Pass / Fail : Compton Superintendent responds to student walkout | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : Compton Superintendent responds to student walkout | 89.3 KPCC:

Compton Superintendent responds to student walkout

by By Vanessa Romo

Credit: University of the Pacific/Flickr
District officials didn’t have much to say after Tuesday’s student-led protest during which approximately 70 students walked out of class and marched several blocks from Compton High School to district headquarters.
On Wednesday Superintendent Darin Brawley released the following statement encouraging “stakeholders” to

LAUSD arts funding cut 76% in five years

by By Tami Abdollah

In the last five years, funding for arts education at L.A. Unified has dropped from a budgeted high of $78.6 million in 2007-8 to $18.6 million this year. The district has committed to returning funds to the 2007-8 levels. Credit: L.A. Unified
In the last five years, funding for arts education at L.A. Unified has dropped from a budgeted high of $78.6 million

API scores: An educational horse race that will soon change

by By Tami Abdollah

The California Department of Education will release the Academic Performance Index numbers Thursday in an annual tradition that is perhaps the closest equivalent to educational horse racing — parents and schools obsess over the scores and districts work to make them higher. Credit: L.A. County Fair
The California Department of Education will release the Academic Performance Index numbers Thursday in an 

WOWSER: Court ruling: Fulton can post info on charter amendment | Get Schooled

Court ruling: Fulton can post info on charter amendment | Get Schooled:

Court ruling: Fulton can post info on charter amendment

6:41 pm October 10, 2012, by Maureen Downey

A Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled today that Fulton County Schools can provide information on the charter school amendment on its web site. Attorney and longtime vouchers advocate Glenn Delk maintained that the Fulton County district’s Q&A amounted to lobbying against the amendment.

But Judge Wendy Shoob disagreed, calling the Q&A simply informational.

School districts are bristling at what they consider efforts to silence them on the controversial amendment, which would give the state the power to overrule local districts and approve charter schools that local boards opposed.

“In providing information to the public regarding Amendment 1, I have done nothing wrong or 

Will the real parents please stand up? | catalyst-chicago.org

Will the real parents please stand up? | catalyst-chicago.org:

Will the real parents please stand up?

• Share on windycitizenShare on facebookShare on email

Parents don’t want a "war." They want a district that’s looking out for all children, that is capable of collaboration and able to hear the views and voices of real parents in the system.

By: Wendy Katten / October 1, 2012

• 
  Wendy Katten, Raise Your Hand

Now that the strike is over and parents, students and teachers are finally settling into the routine of the school year, many parents we talk to are wondering what will change in terms of how policies are shaped at the district level at Chicago Public Schools. The blogosphere is abuzz from East Coast to West with opinions on the value and meaning of this strike. Tomorrow, our teachers in Chicago will vote on whether or not to ratify the contract.

As a parent group in CPS, our members will still be advocating for the same things we were working on before the strike – more funding for classroom resources and staff, smaller class sizes, a dignified school day for all children in Chicago, a system that allows for parent voices to be heard and more democracy in policy-making.

To that end, many parents are newly frustrated by the aggressive tactics employed http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook

Promoter of Idaho education reforms won't reveal donors | OregonLive.com

Promoter of Idaho education reforms won't reveal donors | OregonLive.com:

Promoter of Idaho education reforms won't reveal donors

Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 3:18 PM     Updated: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 3:35 PM

BOISE -- A promoter ofSuperintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's education reforms isn't revealing the source of hundreds of thousands in campaign cash by giving it through a nonprofit group whose donors he says are exempt from disclosure. 

The Idaho Statesman reportedWednesday a pro-reform nonprofit, Education Voters of Idaho, created by Boise-based lobbyist John Foster, gave $200,350 to another group, Parents for Education Reform, for broadcast ads touting the reforms. 

Though Parents for Education Reform disclosed its contribution -- its only one, according to the Idaho Secretary of State -- Education Voters of Idaho won't file a similar sunshine report detailing its backers. That's because it's exempted from such requirements by federal tax laws governing nonprofit, 501(c)(4) "social welfare organizations," Foster said, adding 

 Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Other Astroturf lobbying groups

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Tonight, Oakland parents to protest the teacher shuffle - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Tonight, Oakland parents to protest the teacher shuffle - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

Tonight, Oakland parents to protest the teacher shuffle

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 at 9:25 am in 1 Comment

The week before last, Rachel Kargas, a parent at Oakland’s Cleveland Elementary School, wrote about the effects of consolidation: losing a teaching position and moving students into different (and often, grade-level combination) classrooms, mid-year, because fewer students enrolled than expected in certain grades. Parents from Cleveland Elementary spoke out at the last board meeting, urging the district to reconsider.
Tonight, the uber-organized parents and teachers at Kaiser Elementary School, who fended off the threat of closure last fall, plan to make their case. Parents say that because some families held onto their children’s seats until the last minute and enrolled them elsewhere, the school (which normally has a waiting list) had three vacancies — and is losing a teacher as a result.
I’ve requested information from OUSD on enrollment projections, the 20-day enrollment count (which, I’m told, 

My Letter to President Obama--Campaign for Our Public Schools | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

My Letter to President Obama--Campaign for Our Public Schools | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

My Letter to President Obama--Campaign for Our Public Schools

by Kate_Lenox

Dear President Obama:

I'm writing to you about your education policy. Although my children are no longer in the K-12 system here in Sacramento, I remain involved in our public schools because of their importance to the future of our country. It's clear to me that our public school system is being undermined by the very policies that are supposed to improve it. I believe that the focus of federal policy should be educational equity, not "accountability".

I grew up in California in the "golden age" of public education before the passage of Proposition 13. When I attended school we had art, science, music, counselors and school nurses, field trips and extra-curricular programs all without having to pay extra for them.  My children's school years were very different. Due to the fact 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Guest blogger Susan Klonsky's response to Wendy Kopp

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Guest blogger Susan Klonsky's response to Wendy Kopp:

Guest blogger Susan Klonsky's response to Wendy Kopp

by Mike Klonsky

Guest blogger Susan Klonsky responds to Wendy Kopp's critical review of Jonathan Kozol's latest book, Fire in the Ashes. Kopp is founder and chief executive of Teach for America. 

Wendy Kopp derides Kozol's  Fire In the Ashes for not being the book she wanted  him to write, and for not "being more current" nor embracing the world view that she champions. She implies that Kozol's exposures of "savage inequalities" embedded throughout Fire in the Ashes are outdated due mainly to the great progress being made by contemporary school reformers like herself and New York Mayor Bloomberg.  Kopp characterizes Kozol's  book as "misleading" and "pessimistic" because it does not hail the Bloomberg education agenda in New York Public Schools, an agenda of  school closings, privatization, and union-busting.

Little of Kozol's book is actually about schools at all. Rather, it is a study in the long-

UPDATE: Diane in the Evening 10-10-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

How to Join the Campaign for Our Public Schools

by dianerav

As a result of many comments on this blog, and in response to a great yearning to raise our voices, many teachers, parents, students, administrators and concerned citizens plan to join together in a mass letter-writing campaign to the President.
We want all letters submitted here to this blog or to Anthony Cody no later than October 17.
You may write to the White House directly, and the mail address is in the instructions link. But if you do, you will be required to disclose your identity in full. Knowing that many educators are fearful these days, you may send Anthony and me your letter without disclosing your name.
Please add as much detail as possible about your concerns. Be clear. Be specific.

The Case for For-Profit Entrepreneurs in Education

by dianerav

This is the most revolting article I have ever provided a link to. It is written by some money-grubbing entrepreneur who boasts that for-profit businesses are necessary to provide the innovation that education needs.
His insult to my friend Anthony Cody sets the tone. Apparently this guy was annoyed when Cody had the nerve to challenge the Gates Foundation for facilitating the privatization of public education.
I say we need more teachers like Anthony Cody and 

Who Is Paying for Charter Referendum in Washington State?

by dianerav

A reader sent the list of contributors to the campaign for 1240 in Washington State, which authorizes charters. See here and here for more about 1240.
Please read the list. Not clear if anyone on it is a parent of a public school student. What you will see is a list of billionaires in the high-tech sector.
Will big money buy the referendum?
Is public education for sale to the billionaire boys’ club?

Tomorrow is Money Blast in Washington State

by dianerav

Help your friends fight off the charter billionaires in Washington State.
Tomorrow is Money Blast Day:
It’s here – Money Blast Day in Washington state to fight off I-1240 that would establish charter schools here. (Washington is one of just nine states that does not have them and we have voted – three times – and said no to charters.)
But Bill Gates and his wealthy friends just infused the Yes side to the tune of $3M (they are up over $8M total). It’s a David and Goliath fight that we intend to win but we need help.
The No On 1240 campaign is having a MONEY BLAST all day on October 11th to raise money for this fight that 

Ever Heard of These Charters?

by dianerav

Louisiana passed its historic privatization legislation last spring, which included not only vouchers for more than half the students in the state, but inducement for many organizations to open multiple charter schools.
Now the state is getting swamped with applications from unknown or little-known groups. Maybe it is your Uncle Harry and Aunt Mabel. Maybe it is the guy who usually runs a hardware store. Maybe it is a dentist and his friends. Are they qualified to run schools?
Who knows?
People in public schools call them “pop-up charters” because they materialized out of nowhere to grab some 

My Speaking Schedule Next Week

by dianerav

Next week I am traveling and lecturing in the Midwest.
I speak at the City Club in Chicago on Monday October 15 at 7:30 am.
Same day, I speak to the CREATE assessment conference at University of Illinois at 11:30 a.m.
Same day, I speak to members of CTU at 4 pm, not yet sure of location.
Fly to Columbus, Ohio, that night.
On October 16 at 9:00 am I speak to the Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, Bridgewater Banquet Facility in Powell, Ohio.
I leave immediately after I speak and fly to Lansing, Michigan. On October 17, I speak to the Tri-County Alliance for Public Education, 8:30am.
Then I leave and fly to St. Paul, where I speak on October 18 to the annual conference of Education Minnesota at 11:30 am.
I dash to make a flight home.
Collapse.
I hope you can do this when you are 74!

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-10-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] How to Join the Campaign for Our Public Schools by dianerav As a result of many comments on this blog, and in response to a great yearning to raise our voices, many teachers, parents, students, administrators and concerned citizens plan to join together in a mass letter-writing campaign to the President. We want all letters submitted here to this blog or to Anthony Cody no later than October 17. You may write to the White House directly, and the mail address is in the instructions link. But if you do, you wil... more »

Corporate reform under the radar in Illinois. And the return of Paul Vallas. « Fred Klonsky

Corporate reform under the radar in Illinois. And the return of Paul Vallas. « Fred Klonsky:

Corporate reform under the radar in Illinois. And the return of Paul Vallas.

by Fred Klonsky

Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris and Paul Vallas back in the good old days.
Jim Broadway, who publishes the always informative Illinois Policy School Updates, brings to our attention the latest in Illinois’ trail of corporate reform: First, the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) – drafted by a committee headed by  IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin. PERA required teacher evaluation include student growth performance measures. Then Senate Bill 7, a collaborative effort between the state’s union leadership and Stand for Children. Among its many features, it did away with tenure and seniority rights.
Next in line:  The Illinois State Board of Education’s Center for School Improvement.
It hasn’t received as much attention as PERA and SB7. The St. Louis Post Dispatch carried a brief

The in box. Defending the pension provision.

by Fred Klonsky

Fred,
If the Constitutional Admendment passes it will certainly hurt everyone in many ways. I do believe. however, if they try to change the Cola provision of the penison plan, based upon the Admendment to the Constitution it will go to court and the final outcome will be a status quo for the Cola provision. I, also, believe that this Admendment will not have any affect on the Constitutional safeguards that we now enjoy.
All that being said, if the Admendment passes, there will not be any improvements in the pension 

