Workforce Investment Act Grantees Named - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

Workforce Investment Act Grantees Named - Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Winners of Federal Workforce Investment Act Grant

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that 198 community colleges, school districts, libraries, and nonprofits will share more than $86 million in federal grants to help adults find meaningful jobs and become better informed citizens.

"These funds will help adults learn to read, write, and speak English so they can find good jobs to support their families and become more productive members of their communities," Torlakson said.

The Workforce Investment Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (WIA) funds classes in Adult Basic Education, high school subjects, English as a Second Language, and citizenship. To be eligible for the classes, students must be at least 18 years old, not currently enrolled in school, and lacking in jobs skills and fluency in English. In addition, they must not yet have a high school diploma.

The WIA is a competitive grant. The $86 million available in this round of funding went to local educational agencies, libraries, and nonprofits—including $28.3 million to those located in Los Angeles County; $12.5 million to the Bay Area; $8.7 million to Orange County; $7.5 million to San Diego County; $11.5 million to Sacramento Valley counties; $8.5 million to Inland Empire counties; $4.8 million to San Joaquin Valley counties; and $1.5 million to the Central Coast counties.

For a complete list of grantees, visit the California Department of Education's Funding Results Workforce Investment Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Web page.

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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

GenEd Differentiation: SPED’s Been Ahead of the Game for Years | Connected Principals

GenEd Differentiation: SPED’s Been Ahead of the Game for Years | Connected Principals:

GenEd Differentiation: SPED’s Been Ahead of the Game for Years

by Sam LeDeaux • October 1, 2014 • 0 Comments

With a different kind of emphasis and focus recently (last couple decades or so) on mainstream differentiation, I think we must turn to our SPED educators for guidance. They’ve been doing it all along.

The premise of special education is to work with colleagues and families to devise an individualized education plan (IEP) to meet kids at their learning readiness levels. Recent mandates and expectations have placed the same accountability on general education teachers for mainstreamed students.

To plan for and accommodate the standard three traditional learning levels (“on level”, “below level”, and “above level”) are no longer enough. The reality has always been that in a classroom of X kids, there are X different readiness levels. In the past, grouping students into 3 instructional cohorts was acceptable(?); however, this is not acceptable in the current era of education. General educators are under more and more pressure (some mandated, and some from personally high expectations and passion for their craft) to cater to each individual learning readiness level in the classroom; in essence, to create personalized learning paths–or individualized education plans–for each and every student.

In theory, I believe every educator wants to do this; however, in reality, it is a challenge–and not an area of strength–in public education. Time, resources, and manpower are just a few constraints that make this task challenging. I believe 3 things can help alleviate this stress and promote work toward accomplishing this great task:
1. Collaborate & confer with your SPED staff. This is the work they’ve always done for kids. Working with all staff who have any kind of relationship with the student (academic, social, emotional), along with parents, as a team to target strengths and areas for improvement is their everyday job. They design goals and plans to reach said goals. They continuously check in with one another, formally and informally, monitoring progress along the way, always including parents. They make adjustments as necessary, always in an effort to create success, build confidence, and foster independence.
2. Stay current and implement best practices: multidisciplinary, project based, inquiry based, backward design, Maker Education, genius hour, to name a few. These practices can empower learners (including the teacher and parents as learners) to take ownership of the learning process. When this occurs, you’ve essentially increased the resource of instructional manpower in your classroom.
3. Leverage the resources available to you. For example, there are so many apps and social media platforms that can be utilized to foster collaboration. Collaboration can take place among learners within the classroom, grade level, school, GenEd Differentiation: SPED’s Been Ahead of the Game for Years | Connected Principals:

Some thoughts on how many of us get “captured”… Reflections on Teaching

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Some thoughts on how many of us get “captured”…:





Some thoughts on how many of us get “captured”…

Last week the Internets started buzzing with the story of Carmen Segarra, Federal Reserve whistle-blower, and the recordings she made of her time working inside Goldman Sachs as a regulator. The best account for those of you not familiar with high finance is from This American Life, which is accessible, while still conveying many of the complexities.

