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Thursday, March 29, 2012

“Charter School” Suddenly Appears in Adelanto Parent Trigger Petition | Scathing Purple Musings

“Charter School” Suddenly Appears in Adelanto Parent Trigger Petition | Scathing Purple Musings:


“Charter School” Suddenly Appears in Adelanto Parent Trigger Petition

Parent Revolution finally got they really wanted in their efforts to flip a public school in California. While the parents who they sold initially just wanted modest changes, a rejection of their signatures gave them the opportunity to get a new petition. This time it suits the folks who pay the salaries of Parent Revolution’s operatives as “charter school” is on the new petition. Writes Teresa Watanabe in theLos Angeles Times:
The petition asks that Desert Trails be transformed into a charter school, but parents reiterated they would prefer that reforms be collectively developed by an independent organization of parents, teachers and district staff.
A key change, parents said, would be the ability to choose their own principal with more flexibility to remove ineffective teachers and more autonomy over curriculum and budgets.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the parents originally were looking for more limited and


Arne Duncan Feels “Tests Accurately Reflect Student Learning”

Last weekend’s release by the Atlanta Journal Constitutionof an investigative report into possible cheating across the nation drew this email comment from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan:
“These findings are concerning,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in an emailed statement after being briefed on the AJC’s analysis.
He added: “States, districts, schools and testing companies should have  sensible safeguards in place to ensure tests accurately reflect student  learning.”
Does Duncan believe that tests can accurately “reflect student learning?”  If so, he’s taking the position that one multiple choice test – designed far away from the building where a student goes to school – is absolute