San Diego Foundation Biased Toward Privatizing Schools | tultican

San Diego Foundation Biased Toward Privatizing Schools | tultican:

San Diego Foundation Biased Toward Privatizing Schools

San Diego Foundation was established in 1975 and has grown to almost $700 million in assets. It’s self-described purpose: “As one of the nation’s leading community foundations, The San Diego Foundation strives to improve San Diegans’ quality of life by creating equity and ensuring opportunities to be WELL (Work, Enjoy, Live & Learn).” In 2014, they gave over $10 million to educational endeavors. The following table illustrates the spending bias against public education.

Category of Giving	Amount Granted
University and College Grants and Scholarships	$6,106,052
Civic education – Libraries, Camps, etc.	$1,333,266
Charter School and Competency Based Education (CBE)	$1,339,802
Private K-12 Schools	$1,129,225
Public K-12 Schools (Not including charters)	$373,628

Competency Based Education (CBE)

Peter Greene an education expert from Pennsylvania discussed CBE in terms of education reform ideas that should die. He wrote:

“Two years ago, CBE was barely on my radar, and honestly, having lived through the early-nineties disastrous fiasco that was Outcome Based Education, I’m still kind of amazed that we’re back here. But we are. What has changed since 1991? Computers, the internet, the cloud, the sheer raw data collecting and crunching power that a company like Pearson now has at its command. In a CBE world, neither teachers nor schools are necessary– just students at their computer terminal being put through their software-controlled paces, each keystroke and answer filed away (and put to all manner of uses) in their new lifelong data record. Public education and citizen privacy would all be washed away. CBE fans are ju-jitsuing themselves some support for the approach (Quick! Run away from the evil test and take refuge in this CBE sanctuary over here!) and ESSA has opened the door wide for new “personalized” and non-BSTest-based measures of student achievement. I still think there are some serious hurdles in CBE’s path, but if it clears those obstacles, we’ll be looking at a huge threat to public education in this country (and the absolute end of teaching as a career).”

The SD Foundation granted the Girard Foundation of La Jolla $550,415 which they promptly spent on CBE development. They gave Gooru $300,000 and $105,850 went to Make It Matter LLC. Gooru is creating technology that enables CBE and Make it Matter specializes in marketing computer based “1:1” education. Personalized one to one education means a child is stuck in front of a computer with no real human exchange involved. It is terrible education policy with a huge profit potential.

SD Foundation also gave Kid Spark Education of Solana Beach $550,000 dollars to work on CBE development.

Foundations Join Forces and Support Privatizing Schools

Besides sending over $200,000 to seven charter schools in San Diego County, SD Foundation gave $30,000 to Teach for America (TFA). TFA is a program that give college graduates 5 weeks of summer training and then state education leaders allow them to teach classes mostly in charter schools. They are inexpensive unqualified teachers.

SD Foundation spending on Universities is surprising. Almost 40% of that spending is on schools outside of San Diego County totaling $2,409,711. Grants and scholarships given in the county totaled $3,696,341. One would expect an organization that “strives to improve San Diegans’ quality of life by creating equity and ensuring opportunities” would spend a greater share of their education dollars in San Diego.

The largest single grant bestowed by the SD Foundation was $2,6 5 0,7 0 9 to the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. The JC Foundation had net assets at the end of 2014 of $171,593,990.

The Jewish Community Foundation spending on education follows a similar pattern as the San Diego Foundation. They spent $466,830 for groups working to privatize public education most of which went to TFA ($406,330). They also spent lavishly on private schools including $146,000 to La Jolla Country Day, a decidedly upscale K-12 private school.

By far the largest grant by the Jewish Community Foundation was the $25,817,228 bequeathed to University of California San Diego. A major patron of both the Jewish Community Foundation and UCSD is the Qualcomm founder and billionaire, Irwin Jacobs.

Three more grants from the Jewish Community Foundation were interesting. They gave Cornell University $5,511,000. They also gave the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund $6,362,171.  The Goldman Sachs fund asset total at the end of 2013 was $1,500,395,380. And the JC Foundation gave the SD Foundation San Diego Foundation Biased Toward Privatizing Schools | tultican:

Drive up education degree is an insult to every student, parent, teacher and taxpayer - Wait What?

Drive up education degree is an insult to every student, parent, teacher and taxpayer - Wait What?:

Drive up education degree is an insult to every student, parent, teacher and taxpayer

In her latest commentary piece, Connecticut education advocate Wendy Lecker explains that latest fade from the corporate education reform industry.  In, A blind acceptance of the robot teacher, Lecker takes on the charter school industry advocates who claim that teachers don’t need all those education and child development courses.  All they need, they say, is a quick, fly-by-night crash course on how to make children sit and succeed at taking standardized tests scores.

Wendy Lecker writes;

Connecticut seems to accept a constricted vision of education for its neediest children that is never imposed on more affluent districts. The most recent example of this disparity is the recent partnership between the New Haven Public Schools and an outfit called Relay Graduate School of Education, to provide alternative certification for would-be teachers.

Relay was founded by representatives of three charter school chains, Achievement First, KIPP and Uncommon Schools — chains with a troubling record of suspensions, harsh discipline and attrition. It was founded to train charter school teachers. Relay employs not one professor of education.

The Relay vision of teaching is narrow. Its primary goal is to train teachers to raise test scores. Consequently, Relay focuses on giving its trainees a prepackaged set of “skills” that focus mainly on classroom management and getting students to do what teachers want. The contrast between Relay’s methods and goals and those of existing Connecticut schools of education is stark.

For example, UConn’s teacher education program strives to “establish a safe and positive learning environment” and “promote democratic participation and community. UConn’s core practice principles focus on helping prospective teachers learn to use their professional judgment, and to help students 

Drive up education degree is an insult to every student, parent, teacher and taxpayer - Wait What?:

Adventures in Nonsense: Teaching Writing in the Accountability Era | the becoming radical

Adventures in Nonsense: Teaching Writing in the Accountability Era | the becoming radical:

Adventures in Nonsense: Teaching Writing in the Accountability Era

No, it’s all nonsense, believe me.  I had no idea how much nonsense it was, but nonsense it all is.

Anna Scott, Notting Hill

Everything that is wrong with edujournalism and the teaching of writing in the accountability era can be found in Education Week: the anemic examination of the five-paragraph essay (or when edujournalists discover a field in the same way Columbus discovered America) and Lucy Calkin’s interview about the state of teaching writing (or when edugurus package and promote educommerce).

Both of these pieces frame how the teaching of writing now faces greater demands from (you guessed it) the Common Core. But neither piece admits that the Common Core is at best on life support or that this puts the cart before the horse.

You see, the teaching of writing should be driven by the field of composition—the decades of expertise that can be found in the scholarship of writers and teachers of writing as well as foundational and powerful organizations such as the National Writing Project and the National Council of Teachers of English.

The Common Core is no more than bureaucratic nonsense; these standards serve the needs of educommerce, but do not reflect the field of literacy, do not meet the needs of teachers or students.

And thus, these standards, the high-stakes tests inevitably linked to all standards, and the coverage of writing in EdWeek, as Anna Scott opined, it’s all nonsense.

A little history here: Zip back to 2005 when Thomas Newkirk detailed in English Journal that the “new” SAT writing section had already resulted in “students [being] coached to invent evidence if they were stuck.”

In other words, writing was reduced to conforming to the 25-minute, one-draft prompted assessment in oneAdventures in Nonsense: Teaching Writing in the Accountability Era | the becoming radical:

The Fight for Education is only Worth it When We also Fight for Social Justice Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

The Fight for Education is only Worth it When We also Fight for Social Justice

As we have been preparing for this march and rally I have been asked countless times what the overall goal of this event is. Some have questioned the value of marching and rallying to achieve our goals. Personally I believe that there are many different reasons why we should march and rally. First we must come together and celebrate the progress we have made in the past five years. When hundreds of thousands of parents and students and teachers have opted out of high stakes testing across the country we need to celebrate. This does not mean we do not have much work to do but we should also take time to celebrate. Another reason we march and rally is to make our voices heard. We must remind society that education is not a privilege that only the rich can afford. We must demand that public education be preserved as a human right for all. When we march we elevate the voices of our students, their families and ourselves. 

I have also been asked what makes this march/rally different than the one 5 years ago. And to that question I simply respond this time we have woken up to the reality that our fight to save public education is only worth it when we also fight for social justice. What good are high quality schools if black boys and girls are being herded into the prison industrial complex? What good are high test scores if our communities are ravaged by poverty and violence? What good is a child centered curriculum if families lack access to health care and jobs? We cannot fight for public education if we don't fight for social justice. 

Some of you might be wondering what it means to fight for social justice. Well it means acknowledging that this country has failed to serve all people well. We must acknowledge how institutional and structural racism, xenophobia, patriarchy, heterosexism, ableism, and Badass Teachers Association: 

Arizona Fails its Children!

Arizona Fails its Children!:

Arizona Fails its Children!

Arizona is holding back 1,400 third graders. I guess they are following Florida’s misguided lead.

The Arizona Department of Education said the third-graders did not pass the math and English portions of the Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching — AzMERIT — test. (KTAR News)

Expect More Arizona seems O.K. with the failures. Here are the partners who support Expect More Arizona. I am dumbfounded that Arizona’s three respected universities are on the list. Where are the education and psychology scholars?

Once again, parents are left to wonder why their children didn’t pass the test.

• Did they have unaddressed reading difficulties–and/or dyslexia?
• Did they have undiagnosed learning disabilities?
• Were they pushed to read too early?
• Were they taught incorrectly?
• Was the test poorly devised?
• Were the standards inappropriate?

Whatever kind of learning problems exist, there are a variety of strategies and Arizona Fails its Children!:

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawestcom

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawest.com:

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately

WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard, the first ever Hindu elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, has asked a California educational board to give Hinduism its due place in school textbooks and not to describe it inaccurately as “religions of ancient India.”

The California State Board of Education is in final stages of revising and updating the K-12 History-Social Science Framework for public schools.

In a letter ahead of their final hearing July 14, Gabbard, D-Hawaii, urged the board to preserve Hindu history and identity by restoring all references to “Hinduism” that were removed or replaced inaccurate phrases.

Just as other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism are given their own separate and distinct space for discussion in the Framework, so should Hinduism, she stressed.

“Replacing Hinduism with the term 'religions of Ancient India, including but not limited to early Hinduism' is not only inaccurate, but it will cause confusion for students and teachers alike,” she said in her letter dated July 8, a copy of which was obtained by PTI.

In the letter, Gabbard also urged the board to acknowledge the positive roles played by women in Ancient Indian and Hindu society.

“While it is important to discuss the existence of patriarchies in ancient civilizations, it is also critical to discuss the positive contributions and unique roles played by women in those societies,” she noted.

“In the context of Ancient India, Hindu women were able to perform their own religious rites and also authored the Vedas, Hinduism's sacred texts,” she added. “The framework should thus acknowledge these historical facts when describing the roles of women in ancient Indian society.”

Gabbard asked the California Board to accurately represent the caste-system in the framework by not depicting it as a defining feature or a foundational religious belief of Hinduism.

“While caste-based discrimination is a reality that must be dealt with, it goes against the essence of Hindu teachings and scriptures, which posit that divinity is inherent in all beings,” she said.

Gabbard said she has worked actively throughout her many years of service to promote diversity, equality and pluralism.

“I firmly believe in the significance of creating an education system and textbooks that uphold these important American values,” she said.

In addition to Gabbard’s complaints of the Hinduism in textbooks, a group of 15 top American Muslim organizations has alleged that school textbooks are injecting “Islamophobic content” in the new curriculum.

“The injection of Islamophobic content into the teacher's manuals would inflame how student discussions are framed. Students, teachers and communities all suffer when the content is rigged to cause disruption,” the top Muslim American group said in a letter to the California State Board of Education.

“The bombardment of prejudicial ideas, from media outlets to candidates in the presidential election primaries, has left no one immune. Even the educators our children look up to are impacted by the hateful discourse,” the letter told the California board, which is considered to be very influential as its textbooks are followed and adopted in several U.S. states.

In the letter, the organizations alleged that, contrary to the treatment given to other religions, Islam has been introduced in the curriculum primarily under a narrative of war and conquest.

Prominent among them include the Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Circle of North America, Northern California Islamic Council, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and Indian American Muslim Council.

“The curriculum text in its current form is prejudiced in its references to alleged forced conversions of non-Muslims to Islam, often when no such forced conversions are even reported in historical sources,” the letter said

Meanwhile, in another letter to the board, some two dozen Indian American organizations requested “fairness and equity” in the way Hinduism and Ancient India are taught in comparison to other world religions and civilizations.

“Hinduism and Indian history are taught to sixth and seventh graders in an outdated, inaccurate and stereotyped manner. The teachings and histories of other religions are highlighted positively, while Hindu teachings are oversimplified and inaccurate,” the letter said.

“Gender bias, subjugation and discrimination are only conflated with Hinduism, in spite of their presence in every religion's history. And Hinduism's pluralistic ethos, concept of spiritual unity of everyone and everything, and contributions of women are ignored,” the organizations said.Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawest.com:

The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic

The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic:

How Marginalized Families Are Pushed Out of PTAs

Parents with socioeconomic resources are more likely to exert influence on school officials.

When Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park, Maryland, told parents in the fall of 2014 that it would allow students to use Chromebooks as a way to bridge the digital divide between low-income families and affluent families, there were mixed reactions. The plan was aimed at helping students become more adept at using technology, but the affluent parents, most of whom were white, were apprehensive about their children getting more screen time.

Alison Risso, then the president of the school’s PTA, said she was frustrated by the complaints those parents expressed at a meeting. “Everyone who could pay for that Chromebook with the money in their pockets was in the room,” Risso said. As Risso recalled, one parent said to her, "I don't need my daughter to learn to make a PowerPoint."

At Rolling Terrace, 68 percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Sixty-three percent of its population is Hispanic, 15 percent is black, and another 15 percent is white. But the parents of that sliver of the student population that is white and affluent—most of whom were drawn to the school’s Spanish-immersion program—have outsize influence over what happens in the school.

Risso explained to parents why it was important for the lower-income children to have access to the Chromebooks. Many of the school’s parents—mostly low-income people of color who didn’t attend the PTA meeting—were excited about the computers.

Despite the differences in priorities, the school’s parents are expected to make decisions as a community. That kind of unity rarely happens in gentrifying neighborhoods, however. When white, affluent parents come into a school that has a high percentage of less-affluent students of color, the more advantaged group tends to take over parent organizations and unintentionally marginalize the parent community that was already there. Ultimately, Rolling Terrace proceeded with its plan to use Chromebooks, but not all such issues are resolved in ways that give low-income parents a voice.

That’s unfortunate because parental engagement can greatly improve adolescents’ academic and emotional functioning, according to a 2014 studypublished in Child Development. A substantial body of research also indicates that parent involvement at home and school is an important factor in improving young children’s literacy and math skills. PTA membership was also associated with student achievement in a 2006 School Community Journal study authored by researchers at the University of West Florida.

Allyson Criner Brown, the associate director at the nonprofit Teaching for The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic:

 

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center:

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution

Mississippi is funding its charter schools through an unconstitutional scheme that diverts public tax dollars from traditional public schools, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The lawsuit calls for the court to strike down the funding provisions of the Mississippi Charter School Act (CSA). The Mississippi Constitution requires schools to be under the supervision of the state and local boards of education to receive public funding. But under the CSA, charter schools receive public funding even though they are exempt from the oversight of the state Board of Education, the Mississippi Department of Education, and local boards of education.

Charter schools in Mississippi are accountable to the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, a body that receives 3 percent of the public funding that goes to charter schools.

“A school operating outside the authority of the state board of education and the local school board cannot expect to receive public taxpayer money,” said Jody Owens, managing attorney for the SPLC’s Mississippi office. “The state constitution is clear on this matter.”

Two charter schools are currently operating in Mississippi, both within the boundaries of the Jackson Public School District (JPS). In one school year, more than $1.85 million was diverted from the district to fund them. That amount could have paid the salaries of 42 public school teachers, according to the complaint. Given that a third charter school is set to open within JPS’s geographic boundaries, the district stands to lose more than $4 million in the 2016-17 school year, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit warns that the opening of more charter schools will compound the financial harm. There are currently applications pending for four more charter schools. Each charter school would be located within the Jackson Public School District, drawing more funding from the district.

“I sent my children to a public school because I believe in traditional public schools,” said Cassandra Overton-Welchlin, a plaintiff in the case and mother of two children enrolled there. “I’m outraged that state and local tax dollars are funding charter schools in a way that threatens the existence of important services, including services for those with special needs, at my child’s school. As a taxpayer, I expect my property tax dollars will be used to support traditional public schools, which educate the vast majority of students in Jackson.”

The lawsuit was filed in the First Judicial District of the Chancery Court of Hinds County.SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center:

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United:

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement 

A new study on Ohio’s private school voucher program shows promise – for anyone who thinks vouchers are a bad idea. But another negative study hasn’t led “school choice” advocates to back down.

Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program has been around statewide since the 2006-2007 academic year. What started as a pilot program available to students in school districts that were deemed poor performerseventually expanded to allow any low-income students to receive a voucher regardless of how their public school fared.

Starting next year, eligible students may take up to $6,000 in taxpayer money and use it to attend private schools – including religious ones. Although the program could cost the state up to $94.6 million, the Columbus Dispatch reported that roughly 40,000 vouchers went unused last year. (Gee, maybe most Ohio parents don’t actually want vouchers for their kids?)

Given that the program has been around for over a decade and has grown significantly, one might think it is a success. It’s not.

Ohio private school voucher students performed worse than their public-school peers on state tests.

A study conducted by two researchers at Northwestern University on behalf of a pro-voucher think tank revealed that students who used vouchers to attend private schools actually did much worse on state tests than their public-school peers.  

Given those poor results, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which paid for the study, needed something to show for its effort. So it came up with a far-fetched idea that Ohio’s private school vouchers are helping students whodon’t use them.

The “evidence” for that claim consists entirely of the fact that public school students who were voucher-eligible but did not actually receive a voucher have performed better on tests in recent years and draws the conclusion that the competition from the voucher program pushed these schools to do better.

Talk about grasping at straws! To a pro-voucher think tank, there are apparently no coincidences or unrelated events.  

“EdChoice modestly improved the achievement of the public-school students who were eligible for a voucher but did not use it,” the study claims. “The competition associated with the introduction of EdChoice appears to have spurred these public-school improvements.”

(Gee, got any data proving that connection?)

A Fordham Institute official offered a sober analysis of the program.

“The disappointing participant results, albeit with a limited number of students, raises questions that deserve further exploration,” Chad Aldis, vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy at Fordham, said in a statement. “This isn’t the final word on the EdChoice program, but this suggests that further study on participating students' achievement test data and long-term outcomes would be wise.”

The reality is, studies consistently show that vouchers don’t work. Here at Americans United, we oppose “school choice” because these schemes are often little more than a government bailout for religious schools. But vouchers also consistently fail to improve student academic performance, as this latest study shows, and schools that accept them are frequently of poor quality and lack oversight.

If you’d like to know more about why AU opposes vouchers, this is a good place to start.

 Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United:

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America Leadership Conference 2016

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America:

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations

PAA sent the following message to US House and Senate education committee members:

Parents concerned that proposed new ESSA regulations push failed NCLB practices, try to retake top-down control

The US Department of Education has published draft regulations for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. Parents Across America has reviewed these draft rules and we are very concerned that the administration is trying to use them to reestablish policies and practices from NCLB?ESEA that were rejected by Congress and much of the general public.

For example, the draft regulations:

• over-emphasize standardized test scores in school accountability ratings,
• require states to label schools in harmful and unnecessary ways,
• continue to promote school privatization and closure over more effective improvement strategies, and
• require states to punish schools where large numbers of parents opt their children out of testing.

When the USDOE makes decisions that should be set at the state and local level in partnership with local educators, parents, and students, it takes away local voices that ESSA properly restored. Reducing federal micro-management of public education was a main goal of rewriting NCLB. We will submit comments reflecting this concern via the federal register.

What can you do?

Stand with us parents, along with educators, students and communities who want our schools back. Speak out against those aspects of the draft regulations that violate the intent of the ESSA reauthorization. Help us assure that ESSA is implemented in ways that:

• focus less on standardized testing,
• put no restrictions on families or students who opt out of or refuse high stakes standardized tests, and require no consequences for their schools or districts,
• encourage more creativity and community-centered school improvement practices rather than continue to push NCLB/ESEA’s ineffective privatization and closure strategies, and
• more strongly advocate for a robust parent role in school, district, and statewide education policy-making.PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America:

Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:
Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:

PAA’s Leadership Conference 2016 begins in less than a week (July 18-20). We have another terrific lineup of sessions and events that will help empower parents and strengthen PAA as an organization.

For those who can’t join us in person, we will be sharing most of our sessions online with non-attending PAA chapter and affiliate leaders, and two sessions with the general public. We will also record and post some of the sessions after the conference.

In order to join the two public sessions, you will need to have downloaded the Zoom online meeting program by going to zoom.us. It’s easy and free.

Each session has a meeting ID and a passwordthat you will need to join that session.

Here’s the schedule for sessions open to the public:

Topic: Next Steps in our Race, Poverty and Education project

Time: Jul 19, 2016 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/865532407?pwd=T4nWh9sa1vI%3D

Password: IRPEO

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +16465588656,865532407# or +14086380968,865532407#

Or Telephone:

Dial: +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll) or +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll)

Meeting ID: 865 532 407

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=Iq6W_YVySL5OU2-jDPPLoyNEPVcus_eF

Topic: EdTech and Data Privacy with special guest Leonie Haimson

Time: Jul 19, 2016 2:45 PM Eastern Time

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/351309524?pwd=xSIIdN1ibMg%3D

Password: EdTech

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,351309524# or +16465588656,351309524#

Or Telephone:

Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)

Meeting ID: 351 309 524

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=-kp4oKWO1az45hcDipZLTy3m8C4HGNk4

Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America: