Sacramento Press / Opinion: Private money and public schools (Part II)

Sacramento Press / Opinion: Private money and public schools (Part I + II):

Private money and public schools: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. team up part one

by Seth Sandronsky

Last December 3, the California Fair Political Practices Commission recommended fining Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a Democrat, $37,500 for improperly reporting donations to his multiple nonprofit groups. The political watchdog agency agreed to this penalty at a Dec. 13 meeting. The donations included a total of $500,000 between Jan. 19, 2012, and June 5, 2012, from the Walton Family Foundation to Stand Up for Sacramento Schools, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit school reform group that Johnson founded in 2009 with a commitment of $500,000 from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

The money trail, however, goes beyond Mayor Johnson’s untimely reporting of donations to his nonprofits. His local education reform efforts illustrate a broader national trend: corporate funding of education reform via nonprofits to alter public schools. In an era of a growing income gap between corporate America and the general public—the one percent and 99 percent, in the words of the Occupy Wall Street movement—the power of corporate-funded philanthropy to shape public policy has become part of the social landscape. In the case of school reform, breaking public-sector unions is high on this elite agenda. Consider the Walton Family 

Private money and public schools: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. team up part two

by Seth Sandronsky

The DFER and USCM vision of education reform prioritizes high-stakes standardized tests that set teachers on a path of drilling pupils in preparation throughout the school day and year. Schools with low test scores are at risk of takeover when student scores on standardized tests do not measure up. Here is a little-discussed fact: High-stakes testing is a thriving business. It involves so-called “learning companies” like Pearson, which owns the Financial Times and Penguin Books. Pearson profits from test materials for American education reform.
Mayor Johnson co-wrote an editorial with members of the black church: “If we truly believe that education is the civil rights issue of our time, we must step up to the plate and demand justice. And by encouraging legislatures to put measures in place that will empower parents and guarantee great teachers in the classroom, we have the ability to educate every child in our communities, regardless of ZIP code. In addition, we should utilize the Stand Up for Sacramento Schools and StudentsFirst websites as resources for learning more about how to advocate for education reforms in our communities”: http://www.theroot.com/views/black-church-and-schools-reform.
Hold on. The American civil rights movement of the 1960s did not receive or request donations from the corporate

Louisiana Educator: Is a Teacher Shortage Developing?

Louisiana Educator: Is a Teacher Shortage Developing?:

Is a Teacher Shortage Developing?

by Michael Deshotels

Our State Department of Education crack PR team apparently wanted to counteract the recent news reports about the large increase in teacher retirements in Louisiana. So they released their own report pointing out that total teacher attrition has not increased by much in the last few years. But in so doing they also gave the numbers of initial teacher licences granted in the last several years.

So here is what the data released by the LDOE shows about number of teachers leaving the workforce in Louisiana in the last few years:
'09-10: 5,622
'10-11: 6,072
'11-12: 6,183

So while the rate of teachers leaving has increased by only 561 teachers per year, look at numbers of new licences granted in recent years:
'08-09: 3,005
'09-10: 3,076
'10-11: 3,136

This data tells me that Louisiana is only adding about half the new certified teachers compared to the number of teachers that are quiting each of the last 3 years. I guess part of this gap may be explained by reductions in staff 

NYC Educator: Testing Blues

NYC Educator: Testing Blues:

Testing Blues

by NYC Educator

This is the fifth time I'm taking this test, and I don't understand what the hell is so important about it. I mean, I don't even care about this stuff. Who does? What will I ever need to know it for? I mean, the teacher's pretty nice and I don't want to insult her, but it's not my fault she chose a job where she needs to talk about this stuff all the time. So anyway, the topic doesn't interest me, and I'm just not gonna write about it.

Instead, I'm gonna talk about what I had for dinner last night. We had steak and rice. Now, where we come from, we eat rice all the time, so you kind of have to have it. Steak is something we don't always have. I kind of like it medium-rare, but last night, I gotta say, my mom overcooked it a little. That was fine with my family, who likes it like that. They like it cooked until it cracks, and if the texture is like a pair of Florsheims, they're good with that. But at my girlfriend's house, they grill it and don't cook it so much, so I really like that better.

We also had cauliflower. Now, to me, cauliflower is kind of like the bastard stepchild of broccoli. I mean, why do we need that stuff? You could just eat broccoli. 

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. | Parents Across America

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. | Parents Across America:

First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C.

by pureparents

“We don’t just have failing schools; we have a failing system of epidemic proportions. Community and parent voices have been removed from the process and the privatization has removed all checks and balances so that the system is no longer accountable to the public,” said Karran Harper-Royal, parent with Parents Across America, New Orleans. “The answer is not charter schools, the answer is fortifying traditional public schools through a community-driven process.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Laurie R. Glenn
Phone: 773.704.7246
E-mail: lrglenn@thinkincstrategy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013

PRESS RELEASE

18 CITIES CALL ON DUNCAN & DEPT. OF EDUCATION TO END DISCRIMINATORY CLOSINGS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
National “Journey for Justice” Movement Gains Speed In Wake Of Mass School Closings & Turnarounds That Violate Civil Rights & Promote Divestment In Low-Income Communities of Color

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Students, parents and advocacy representatives from 18 major United States cities testified today at a community hearing before Arne Duncan and the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. on the devastating impact and civil rights violations resulting from the unchecked closings and turnarounds of schools serving predominantly low-income, students of color.

Approximately 500 students, parents and community representatives, impacted or at risk of impact by school closings, represented 18 cities from across the country at the hearing including: Ambler, Pa.; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Detroit; District of Columbia; Eupora, Miss.; Hartford, Conn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Newark; New Orleans; New York; Oakland, Calif.; Philadelphia; and Wichita, Kan.

“Cities across the country are experiencing the racially disparate effects of top-down, neglectful actions by the closing and turnaround of schools serving low-income students of color. The devastating impact of these actions has only been tolerated because of the race and class of the communities affected,” said Reverend Krista Alston, parent leader with the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization in Chicago. “Hundreds of youth and parents are making their voices heard today and it is crucial that policymakers hear the issues, First report on Journey for Justice 2 hearing in D.C. | Parents Across America:

PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition:

PSAT for 1-29-13: Solidarity with Garfield teachers – and our new petition

by admin

Tomorrow, WEDNESDAY, January 30 is a national call/phone/fax day to tell Seattle Public Schools that you, your organization and your union stand with the Garfield test boycotters. Send your message to Seattle Schools Superintendant José Banda:

• Phone: (206) 252-0180
• Fax: (206) 252-0209
• E-mail: superintendent@seattleschools.org

Here’s the letter Parents Across America/PAA-Seattle wrote in solidarity with the teachers.
Take some time today to listen to PAA’s testing webinar from Sunday Jan. 29 which featured Garfield teacher Sarah Johnson along with FairTest’s Monty Neill and national testing opt-out leaders Tim Slekar and  Shaun Johnson.
Looking ahead, the following Wednesday, February 6, has been called as a national day of solidarity for the Garfield teachers. More than a Score has chosen that day for a Chicago citywide testing petition day. Details and resources for petition passers are here. Please add your school to the list of locations for the Feb. 6 petition day.

Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Call It a Story: Defining Our Profession

by Nancy Flanagan

Guest post by Kelly Flynn.
Halfway through her senior year, Kimberly suddenly stopped coming to school. Messages left for her parents went unreturned. When she finally showed up after a three-week absence, I pulled her aside and inquired about her well-being. She'd been kicked out of her parent's house, she said, but she did not want to say why. For three weeks she'd been living in her boyfriend's van. She couldn't actually stay at his house because his parents did not approve. When they went to work she was able to slip in and take a shower, and sometimes sneak something to eat. She had no money and nowhere to go. Her days, she said, were spent inside the van, sleeping, doing crossword puzzles, and listening to the radio. Kimberly was eighteen-years-old and five months from graduation. I bought her two bags of non-perishable groceries, tried repeatedly to talk to her parents, and contacted her counselor. One day she disappeared and never came back. She did not graduate.
That's a true story about a real student in our public school system. And it's important because schools are full of students like Kimberly: bright kids in unfathomable circumstances that have a profound - and immeasurable - effect on their learning.
Kimberly became a dropout statistic. Her problems were complicated, and personal, and perhaps not really within the jurisdiction of the school system at all. 

On being disloyal. « Fred Klonsky

On being disloyal. « Fred Klonsky:

On being disloyal.

by Fred Klonsky

An Illinois member of the NEA board of directors wrote and suggested that I was creating disunity in the IEA because of my criticisms of their handling of the pension issue. He asked that I not post his comments and, as always, I will adhere to his wishes.
But  I want to share my response.
I think that your suggestion that I am the cause of disunity is grossly unfair.
That there are differences in our union is an objective fact. Some wish to remain quiet about those differences. I don’t. To be unified around a wrong set of tactics and a wrong strategy does no service to our members nor to the students we teach.
We were too unified when Audrey Soglin, Ken Swanson and others in leadership (you perhaps?) tried to silence criticism of our support for Senate Bill 7. The local that I was president of was a lone voice in opposition to 

Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students — Whole Child Education

Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Common Core Standards Will Benefit At-Risk Students

January 29, 2013 by Elizabeth Pfiffner

As part of the school team, school social workers share the goal of ensuring that all students receive a quality education. We work with students and their families to address personal, family, and societal issues that create obstacles for learning. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards will create a strong foundation for school social workers in our mission to improve academic and behavioral outcomes for all students.

How Common Core Standards Standards Will Support Students and Families

Consistency in the knowledge and skills taught in schools across the country promises to reduce barriers to students and families. It will greatly benefit students who find themselves in different schools throughout their educational life. Children of families who move from one state to another will begin to see less difference in the classrooms of the various states. Change to a new school, for students and parents, causes fears and anxieties that make adjustment difficult. Common Core state Standards will bring more consistency to state-

NYC Public School Parents: Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care?

NYC Public School Parents: Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care?:

Who is Bradley Tusk and why should we care?

by Leonie Haimson

On Sunday, there was a front page story about how Bradley Tusk is coordinating the campaign against Obama’s appointment of Chuck Hagel as US Secretary of Defense on the grounds that Hagel was anti-choice and anti-gay (apparently Hagel made an anti-gay comment in 1998).  Tusk’s campaign includes TV ads and sending mailers that push Sen. Schumer to oppose the nomination with the mysterious name of “Use your Mandate” as the return address. I’ve received two of these large glossy mailers in the last week.

Here is Tusk claiming that there is opposition to Hagel from liberals inForeign Policy magazine:

"From the left, there's a lot of consternation about the Hagel nomination," said Bradley Tusk, former campaign manager for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and founder of Tusk Strategies, which is helping coordinate the campaign. "A lot of people worked hard to 

Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation | Hechinger Report

Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation | Hechinger Report:

Divided We Fail: Replicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes of desegregation

by Hechinger Report

On June 28, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that officially ended the era of school desegregation that followed Brown v. Board of Education. Five of the nine justices declared that race alone could no longer be used to assign students to a school, undermining the biggest civil rights cases of the previous century. Under the new interpretation of the law, school districts that had labored for half a century to integrate under plans once forced on them by the courts were told those plans were now unconstitutional.Two cases led to the decision, one out of Seattle and another out of Louisville, Kentucky, the most racially integrated school system in America. The Louisville case had a long history. Ten years earlier, parents had gone to court to fight desegregation in order to save one school, Central High. The parents were angry about busing, the main tool used in Louisville’s plan. Their children were being forced into the worst schools in the city when one of the best, located in their neighborhood, was being threatened with closure. They were frustrated that their children’s educational fates were decided solely on their race, with little attention to what parents and the community wanted for their kids. They believed the school system was violating their constitutional right to equal protection. They didn’t care that their case might jeopardize a central cause of the civil rights movement, school desegregation; a few of the plaintiffs hoped that desegregation would be dismantled because of their efforts. Although they were not the first to bring a federal case challenging desegregation, they 

Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’ | The Raw Story

Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’ | The Raw Story:

Scalia berates school children visiting court: Constitution is ‘dead, dead, dead!’

By David Edwards
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 15:20 EST

Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon1

 

Topics: SMU law professor Bryan A. Garner ♦ Southern Methodist University ♦ supreme court justice antonin scalia

 

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Monday said the U.S. Constitution was “dead, dead, dead” and lashed out at school child who he said had visited the high court with the wrong view of the document.

During a lecture at Southern Methodist University to promote their second book together, SMU law professor Bryan A. Garner noted that “my political beliefs are different from those of Justice Scalia,” according to The Dallas Morning News.

Garner explained that he was in favor of marriage rights for LGBT people and additional laws to control firearms.

“I haven’t expressed my views of either of those,” Scalia insisted, adding, “You’re a bleeding heart.”

The justice noted that law schools did a poor job at emphasizing that court decisions should be based on the letter of the law, and recalled that even school children who visited the Supreme

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1z6Wa)

Ed Notes Online: Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now

Ed Notes Online: Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now:

Teacher Uprising in Seattle: Garfield HS Test Boycott on Democracy Now

by ed notes online

I don't want to lose that kind of money on a teacher's salary. But I'm willing to do it. Because that's the right thing to do. And it's also educational for my students to see me standing up for things that are right. --- Garfield HS Teacher

Teachers will not back down in face of Supe threat of 10 day suspension without pay. "Teachers will volunteer their time." This is must see as teacher Jesse Hagopian explains what the boycott is all about.

Here is the summary.

I am writing to share an interview we broadcast on Democracy Now! today regarding the unanimous vote to stop administering widely used standardized MAP tests at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, earlier this month. We are joined by one of these teachers, Jesse Hagopian, alongside a former high school teacher, assistant professor at the University of Washington, and author of "Unequal by Design: High-Stakes Testing and the Standardization of Inequality."

Watch it here:

As you may already know, these teachers boycotting are calling these standardized tests wasteful and unfairly used to grade their performance - they are now facing threats of 10-day suspension without pay if they continue 

Schools Matter: Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data

Schools Matter: Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data:

Poverty and the “achievement gap”: Some new data

by skrashen

Carnoy and Rothstein (2013) compared US performance with Korean, Finland and Canada on the PISA 2009, given to 15-year-olds. All three of these countries generally score about 1/3 of a standard deviation better than the US in reading and math on international tests; Arne Duncan refers to these three countries as the three “consistent high-performers” (Carnoy and Rothstein, 2013 p. 10). In the PISA 2009 reading test, Korea had the highest score of all OECD countries (539), Finland was second highest (536) and Canada third (524). American students scored 500, 33 points behind the average of 533 for the three top countries.

A larger percentage of students in the US live in poverty, as compared to the top-scoring countries, and poverty level is consistently associated with school performance. Carnoy and Rothstein attempted to control for this.

They calculated that if the US had the same social class distribution as the average of the top three countries, the average US reading score on the PISA would be 518 (Cornoy and Rothstein, table 3A, p. 13). Social class (poverty) thus accounts for about half the reading gap, as measured by the PISA. Carnoy and Rothstein also 

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics « Cooperative Catalyst

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics « Cooperative Catalyst:

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics

by robinclane

Recently, I attend a meeting of the Austin Social Justice Teachers Inquiry Group, during which we talked about… politics. A scary word in a school. Big “P” Politics referred to ways teachers can be involved politically beyond the walls of their classroom; little “p” politics meant bringing current events and social justice into lessons and activities.
One concern that always comes up when talking to other teachers about bringing social justice to their classrooms is, “I don’t want to lose my job.”  I’ve invited fellow teachers to rallies, meetings, and protests; I’ve shared resources discussing issues ranging from immigration to racial profiling to standardized testing. Too often I get rebuffed with the question, “Am I allowed to that?” In this post, I want to give on example of how I’ve incorporated little “p” politics in my classroom, as well as the experiences of another fellow teacher.
Right now, my 8th graders are working on persuasive writing. I found about 15 texts for them to use as anchor texts, discussing different political issues (i.e. immigration reform and the school-to-prison pipeline). I also included articles about standardized testing, homework, school uniforms, and school lunches — issues less social justice focused but more salient in my students’ lives. We analyzed the essays and decided which 

Diane in the Evening 1-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Civil Rights Protestors to Duncan: Stop Closing Our Schools!

by dianerav

Protestors from across the nation journeyed to Washington, where they received 45 minutes of Arne Duncan’s time.
They told Duncan and President Obama’s education advisor, Roberto Rodriguez, that the closings in minority communities were harming the students and the communities, but Duncan said he had no control over the 

Ed Reformer Leads Campaign Against Chuck Hagel

by dianerav

Just when you thought politics could not get weirder, we learn that a public relations guy is running a campaign against President Obama’s pick for Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel.
Turns out the campaign is run by Bradley Tusk, who has the following connections: Former Illinois Governor Rod 

The Ongoing Charter School Fiasco in New Jersey

by dianerav

How could it happen that New Jersey officials cut the ribbon at the opening of a new charter school facility in September, but the school just lost its nonprofit status?
Jersey Jazzman here reviews the nonstop administrative incompetence of the New Jersey Department of Education in relation to its failure to provide adequate oversight.
He concludes:
“I don’t think I’ve even covered it all, but you get the point: New Jersey’s oversight of charter schools under Chris

More on National School Boards’ Blast at Duncan

by dianerav

You earlier read the press release from the National School Boards Association here, reasserting the importance of federalism, a concept unknown to the U.S. Department of Education these days.
Here is a great summary and a link to the NSBA’s proposed legislation, which tells the federal government to abide by its federal role–not as the boss of the nation’s schools, but as a support.

Florida’s Nutty Accountability System

by dianerav

Between the two Bush brothers–George W. and Jeb–the nation’s education system is locked into a regime of endless testing, grading, evaluating, marking, measuring, etc.
It doesn’t seem to get us very far. After all, Texas has been in this business for as long as anyone can 

Australian Educators Thank Garfield Teachers

by dianerav

Our compatriots in Australia are watching the growing rebellion against high-stakes testing with interest and hope.
They are impressed by the courage and unity of teachers at Garfield High School. They are also encouraged by 

Endless Saga of Charter School Scandals

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman has stitched together an amazing story of chicanery, some of it legal, some of it not.
The “not legal” part is the easiest to explain: the chief financial officer of the Brighter Choice Foundation in Albany was arrested on charges of embezzling some $200,000. Curiously, he was hired even though he was

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Common Core Is Horrible for K-3

by dianerav

There is growing evidence that the Common Core standards are absurd in the early grades. They require a level of academic learning that is developmentally inappropriate.
Little children need time to pay. Play is their work. In play, they learn to share and to count, to communicate, to use language appropriately, and to figure things out.
A story in a NYC newspaper shows just how ridiculous the Common Core standards are when imposed on 5-year-olds: Here is a story, well worth reading, about how Common Core is being implemented in kindergartens

Citizens or Consumers or Taxpayers?

by dianerav

In response to an earlier post about how we have been changed from citizens to consumers:
Reading this post, i was reminded of these remarks by the
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison at fundraiser for my congressman, Rush
Holt.
These are courtesy of Andrew Tobias’s blog: “When I was young
we used to be called citizens—American citizens. Some of us

NJ Parents and Educators on School Choice Week

by dianerav

New Jersey Save Our Schools reminds us that “school choice” was closely associated with resistance to court-ordered school desegregation in the South. Not only vouchers but segregation academies (“schools of choice”) were havens for whites fleeing contact with blacks.
Save Our Schools NJ Statement on School Choice Week
This week, there will be a concerted national effort to use the idea of parental school choice to advance an entirely different agenda.
We want to remind our legislators and those marketing school choice that

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-29-13 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] The Biggest Testing Scandal of All by dianerav Pearson has a contract with the state of Texas for five years that is worth close to $500 million. That ought to bring gold-plated service and products to the children of Texas, right? Wrong. Pearson is advertising for test graders in Texas on craigslist! The graders need only a bachelor’s degree, and they wil Special Education Teacher on Common Core by dianerav This NYC teacher of children with autism is having trouble teaching her students the Common Core.... more »