This struck a chord with me for a number of reasons, both because I did a stint as a bank analyst in regulatory reporting during an economic down-turn, and because it reminded me of issues I experience today within my current profession in education. Lots has been written about the tendency to go along to get along in any group, but as other wiser commenters have noted (like CURMUDGUCATION in Can We Be Less Nice, Please and Thank You?) teachers just seem to want to be friends even with folks who are clearly not our friends, or our students’ friends. After seeing what was Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Some thoughts on how many of us get “captured”…:

Groups charge $30 million in charter school fraud, call for tougher oversight | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Groups charge $30 million in charter school fraud, call for tougher oversight | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Groups charge $30 million in charter school fraud, call for tougher oversight

A new report is calling for holding charter schools in Pennsylvania more accountable.

Produced by the groups Center for Public Democracy, Integrity in Education and Action United, the report says the $30 million in charter school fraud already discovered in Pennsylvania could be the tip of the iceberg because there isn't enough oversight.

Kia Hinton of Action United says they are calling for reforms such as targeted audits because $30 million could have been put to much better use.

"Do you know what that could get us? That could get us more teachers so our classrooms don't have 40 students, that could get us textbooks, so our students have textbooks and that could get us support staff to support our teachers and our students," Henson said.

The groups are also calling for a moratorium on any new charter schools until more controls are implemented.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

Groups charge $30 million in charter school fraud, call for tougher oversight | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

NYC Public School Parents: Why SUNY should not allow Success Charters to expand.

NYC Public School Parents: Why SUNY should not allow Success Charters to expand.:

Why SUNY should not allow Success Charters to expand.

On Wed., October 8, 2014, the SUNY charter committee is due to vote on authorizing a gazillion new Success charters for nearly every area of the city -- though without telling us exactly where they will go, and how much space they will take from our public school students.  Where: 116 E. 55 St., Boardroom;  Time: 9:30 AM.

Eva Moskowitz is determined to occupy as much real estate as possible as quickly as possible at city expense,  and is preparing with a massive rally this Thursday where she will gather the troops, closing her schools for the occasion, and ordering every parent, teacher and student at her command to show up.

In addition, her hedge fund supporters have given $1.75 million in the past week alone to GOP State Senators, determined to fix the election in her favor. .Of that,  $350,000, came from Paul Tudor Jones II,  of the Robin Hood Foundation and Tudor Investment Corp., a hedge fund in Connecticut. Here is a picture of him with his wife at his 60th birthday, where John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater and Jon Bon Jovi sang.

Not to mention millions more they have given to the best friend of the charter schools, Governor Cuomo. Truly, the charter movement is not an educational movement, but a political one, in the worst sense of the word -- and their billionaire backers are intent on using their outsized wealth and power to get their way, whether it is in the best interests of NYC children or not. Check out the column by Prof. Dan Katz on their collective hypocrisy. 

On Monday night there were hearings at the District 2 offices on 7th Ave, where many eloquent teachers, parents, community leaders, and Assemblymember Deborah Glick spoke in opposition to this land grab, and several parents from Upper West Success spoke plaintively in support.  The Community Education Council in Districts 2 and 3 are also opposed, as is the Community Board in District 2.  Interestingly, not a single parent who said they wanted to enroll their own children in any of these schools showed up, and the representatives from her charter network refused to speak, though as usual, they had hired a cameraman to take videos.  I told him the videographer that he must have filmed hundreds of hours of hearings of parents protesting Success charter schools, and he just shrugged. She has the cash to burn so why not?
Norm Scott has posted some videos here of the MORE contingent, and DNA info covered the hearingshere.  I spoke briefly, and today I sent my comments to two out of the three members of the SUNY charter committee  (the only two I could find emails for.) 

To: jbelluck@belluckfox.com, jmurad@hancocklaw.com, charters@suny.edu 

Dear Mr. Belluck and Mr. Murad:  

I urge you not to allow Success charters to expand, on the grounds that they do not enroll their fair share of high needs students, receive more per student funding in public funds than public schools, and drain our public schools of the resources and space necessary for a sound basic education.

I will briefly explain these points, but for back-up material or citations for any of these points, you can refer to the attached document, called the Six Myths of Charter school, also  posted here:  http://www.classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/testimony-charters-5-6-14-final1.pdf

1.        Charter schools are NOT public schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but governed by private corporate boards, and do NOT have to follow the same laws or rules that public schools do.  They are able to cap their enrollment and class sizes at any levels they like, they enact extreme disciplinary policies, and often exhibit high suspension rates.   In NYC, they can and do expel students –forbidden by NYC public schools for any student under 17.

2.      Charter schools DO NOT educate the same exact kind of students as public schools.  Charters have fewer special needs students, English language learners, students in poverty. This is especially true of Success Charters. According to the 2010 Amendments to the Charter Schools Act , when charter authorizers  renew or allow charter schools to expand, these schools are obligated to show they are meeting or exceeding enrollment and retention targets of students with disabilities, English language learners and free and/or reduced price lunch, yet despite this, Success charters has been allowed to rapidly expand without showing this.

3.     NYC charters receive MORE in per student public funding than district schools.  As the NYC Independent Budget Office has pointed out, the two thirds of NYC charters that are co-located receive MORE per pupil public funding than public schools when their free space and services is taken into account.  The large disparity in public support will grow even greater with the boost in charter funding  in the new state budget, and the guarantee of free space for all new and expanding NYC charters moving forward, .

4.   Charter schools DO NOT get higher test scores because of some secret formula. 

The test scores of charter chains like Success is likely not due to superior teaching or curriculum, but to increased funding, and their much higher suspension and attrition rates. Of course, the more a school pushes out struggling students, the higher their test scores will likely be. According to NYC Public School Parents: Why SUNY should not allow Success Charters to expand.:

NEA President: Educators Play Pivotal Role in Guiding Girls Into Leadership Roles | NEA Today

NEA President: Educators Play Pivotal Role in Guiding Girls Into Leadership Roles | NEA Today:

NEA President: Educators Play Pivotal Role in Guiding Girls Into Leadership Roles

October 1, 2014 by twalker  
Filed under Featured News, Top Stories

Leave a Comment

By Richard Naithram

There’s a gender leadership gap in the United States, says NEA President Lily Eskelsen García, and educators are well-positioned to help close it.

“The role educators can play in shaping perceptions of women as leaders and creating a pipeline for girls to lead inside and outside school is clear,” Eskelsen Garcia said.

How to create pathways in school for girls to take on leadership roles and ensure access to all educational opportunities was the focus of a webinar on Sept. 30 that featured educators in more than nine countries, members of the media and thought leaders. Eskelsen García was joined by Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Ph.D., of the Tisch College of Citizenship & Public Service at Tufts University.

“We need to think about what we can do, as educators, to help girls make the leap from being great students to being leaders in society and business. As educators, we are in a position to encourage girls’ confidence in their leadership skills and to nurture their dreams,” Eskelsen García said.

The webinar addressed key points from a just-released survey, Closing the Leadership Gap-How Educators Can Help Girls Lead, authored by NEA, the American Association of University Women, and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement of the Tisch College of Citizenship & Public Service at Tufts University.

During the discussion, Madeleine Kennedy-Macfoy of Educational International said educators must facilitate more than student learning in the classroom.

“A teacher’s duty is to create a space for a student to be able to put what they have learned into practice,” Kennedy-Macfoy explained. “This is the key in the roles teachers have to play in posturing female students in education. Education has to equitable, free from stereotypes, and provide human rights to all students, thus can create better societies.”

According to Closing the Leadership Gap, educators,to help encourage students’ acceptance of girls and women in leadership roles, should share gender-neutral views and examples of leadership with their students. But the key to having teachers that foster and promote acceptance is having teachers with experience and professional development in gender and diversity issues.

