Sacramento moves to block immigration officials from student data | 89.3 KPCC

Sacramento moves to block immigration officials from student data | 89.3 KPCC:

Sacramento moves to block immigration officials from student data
As federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ramp up arrests of residents who are in this country illegally, California lawmakers are taking steps they hope will prevent that agency from accessing student records that could help agents deport people.

 “One of our concerns was that districts collect a lot of information on students and that information goes into student records that are maintained largely at the local district level, but also to a certain extent at the California Department of Education,” said Rick Pratt, a consultant for the education committee of the California State Assembly.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Pratt said, prohibits student information from being released without permission from parents or guardians.

But law enforcement is exempted from that law.

Pratt has researched the issue for lawmakers on the Assembly Education Committee. And his research has led the committee chair, Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell to author Assembly Bill 699 that would, among other things, prohibit school districts from collecting a student’s immigration status in order to prevent immigration agents from looking at student files that could in some way lead them to the immigration status of students or their parents.

The move comes as the Trump administration’s stepped up deportations and have netted people who are in this country illegally who have not committed serious crimes. California state and city officials have taken a confrontational position towards the federal policies.

“We have heard that some local school districts are in fact collecting the immigration status of pupils," O’Donnell said. "So what we’re doing, going forward, is seeking to prevent that from occurring."

O’Donnell did not say which school districts were collecting student immigration data. The bill, he said, was the result of parent, teacher and school officials' concerns as arrests of people by immigration agents increase in their communities. 

Many school districts have said their campuses are safe zones from arrest by immigration agents. 

A 1982 federal court case, Plyer v. Doe, prohibits schools from asking students to Sacramento moves to block immigration officials from student data | 89.3 KPCC:

An Open Letter Regarding President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress | Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools

An Open Letter Regarding President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress | Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools:
An Open Letter Regarding President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress

On Tuesday night President Trump declared education to be “the civil rights issue of our time.” Then he called on Congress to pass legislation that would strip vital resources from public schools that millions of black and brown children attend. In the weeks leading up to the speech, he announced a ban on Muslims entering the country. He rescinded federal guidance on the rights of LGBTQ students and on discrimination in school discipline. His Education Secretary Betsy DeVos declared Historically Black Colleges and Universities a “choice program” when in fact they were founded during Jim Crow when black students had no choice.

Let us be clear: it is difficult to imagine Trump and DeVos doing anything with civil rights other than making them disappear. His latest proposal, to spend federal taxpayer dollars on vouchers and privatized charter schools is just more of the same pro-business, anti-community agenda. Here are the facts:  

• Children who receive vouchers to attend private schools do not have better academic outcomes. In fact, the most recent studies actually found that voucher students did worse than their peers who remained in public schools.
• A market-based system of privately run charter schools and vouchers does not satisfy our national commitment to serve every child. There will never be enough charter schools or private schools willing to take every child.  They pick and choose now—they will pick and choose in the future, leaving the neediest children behind.
• Moving taxpayer dollars in to privatized education will decimate public schools and districts. Without doubt, a large-scale voucher program, and expansion of charter schooling would mean program cuts, school closings, fewer services, and perhaps whole districts going belly up.

If President Trump and Secretary DeVos are actually interested in civil rights and making things better for black and brown kids, we know what works: Investment—not in vouchers and charters—but in fully resourced public schools that are desirable places to be and learn. That means making sure that all schools have classes small enough for one-on-one attention, inviting classrooms and well-rounded curriculum. It means providing community support services like nutrition, health, and restorative programs. It’s not about choice, but quality, in every neighborhood, for every child. 

The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is calling for tangible new investments in public education. Because when schools have what they need, children do better. Three decades of market experiments have not resulted in failed schools, but in schools that have been failed by the kinds of anti-student, anti-community schemes that Trump and DeVos are proposing.

