Garcetti picks up mantle from Villaraigosa, appoints education deputy | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Garcetti picks up mantle from Villaraigosa, appoints education deputy | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Garcetti picks up mantle from Villaraigosa, appoints education deputy

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | August 19th, 2013, 2:25pm

L0s Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti plans to appoint veteran school district administrator Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana as his new education deputy, KPCC has learned.

The arrangement came to light in documents for L.A. Unified’s Tuesday school board meeting. A “reimbursement agreements” section included a request by the City of Los Angeles to hire an LA Unified employee.

Vivian Ekchian, L.A. Unified’s Chief of Human Resources, said that item refers to Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, who was hired by the school district at a $140,000-a-year salary.

“The superintendent’s office informed us that she was processed about a week ago,” Ekchian said.

But the district won't pay her salary. Instead, she'll be on loan to the City of L.A. as a Director of Education and Workforce Development. That would make her Mayor Garcetti's education deputy.

Her one-year contract includes teacher retirement benefits, health and welfare, and 

The Burdens of Working-Class Youth - Online University of the Left

The Burdens of Working-Class Youth - Online University of the Left:

The Burdens of Working-Class Youth

Posted by carl4davidson 

Tim Foley for The Chronicle

By Jennifer M. Silva

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Brandon, a 34-year-old black man from Richmond, Va., labels himself "a cautionary tale." Growing up in the shadow of a university where both his parents worked in maintenance, he was told from an early age that education was the path to the "land of milk and honey." An eager and hard-working student, Brandon earned a spot at a private university in the Southeast—finally, his childhood dream of building spaceships seemed to be coming true. He shrugged off his nervousness about borrowing tens of thousands of dollars in loans, joking: "Hey, if I owe you five dollars, that’s my problem, but if I owe you $50,000, that’s your problem."

But his light-hearted banter belies the long train of obstacles and uncertainties that have followed him at every turn. Unable to pass calculus or physics, Brandon switched his major from engineering to criminal justice. He applied to several police departments upon graduation, but he didn’t land a job.

With "two dreams deferred," Brandon took a job at a women’s-clothing chain, hoping it would be temporary. Eleven years later, he’s still there, unloading, steaming, pressing, and pricing garments on the night shift. When his loans came out of deferment, he couldn’t afford the monthly payments and decided to get a master’s degree in psychology—partly to increase his chances of getting a good job, and partly, he admitted, to put his loans back in deferment. He finally earned a master’s degree, paid for with more loans from "that mean lady, Sallie Mae."

So far, Brandon has not found a job that will pay him enough to cover his monthly loan and living 

In South Florida, AFT President Weingarten targets Bush, Bennett - Schools - MiamiHerald.com #CHEATS4CHANGE

In South Florida, AFT President Weingarten targets Bush, Bennett - Schools - MiamiHerald.com:

In South Florida, AFT President Weingarten targets Bush, Bennett

BY DAVID SMILEY

DSMILEY@MIAMIHERALD.COM

With the architects of Florida’s education system on the defensive, the fiery leader of the country’s second-largest teachers union launched another round of attacks on former governor Jeb Bush and the state’s recently resigned education chief during a Monday visit to South Florida.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called Florida “ground zero for every single market-based experiment that has been done to our children” during a speech before hundreds of teachers at a back-to-school event at Sun Life Stadium. She compared former State Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett, who resigned this month amid a school grade-fixing scandal, to the late, disgraced Miami-Dade union boss Pat Tornillo.

“I love when somebody says, like Jeb Bush, ‘[Bennett] had to resign because of hits he was taking from the right and the left.’” Weingarten said. “No. He had to resign because he was cooking the books. Just like Tornillo had to leave.”

Tornillo’s scandal — using union funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle — put him in prison about a decade ago and was far worse than the allegations that led to Bennett’s fall. But emails showing that Bennett in his time as Indiana’s state superintendent changed a “C” to an “A” for a struggling charter school run by

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/12/3558598/in-south-florida-aft-president.html#storylink=cpy

Diane Ravitch’s new book was preemptively attacked. Wow! | Reclaim Reform

Diane Ravitch’s new book was preemptively attacked. Wow! | Reclaim Reform:

Diane Ravitch’s new book was preemptively attacked. Wow!

Posted on August 19, 2013by Ken Previti

Peter Cunningham, a professional spin-doctor, today attacked Diane Ravitch and her yet to be published book, The Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools. Wow! she must have hit a nerve!

There is no doubt that with his governmental and political connections Cunningham is privy to monitored information gathered by means of modern surveillance.

“I served as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach in the U.S. Department of Education, where one of my jobs was to monitor criticism of our policies and develop our responses… I understand that Dr. Ravitch is about to publish another book attacking education reform. She will go after my good friend Arne Duncan.”

Cunningham goes on to “predict” the evils of her book-to-be.

“She will call on America to invest more in fighting poverty, as if we have not spent tens of trillions of dollars fighting poverty since the New Deal and the Great Society and will spend tens of trillions more… Worst of all, she will use poverty as an excuse to avoid any 

Back to School Campaign — Coming Soon Student Voice

Student Voice:

Back to School Campaign — Coming Soon

With the Digital Backpack’s Launch just a few days away, Student Voice wanted to take the time to explain “why” — Why does the Digital Backpack matter?

This is why.

The easiest way to support Student Voice is to personally share the Digital Backpack with your friends, colleagues, and community. Share it, talk about it, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

- See more at: http://stuvoice.org/blog/2013/08/19/back-to-school-campaign-coming-soon/?utm_source=feedly#sthash.0U2axjrL.dpuf

L.A. TIMES SANDY BANKS - REPORTER OR SHILL FOR LAUSD, BROAD & GATES, AND THE PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION? YOU DECIDE - Perdaily.com

L.A. TIMES SANDY BANKS - REPORTER OR SHILL FOR LAUSD, BROAD & GATES, AND THE PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION? YOU DECIDE - Perdaily.com:

L.A. TIMES SANDY BANKS - REPORTER OR SHILL FOR LAUSD, BROAD & GATES, AND THE PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION? YOU DECIDE

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times is too smart to mistakenly continue to concoct one-sided feel good articles that completely ignore anything but a "dominant narrative" that blames seasoned teachers for a long-failed public education system in a traditionally top-down LAUSD model that teachers have never had any ability to change. After reading our little email exchanges and the articles she wrote, are any of the issues I addressed ever addressed? Is this just an oversight?

It is worth noting that after contacting me to seek my input, she ultimately never followed up on any of the issues I raised. It is also interesting that she cites in her defense to my initial email response the reporter's ideal of getting a scoop without every acknowledging that there is a filter on what she and other reporters at the L.A.Times and elsewhere in commercial and public media are allowed to report...if they expect to keep their jobs. In what profession other than teaching would you prefer a novice to a seasoned professional?- unless you didn't consider what teachers do to be a profession. Ms. Banks and her colleagues have no small part in disseminating this false message.

A while back, Ms. Banks approached me at the behest of teacher Paula Hurdle to get my take on what was causing the enmity between veteran teachers and the glorified novice teachers being hired to replace them for what I believe to be the exclusive motives of saving money and the dumbing down of American public 

Petrilli’s Desperate Attempt To Save Democracy Prep’s Reputation | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Petrilli’s Desperate Attempt To Save Democracy Prep’s Reputation | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Petrilli’s Desperate Attempt To Save Democracy Prep’s Reputation

by Gary Rubinstein

The hardest thing about trying to have an intellectual debate with ‘reformers’ is every time they start to lose, they try to change the rules.

First they say “poverty doesn’t matter” and when it becomes clear that it does, they start saying “Well, it matters, but we still need to make schools as good as possible and standardized test accountability is the best way to do that.”  First they deny that charters have a self-selected population that is easier to teach, and then when you prove them wrong, they say “Yes, it’s true, but it is a good thing.”

So for years they have been hailing “miracle schools” which are high poverty schools with, supposedly, the “same kids” as the nearby ‘failing’ school who get incredible standardized test results.  In New York City these included the KIPP schools, the Democracy Prep schools, and the Success Academy schools.  Then, when the results came back from the more difficult common core tests, the KIPP and Democracy Prep schools didn’t do so well, though the Success Academies did.

This certainly put ‘reformers’ in to an awkward position.  If Success Academies are so much better than KIPP and Democracy Prep, why not throw those other two charter chains under the proverbial bus and focus on the one true Messiah?

Instead the ‘reformers’ are trying to have it both ways:  For Success Academies, there have been many op-eds about how those schools are proving all the critics wrong with their superior test results.  As far as the schools who are not proving any critics wrong with their inferior test results, well, we have this recent Huffington Post piece by Michael Petrilli from the Thomas B. 

8-19-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Rahm Emanuel. Worst. Mayor. Ever.

  Catching crabs with the grand kids on Block Island, Rhode Island. Jesus Christ, Rahm. Can’t I leave Chicago for a God-damn week without you screwing things up even more? I’m writing this sitting on a bench behind the Block Island library. It’s the only place in town that you can get a decent internet connection. There is internet access here even when the library is closed. I’m sharing the benc

1 by Fred Klonsky / 4min 

8-18-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Logan Square Rally Today to Support Our Public Schools.Logan Square Rally to Support Our Public Schools Sunday, August 18 4:00 PM Logan Square Monument Milwaukee & Logan Join parents, students, educators, community organizations, activists, and local elected officials as we rally and call on Mayor

by mike simpson / 1h 

Diane in the Evening 8-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

When Competition Is Pointless

The other day, I was involved in an extended online discussion about proficiency and accountability with about 50 people, mostly inside the Beltway. These are big names, people who make decisions that control your child’s life in school. I got more and more exasperated as the various think tank experts waxed on about how and why parents NEED to know how their child compares to children of the same

2 by dianerav / 6min 

Please Help the Brilliant Paul Krugman Understand the Problems with Common Core

Paul Krugman posted this commentary about the Common Core standards. Clearly he has never read them and has no idea about the legitimate concerns that teachers and principals have. Instead, he echoes the claim by Times’ writer Bill Keller that the opponents are nearly all rightwing extremists. I just left a short comment, which has not been moderated and approved yet. I expressed my concern about

7 by dianerav / 19min 

If You Are in New York City, Join Me to Discuss “Reform” on September 11

I will be discussing my new book, “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools” at Judson Memorial Church, near New York University, on September 11 at 6 pm. The event is sponsored by Class Size Matters and New Yorkers for Great Public Schools Wednesday, Sept.11th 6-7:15 PM at Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South, Manhattan Trains:

3 by dianerav / 36min 

The New York Times Hearts Common Core: Susan Ohanian Calls Foul

This morning the New York Times published a lengthy defense of the Common Core standards by Bill Keller, previously executive editor of the paper. Keller asserts that opposition to the Common Core comes from extremists on the far-right fringe. (He does say that there are critics on the left, and adds a link to my blog, but not to the post explaining my reasons for not supporting the Common Core.  

by dianerav / 10min 

Literacy Experts Blast NCTQ Report

Literacy experts who are members of the Reading Hall of Fame took issue with the report of the National Council on Teacher Quality, which recently lambasted the nation’s schools of education. They questioned the bona fides of NCTQ, questioning its partisanship. Their strongest criticism was directed at the report’s fervent advocacy of phonics as the only legitimate way to teach reading. I have stu

by dianerav / 8min 

Chile: Vouchers and Inequality

Please read the series of blog posts by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas on the subject of Chile, vouchers, social segregation, and inequality.

by dianerav / 12min 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Anti-Testing Movement Grows in NY Suburbs and TownsThe collapse of test scores in New York following the first tests of the Common Core standards is fueling the growth of the anti-testing movement. A huge protest took place in Port Jefferson Station on Long Island on Saturday. Fifteen hundred people turned out to denounce the Commo

by mike simpson / 2h 

If The Corleone Family Were Involved In Education Deform...southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

If The Corleone Family Were Involved In Education Deform...

So here I am on Saturday on I-81 driving north just outside of Binghamton on my way to Skaneateles. My wife is on her iPhone doing whatever as is my son. I am left alone to listen to flip between the Sirius channels.

One can do a lot of pondering in such a situation. I did. I pondered, or was it wondered, or was it

daydreaming, that the Godfather movie (or even organized crime) is a lot like what we are seeing now in education amongst the deformers. Think about it, we're fighting against a crime family.

So what if the Godfather movie and the Corleone's were involved in education reform. Let's take a look.

Be sure to read the last fantasy or parody all the way at the bottom.

Michael: My credit good enough to buy you out?
Moe Greene: Buy me out?  [Fredo laughs nervously]
Michael: The school, the playground. The Corleone Family wants to buy you out.
Moe Greene: The Corleone Family wants to buy me out? No, I buy you out, you don't buy me out. Michael: Your school loses money, maybe we can do better.
Moe Greene: You think I'm skimmin off the top, Mike?
Michael: [Michael shakes his head] You're unlucky.
Moe Greene: You goddamn guineas you

UPDATE: NYC Public School Parents: An Evening with Diane Ravitch on Sept. 11; RSVP now!