The report suggests that, although most educators have a good handle on issues relating to gender, some educators may hold conscious or unconscious biases that probably alter how they view the ability and interests of girls in the classroom.

“Educators need to reduce defining leaders in gender neutral terms because gender bias still exists” Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsburg stated. “The Unites States suffers from serious gender based gap. Women have proven themselves repeatedly, yet the gap still exists.” Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg believes that shortchanging NEA President: Educators Play Pivotal Role in Guiding Girls Into Leadership Roles | NEA Today:

BustED Pencils BLOG: Silly Reformers. Critical History is for Kids.

BustED Pencils BLOG: Silly Reformers. Critical History is for Kids.:

Silly Reformers. Critical History is for Kids.

Just in case you just missed it I’ll run through it quickly right now. 

Conservative Reformers took over the Douglas County School Board and the Jefferson County School Board.  These counties border the great city of Denver, Colorado.  The reformer boards—and let’s be honest, we’re talking about political conservatives—are really worried about their AUTHORITIE being threatened by that subversive subject of American History. 

So using their political power—bought and paid for by the Koch brothers and other wealthy “humanitarians”—they have demanded a review of the content taught in AP History classes.  Why? Is it because that the students might learn about the 500 years of oppressive rule by the wealthy? Because they might learn about the exploitation of workers at the hands of corporate robber barons?  Because they might learn about women being second-class citizens in the 21^st century? Because they might learn that racism and classism is alive and well 500 years after its establishment?  Or is it that the students enrolled in AP History courses in Douglas County and Jefferson County might actually learn that civil disobedience and the struggle for basic human rights requires a direct challenge to the AUTHORITIE of those in power?  Who knows? 

What I do know is that if you feel like engaging in a discussion about this topic there are plenty of strands on Facebook where one can enter a “dialogue” with concerned citizens with little understanding of the real issue at stake—the freedom to learn!

Below is a post from me and some of the dialogue that ensued.

Tim:  Get over your stupid white suburban distorted view of reality. America's negative past is simply a look back at the facts. Learning the truth for the first time tends to be shocking when you find out how many have suffered for others to "own" the American dream. And this is why it must be taught. Our blatant disregard for others over the past 500 years must be laid out in front of the next generation. They can change this disaster of the 1% only when they recognize the suffering and exploitation caused by the 1%. And this is why "conservative" board members want a "review." They fear that their unearned privilege will be "questioned" and that their "authority" will be dismantled. Don't turn this into some BS patriotic attempt to save American youth. The kids are not alright. And why should they be?

“Sally”: Tim our public schools have not been teaching complete history for quite some time. I know my dad was a history teacher and shared much of what has been left out of text books with me. By the way The United States of America is only about 238 years old. Not sure where you are BustED Pencils BLOG: Silly Reformers. Critical History is for Kids.:

10-1-14 Cali Education Headlines | CSIS – California School Information Services

Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team | CSIS – California School Information Services:

Stop the Power Grab
www.StopThePowerGrab.org

Education Headlines

• Teachers file grievance, say Stockton USD not bargaining in good faith

  The Stockton Teachers Association said Tuesday it has filed charges with the Public Employment Relations Board over what is alleges is “the district’s failure to bargain in good faith in a contract dispute that has been going on for approximately 36 months.”

   October 1, 2014

• Law limits schools’ tracking of student Facebook, Twitter accounts

  Teachers, principals or administrators who monitor a student’s Facebook posts, Instagram photos or Twitter tweets must now notify the child’s parent under a new state law.

   October 1, 2014

• Modesto City Schools board hears pros, cons of Waldorf-based charter

  Controversy surfaced at a Modesto City Schools public hearing on authorizing a Waldorf-based charter school, a system used for years in private schools that infuses the arts and nature in all subjects, parents said.

   October 1, 2014

• New U.S. history curriculum sparks education battle of 2014

  Just weeks before the school year began, the change sparked a political feud over how children should be taught about American history — and whose version.

   October 1, 2014

• LAUSD board takes no action on Superintendent John Deasy

  After meeting behind closed doors for nearly four hours to discuss Superintendent John Deasy’s upcoming performance evaluation Tuesday evening, Los Angeles Unified School Board members emerged without taking action.

   October 1, 2014

• Governor signs bill requiring annual child abuse reporting training

  Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday requiring that all California teachers and school employees receive annual child abuse reporting training.

   October 1, 2014

Read more headlines

Note: FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

9-30-14 Cali Education Headlines | CSIS – California School Information Services

Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team | CSIS – California School Information Services: Education HeadlinesStockton USD truancy force puts love in tough loveOne little girl had a lice infestation so severe, she’d gouged her scalp trying to relieve the maddening itch. Badly infected, she was ashamed to go to school and her family too ashamed to reach out for help. September 30, 2014John Gre

1 by mike simpson / 20h 

Louisiana Educator: LAE Files Lawsuit Against Predatory Charters

Louisiana Educator: LAE Files Lawsuit Against Predatory Charters:

LAE Files Lawsuit Against Predatory Charters

LAE Leaders File Lawsuit Challenging The Improper Use Of MFP Funds

9/30/2014

Illegal Use of Minimum Foundation Program Dollars to Fund Certain Charter Schools

Siphons Much-Needed Dollars Away From Local School Boards

BATON ROUGE, LA – September 29, 2014 – Leaders from LAE affiliates across the state gathered in Baton Rouge Monday to officially challenge the constitutionality of using Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) dollars to fund certain charter schools.

“The illegal use of MFP funds to pay for BESE-approved charter schools has had a devastating impact on city and parish school boards,” said LAE President Debbie Meaux. “We must put an end to these unconstitutional practices so that local school boards receive the MFP funds that they need to education all students in Louisiana.”

Louisiana public schools are funded through the MFP, and the Louisiana Constitution requires that MFP funds be equitably allocated to “parish and city school systems.” Despite this requirement, Louisiana’s Charter School Demonstration Programs Law and the latest MFP resolution approved by the Louisiana Legislature require the payment of MFP funds to Type 1B and Type 2 charter schools. (Type 1B charter schools operate pursuant to a charter with a local charter authorizer; Type 2 charter schools operate pursuant to a charter with BESE.)Parish and city school systems have no control over Type 1B and/or Type 2 charter schools because neither of these types of schools are considered “parish and city school systems” under Article VIII, §13(B) of the Louisiana Constitution.

LAE successfully challenged the funding of voucher schools through the MFP formula in 2012. LAE Attorney Brian Blackwell of Blackwell & Associates said the suit filed Monday is an outgrowth of the 2012 voucher case. “The 2012 lawsuit challenged the funding of private schools through the MFP. The suit filed today challenges the funding of state-created schools through the MFP. The funding of both types of schools has had devastating effects on city and parish school boards.” Blackwell said.

“In 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that ‘once the minimum baseline for public education is met, the MFP funds must still be allocated equitably to city and parish school systems.’ This ruling follows the Louisiana Constitution, which unambiguously requires that MFP funds be allocated to city and parish school systems,” said Blackwell. “Charter schools approved by BESE or local charter authorizers are not city and parish school systems. All money appropriated by the legislature to go into the MFP must be allocated equitably among the 69 city and parish school systems in the state.”

President Meaux went on to express that the members of her association have always considered school funding to be a top priority, which is why they chose to take legal action on the improper use of funds.

“This lawsuit will ensure that MFP funds are spent on what the people of the state wanted them spent on – city and parish school systems – not on state-approved charter schools that siphon scarce resources away from those systems.”

State Superintendent John White responded to the LAE lawsuit with the now familiar ant-union rhetoric designed to give the impression that teachers and their unions are greedy and anti-parent's rights:
“The goal of this lawsuit is to stop taxpaying parents from choosing the school they think is best for their children,” White said.
“More money for unions and school boards, less for public schools not overseen by unions and school boards,” he said. “To the union, the desires of the taxpaying parents don’t matter.”

So in just two short sentences our so called state leader of public education manages to attack both public school teachers and locally elected school boards for wanting to curtail the efforts of out-of-state con men who line their pockets with our tax dollars while often providing an extremely sub-standard education to our public school students.

It has been well documented that the extremely profitable virtual charter schools where students can get Louisiana Educator: LAE Files Lawsuit Against Predatory Charters:

Crenshaw alum: Teacher suspension shed light on LAUSD teacher jail:

Crenshaw alum: Teacher suspension shed light on LAUSD teacher jail

October 1, 2014 By Amanda Scurlock | Staff Reporter Leave a Comment

    

Iris Stevenson arrives at Crenshaw High after being released from “teacher jail.” Scroll below for video of Stevenson’s return. | Amanda Scurlock

At Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles, the 2014-2015 school year almost began without one of the campus’s most beloved teachers. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced in August that music instructor Iris Stevenson had been restored to her post. However, questions about her several-month-long absence remain. The case has shed light on “teacher jail,” the unofficial nickname for a sort of institutional purgatory for district teachers, which until recently meted out a virtually secret form of punishment.

The LAUSD removed Stevenson from her classroom in December 2013, shortly after she returned from a performing trip with the Crenshaw Elite Choir to Washington, D.C. and Paris. Of the 20 participants, only three were enrolled Crenshaw students. The rest of the group consisted of alumni, chaperones and musicians from around Los Angeles. Upon their return, district authorities reassigned Stevenson, and did not explain why to students and families. She had worked at Crenshaw since 1985.

“Her case, which is a confidential, personnel matter, remains under investigation,” the district said in a statement last month.

Alumni, faculty and community figures decried Stevenson’s ouster, overwhelming the principal’s office and the district with phone calls to vouch for her good character and to demand justice. As a former student of Stevenson’s, I supported their efforts.

“We have to let the school and the district know that we love Ms. Stevenson and what [LAUSD is] doing is not right,” said Vanity Brown, a Crenshaw alumna who spearheaded the protests against LAUSD’s action this spring.

Brown created a Facebook group called “Team Iris Stevenson” to spread information about the case to others who opposed Stevenson’s suspension. Brown also made suggestions of what to say when speaking with LAUSD officials or the Crenshaw principal. With the Facebook group, Brown mobilized generations of Crenshaw alumni who wanted to share memories of Stevenson.

“She opened a lot of doors for me when it came to going places,” said Brittney Hall, a recent graduate from Crenshaw.

Many students, parents and alums believe Stevenson was penalized for taking students on the trip without submitting the proper paperwork. Her students and advocates can’t understand why such a minor infraction would call for such a serious punishment. “She did not do anything wrong,” said Shelieha White, a senior at Crenshaw High and one of the three students who participated in the trip. White said she thought bigger motives may have been at play, explaining her hunch that LAUSD is “trying to close down our school.” “They don’t like Crenshaw,” she said. Supporters of Stevenson and other suspended teachers believe LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy supports a new pedagogical approach that focuses more on standardized tests than on enforcing critical thinking and creativity – and that this emphasis might explain the crackdown on Stevenson. “All teachers must administer these tests, and then they are judged on the performance of each student, and if their students don’t perform as required, the students are labeled failing and the teachers are labeled failing,” said JoAnn Wypijewski, who wrote “Where Shame is Policy: Inside LA’s ‘Teacher Jail” that appeared in the May 19 issue of The Nation. “Teachers are under fire tremendously,” she added. “What is exciting, though, - See more at: http://intersectionssouthla.org/story/crenshaw-alum-teacher-suspension-shed-light-on-lausd-teacher-jail/#sthash.tExcLSlX.dpuf

We Know What Equity Looks Like, and We are Passionate About it - Lily's Blackboard

We Know What Equity Looks Like, and We are Passionate About it - Lily's Blackboard:

We Know What Equity Looks Like, and We are Passionate About it

October 1, 2014 by Lily

Categories: Education, General, Video

Tags: civil right, department of education, equity, justice

Equity is a cause I have fought for all my life, since the days I taught in a Homeless Shelter School in Salt Lake City. It is the cause of my heart. I work every day—as I know many of you do—in the hope that some day every blessed child can walk into her neighborhood school and have everything necessary to succeed.