It is with this in mind that AROS is calling on Congress to defeat any and all efforts to siphon taxpayer dollars from our public schools. Instead, invest in the schools all our students deserve.  We will fight, and we will defend the viability of our public schools. AROS represents nearly seven million Americans.  We stand together for the schools all our children deserve.An Open Letter Regarding President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress | Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools:

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos Are Right? by Cheryl Binkley - Badass Teachers Association:

Badass Teachers Association: Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos Are Right? by Cheryl Binkley:

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos Are Right? 

by Cheryl Binkley

Originally posted at: http://3rdmillenniumteacher.blogspot.com/2017/03/donald-trump-and-betsy-devos-are-right.html

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are right, at least about one thing.  Education is the Civil Rights Issue of the 21st Century. 

However, their statement has further reaching and deeper implications than either imagines.

When DeVos and Trump use the term Civil Rights, they are thinking of what our political system “allows” people of color to have.  That is Not What Civil Rights Are. 

Civil Rights belong to everyone, including Blacks, Whites, Immigrants, and Indigenous People– All Peoples regardless of exceptionalisms. Civil Rights are those Inalienable rights Jefferson talked about- Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

At this moment in our history, the greed of Free Market Capitalism, in the form of Global Corporations, is trying to take All our Civil Rights away.  In their paradigm all assets are for private ownership, to be bought and sold for gain, with no room for inalienable rights to be Badass Teachers Association: Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos Are Right? by Cheryl Binkley:

They're Baaack! The Really Fun Guys Of Education Reform - Education44

Education44:

Education44

The truest measure of a society’s worth is whether it offers all children the opportunity to go where they want to go, do what they want to do, and fulfill their dreams. This is the American promise, and education is its foundation.

Under President Obama – the 44th President of the United States – the U.S. Department of Education worked to make America’s promise attainable for more students. The administration’s agenda focused on protecting access to a high-quality education for all students while reforming and innovating public education to produce greater equity.

Here you will find the legacy of the Obama administration’s work, and a balanced platform where you can learn about policies and ideas for improving public education.

Welcome to Education44:

CURMUDGUCATION: FutureEd Launches New Website, Old Voice

CURMUDGUCATION: FutureEd Launches New Website, Old Voice:

FutureEd Launches New Website, Old Voice

There's a new education reform website on the scene, another "new voice" representing a new thinky tank, slick and pretty and well-endowed and charter-friendly and made out of smooshed-together words. Welcome FutureEd

Much of the pitch is familiar. FutureEd is "grounded on the belief that every student should be effectively prepared for postsecondary learning and that performance-driven education systems have the potential to greatly improve student achievement." And like all such undertakings, the site is intent on letting us know that they are totally independent and fair and balanced and in no way going to pursue a particular agenda.

A new voice? Sounds mighty familiar to me.

We won't follow a script. Sometimes we'll tak about what everyone else is talking about, and other times we'll address a topic that we feel deserves more attention. Our goal is to give policymakers, practitioners and other change agents research and analysis that helps them navigate a complicated, fast-changing educational landscape. In every case, our work will reflect what research says is best for students, rather than the pursuit of ideological agendas or adult self-interests.

Annnnd of course the use of terms like "change agents" and the nod to the pursuit of adult self-interests mean that FutureEd does, in fact, have a reformy ideological agenda to pursue. But as CURMUDGUCATION: FutureEd Launches New Website, Old Voice:

House Dems call for the resignation of the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public educ. group over gender violence remarks | Eclectablog

House Dems call for the resignation of the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public educ. group over gender violence remarks | Eclectablog:
House Dems call for the resignation of the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public educ. group over gender violence remarks

Two Michigan House Democrats are calling for the resignation of Gary Naeyaert, the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public education group Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) following remarks he made at a Senate Education Committee meeting on Tuesday. During his testimony, Naeyaert expressed frustration over what he perceives as a lack of action by State School Reform Officer Natasha Baker and said he “wanted to shake her, like I like to shake my wife.”

Reps. Kristy Pagan (D-Canton) and Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) released a statement today calling on Naeyaert to resign for his offensive comments which GLEP dismissively referred to as a “poor choice of words“.

In their statement, Geiss said, “The comment made by Mr. Naeyaert while testifying before the Senate Education Committee is absolutely unacceptable and intolerable. He should take full responsibility for his actions and resign House Dems call for the resignation of the head of Betsy DeVos’s anti-public educ. group over gender violence remarks | Eclectablog:

California to Launch New Online School Evaluation System

California to Launch New Online School Evaluation System:

California to Launch New Online School Evaluation System
The California School Dashboard is designed to give parents “easy reports” about their child’s school or district, and provide detailed downloadable data that can help identify areas where schools might need help.

In March, California plans to launch a new online school evaluation system that provides parents, teachers and the community with key data to evaluate their local K-12 schools.

Called the California School Dashboard, which has been years in the making, the Web portal is designed to give parents “easy reports” about their child’s school or district, as well as provide detailed downloadable data that can help identify areas where schools might need help.

“At one glance, they can get an idea, in multiple measures, of how well their school or district is doing,” California’s Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Ashley Keric told state lawmakers last week at a joint oversight hearing held by the Assembly and Senate education committees.

“For those that need more, deeper information, there’s background information, more detailed reports, downloadable data for the data geeks that want to get California to Launch New Online School Evaluation System:

Russ on Reading: School Vouchers: Welfare for the Rich, the Racist, and the Religious Right

Russ on Reading: School Vouchers: Welfare for the Rich, the Racist, and the Religious Right:

School Vouchers: Welfare for the Rich, the Racist, and the Religious Right

Our new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is rich, white, and a proselytizing supporter of the Christian religious right. DeVos is also an outspoken champion of school vouchers. These two things are not coincidences. While voucher proponents will tell you, and some may even believe, that their push for vouchers is a push to make sure all children have the opportunity to get a great education, the real benefactors of school vouchers are the rich, the white and the religious right.

What are vouchers exactly? School vouchers come in many forms and since the general public is typically opposed to voucher schemes, politicians who favor them have come up with a variety of Orwellian doublespeak names for them like Opportunity Scholarships, Education Choice Scholarships, or the Education Savings Accounts. Another way states have found to get around calling vouchers vouchers is the scholarship tax credit. These schemes allow individuals and corporations to direct their tax monies to private institutions who then use the money for scholarships for students.

The idea behind vouchers, originally suggested by economist Milton Friedman in the 1950s, is that the competition for students carrying vouchers will improve all schools, that children stuck in "underperforming" schools will find a way out through a voucher system, and that parents will get to exercise choice.

DeVos claims that voucher opponents are foes of change and champions of the status quo. I hope to show that it is the voucher schemes and the DeVos' Russ on Reading: School Vouchers: Welfare for the Rich, the Racist, and the Religious Right:

These kids made flyers to protest "Dr. Seuss Week" at school

These kids made flyers to protest "Dr. Seuss Week" at school:

THESE KIDS MADE FLYERS TO PROTEST "DR. SEUSS WEEK" AT SCHOOL

Rockett, 11, and Zoe, 10, just wanted their classmates to know that Dr. Seuss was kind of racist.

Meet Rockett and Zoe, the wokest kids in class. Their elementary school is currently celebrating "Dr. Seuss Week" as a part of National Read Across America Day, which coincides with the popular children's book author's birthday on March 2. But, as many may be unaware, Dr. Seuss was kind of racist. So these super-conscious siblings decided to help their classmates get more aware.

While Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel, is best known for enduring, beloved books like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham, he began his career as an illustrator and cartoonist who drew racist political cartoons expressing, among other things, vehement anti-Japanese sentiment. Geisel apparently had absolutely no problem with the incarceration of innocent Japanese Americans during World War II, depicting them in caricature as invading hordes and latent traitors loyal to the enemy.

So Rockett, 11, and Zoe, 10, took it upon themselves -- with little assistance or oversight from their parents, Steve and Leslie -- to create a flyer that educated people about Geisel's past racism. While they did have their parents' support and approval, I'm told that they came up with the flyer on their own (after an hour of them fighting and arguing about the content and format). Like I said, these are some woke-ass kids.

Here's the full flyer, which Rockett and Zoe distributed to fellow students:

Knowledge dropped. Their teachers, however, did not appreciate this attempt to provide an alternate, historical perspective on the work of Dr. Seuss. Zoe's teacher asked her to stop passing out the flyers, while Rockett's teacher confiscated the flyers, reported it to the principal, and send the following email to his parents:

Hello Mr. and Mrs. Wong,

This morning, Rockett came to school with a stack of flyers to hand out regarding Dr. Suess. While he is absolutely entitled to his own thoughts and opinions, school is not the appropriate place for him to hand these flyers out. I am going to send them home with him today after school. I do applaud his civic mindedness.

Thank you,
[REDACTED]

Here's how Zoe and Rockett's father, Steve, responded:

I do want to begin my response to your email, and our children's actions of creating the flyer, by stating that we appreciate the non-racist work of Dr. Seuss. We have a collection of his books in home and we read many on them often to our kids when they were younger. A couple of years ago, we wanted to balance our love for Seuss Geisel's creativity by exposing our children to the darker side of his early racist works. So while we still respect his art, our family understands that Seuss Geisel, like many others we hold in high esteem, can indeed have a These kids made flyers to protest "Dr. Seuss Week" at school:

Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Plan: Religious Fundamentalism At Taxpayer Expense

3/2/2017 – Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Plan: Religious Fundamentalism At Taxpayer Expense:

Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Plan: Religious Fundamentalism At Taxpayer Expense

March 2, 2017 Subscribe

THIS WEEK: DeVos Blows HBCU Moment … Online Schools Suck … State Of ELL Education … Diversity Hits Suburbs … Vouchers ‘False Road’

TOP STORY

Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Plan: Religious Fundamentalism At Taxpayer Expense

By Jeff Bryant

“In his recent address to Congress … Trump called out a guest of his in the audience, Denisha Merriweather, who … with the help of a tax credit scholarship program … is the first in her family to graduate, not just from high school, but from college … The school Merriweather attended through the school choice program Trump champions … describes its education program as a ‘spiritual emphasis and biblical [sic] view.'”
Read more …

NEWS AND VIEWS

Betsy Devos Applauds Historically Segregated Schools As ‘Pioneers Of School Choice’

Think Progress

“Following President Trump’s meeting with leaders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities on Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a statement applauding the schools as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice … Lauding HBCUs as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice” overlooks the fact that they were historically the only options available to black students denied entry to traditionally white institutions.”
Read more …

DeVos Praises Virtual Schools, But New Research Points To Problems

The Hechinger Report

“An important study … reveals that online-only schools tend to attract and harm the most vulnerable students … Ohio students with low test scores who enroll in online-only schools tend to fall even further behind. High-performing students fare better, but they still do worse than they would have done if they had not enrolled in a virtual school.’”
Read more …

English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing

NPR

“About 1 out of every 10 public school students in the United States right now is learning to speak English … There are nearly 5 million of them, and educating them – in English and all the other subjects and skills they’ll need – is one of the biggest challenges in U.S. public education today … The vast majority – some 3.8 million ELL students – speak Spanish. But there are lots of other languages too, including Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Arabic and Vietnamese. Most ELLs were born in the United States, and are U.S. citizens.”
Read more …

The Nonwhite Student Behind the White Picket Fence

The Atlantic

“Suburbs … are going through a metamorphosis, shedding the cocoon of highly educated affluence for a new identity that is browner, poorer, and far more ethnically diverse … The white population declined and the Hispanic population rose in cities as well, but the change seen in the suburbs was sharper … The number of people living in poverty in the suburbs also exceeds that in urban areas.”
Read more …

School Vouchers Are A “False Road,” And There’s Data To Prove It

The Progressive

Jeff Bryant writes, “A report … warns that the push toward vouchers and toward making public schools compete for funding is being driven by ideological preferences rather than evidence that competition and choice actually work … Negative impacts include the propensity of voucher programs to increase racial segregation and their potential to flood the teacher workforce with practitioners who have less training and experience and don’t plan on making teaching a permanent career … They divert resources and energy from more helpful programs, including high quality early childhood education, increased education funding, and teacher professional development focused on delivering better instruction.”
Read more …

Share this:

3/2/2017 – Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Plan: Religious Fundamentalism At Taxpayer Expense:

Teach Like You | Blue Cereal Education

Teach Like You | Blue Cereal Education:

Teach Like You

I’m a fairly narcissistic fellow. I don’t mean to be, it’s just that I’m vain and self-absorbed. At least I have the skills, style, and cojones to make it work for me. I make no apologies; every rose has it’s - oh, are you still here? I hadn’t noticed.

There’ve been a slew of books and workshops in recent years promising to help you teach like a pirate, like a rockstar, like a hero… I received something rather spammy recently promising to help me become a more exciting presenter and unlock a fabulous career leading teacher workshops. Just call Robert in Wisconsin at ###-###-####!

I’m not knocking any of these books or workshops. I haven’t read or attended any of them, but I see happy teachers carrying on about them on Twitter and such… they sound great.

Except the one with Robert in Wisconsin. WTF, Bob?

It’s just that I don’t want to be a pirate, or a rockstar, or a hero. I want my kids to learn a little history, ask some better questions, and maybe learn to like reading a little. And I want to do it as… me. 

I’m pretty entertaining, and I have a degree. That should buy me some leeway, yes?

Of course, you don’t need to buy books or go to conferences to hear how you should be doing everything differently. There are no shortage of researchers scolding us for forcing our kids to recite from their McGuffey’s Readers and practice multiplication tables on their chalk slates, or whatever it is they think we do.

Seriously, if I read one more heavily-footnoted interview with yet another person who’s discovered that worksheets have limited effectiveness and some people are boring when they lecture, I may become violent. Can we steer some of the funding for these redundant studies into something more useful – maybe fresh blue ink for the mimeograph machine or another History Channel Documentary on VHS?

They’re not all bad, of course. Many make some fascinating observations and connections. They challenge us to reconsider some of our assumptions about kids and how they learn, or ourselves and how we teach. 

I’m a huge fan of rethinking what we do in our classrooms. I make a decent living leading workshops and peddling my teaching philosophy, sometimes for edu-entities and sometimes just as lil’ ol’ me. We should ABSOLUTELY step out of our comfort zones from time to time. It’s unforgiveable to plan our class time around what we have saved from LAST year rather than what might work best with THESE kids THIS year.

And there are some GREAT teacher books! That ‘Weird Teacher’ one and that 'Zen' fellow and even one by a TFA teacher recounting her entire first year in the most IMPOSSIBLE situation. Occasionally I’m even inspired by something shared by state edu-staff, or my own district superiors. Turns out there are a bunch of really smart, experienced educators around who love helping the rest of us impact our evasive darlings.

Sometimes their ideas are better than mine. And sometimes research is right about stuff. Teach Like You | Blue Cereal Education:

Educators Told to Intern at Local Businesses To Renew Teacher Licenses

Educators Told to Intern at Local Businesses To Renew Teacher Licenses:
Educators Told to Intern at Local Businesses To Renew Teacher Licenses

Rachael Seibert is a teacher in her eighth year in Columbus City Schools in Ohio. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree and welcomes professional development opportunities that improve her teaching. She usually works about 55 hours a week and teaches classes with sometimes as many as 35 students. In short, Seibert is a dedicated professional.

But as far as Ohio Governor John Kasich is concerned, it’s just not enough, which is why he has proposed that every classroom teacher take on a mandatory internship or “externship” at a local business in order to renew their teaching licenses.

The proposal can be found in Kasich’s 2017-18 budget outline, released in February – one of  many that seek to infuse the business world with the state’s public schools. Here’s what it says:

“Beginning September 1, 2018, the state board of education’s rules for the renewal of educator licenses shall require each applicant for renewal of a license to complete an on-site work experience with a local business or chamber of commerce as a condition of renewal.”

Ryan Burgess, who heads up the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation that designed these and other similar proposals, says this requirement is necessary for educators to learn more about today’s businesses – information and ideas that they can then take back to their students and help prepare them for the 21st economy.

It’s not that schools and educators shouldn’t always find more ways to cultivate more “real world” learning in the classroom, says Seibert. The problem is with Kasich’s specific proposal, which she calls “ludicrous.”

“I consider myself a highly-educated educator. I know how business works. My husband is small business owner and I integrate real-word topics in the classroom every day. The assumption that we don’t know how to this and that we need to ‘job-shadow’  is insulting,” says Seibert.

The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is strongly opposed to tying licensure renewal with on-site work experience with local businesses. “This is another needless hoop for teachers to jump through that was created by those who are not part of the profession,” said OEA President Becky Higgins.

Acquiring a better understanding of the kinds of skills employers are seeking is a Educators Told to Intern at Local Businesses To Renew Teacher Licenses:

Vouchers may harm student learning + Welcome to new Congress | Parents Across America

Vouchers may harm student learning | Parents Across America:
Vouchers may harm student learning 

We included the following message in today’s fax message to Congress. A pdf version of this information is here: voucherstudies3-17:

Parents Across America (PAA) is very concerned that, in his speech to Congress last night, President Trump renewed his call to spend millions of federal education dollars on school vouchers. His Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, is also a strong voucher proponent.

PAA opposes voucher programs because they redirect scarce money away from our public school system, may cross constitutional lines separating church and state, and – most importantly – have a poor-to-mixed overall academic track record.

A number of new studies paint an especially dismal picture of voucher programs. According to a recent LA Times article, multiple studies of Louisiana’s voucher program found that

• Students lost ground in their first two years in the program. Those performing at average levels in math and reading — that is, at about the 50th percentile — fell 24 percentile points in math and eight points in reading after their first year in the program.
• Participation in the program “substantially reduces academic achievement.”
• Voucher students “have fared worse academically compared to their closely matched peers attending public schools…. Such impacts also appear to persist over time, suggesting that the results are not driven simply by the setbacks that typically accompany any change of school.”

The Times also reports on the voucher program in Indiana, which former governor, now Vice President, Mike Pence, strongly promoted:

• Two researchers from Notre Dame have found that “voucher students who transfer to private schools experiencesignificant losses in mathematics achievement” and no improvement in English compared to their records at their former public schools.

One researcher summed things up in this way, “In (DeVos’s) rhetoric, it’s the creation of market mechanisms that are the important thing to promote. This research does not support that view. In fact, it may support the idea that that approach is harmful to student learning.”Vouchers may harm student learning | Parents Across America:

Save the date: Next book club meeting March 26

by Julie Woestehoff / 11min

Next PAA Book Club meeting set Save the date – March 26 – for PAA’s next book club meeting in our series on “The Impact of Poverty and Race on Educational Opportunity.” We’re going to discuss antiracist author Tim Wise’s “White Like 

 Welcome to new Congress

by Julie Woestehoff / 47min

PAA traditionally sends a letter to every new Congress to introduce ourselves and share our vision for public education. We’re finally getting around to it this year, a bit late but certainly in time to address the debacle of the Trump-DeVos “parent town hall” a week ago, to which only one public school parent was