7-28-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

Revisiting the Common Core Math Content and Practice Standards (sort of)

I think there is a great deal of monocular vision when it comes to issues surrounding the Common Core Standards themselves (as opposed to the overall CCSS-Initiative, which I find execrable and irredeemable), and this narrow viewing through emotionally-charged lenses causes a lot of confusion while leading to little insight. I started out 95% opposed […]

1 by Michael Paul Gold... / 18min 

All Week 7-26-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Drawing Upon Paul Tough to Nurture Soft Skills Not “Grit”It is always reassuring to read about pedagogies developed in the classroom being later determined to be based on scientific principles documented by academic researchers. That is one reason why I was so impressed with Paul Tough’s New York Times Magazine article, “Who Gets to Graduate?” Tough’s a

by mike simpson / 1h 

Drugs in schools | catalyst-chicago.org

Drugs in schools | catalyst-chicago.org:

Drugs in schools

Download This Issue (PDF)

SUMMER 2014

Most drug violations in CPS involve an ounce or less of marijuana. Schools are quick to call police, yet rarely have the resources to offer education, counseling or other non-punitive help to students.

• Share on facebookShare on email

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Quick to punish Sarah Karp Cory Warren and a group of his classmates at Phillips Academy High School had a challenge: Work with a community organization to try to convince their peers that drinking and taking drugs are bad ideas.  Alcohol and drug abuse are virtually never talked about in Chicago Public Schools, even in high schools, he says. Yet teens can be especially susceptible to peer pressure to drink and do drugs, and the consequences for drug-related offenses in CPS can be severe. “I think in elementary school they told us not to smoke squares (slang for cigarettes), but no one said anything... school arrests, school discipline, suspensions and expulsions > READ MORE

Life after being arrested at school Sarah Karp It is a week and a half before school lets out for the summer, and though the weather is on the cool side, children are on the playground of Little Village Elementary School, shouting and running in the late afternoon.  Anthony Martinez slides into the basement of an old building on the corner across the street. Several teenaged boys are slouched on a worn, weathered couch, playing video games in the dim light. Others are shooting pool. The young men are here as part of Urban Life Skills, a diversion program that allows young offenders to avoid... school arrests, school discipline, suspensions and expulsions > READ MORE

Threatened with expulsion Sarah Karp In June, CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett heralded changes to the Student Code of Conduct that she said will reduce disparities in how school discipline is carried out and ultimately cut the number of suspensions and expulsions.  But Catalyst Chicago has discovered that officials slipped a loophole into the new code that will allow principals to request a transfer for a student who has been referred for expulsion—even without a hearing. Students would be transferred to a school for expelled or suspended students; effectively, the only... alternative schools, school arrests, school discipline, suspensions and expulsions > READ MORE

Letter From the Editor

Drug policy should focus on teaching, not punishment

By: Lorraine Forte

Jesus Velazquez got caught at school with a marijuana pipe in his backpack. What happened next is exactly what shouldn’t take place if a school district’s goal—or, from a larger perspective, a community’s goal—is to get kids who make dumb mistakes back on track. 

Jesus Velazquez got caught at school with a marijuana pipe in his backpack. What happened next is exactly what shouldn’t take place if a school district’s goal—or, from a larger perspective, a...

Read More

7-28-14 The Whole Child Blog — ICYMI: Principals Share Advice on Whole Child Podcast

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:

ICYMI: Principals Share Advice on Whole Child Podcast

Principals are the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools. They are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting school change and in the ongoing school-improvement process. There is also no doubt that the role—or roles—of a principal has changed dramatically in recent years and will likely change even more in upcoming decades. In a 2013 episode of the Wh

by Whole Child Podca... / 38min 

7-26-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog What Happens When You BelieveI was recently asked if I remember teachers or educators that made a difference in my life and learning and how they inspired me. Yes, for a while I was that "middle" kid. I was your student who came diligently every day to class, completes their work, and if given the choice,

by mike simpson / 35min 

The Gulen Archipelago – redqueeninla

The Gulen Archipelago – redqueeninla:



The Gulen Archipelago

by redqueeninla in Education

 The largest chain of Charter Schools in this country is run from the Poconos by a reclusive, self-exiled Turk named Fethullah Gülen. From its website, this self-proclaimed “faith-inspired initiative to improve educational opportunities for a local community” inspires instead a wide range of interpretation and suspicion.

And this is how the volatile and complex politics of a middle eastern countryhalfway around the globe, Turkey, overlaps with the convoluted and complicated politics of modern Education Reform in one of the world’s most diverse cities, Los Angeles.

The Gulen Movement (GM) is the ideological core of the Charter School chain that is at the heart of the recent court ruling “allowing” two of their schools to remain open in LAUSD.

Alleging financial impropriety in at least two of its schools, located respectively in Palms (westside) and Van Nuys (west Valley), the LAUSD charter office asserts authority to close the two schools, in keeping with a mandate to retain some semblance of oversight over the largest concentration of publicly funded quasi-private “Charter” Schools in existence anywhere. The leadership of these two particular schools, the Hizmet movement, or GM, won an injunction from the closing by arguing that failing to renew a school’s charter was tantamount to revoking its charter, a move that requires public input.

But it may just well be that avoiding such a messy discussion is the goal of our public school board. They must be sensitive to even the appearance of any sort of defamation of anyone’s culture or religion. And yet protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, the Gulen Movement is a hugely powerful, and hugely controversial, political entity in this country. The incursions of this cult into our public school system and political landscape are so widespread and so deep that there is no escaping the need for the electorate to read about this movement for yourself.

Unless there is a broader understanding of the extent of its influence and The Gulen Archipelago – redqueeninla:

Campbell Brown Distorts the Truth in Rochester southbronxschool

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Campbell Brown Distorts the Truth in Rochester

So today, it was Campbell Brown's turn to have her moment of attention in Albany. She , along with her followers, er, parents,filed a lawsuit today, Wright v NY, (In factthe lead plaintiff was written about on these pages in 2012) attempting to do away with tenure and due process for teachers. We know it is a frivolous lawsuit, we know that it's a copycat lawsuit, we know thatMichelleRheeFirst and Wall Street are behind it and we know that those, like Campbell Brown and Mona Davids are desperate for relevancy and attention.

About a month or so ago when Campbell announced her intentions, she cited a family in Rochester that was allegedly treated appallingly by their daughter's (Then in 7th grade) teacher after the girl (The girl's name, as well as the family's name and teacher's name will not be published here) had written an essay about Fredrick Douglas.

The Nation of Islam has shared their version of the story. What happened? According to the story the student was;

...recently forced to endure the chastisement of her teachers, principal, and other school administrators for her response to a district-wide activity where students were asked to read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and write a brief essay explaining what the narrative meant to them.

Why? The student;

...composed a powerful essay comparing her own educational experiences with those of Douglass. Like him, she lamented that her peers did not like to read, and how difficult it was to obtain a decent education.

Hey, if she is write such a powerful essay, something very right must be happening in the classroomhttp://www.southbronxschool.com:

7-28-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

I'm Shocked, Just Shocked WSJ Reporter Leslie Brody Would Write a Biased Article on Tenure

The Wall Street Journal article is just another example of how the media uses "fuzzy math" to distort and pervert the statistics to suit their ideological aims and to support the attack on teacher "due process rights"... Chaz School Daze Chaz on ICE blog:  The exoneration rate in 3020-a cases has remained consistent over the years at 4%. James Eterno response: You won't find

by ed notes online / 11min 

Francesca Gomes on the New Teacher Contract

While many teachers were able to see the contract for what it was, the only organized protest against it was mounted by the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE). Though the effort made by this group was truly commendable, it currently has too small of a base to mount an effective attack or empower the teachers in a city with such a vast, sprawling geography and such a high number of schools.