I fight every day—as I know many of you do—so that students in our most vulnerable and marginalized communities will some day have the same access to great public schools as children in the most affluent communities.

Today we have taken a major step toward making that dream a reality. This morning Secretary Duncan announcedthat his Office of Civil Rights will – as a priority - investigate claims that children of color do not enjoy the same extracurricular programs, Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement programs, and arts and athletic programs.

They will investigate claims that facilities, technology, and instructional materials are not equally available to all children. They will investigate claims that critical support services and licensed, experienced teachers are not equally available to all children.

We know what equity looks like. Walk into the most impressive, shiny, gorgeous public school you can find. It has a theater department and a chemistry lab and a library full of books. It has computer clusters and sports equipment and a schedule full of AP offerings. You know those schools. They are the best schools in the world.

Equity means every school should look like those schools. When someone says, “We can’t afford that,” fearless fighters for equity will say, “Si se puede! Yes, you can.” If you can afford it for those kids, you can afford it for these kids.

But they can only investigate where they know there is a problem. When I found out the Secretary was doing this wonderful thing, I asked my NEA staff to create a place on our website where we can gather the claims that trigger these investigations:

NEA.org/equity

Stake your claim. Tell the story of a school crying out for equity. Tell us where it is and the information will go directly to the Office of Civil Rights. Si se puede. Go Fight Win.We Know What Equity Looks Like, and We are Passionate About it - Lily's Blackboard:

NYC Schools May Be Leading Us Back to Real Education Policy | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

NYC Schools May Be Leading Us Back to Real Education Policy | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:



NYC Schools May Be Leading Us Back to Real Education Policy

 To mw what follows is a fabulous example of trying to do the right thing under very constricted laws that need changing.

I know there will be those of you ready to comment negatively on this report. Some of you will argue that Farina goes too far and some that she doesn’t go far enough, but  what I saw in this first paragraph is the the kind of leadership in NYC schools we haven’t seen in decades.

“New York City is overhauling its system for evaluating schools, de-emphasizing test scores in favor of measures like the strength of the curriculum and the school environment, and doing away with an overall A-through-F grade for each school, the schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, said on Tuesday.”

New School Evaluations Will Lower Test Scores’ Influence

I have often written and emphasized that when I was  a student in NYC public Schools during the 1950’s and mid 1960’s and a teacher there from 1970-1986, I was part of a system that allowed for the respect of creativity in the creation of curricula and innovation in teaching methodology that emphasized student engagement and learning though authentic assessments and evaluations. In fact my book, Doing the Right Thing: A Teacher Speaks is based on those sets of experiences as well as others.

For example, in 1941, the NYC Association for the Teaching of Social Studies published this book , A Handbook for the teaching of social studies, which was used as the guide for new social studies teachers in NYC and elsewhere for decades. Its second printing was as late as 1985. It was my student teaching handbook and my textbook for  my Social Studies methodology class when I attended Fordham University. This book along with observing its practices used during  the  student teaching experience taught us how to use student centered developmental lessons which were based on the use of  a few essential questions (pivotal questions) and mostly class discussion led, not controlled, by the teacher . Yes, It was written in 1941.

It is only one example of the student centered spirit of education that existed in NYC schools (if of course you were in a building with a positive environment for teaching…determined by the Principal [teacher] in each school). That much has not changed, except that in NYC over the past few decades  the role of a Principal has become less about teaching and more about managing.

The Di Blasio – Farina  team have hopefully set us back on the right track. Even though they are forced to work within the guidelines set up by the NYC Schools May Be Leading Us Back to Real Education Policy | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing: