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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Schools Matter: Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

Schools Matter: Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

From TICAS:

Statement on Final Gainful Employment Rule
Pauline Abernathy, Vice President, The Institute for College Access & Success

Background: Today the U.S. Department of Education issued a final “gainful employment” rule to enable enforcement of the federal law requiring any post-secondary career education program receiving federal financial aid to “prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.” The final regulation applies to all career education programs, whether offered by a public, non-profit or for-profit college.

“The final gainful employment rule is a first step towards preventing federal taxpayer dollars from being wasted on career education programs that leave students with nothing but insurmountable debt. Unfortunately the final rule will allow many programs

An Urban Teacher's Education: I Never Expected

An Urban Teacher's Education: I Never Expected

I Never Expected

As I've been reflecting on the purpose of my blog, I've realized that since I left my job in DC, I've seen this blog, at times, as an open letter to my former self - the eager, idealistic college graduate who thought he could change the world in an inner-city classroom. In that vein, and in a very short post, I'd like to take a little time to catalogue a few experiences I was utterly unprepared for when I entered the classroom.

I never expected that I would be responsible for keeping records of everything I did in order to prove that I was competent at my job. From logs detailing calls I've made to parents to lesson plans to behavioral interventions, I've been immensely frustrated with the amount of valuable time record keeping has stolen from me.

I never expected that students I had years ago would contact me out of the blue and tell me how important I was in their life. I'd always hoped I would prepare them for college, and they might thank me for that, but never did I expect a student to tell me that I made all the difference.

I never expected to be on the verge of tears as a result of the sheer happiness I've gleaned from working with my students. I am utterly enamored with the people I work with. To say that their strength and determination in the face of challenges (the likes of which I will never know) is inspiring would be a dreadful understatement.

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say - The Bay Citizen

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say - The Bay Citizen

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say

Unions often help determine criteria for evaluating teachers

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By JENNIFER GOLLAN on June 2, 2011 - 5:02 p.m. PDT
Creative Commons/knittymarie

The quality of teaching would improve if local school districts included students' test scores and grades teacher evaluations, according to a report released Thursday.

California law sets out general guidelines for teacher evaluations, but local school districts vary widely as far as the criteria and rating they use to measure teacher performance. Researchers for the Mountain View-based think tank EdSource recommended that districts tailor teacher evaluations to meet the educational goals of their school districts, which could vary depending on student demographics.

“One of the lessons from our report is that teacher evaluations must be overhauled on a local level,” said Mary Perry, EdSource’s deputy director. “Teacher evaluations are not as helpful as they should be because they are often too vague, and don’t provide useful feedback.”

The 21-page report was based on a comprehensive literature review and interviews with nearly a dozen leaders representing the state’s various education concerns, including the powerful California Teachers Association and the Association of California School

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/12Agt)

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value? | Dailycensored.com

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value? | Dailycensored.com

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value?

Bill O’Reilly and other conservative talkers often portray my beloved San Francisco as a liberal Sodom and Gomorrah, an icon of corrupt mores summarized snidely as San Francisco Values.

At first blush, a recent story in SF Weekly appears to fit O’Reilly’sliberal stereotype: “Schoolhouse Rocked: S.F.’s Most Controversial Charter School Throws Off For-Profit Masters”. The cover page feature article sounds anti-corporate, revolutionary, and the reporter, Lauren Smiley, even refers to the Edison Charter Academy as “indie,” as if it were a new underground punk band, refusing to sell out to The Man. Further, Edison is “community school,” which no doubt would get O’Reilly in a rant about socialism, a rant that would only be reinforced by the school contracts with a local food service called – gasp! – Revolution Foods. Even the ironic title – referring to the 70s children’s TV program “Schoolhouse Rock” – suggests that Smiley’s article is another missive from the Liberal Establishment, another report perverted by San Francisco Values.

And yet, the SF Weekly story, cloaked in the window dressing of the Liberal

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling « School Finance 101

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling « School Finance 101

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling

Posted on June 3, 2011 by schoolfinance101

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There now exists a fair amount of evidence that Charter schools in many locations, especially high performing charter schools in New Jersey and New York tend to serve much smaller shares of low income, special education and limited English proficient students (see various links that follow). And in some cases, high performing charter schools, especially charter middle schools, experience dramatic attrition between 6th and 8th grade, often the same grades over which student achievement climbs, suggesting that a “pushing out” form of attrition is partly accounting for charter achievement levels.

As I’ve stated many times on this blog, the extent to which we are concerned about these issues is a matter of perspective. It is entirely possible that a school – charter, private or otherwise – can achieve not only high performance levels but also greater achievement growth by serving a selective student population, including selection of students on the front end and attrition of students along the way. After all, one of the largest “within school effects on student performance”

Big Education Ape: 6-2-11 PM Today's Truths Edition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

Published by Coopmike48 – 6 contributors today



Return of Islamic College Raises New Questions

nytimes.com - The American Islamic College, closed since 2004 when the state revoked its operating authority, is expected early next month to win approval to reopen. Supporters see the opening of the...
DianeRavitch

Obama at the ‘Miracle In Memphis’

garyrubinstein.teachforus.org - On Monday May 16th, President Obama will be the commencement speaker at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, TN. They had won a competition called ‘The Race To The Top High School Commencem...
DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Pitching Collaboration, Not Combat, at the Aspen Institute - State EdWatch - Education Week -http://goo.gl/ZfoNVabout 1 hour ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 GOP Assembly "Leader" Connie Conway Feels the Heat in Central Valley for Blocking the State Budget, Hurting Education - http://goo.gl/ZT49J59 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: THE MANY ASPECTS OF BULLYING - http://goo.gl/lT6q959 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
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coopmike48 #EDU When adults are the bullies | Connected Principals: When adults are the bullies | Connected PrincipalsWhen ... http://bit.ly/jcmKG346 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Shortcuts, School Reform & Private Foundations

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DianeRavitch

Miracle-free school reform - News Blog

rochestercitynewspaper.com - I find myself disagreeing with education expert Diane Ravitch as often as I agree with her, but I liked her opinion piece in yesterday's Times - a lot.The title is "Waiting for a School Miracle," a...
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'Make my school a prison' pleads Michigan superintendent

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Return of Islamic College Raises New Questions

nytimes.com - The American Islamic College, closed since 2004 when the state revoked its operating authority, is expected early next month to win approval to reopen. Supporters see the opening of the...
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TechnoDyne, Involved in CityTime Project, Shuts Down

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leoniehaimson

Education Stocks Soaring, Shorts Squirming - MarketBeat

blogs.wsj.com - By Melissa KornSorry, short sellers. For-profit college stocks are climbing fast today after the U.S. Department of Education releases softer-than-expected “gainful employment” rule that ties progr...
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Los cursos que necesita mi hijo para su camino a la universidad

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Shaking up the rules of engagement | California Watch

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Schools Matter: National Curriculum and National Testing

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