed. releases guide on town spending on public schooling

Published: Friday, July 20, 2012, 3:57 PM     Updated: Friday, July 20, 2012, 3:57 PM

 By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger 

TRENTON — Taxpayers who want to know how much their home towns spend on public schooling can find that information in a guide released today by the state Department of Education. 

The data used to create the 2012 Taxpayer's Guide to Education Spending was first reported by The Star-Ledger in June, when the state released statistics on spending, test scores, enrollment and more for ever

Related coverage:

• N.J. school report cards, spending costs, released by state education department

• View the report cards: District by district

• State Dept. of Education is using new spending measurement as it releases school report cards 

• N.J. School Report Card data shows average per-pupil spending increased statewide, dropped in urban districts

James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates

James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates:

James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates

by Joy Resmovits

James Holmes, who is accused of shooting 71 people, killing 12, in a crowded theater at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie Friday, was a smart, quiet first-year student in a highly competitive graduate program, former classmates said.

"He was a loner," said a classmate of Holmes' in the neuroscience program at the University of Colorado Denver Aschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, who requested anonymity. "He was quiet."

Holmes, 24, graduated with honors from University of California-Riverside with a degree in neuroscience in spring 2010. He enrolled in the University of Colorado in June 2011, and was "in the process of withdrawing" at the time 

Proposed NDSG platform! « Deborah Meier on Education

Proposed NDSG platform! « Deborah Meier on Education:

Proposed NDSG platform!

Posted on July 20, 2012 by debmeier

Thanks to Brenda Engel who put together a potential policy platform for the North Dakota Study Group (which is my favorite nonorganization). it never meets in North Dakota (except twice in its 38 year history—brrrrr), never engages in group-study, has no by-laws or elected leadership, never votes, occasionally acts (we ended our meeting early to show up in Madison, Wisc. one recent February), but makes us think 

School Tech Connect: Charter Madness Creeps Northward

School Tech Connect: Charter Madness Creeps Northward:

Charter Madness Creeps Northward

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

The suburbs are starting to wake up to the unfunded mandate-generator that is the state charter authority.


Prairie Crossing, a small choice school, is within the boundaries of Woodland and Fremont Elementary District 79. Of roughly $3.47 million in general state aid allotted to Woodland for the 2011-12 academic year, a little more than $3 million of that total was forwarded to Prairie Crossing.


A Woodland report stated 324 of 6,750 district students were enrolled at Prairie Crossing for the last school year. Prairie Crossing offers an environmentally focused curriculum to students in 

Schools Do Need A Weatherman | Taking Note

Schools Do Need A Weatherman | Taking Note:

Schools Do Need A Weatherman

by John Merrow

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

So sang Bob Dylan in “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” but the public schools are in desperate need of a weatherman, someone to point out that they are moving in the wrong direction. I grant that K-12 education is tougher and more complex than higher education, but that’s no excuse for what’s going on. It seems to me that most of the world is moving one way — and American K-12 education the other.

Some parts of higher education have figured out which way the wind is blowing and are moving aggressively to adapt to a changing world. Tamar Lewin of the New York Times provided a solid overview of the rapid expansion of massive open online courses (MOOCs) recently. The eye-opener was Stanford’s free artificial intelligence course last year; it attracted 160,00 students from 190 countries.

Jersey Jazzman: New Jersey Charter School Circus

Jersey Jazzman: New Jersey Charter School Circus:

New Jersey Charter School Circus

Trying to follow charter school news in New Jersey is like going to the circus: spend too long watching Ring Number One and you'll miss what's going on in Ring Number Three.

Cherry Hill:

The organizer of Regis Academy Charter School, denied final approval by state officials, on Tuesday said he’ll fight that decision.
Pastor Amir Khan, in an online letter to the parents of prospective students, said he plans to appeal his school’s rejection by acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf.
“As things stand today, we will be appearing before the judge … sometime this week to have a ruling on our case,” said Khan. “We are confident that things will be in our favor.”
In an earlier letter to the state Department of Education, Khan disputed the agency’s finding that his school made “material misrepresentations” during the application 

Jersey Jazzman: For the Record: Cerf Is AGAINST Publishing Teacher Evals

Jersey Jazzman: For the Record: Cerf Is AGAINST Publishing Teacher Evals:

For the Record: Cerf Is AGAINST Publishing Teacher Evals

by Duke

I feel like I need to get this on the record right now:

Over the past couple of days, the press is suddenly interested in whether or not New Jersey's teacher evaluations will be published publicly (see stories here, here, here). I'd first point out that all of this really traces back to a single story, co-written for Gannett by two reporters, that's made it's way to a variety of outlets; such is the media world we live in that a single piece can take up such bandwidth.

I'd also like to remind everyone that the reviews of the release of teacher evaluations in Los Angeles and New York City have been worse than the reviews for Adam Sandler's last few movies. Even Andrew Cuomo pulled 

To be vindicated on Senate Bill 7 doesn’t make it any better. « Fred Klonsky

To be vindicated on Senate Bill 7 doesn’t make it any better. « Fred Klonsky:

To be vindicated on Senate Bill 7 doesn’t make it any better.

by Fred Klonsky

Let us go back to the Spring of 2011.
When the teachers in our local took a look at Senate Bill 7, we were appalled.
In fact, when we went to Springfield as a part of the 2011 Lobby Day effort and were told to push for pension protection and for Senate Bill 7, we absolutely refused to support the IEA leadership on Senate Bill 7.
Both the IEA leadership and the NEA leadership called SB7 a victory for teachers and a model for the nation.
Here is a report from EdWeek, April 25th of 2011:

In contrast, unions helped shape Illinois’ bipartisan bill. The legislation would make teacher certification, qualifications, ability, and “relevant experience” 

redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst

redefine public ed « Cooperative Catalyst:

redefine public ed

by monika hardy

Declaration of Interdependence

originally posted at dmlcentral.net

By MONIKA HARDY July 20, 2012 – 10:30am

 

Tags Connected Learning, Public Education, Teaching

 

 

We have massive research and many evidences available…[ie: Diane Ravitch is declaring a bunch of them here, we’ve gathered particular ones here]…that what we’re doing in the name of public education is not serving us well. Perhaps we declare some new laws in regard to public education, in regard to interdependency.
The term interdependency came as we were researching laws for homeless teens. While some states allow 14-year-olds to declare independence, often resulting in homelessness, some are trying to restate that to a declaration of interdependence where each teen is matched up with an adult. If we want to create spaces of 

NEWS FLASH - Embargo Comes Off, Political Spin Begins - Wait, What?

NEWS FLASH - Embargo Comes Off, Political Spin Begins - Wait, What?:

NEWS FLASH – Embargo Comes Off, Political Spin Begins

by jonpelto

Recalling that the greatest barriers to academic success, as measured by standardized tests, are poverty, language barriers and special education needs, what do the Connecticut Mastery Tests Mean?

For that we turn to the experts;

“We’re pleased to see that there are signs of progress in our schools.  That said — while schools are moving more students into proficient and goal-level performance, significant gaps in achievement continue between economically disadvantaged students and their peers.”

—Stefan Pryor, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education

“This year’s results reveal noteworthy achievement gains in many districts…”our neediest 

Those Insane and Demoralizing Evaluations. « Diane Ravitch's blog

Those Insane and Demoralizing Evaluations. « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Those Insane and Demoralizing Evaluations.

by dianerav

A teacher faces the state’s new evaluation with anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and confusion. She has a great idea about how to game this invalid, meaningless, absurd and punitive system:

It’s not just in LA that teachers are afraid. VA is implementing new eval requirements that must include student progress worth 40% of a teacher’s overal eval. The plan at my former school (might be at the new school I will be working for in the fall as well) was to develop pre and post tests to show growth over the year for non-tested subjects (and first year of a subject wouldn’t count, since obviously students would be starting at zero. I wasn’t really sure about the logic there). Yet, I was unable to ever get clear answers on how they would be implented for teachers of multiple levels/preps. One idea was that only one level would count. After I pointed out that this would incentivize focusing on only the level that counted to the detriment of the non-counted levels, I was met with silence. When I asked who was picking, I was also met with confusion. Moreover, it also occurred to me 

Is Education a Massive Failure of Federalism? | Truth in American Education

Is Education a Massive Failure of Federalism? | Truth in American Education:

Is Education a Massive Failure of Federalism?

by Shane Vander Hart

Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, complained in his op/ed in The Washington Post about the Obama Administration’s use of waivers in circumventing the law.  He wrote:

The Obama administration is increasingly becoming known not for its legislative achievements but for its federal waivers to legislative achievements. It has exempted favored groups from immigration laws, welfare-reform work requirements, even provisions of the Affordable Care Act (more than 1,300 businesses and unions have been given a reprieve from health-care coverage rules).

The boldest use of the waiver power, however, has come on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). More than half of the states have been granted exemptions from the law’s requirement that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. When a law’s provisions are ignored in a majority of cases, it can properly be considered overturned.

I agree with this complaint though I am no fan of No Child Left Behind.  It is unconstitutional, Congress needed to 

Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make Alexander Russo All Visceral? #SOSCHAT

Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make 

Alexander Russo All Visceral?

I Think:

What do YOU Think?:

Weekly Update: The Zone of Doublethink, are charter schools leading to more gang violence in Chicago? and a legislator in Mississippi asked the question “Who ARE these people?!” | Seattle Education

Weekly Update: The Zone of Doublethink, are charter schools leading to more gang violence in Chicago? and a legislator in Mississippi asked the question “Who ARE these people?!” | Seattle Education:

Weekly Update: The Zone of Doublethink, are charter schools leading to more gang violence in Chicago? and a legislator in Mississippi asked the question “Who ARE these people?!”

by seattleducation2011

The Seattle Education Weekly Update, news you might have missed.

“Systems in history are defined above all by who controls the wealth. The top 400 people own more wealth now than the bottom 185 million Americans taken together. That is a medieval structure.”

Gar Alperovitz’s Green Party Keynote: We Are Laying Groundwork for the “Next Great Revolution”

Speaking of the 1% , the WalMart Waltons just contributed $600,000 to support the charter school Initiative 

“ALL WE CAN DO” « Teachers Fight Back

“ALL WE CAN DO” « Teachers Fight Back:

“ALL WE CAN DO”

by alkleen

The following is a quote from Gary Elmen, the president of the Illinois Retired Teacher Association. The quote was part of the president’s message in the latest Association News that is sent to retired teachers.
“Retired teachers do not have the resources of corporate executives who want to cut the cost of taxation in Illinois, and they are not able personally to contribute millions to polished media campaigns designed to brainwash the public and scapegoat teachers for the state’s problems.  ALL WE CAN DO is visit a few fund-raisers, volunteer in some campaigns, convince our friends, and vote.”
Wow! If that’s all we can do Mr. Elmen, we are in for a real shock this fall. Illinois retired teachers better brace for the legislature to take away their cost of living increases and perhaps even their teacher insurance. That’s probably the minimum we can expect.

NYC Working Group on School Transformation « EdVox

NYC Working Group on School Transformation « EdVox:

NYC Working Group on School Transformation

by edvoxny

by Norm Fruchter
Last April, the New York City Working Group on School Transformation issued a reportexamining the impact of the school closing policy of the city’s Department of Education (DOE). The Working Group’s report argued that by closing schools instead of helping them to improve, the DOE was abdicating its responsibility to support struggling schools. The Working Group’s report called on the DOE to develop a Success Zone to help struggling schools improve, and to build instructional capacity across all the city’s schools so that many fewer would need to be closed.
The Working Group presented the following evidence that specific DOE policies  exacerbated the problems of struggling schools:

• The schools the DOE has closed since 2002 had significantly higher percentages of incoming 9^th graders with below-level 8^th grade math and reading scores, as well as significantly higher percentages of English Language Learners and students with disabilities, than the school system’s averages.
• In the five years before many of the system’s struggling schools were targeted for closure, the DOE significantly increased the percentages of students with low-level 8^th grade math and reading scores at those schools, and also increased the percentages of English Language Learners and students with disabilities.
• In the five years before many of the system’s struggling schools were targeted for closure, the DOE