A Generational Shift in the Value of Institutions — Whole Child Education

A Generational Shift in the Value of Institutions — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

A Generational Shift in the Value of Institutions

July 30, 2013 by Leader to Leader

At the the recent ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) conference, attendees had a series of passionateunconference conversations. Several groups refined their thoughts into a series of presentations to share with other attendees in an "idea marketplace." During the idea marketplace, unconference groups presented for four rounds of 10-minute sessions, giving their peers the opportunity to learn from several groups in one session.

This post, written by Mike Rulon, a member of ASCD's Whole Child Faculty and facilitator for theAssessment for Learning ASCD Professional Interest Community, shares his group's experience. Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #ASCDL2L.

There has been a dramatic shift in young peoples' thinking about the value of institutions. For example, they are more comfortable with changing jobs; the research states that newcomers to the job market say they expect to change jobs about every three years. This is a drastic change in thinking from my generation. We believed that we would have one or two jobs in our lifetime and with the same company or school. We believed this idea represented stability and we found comfort in having our benefits and retirement secure.

At the L2L conference we discussed other shifts in thinking about the value of the institution of education. These points were made:

• There is more choice now than ever for parents and students, charters, private, and virtual schools.
• Parents are becoming more comfortable with homeschooling, in part because technology makes it easier to deliver content, and there is a movement afoot for families to group together to share the responsibility of home schooling children from several families at a time.
• The U.S. Congress has passed bills that could become law that will make voucher systems in states easier to institute.
• One of Florida's largest school districts is a virtual district with thousands of students never setting foot in a school building for their high school careers.

We left with these questions for educators to ponder:

1. How can we recapture parents and students to value public schooling?
2. Should we consider partnering with the groups that are pulling our students away from our schools?

We believe that ASCD can:

1. Collect or sponsor research into why students are leaving our schools and where are they going.
2. Make the ASCD membership aware of this trend and the consequences of continuing "business as usual" will have on our schools.
3. Ramp up the support for the ASCD Whole Child Initiative. We believe that is what today's parents and students want from education.

7-30-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Parcc 90210

PARCC will be field testing its assessments in fourteen states and DC next spring. Normally I would be firing up the opt out machine to protest another waste of my children’s time but a fellow education advocate gave me a different idea: She stated “the only thing worse than no data is bad data” referencing how […]

by Chris Cerrone / 14min 

With support from @drjohnthompson, the case of the missing teaching experience #optorcop

This is really the last time I need to comment on this because we have to move on. I told you, dear reader, of my attendance at a recent Fordham event on the potential for opt outs of test-based accountability.  Here’s video of my question, comment. When I try to assert my credibility in debates […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 5min 

To follow up on Chris Cerrone’s great post on #ECE

Chris Cerrone has a great post up including some examples of first-grade vocabulary from CCSS. Can it be argued as a good thing that first graders are now going to be taught the meaning of Ziggurat? I thought the CCSS was not supposed to be a checklist of things. Check out our most recent interview […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 7min 

7-29-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: Hey… hey power? Meet truth. Watch this exchange. Amazing.Former school employee, not sure if she was a teacher or not, but she’s absolutely right: middling class individuals are held to a standard such that private or public errors in judgment have the potential for long-lasting consequences. Then you have this guy, blasts his junk all over the Internet, and he wan

by mike simpson / 37min 

Department of Education Invites Districts to Apply for $120 Million in Race to the Top Funds to Support Classroom-Level Reform Efforts | U.S. Department of Education

Department of Education Invites Districts to Apply for $120 Million in Race to the Top Funds to Support Classroom-Level Reform Efforts | U.S. Department of Education:

Department of Education Invites Districts to Apply for $120 Million in Race to the Top Funds to Support Classroom-Level Reform Efforts

JULY 30, 2013

Contact:  

 Press, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov 

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that it has finalized the application for the 2013 Race to the Top-District competition, which will provide nearly $120 million to support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.

"The Race to the Top-District competition is an opportunity for trailblazing districts across the country to implement models of personalized learning so that every child graduates college and career ready," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "The program is designed to support teachers and school leaders in their use of innovative strategies as we seek to build a stronger future for America's students."

Race to the Top, launched in 2009, has inspired dramatic education reform nationwide, leading 46 states and the District of Columbia to pursue higher college- and career-ready standards, data-driven decision making, greater support for teachers and leaders, and turnaround interventions in low performing schools.

In 2012, the Department rolled out Race to the Top-District to support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching. The program sets a high bar to fund those districts that have a track record of success, clear vision for reform, and innovative plans to transform the learning environment and accelerate student achievement. The Department awarded approximately $383 million to 16 Race to the Top-District grantees representing 55 local educational agencies (LEAs), with grants ranging from $10 to $40 million.

This year, the Race to the Top-District competition seeks to build on the innovative strategies already employed in classrooms across the country. This year's competition invites applicants to demonstrate how they can personalize education for all students and is aimed squarely at classrooms and the all-important relationship between teachers and students. The competition will encourage transformative change within schools, providing school leaders and teachers with key tools and support in order to best meet their students' needs.

Applicants from all districts are invited to apply. The Department plans to support high-quality proposals from applicants across a variety of districts, including rural and non-rural as well as those already in a State with a Race to the Top grant and districts that are not. These 4-year awards will range from $4 million to $30 million, depending on the population of students served through the plan.

Grantees will be selected based on their vision and capacity for reform as well as a strong plan that provides educators with resources to accelerate student achievement and prepare students for college and their careers. Plans will focus on transforming the learning environment so that it meets all students' learning abilities, making equity and access to high-quality education a priority. Teachers will receive real-time feedback that helps them adapt to their students' needs, allowing them to create opportunities for students to pursue areas of personal academic interest—while ensuring that each student is ready for college and their career.

The program also offers competitive preference to applicants that form partnerships with public and private organizations to offer services that help meet students' academic, social, and emotional needs, outside of the classroom.

More information, including the application for the Race to the Top-District competition, can be found at:www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district. The Department is requesting interested districts to submit their intent to apply by August 23, 2013. Applications are due Oct. 3, 2013 with awards being announced no later than Dec. 31, 2013.

Those who can magically turn a 'C' into an 'A' - The Maddow Blog

Those who can magically turn a 'C' into an 'A' - The Maddow Blog:

Those who can magically turn a 'C' into an 'A' - The Maddow Blog

 Last year in Indiana, a charter school called Christel House had a small problem. Students' poor algebra test scores had dragged down the school's overall letter grade in the state system to a "C," which in turn put state funding in jeopardy.

At the same time, Republican politicians saw a related problem. Christel House is owned and operated by Christel DeHaan, a major Republican donor with great influence in Indiana's GOP circles.

And that's when things got interesting. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Tony Bennett -- Indiana's former schools chief who has since become Florida's education commissioner -- "frantically overhauled" its school grading system last fall in order to ensure the Republican donor's charter school got an "A," even though it earned a "C."

[T]rouble loomed when Indiana's then-grading director, Jon Gubera, first alerted Bennett on Sept. 12 that the Christel House Academy had scored less than an A.

"This will be a HUGE problem for us," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12, 2012 email to [then-chief of staff Heather Neal, who is now Gov. Mike Pence's chief lobbyist]. Neal fired back a few minutes later, "Oh, crap. We cannot release until this is resolved." [...]

A weeklong behind-the-scenes scramble ensued among Bennett, assistant 

Diane in the Evening 7-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Mitch McConnell Explains Why Privatization Is Good for You

I received the following email today from Senator Mitch McConnell. He really needs to get some people on his staff who can read and understand education research. It is not that hard. So should Rand Paul, Lamar Alexander, and the other senators who are pushing vouchers. He would learn, for example, that students in voucher schools have not outperformed students in public schools anywhere. He doesn

by dianerav / 18min 

To Rand Paul: Why Should Kentucky Copy Tennessee’s Unsuccessful Corporate Reforms?

A blogger in Tennessee notes that Rand Paul of Kentucky is excited about what is happening in Tennessee. He wants Kentucky to follow Tennessee’s lead. But this is very odd because by almost every measure, Kentucky is more successful in education than Tennessee. Unlike Tennessee, Kentucky has no charter schools. It does not aspire to enact vouchers. It is doing none of what the corporate reformers

by dianerav / 1min 

NC Teacher: These “Reforms” Are Insane

A reader from North Carolina explains how the legislatures so-called reforms will affect her: “I have been teaching in NC for 13 years now. To be honest, having to sign a new contract each year or not getting a raise yet again doesn’t concern me as much as having 25+ 7 year olds with no assistant. I’ve had to share an assistant with 3 other teachers for the past few years, and that is better than

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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Nancy Flanagan Dissects the Latest Harebrained Reform IdeaNancy Flanagan taught music in Michigan for many years. She now blogs at Edweek. In this post, she dissects a new reformy idea called “the opportunity culture.” The bottom line is that if you are in the top 25% of teachers, determined by test scores, then you should teach la

by mike simpson / 2h 

Et tu England? English education policy is based on a nasty little theory | Education | The Guardian

English education policy is based on a nasty little theory | Education | The Guardian:

English education policy is based on a nasty little theory

Underlying education policies in England is the misguided idea that only a few children are clever and that the rest are less valuable, argues Prof Danny Dorling

• 
• • Danny Dorling
  • The Guardian, Monday 22 July 2013 15.00 EDT
  • Jump to comments (334)

Danny Dorling: ‘Pupils in free schools, academies and private schools need not be taught their place so rigidly’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

At the very core of the latest version of the national curriculum for maintained schools in England is a nasty little assumption. It is an assumption that has been harboured by a few for many decades, and one that often rises to the fore during hard times. It is what underlies the current government's approach to education. This assumption first gained popularity following the popularisation of Darwin and Wallace's discovery of evolution. The assumption is that children vary greatly in what they might be able to achieve, that some have far greater potential to do well than others, but all have only a fixed potential.

The job of government is routinely described as being to aid children to achieve within limits. As the deputy prime minister put it last week when announcing tests for five-year-olds: "I make no apology for having high ambitions for our pupils. But for children to achieve their potential we need to raise the bar."

In July 2013 the Department for Education made it clear that the underlying purpose of the new national curriculum had remained unchanged since Michael Gove first announced the detail of his int

Chiefs for Changing Grades? - United for Public Schools

Chiefs for Changing Grades? - United for Public Schools:

Chiefs for Changing Grades?

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Posted by admin | July 30, 2013 | Category: corporate agenda | Write Comment

Former Indiana schools chief and current Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett changed Indiana’s school grading system to benefit one of his donors. But he and other Chiefs for Change have changed more than grades to enrich their funders—they’ve changed states’ education policies, too.

Yesterday, news broke that former Indiana schools chief and current Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett overhauled Indiana’s school grades system in order to benefit a charter school owned by an influential Republican donor, Christel DeHaan. Seeing that the school was set to receive a C, Bennett—who received $130,000 in political contributions from DeHaan– and several top staff members of the Indiana Department of Education worked frantically to adjust both the grading system and the charts used to present the data, in order to make her school look more successful than it had been.

Bennett, who helped establish Chiefs for Change with former Florida governor Jeb Bush, claims to support a tough, data-driven brand of “accountability” when it 

State Advisory Council (SAC) Resources - State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care (CA Dept of Education)

State Advisory Council (SAC) Resources - State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care (CA Dept of Education):

State Advisory Council (SAC) Resources

Resources developed for the State Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Learning and Care.

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• Access to Quality: Early Learning for California Preschoolers in Subsidized License-Exempt Settings (PDF; 1MB)
  Summary of findings and policy recommendations on improving access to school readiness experiences for preschoolers in license-exempt care in California. This project examined: 1) the reasons why parents choose license-exempt child care, and their knowledge of the options that may be available to them; 2) the opportunities for and barriers to improving school readiness experiences for at-risk children who attend full-time, license-exempt child care; and 3) how license-exempt providers, and school readiness and preschool programs, might better coordinate and blend their offerings for families.

• California Comprehensive Early Learning Plan (PDF; 7MB)
  California's Comprehensive Early Learning Plan (CCELP), or the "Plan," provides key direction for the State in the development of a high-quality birth-to-age-five system that provides all children with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve long-term success. The Plan is based on extensive research and stakeholder engagement, and it suggests changes that, if implemented, would make California's early learning system more coherent and effective.
  Background Information on the development of the CCELP 

• Condition of Children Birth to Age Five and Status of Early Childhood Services in California
  A meta-analysis of the existing research on the condition of California‘s young children and the status of the state’s early childhood services.
  
  • Executive Summary (PDF)
  • Full Report (PDF; 2MB)

Return to SAC Main Page

NYC Public School Parents: The most shocking scandal of Teach for America?

NYC Public School Parents: The most shocking scandal of Teach for America?:

The biggest scandal of Teach for America?

There has been much discussion and debate about how Teach for America undermines our public schools by encouraging the deprofessionalization of the teaching force, and“perpetuates systemic inequalities” especially in urban schools. In many districts, TFA has used its political clout to get its recruits hired, as in Chicago, while thousands of experienced teachers are being laid off.  Gary Rubinstein, a former TFA corps member, has been a fierce critic of the inadequate training that the organization provides.  Edushyster recently wrote that the TFA has become a primarily a “placement agency” to staff charter schools rather than public schools – and in the process is fueling the privatization movement. 

All the above is true; but in my mind, the most shocking aspect of the organization is how in many districts, including NYC, raw TFA recruits are assigned to special education classrooms almost exclusively --because this is the biggest shortage area.  See the recent Independent Budget Office report  on p. 24 – showing that 80 percent of TFA recruits in NYC public schools in 2010-11 were working as special education teachers; and 68 percent of Teaching Fellows (a similar program for mid-career recruits, run by TNTP).

That to me is the biggest scandal.  Instead of doing something to stanch the outflow of special education teachers assigned to those children who clearly need teachers with the MOST training and experience,  TFA and TNTP fill in the gap, year after year, with the least-trained recruits, who only stay one or two years and perpetuate the problem.

For all the endless rhetoric about teacher quality that issues from TNTP, about the need for more rigorous teacher evaluation and getting rid of sub-par teachers, they along with TFA are actively participating and benefiting from a system in which children with disabilities -- who require the most specialized instruction -- are relegated to the poorest-trained 

Read the letter Dallas ISD trustees sent Miles on how to behave during independent investigation | Education Blog

Read the letter Dallas ISD trustees sent Miles on how to behave during independent investigation | Education Blog:

Read the letter Dallas ISD trustees sent Miles on how to behave during independent investigation

By Matthew Haag
mhaag@dallasnews.com
11:28 am on July 30, 2013 | Permalink

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Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles received a letter Friday instructing him not to interfere or impede an independent investigation into whether he tried to manipulate the warding of a parent education services contract.

The letter, signed by board president Eric Cowan, lists 11 orders that Miles is expected follow.

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Matthew Haag writes about the Dallas Independent School District. Follow @matthewhaag on Twitter,@DallasISD_News on Twitter and the Education Blog on Facebook.

Dallas ISD urges other districts not to hire teachers that didn’t resign in time

Dallas ISD recently sent a letter to more than 150 Texas school districts essentially asking them not to hire DISD teachers who didn’t resign in time to leave the district. DISD teachers had until July 12 to submit their resignations for the upcoming school year. And now DISD’s personnel department is trying to stop teachers who didn’t announce their exits from going to other area districts. Educ

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