Friday, March 5, 2010

Video: Controversy Over "Step" Dance Contest This Week In Education

This Week In Education

Video: Controversy Over "Step" Dance Contest



In a nutshell:  White sorority learns step dancing 15 years ago at a black/white sorority mixer, enters and wins national contest last month (see performance above).  Controversy ensues, contest sponsors declare a tie.  Washington Post article here.

Sattler: Growth Isn't Enough

Sattler head shot 
0209Secretary Duncan loves to tell the story of a hypothetical fifth-grade teacher who is considered a failure under NCLB despite having raised a child's reading level two grade levels in one academic year because that child entered reading at a 2nd grade level and so is still a year behind.  Now I'm not aware of anything in the NCLB that actually calls any teacher a failure but it's true that the child would still not be performing on grade level and that would contribute to a school's failure to make AYP.  And I agree with Duncan that the teacher in question should be considered an excellent teacher not a failure.
But when Duncan uses this example to talk about how we should focus on growth, that's where I start worrying.
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News: Re-Staffing Announced For 6 Boston Schools

Dramatic shake-up planned at 12 Boston public schools James Vaznis Boston Globe:  Boston school officials announced yesterday that staff at six schools will have to reapply for their jobs and five principals will be replaced after the schools were listed among nearly three dozen statewide that will probably be declared “underperforming’’ and subject to drastic change.11111111111news
Grant Program Opens Door Wide, Some Lament Eliza Krigman National Journal:  New York failed to enact a law to increase the amount of charter schools permitted in the state, and it doesn't allow test scores to be used as a factor in teacher tenure decisions, two reasons insiders weren't optimistic about the state's chances.
Teachers Suspended Over Role Model Choice Jennifer Steinhaur NYT: Three white teachers got three-day suspensions for picking O. J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul as exemplars for Black History Month.
Click below for links to more morning news stories.
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