NYC Public School Parents: An Evening with Diane Ravitch on Sept. 11; RSVP now!:

CEC 6 demands co-locations removed from October PEP meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 19, 2013Members of Community Education Council District 6 Demand Co-locations Be Removed from October Calendar of the Panel for Educational PolicyAt the August 15 Community Education Council District 6 (CEC6) public meeting, the Office of Portfolio Management (OPM) verbally presented proposals to co-locate two new schools in already co-located District 6 (D6) buildings

by Leonie Haimson / 28min 

An Evening with Diane Ravitch on Sept. 11; RSVP now!

RSVP at http://reignoferror-eorg.eventbrite.com/ Here is a flyer.

New Yorkers for Great Public Schools and

Class Size Matters

Invite You To:

An evening with education historian and activist

DIANE

RAVITCH

On the release of her new book, “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.”

Wednesday, Sept.11th

6-7:15 PM at Judson Memorial Church

55 Washington Square South, Manhattan

(Trains: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to

W4^th St; N, R to 8 St.; #6 to Astor Place; #1 to Sheridan Sq.)

New Yorkers are ready for a new direction for public education, and as the whole country watches our mayoral election,

Ravitch will discuss how we can move away from failed policies of the past and towards a successful school system that will work for every student. A question and answer session will follow.

Call 212-328-9271 for more information

What we know about schools — but choose to ignore:

What we know about schools — but choose to ignore

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 19 at 1:30 pmE-mail the writer

Here’s an important piece on school reform by P.L. Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina. He edited the 2013 book “Becoming and Being a Teacher,” and wrote the 2012 book, “Ignoring Poverty in the U.S.: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education.” This was published on his blog, the becoming radical.

By P.L. Thomas

Randy Olson’s Flock of Dodos (2006) explores the evolution and Intelligent Design (ID) debate that represents the newest attack on teaching evolution in U.S. public schools. The documentary is engaging, enlightening, and nearly too fair considering Olson admits upfront that he stands with scientists who support evolution as credible science and reject ID as something outside the realm of science.

Olson’s film, however, offers a powerful message that rises above the evolution debate. Particularly in the scenes depicting scientists discussing (during a poker game) why evolution remains a target of political and public interests, the documentary shows that evidence-based expertise often fails against clear and compelling messages (such as 

Feds offer new guide on IDEA and mediation + Lawmakers move to protect educational rights of troubled teens SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Feds offer new guide on IDEA and mediation
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, August 19, 2013

With special education’s status as the most litigated component of the public school system, the U.S. Department of Education has released updated guidance on mediation, dispute resolution and due process procedures.

As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Congress included a long section that gave safeguards to parents and families over how their child would be served by school districts, as well as several mechanisms that could be used to resolve differences.

The new material – delivered earlier this month from Melody Musgrove, director of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs – includes the clear admonition to state and local officials that the expectation is that schools should look for ways to work collaboratively with parents.

Incorporated into the material are guidance memos issued in 2007 and 2007 and while much of the document restates existing tenants – there is a significant amount of new information around state complaint procedures and due process complaints as well as on mediation as the preferred method of dispute resolution.

Given the many opportunities for disagreement between families and school districts when it comes to evaluating and serving students with disabilities, it is perhaps surprising to note that the original bill passed by Congress in 1975 

Lawmakers move to protect educational rights of troubled teens

Jesse was expelled just two weeks before his eighth grade graduation and summarily sent to community school, where he spent more than two years before seeking legal help to be able to attend a regular high school.

4min 

Teachers Learn by Doing, Too | InterACT

Teachers Learn by Doing, Too | InterACT:

Teachers Learn by Doing, Too

AUGUST 19, 2013

tags: Center X, engineering, guest posts, NGSS, professional development, science, UCLA

by ACT Guest Blog Posts

Today’s ACT guest blog post was written by Jane Ching Fung, an ACT member and teacher from Los Angeles.  Jane is a Milken Award winning teacher and has served in various leadership capacities for organizations such as NCTAF, CFTL, and PBS.  She is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network, and her writing has also appeared in Education Week Teacher.

Jane Fung, center, teaches first grade English Language Learners in Los Angeles.

I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

– Confucius

Want teachers to effectively implement and teach Next Generation Science Standards? Offer engaging and meaningful professional development.

It’s the last weeks before school starts. I could be working in my classroom and getting a head start on lesson planning. I could be lounging at the beach or enjoying my last week of freedom. I could be, but instead I jumped at the chance to join colleagues to learn more about the upcoming Next Generation Science Standards. I say upcoming because California has not yet “officially” adopted them, but we will, so why wait?

I wanted to know and learn more about STEM education and how to implement it in a