Daily Kos: Bus Tour with teacherken - Michigan & Emergency Managers

Daily Kos: Bus Tour with teacherken - Michigan & Emergency Managers:

Bus Tour with teacherken - Michigan & Emergency Managers

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I am cross-posting this from Education Votes, a website of the National Education Association, for whom I am an embedded blogger aboard the Stop the Greed Agenda Bus Tour of Patriot Majority US
Tuesday the Stop the Greed Agenda Bus Tour made two stops in Michigan, which has seen both some of the most devastating effects of the Greed Agenda as well as some of the strongest pushing back.  After I review our two stops, I will provide some detailed explanation.
The first stop was in Detroit, at the Michigan Labor Legacy Monument at Hart Plaza:

Bus Tour with teacherken - Michigan & Emergency Managers

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

CIRCLE » New CIRCLE Fact Sheet Describes State Laws, Standards, and Requirements for k-12 Civics

CIRCLE » New CIRCLE Fact Sheet Describes State Laws, Standards, and Requirements for k-12 Civics:

New CIRCLE Fact Sheet Describes State Laws, Standards, and Requirements for k-12 Civics

With funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, CIRCLE has analyzed the standards, course requirements, and mandatory assessments relevant to civic education in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. This is the first such scan in 5 years. The full analysis is summarized in our new fact sheet entitled State Civic Education Requirements, and a spreadsheet provides details on each state.

Some of the highlights:

• All states have standards for social studies, a broad category that includes civics/government along with other disciplines such as history and geography. The civics theme of power, authority, and government is included in all 51 states’ social studies standards (including the District of Columbia’s). The theme of civic ideals and practices is found in every state’s standard except Missouri’s
• Thirty-nine  states require at least one course in American government or civics
• In the 2012-13 school year, 21 states require a state-designed social studies test. This is a similar number as in 2006 but a dramatic reduction compared to 2001, when 34 states conducted regular assessments o

Biased media: Sun-Times and Teach for America Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Biased media: Sun-Times and Teach for America:

Biased media: Sun-Times and Teach for America

by admin

This advertisement (with a fold in the middle of the donors list so that it fit in my scanner) appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times over the weekend. You may not be able to read the small print at the bottom which says: “The Sun-Times is a media sponsor of Teach for America.”
What’s wrong with that?
Well, let’s start with the TFA claim in this (no doubt free) ad that the program “give(s) over 50,000 Chicago kids 

13. Education “Reform” a Trojan Horse for Privatization | Project Censored

13. Education “Reform” a Trojan Horse for Privatization | Project Censored:

Education “Reform” a Trojan Horse for Privatization

Top 25 of 2013Oct 10, 2012

digg

Public education is the target of a well-coordinated, well-funded campaign to privatize as many schools as possible, particularly in cities. This campaign claims it wants great teachers in every classroom, but its rhetoric demoralizes teachers, reduces the status of the education profession, and champions standardized tests that perpetuate social inequality. The driving logic for such reform is profits.

Censored News Cluster: From “Bankster Bailout” to “Blessed Unrest”: News We Can Use to Create a US Economy for the 99 Percent

Paul Rosenberg, “Education ‘Reform’ Vs. the 99%,” Random Lengths News, February 10–23, 2012,http://www.randomlengthsnews.com/images/IssuePDFs/2012-feb/rl_02-09-12.pdf.

Paul Thomas, “Testing and Poverty in Education,” TheDaily Censored(blog), August 8, 2011,http://www.dailycensored.com/2011/08/08/poverty-and-testing-in-education-the-present-scientifico-legal-complex.

http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2012/04/13/education-reform-a-trojan-horse-for-privatization/

http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/11/07/testing-continues-poverty-and-limited-education/

Student Researcher: Samantha George (Sonoma State University)

Faculty Evaluators: Crystal White and Peter Phillips (Sonoma State University)

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