by ed notes online / 19min 

7-27-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: The Diane Ravitch Contradiction: Educators Should Rebel, but Be Nice When Addressing Oppressive Union Leaderships....you want the workers to be rebellious, not docile. There is a time for collaboration and a time to stand up and fight... Ravitch on film "Metropolis."  I grow frustrated when union members attack their unions. Of course, they should fight to win democratic

by mike simpson / 20h

7-28-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

Foster youth gain support from UCLA summer program

Foster youth gain support from UCLA summer program Instability — multiple homes and multiple schools — is one of the biggest obstacles to academic success for foster children. But about two dozen high school students in foster care in Southern California are benefiting from one constant in their lives: a program each summer at UCLA aimed at keeping them on track academically and preparing them for

0min 

LAUSD charter school growth faster pace than in state, nation

LAUSD charter school growth faster pace than in state, nation Click table to view larger image At the start of the new school year in two weeks, LA Unified will have almost 200 more charter schools than it did a decade ago.  The growth reflects a more swift expansion than national and statewide trends in school choice options.  Since 2004, charter schools in LA Unified have increased nearly four t

by Vanessa Romo / 1:59 PM UTC-7 

Johnson holding money lead over McKenna; Vladovic has donors

Johnson holding money lead over McKenna; Vladovic has donors Notes along the campaign trail: In the money race for the open District 1 board seat, Alex Johnson continues to hold an overall lead over George McKenna, according to the City’s Ethics Commission Through last week, Johnson had raised $47,646 to $6,450 for McKenna, an 8-to-1 ratio that hasn’t budged in weeks. In PAC money spent on the cam

3 by Michael Janofsky / 28min 

Morning Read: Lawsuit looms over California PE classes

Morning Read: Lawsuit looms over California PE classes California schools face lawsuit over physical education classes Thousands of elementary school teachers have been asked this summer to hold on to their lesson plans as 37 school districts throughout the state seek to show that they are providing students with required exercise. LA Times The LAUSD board election matters; voters should turn out

2min 

7-26-14 This Week in LA - School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):Breaking News: Judge allows Magnolia charters to remain openBreaking News: Judge allows Magnolia charters to remain open A California Superior Court judge today ruled that two Magnolia Public Schools (MPS) charters can remain open, blocking LA Unified’s effort to have them shut down over financial concerns

by mike simpson / 38min 

BESE Special Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2014 | deutsch29

BESE Special Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2014 | deutsch29:

BESE Special Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2014

July 28, 2014

The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) must decide how to approach 1) being sued by 17 legislators; 2) being supported in a pro-Common Core (CCSS) lawsuit filed chiefly by charter school supporters and backed by “choice” money but wanting to enforce CC as the single “choice” for Louisiana schools, and 3) whether to sue in outright defiance of the Division of Administration’s (DOA) refusal to approve or to “sue for the right to sue” given Governor Bobby Jindal’s, the Office of Contractual Renewal’s (OCR) and DOA’s auditing and limiting BESE/LDOE assessment contracts and funding.

(I know. Confusing. Take a deep breath then reread what I wrote above.)

Thus, BESE President Chas Roemer has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at 11 a.m., at the Claiborne Building in Baton Rouge.

The agenda addresses four items, three of which hinge upon suing or being sued.

The agenda also includes a charter school approval item:

3. Items for Consideration
3.1. Consideration of Louisiana State Representatives, James 
Armes, et al., v. State of Louisiana, et al., 19th Judicial District 
Court, Docket No. 632,150, Section 22
3.2. Consideration of Navis Hill, et al., v. Louisiana State 
Governor, et al., 19th Judicial District Court, Docket No. 
621,170, Section 27
3.3. Consideration of a discussion regarding additional options 
related to Executive Order No. BJ 2014-7
3.4. Consideration of the Type 2 charter for Milestone SABIS 
Academy of New Orleans previously approved for renewal in 
December 2013

Let the lawsuits (and associated subpoenas) fly!

________________________________________________________________

Like my writing? Read my newly-released ed “reform” whistle blower, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education

NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE.

BESE Special Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2014 | deutsch29: