Friday, August 24, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 8-24 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - 
MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 24, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 minutes ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Sally Ride * *Born May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. Died on July 23, 2012* Education Headlines *Friday, August 24, 2012* Alisal school district board won't reduce services at Family Resource CenterFacing pressure from community members and leaders, administrators at the Alisal Union School District have backpedaled on instructions to redirect services from their family resource center to their school sites. Riverbank district OKs final budget that assumes tax hike failsTrustees have passed a revised $22.3 million budget... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 minutes ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] More inane arguments from the Times over charter schools. They try to play the civil rights card and they might want to watch that because there are those in minority groups who do NOT follow that argument. *They also say it is "divisive" to talk about loss of funds to schools if we have charters.* That's misleading because (1) the charter system WILL cost more... more »

Battling the Common Core at the State Level | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago
Battling the Common Core at the State Level | Truth in American Education: Battling the Common Core at the State Level by Shane Vander Hart An article in the Indianapolis Star today demonstrates the impact that can be made in battling the Common Core State Standards. Tony Bennett, the Indiana State Superintendent of Education who is an elected official, has found that his challenge for re-election has been on the right, not on the left with teacher’s unions. He wants to talk about his reform efforts and school choice, but people who attend Tea Party groups want to know about th... more »

NYC Educator: Another Day, Another Sliming

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 minutes ago
NYC Educator: Another Day, Another Sliming: Another Day, Another Sliming by NYC Educator It seems like not a day goes by that we who teach the children of this country are not trashed in the media. In my school, free tabloids are all over the place, and I'd open them in teacher rooms to discover what fresh perfidies we'd committed this week, this day, this hour. We are perverts. We are incompetent. Our jobs are protected forever. We make too much, work too little. Today, on the heels of a new evaluation system based on junk science the Daily News bemoans the fact that not enough t... more »

Community College Spotlight | Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
Community College Spotlight | Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students: Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students by Joanne Jacobs Remedial courses usually fail to prepare students for college-level work, concludes a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Remediation does not develop students’ skills sufficiently to increase their rates of college success,” concludes Judith Scott-Clayton, an assistant professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, who wrote the paper with graduate student Olga Rodriguez. Still, the remedial track may hav... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 25 minutes ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day by Anngie Missouri's DESE, in partnership with the Midwest Dairy Council, just announced a contest to see which schools could increase the number of children receiving breakfast at school the most. The goal is to increase breakfast participation by 20 percent this year. Schools who make big gains can win awards from $1,000 to $4,000. Sounds good right? Feed kids. Get Money. It's a win-win. But why the big push to have schools be a meal provider? Missouri... more »

I’m getting into this retirement thing. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
I’m getting into this retirement thing. « Fred Klonsky: I’m getting into this retirement thing. by Fred Klonsky It has only been a couple of months. But I’m getting into this retirement thing. You meet the greatest people. Like last night. My pal Glen Brown and I were invited to speak to a meeting of the North Lake Shore chapter of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association. The IRTA is the largest organization of teacher retirees in the state of Illinois. Irene Jinks is the North Lake Shore chapter President. Back in the day when I first got hired in Park Ridge Irene was on the s... more »

Republicans or Democrats?: No Difference for Educators | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Republicans or Democrats?: No Difference for Educators | Dailycensored.com: Republicans or Democrats?: No Difference for Educators by P.L. Thomas For about thirty years now, public education as well as its teachers and students have been the focus of an accountability era driven by recurring calls for and the implementation of so-called higher standards and incessant testing. At two points during this era, educators could blame Ronald Reagan’s administration for feeding the media frenzy around the misleading A Nation at Risk and George W. Bush’s administration for federalizing the... more »

Did that Democrat say he is for school vouchers? - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Did that Democrat say he is for school vouchers? - Wait, What?: Did that Democrat say he is for school vouchers? by jonpelto One of the more incredible comments at a recent debate among the candidates running in Bridgeport’s September 4th special election to select a democratically elected board of education came from Democrat Kenneth Moales, who is also an incumbent on the Bridgeport’s illegal Board of Education. According to the Connecticut Post, Moales “supports school vouchers, and said they are neither anti-union nor anti-public schools.” Ah…. False on both points Mr. Moales.... more »

Your Summer PD: Whole Child Education and Society — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Your Summer PD: Whole Child Education and Society — Whole Child Education: Your Summer PD: Whole Child Education and Society by Klea Scharberg [image: 2012 ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference] ASCD conducted its second Whole Child Virtual Conference in May 2012. This free conference showcases schools, authors, and research about implementing a whole child approach for a worldwide audience. View and share archived session recordings, presenter handouts, and related resources at www.ascd.org/wcvirtualconference. Gain insight into the role of education in society, the purpose of schools ... more »

Helicopters can improve minority college attendance & other misguided policy implications: Comments on the Brookings “Voucher” Study « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Helicopters can improve minority college attendance & other misguided policy implications: Comments on the Brookings “Voucher” Study « School Finance 101: Helicopters can improve minority college attendance & other misguided policy implications: Comments on the Brookings “Voucher” Study by schoolfinance101 Here’s my quick response to the Brookings report released yesterday on the long term effects of vouchers on a randomized pool of participants in New York City. Let’s say I conducted a study in which I rented a fleet of helicopters and used those helicopters to, on a daily basis,...more »

Modern School: Court Overturn’s LAUSD’s Seniority Exemption

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Modern School: Court Overturn’s LAUSD’s Seniority Exemption: Court Overturn’s LAUSD’s Seniority Exemption by Michael Dunn United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) has won a small victory in its fight to preserve seniority rights at Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD), according to the 4LAKids Blog. In February, 2010, in Reed vs. California, lawyers argued that low performing, low income schools were unfairly impacted by layoffs since they tend to have higher percentages of younger teachers who lack seniority and that this violated students’ constitutional right to educational equity. Judge... more »

Interview With John Norton From The “New” Middleweb | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Interview With John Norton From The “New” Middleweb | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…: Interview With John Norton From The “New” Middleweb by Larry Ferlazzo John (Croft) Norton is the founder and co-editor of MiddleWeb.com. John also co-founded the national Teacher Leaders Network and works as an education writer, editor and virtual community developer. See his LinkedIn page for more background. There are very few people who rival John’s connections in the education world, his editing ability, and his willingness to help. Middleweb was my first introduction to the education... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The view from right-field on class size

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The view from right-field on class size: The view from right-field on class size by Mike Klonsky Checker Finn (right) and his Fordham Foundation crew are upset at White House report. *“So it should concern everyone that right now – all across America – tens of thousands **of teachers are getting laid off....Think about what that means for our country. When **there are fewer teachers in our schools, class sizes start climbing up. Our students start **falling behind. And our economy takes a hit.” -- *President Obama Finn, Petrilli & Co. (pictured above... more »

Business and Schooling in Arlington (VA)–Part 2 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Business and Schooling in Arlington (VA)–Part 2 | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Business and Schooling in Arlington (VA)–Part 2 by larrycuban That big, middle-size, and small businesses were heavily involved in the Arlington public schools, an urban district across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. in the mid-1970s, was evident by the end of my first year as superintendent. The extent of business participation in Arlington differed little from that in other districts and mirrored arrangements made years before I was appointed.[i] The Arlington School B... more »

UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-24-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A Teacher’s Dilemma by dianerav This letter from a veteran teacher should be read and discussed in every TFA institute, during the five weeks of training. Corps members should take a pledge never to take a job away from a well-qualified, experienced teacher who was laid off to save money and to hire TFA: *All I ever wanted from teaching was to do good work, excite children and really teach them. And I have done that. Always trying to do it better, always assessing and reworking what I do. I’ve been proud of ... more »

What to do — and not do — for growing number of English Language Learners - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
What to do — and not do — for growing number of English Language Learners - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: What to do — and not do — for growing number of English Language Learners By Valerie Strauss This* was written by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, who teach at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. They are co-authors of the new book, “The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels.”* ** By Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski It’s hard to find a scho... more »

Children with English language barriers? Send in the French teacher… - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Children with English language barriers? Send in the French teacher… - Wait, What?: Children with English language barriers? Send in the French teacher… by jonpelto The number of students entering public schools who are not fluent, or even proficient, in English is growing. In some districts, nearly have the students go home to households where English is not the primary language. For the purposes of our education system, the students who need special help developing their English skills are called “English Language Learners.” Many of these students come from Spanish-speaking house... more »

School Tech Connect: Popular Things To Say

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Popular Things To Say: Popular Things To Say by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) This is a pretty good piece in the *Post-Dispatch. * But I just wish someone could spend ten minutes with me pointing at the evidence for this assertion. Common Core Standards are an attempt to provide a framework of knowledge and skills students should have to go to college or to enter the global workforce. To date, 45 states have adopted the Common Core Standards. Illinois adopted the standards in 2010, and they go into effect this school year. In short, they could change the ... more »

Students Last: Breaking News: Teacher Invited to Education Conference

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Students Last: Breaking News: Teacher Invited to Education Conference: Breaking News: Teacher Invited to Education Conference by Students Last *New York City* - Setting aside a long-held tradition, the New York Times has invited an actual public school teacher to participate in their upcoming "Schools of Tomorrow" conference. Elaine Doctris, who teaches fifth graders at PS 800 in Queens, is the chosen one. "I'm honored and a little confused," she confessed. "I mean they've never asked a public school teacher to speak before. I hope it isn't a mistake." According to Kirstie Hepb... more »

India's Bailing on the Most Influential International Standardized Test - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
India's Bailing on the Most Influential International Standardized Test - Education - GOOD: India's Bailing on the Most Influential International Standardized Test by Liz Dwyer [image: test] The second most populous nation in the world is giving a thumbs down to the standardized test used to measure and compare the academic performance of students from around the globe. India is backing out of this year's administration of the Program for International Student Assessment, a test run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that's given to 15-year-olds every th... more »

Survey: Teachers report students 'regularly' come to school hungry - The Denver Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Survey: Teachers report students 'regularly' come to school hungry - The Denver Post: Survey: Teachers report students 'regularly' come to school hungry POSTED: 08/23/2012 06:13:00 PM MDT UPDATED: 08/23/2012 11:56:56 PM MDT *By Kevin Simpson* When a handful of students consistently showed up for school lethargic and unfocused, second-grade teacher Robin Sutherland discreetly posed a question: Did you have breakfast? Soon after, she began stopping off at the grocery store to pick up nutrition-packed drinks, or peanut butter and crackers — anything that might give them a protein ... more »

In Madison standing at the brink of the CTU strike : blue cheddar

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
In Madison standing at the brink of the CTU strike : blue cheddar: In Madison standing at the brink of the CTU strike by bluecheddar I attended a talk Wednesday night to learn how over 23,000 public school teachers in Chicago have come to the brink of a strike. In the process, I also got a contact high from the intensity of the 200 or so people assembled at the Labor Temple on Park. The talk was delivered by a teacher from Chicago, Becca Kelly. Kelly is a 20-something rank and file member of CTU, perhaps the most mobilized union in the United States at this moment. Of 23,780 Chic... more »

Middle School Charters in Texas: An Examination of Student Characteristics and Achievement Levels of Entrants and Leavers « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Middle School Charters in Texas: An Examination of Student Characteristics and Achievement Levels of Entrants and Leavers « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues: Middle School Charters in Texas: An Examination of Student Characteristics and Achievement Levels of Entrants and Leavers by Dr. Ed Fuller *Introduction** * Charter schools have proliferated in Texas and across the nation. The expansion of charter schools is now a popular reform effort for many policymakers on both the right and left of the political spectrum. To examine the efficacy of such policies, a number of research... more »

LAUSD'S WITCH HUNT AGAINST VETERAN TEACHERS BY PAULA HURDLE - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
LAUSD'S WITCH HUNT AGAINST VETERAN TEACHERS BY PAULA HURDLE - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S WITCH HUNT AGAINST VETERAN TEACHERS BY PAULA HURDLE by Leonard Isenberg [image: witch hunt.jpg] (Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) As a 25+ teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), I find the educational environment today extremely hostile and dangerous to veteran teachers. Where there used to be respect and appreciation for working and surviving in a system that provided little support or financial incentiv... more »

Parsing Poverty: Charter Market Segmentation across & Within U.S. Cities « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 13 hours ago
Parsing Poverty: Charter Market Segmentation across & Within U.S. Cities « School Finance 101: Parsing Poverty: Charter Market Segmentation across & Within U.S. Cities by schoolfinance101 Late Thursday, I posted a follow up on the distribution of children with disabilities by disability classification across charter and district schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This post explores the distribution of children who qualify for free lunch in charter schools and district schools within the city limits of major cities. Note that the unit of analysis – the charter market, per se ... more »

On Rape [Where An Educator Stands] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
On Rape [Where An Educator Stands] | The Jose Vilson: On Rape [Where An Educator Stands] by Jose I will confirm first and foremost that I do know women who have been raped, momentarily dispossessed from their bodies by a sexually deviant aggressor. As a listener, I can’t sit there and try to empathize because “I understand” is completely false. I don’t. I’ve never had that happen to me. While the act of rape isn’t limited to women, it overwhelmingly happens to them, and, as such, I’ve never been asked by society to become an expert in how to prevent such a heinous act. That’s part ... more »

Oakland special education teacher shuffle: Memo offers rationale, but no numbers - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Oakland special education teacher shuffle: Memo offers rationale, but no numbers - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Oakland special education teacher shuffle: Memo offers rationale, but no numbers Thursday, August 23rd, 2012 at 9:56 am in No Comments Here’s the text from the memo the Oakland school district administration circulated yesterday with its rationale for the recent last-minute special education resource teacher reassignments. Deputy Superintendent Maria Santos told the school board that nine of the 26 teachers were reinstated to their origin... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A strike now seems very likely

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: A strike now seems very likely: A strike now seems very likely by Mike Klonsky Photo by Jesse SharkeyA teachers strike is looking more and more unavoidable. The Mayor has pushed the union to the wall by stonewalling serious negotiations, sticking to his 2% pay-raise offer, and seeing if he can force the union to fold at the last minute. By playing chicken with the union he is not only gambling with the lives of the city's children and families, but with Obama's election chances as well. From the looks of things, *fold* doesn't appear to be part of CTU... more »

Anaheim student who complained was told to 'get a sense of humor' - latimes.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Anaheim student who complained was told to 'get a sense of humor' - latimes.com: Anaheim student who complained was told to 'get a sense of humor' The Anaheim high school student who complained to school officials about the "Seniores" and "Señoritas" senior week activity -- in which students dressed up and portrayed Mexican stereotypes, including gang members, day laborers and gardeners -– said he was initially told by a campus administrator to “get a sense of humor.” The annual end-of-school event at Canyon High School was permanently cancelled, and sensitivity training classes w... more »

Florida Governor Addresses Trinity Christian Academy’s EOC Assessment Problem | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Florida Governor Addresses Trinity Christian Academy’s EOC Assessment Problem | Truth in American Education: Florida Governor Addresses Trinity Christian Academy’s EOC Assessment Problem by Shane Vander Hart [image: 400px-Rick_Scott_official_portrait]Dr. Dennis Robinson, the head master of the Headmaster of Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona, FL and President of the Florida League of Christian Schools, emailed me this afternoon to let me know his guidance counselor received a response about the end-of-course assessment debacle from Florida Governor Rick Scott via the Florida Dep... more »

Bored? Take this poll now. | The G Bitch Spot

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Bored? Take this poll now. | The G Bitch Spot: Bored? Take this poll now. by G Bitch How would you grade Jindal’s performance as Louisiana governor?

Ten minute drawing: Obama. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Ten minute drawing: Obama. « Fred Klonsky: Ten minute drawing: Obama. by Fred Klonsky

SPLC Spanish-Speaking Parents Discriminated in Louisiana Schools - Hispanically Speaking News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
SPLC Spanish-Speaking Parents Discriminated in Louisiana Schools - Hispanically Speaking News: SPLC Alleges Spanish-Speaking Parents Discriminated Against in Certain Louisiana Schools, File Suit [image: SPLC Alleges Spanish-Speaking Parents Discriminated Against in Certain Louisiana Schools, File Suit]The Southern Law Poverty Center (SPLC) has filed a federal complaint against the public school system in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana on behalf of Spanish-speaking parents. The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education. The civil rights c... more »

Teachers For Social Justice: Defend Chicago’s Social Justice High School (Sojo)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Teachers For Social Justice: Defend Chicago’s Social Justice High School (Sojo): Defend Chicago’s Social Justice High School (Sojo) by sarah-ji Sojo was “born out of struggle” in 2001 when 14 Little Village residents endured a 19- day hunger strike to fight for a new school in their neighborhood. In Fall 2005, Sojo and three other small schools opened in a new building on 31st and Kostner, serving Little Village and North Lawndale. Sojo is a neighborhood school built on the principles of the Hunger Strike: “truth and transparency, struggle and sacrifice, ownership and agency, and... more »

Voucher Programs Need to Be Cut Off From the Common Core | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Voucher Programs Need to Be Cut Off From the Common Core | Truth in American Education: Voucher Programs Need to Be Cut Off From the Common Core by Shane Vander Hart I’m a school choice advocate, and full disclosure – my wife and I (mostly my wife) homeschool our three children. That said I’m concerned by how current voucher programs are structured with more and more strings attached. A friend of ours, Melissa Smith wrote a letter-to-the-editor that was published in the *Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel* that speaks to this matter succinctly so I wanted to share it here for our readers:... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: EAGnews Buys into the "Bad Teacher" Argument

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: EAGnews Buys into the "Bad Teacher" Argument: EAGnews Buys into the "Bad Teacher" Argument by stlgretchen There are many factors in a failing school. Why just blame "ineffective" teachers...and just how are there "ineffective" teachers measured? This morning we posted how the Missouri Riverview Gardens school district scores were not better even as the state took over the district's educational delivery for the last two years. We questioned if Missouri DESE's Chris Nicastro should be fired as an "ineffective" administrator. According to a letter to... more »

Teachers For Social Justice: Chicago Teachers Stand UP!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Teachers For Social Justice: Chicago Teachers Stand UP!: Chicago Teachers Stand UP! by sarah-ji After 17 years of the tyranny of high stakes tests, business-managers running the schools, school closings, disinvestment in neighborhood public schools and turning them over to private operators, teachers have had enough. The 30,000 members of the Chicago Teachers Union are standing up to the bankers and corporate interests who are dismantling public education and destroying teaching and learning. The city that has been the birthplace of corporate “reform” is now the epicenter of the fi... more »

“Failing Schools” Narrative a Tactic to Privatize Public Education and Destroy Unions | FDL News Desk

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
“Failing Schools” Narrative a Tactic to Privatize Public Education and Destroy Unions | FDL News Desk: “Failing Schools” Narrative a Tactic to Privatize Public Education and Destroy Unions by David Dayen (photo: ChrisM70 / flickr) The Obama campaign has recently tried to squeeze their opponent on the issue of education, leading to anomalous situations like Obama criticizing Romney for supporting class size increases that his own Education Secretary agrees with. There is probably a debate to be had between the two campaigns over education, one that comes down mostly to resources. ... more »

Union head on teachers' tenure: "It can't be a job for life" - CBS News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Union head on teachers' tenure: "It can't be a job for life" - CBS News: Union head on teachers' tenure: "It can't be a job for life" - - - - inShare - More [image: Randi Weingarten, president of the national American Federation of Teachers, waits to speak to a group of teachers and union laborers on the steps of Providence, R.I., City Hall, March 2, 2011.] Randi Weingarten, president of the national American Federation of Teachers, waits to speak to a group of teachers and union laborers on the steps of Providence, R.I., City Hall, March 2, 2011. (AP/Stew Milne) ... more »

PENSION TELETHON « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
PENSION TELETHON « Teachers Fight Back: PENSION TELETHON by alkleen I’ve thought of a way to bring public awareness to the teacher pension problem in Illinois, and at the same time to raise money for the depleted pension fund. We need to have a “pension telethon”. I’m sure we can convince the local public television station to broadcast it. We can get super teacher supporter Matt Damon and other celebrities to host it. It could run for the entire Labor Day weekend, oh wait, is Gerry Lewis still alive ? We wouldn’t want to interfere with his Labor Day telethon. We will find some o... more »

Teachers For Social Justice: Teacher Activist Groups Network Stands with CTU

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Teachers For Social Justice: Teacher Activist Groups Network Stands with CTU: Teacher Activist Groups Network Stands with CTU by sarah-ji A Message From Teacher Activist Groups (TAG) *A National Network (including TSJ) * Dear Educators and Allies, Chicago has been the focus of corporate school “reform,” but Chicago is now the epicenter of the push back against it. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), along with parent and community allies is leading the fight, with the possibility of going on strike. In support, Teacher Activist Groups (TAG) invites you to join our campaign, Solidar... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Do you think Class Size Matters? If so, please tell the President and Arne Duncan!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Do you think Class Size Matters? If so, please tell the President and Arne Duncan!: Do you think Class Size Matters? If so, please tell the President and Arne Duncan! by Leonie Haimson Yesterday, the President put out a new campaign ad about the importance of class size (see below.). This goes along with an excellent White House report released last weekend, prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers on the benefits of smaller classes. We immediately put out a press release, along with other parent leaders from throughout the country, thanking the P... more »

Parsing Charter School Disability Enrollments in PA and NJ « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Parsing Charter School Disability Enrollments in PA and NJ « School Finance 101: Parsing Charter School Disability Enrollments in PA and NJ by schoolfinance101 Here are a few quick figures that parse the disability classifications of children with disabilities served by charter schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Two previous posts set the stage for this comparison. In one, I explained how charter schools in the city of Newark, NJ, by taking on fewer low income students, far fewer LEP/ELL students and very few children with disabilities other than those with the mildest/lowest... more »

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Differ On Standardized Testing In Schools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Differ On Standardized Testing In Schools: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Differ On Standardized Testing In Schools by Joy Resmovits In roundtables with teachers and visits to classrooms, President Barack Obama is continuing to attack the GOP ticket on education this week, from Mitt Romney's record to the snip-happy budget of vice presidential pick Paul Ryan. Obama for America released an advertisement that is playing in Ohio and Virginia on Thursday, asserting that Romney "cannot relate" to public school issues, such as the need for smaller class sizes. The video a... more »

Media Spin About Vouchers « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Media Spin About Vouchers « Diane Ravitch's blog: Media Spin About Vouchers by dianerav The Wall Street Journal has an odd article today trumpeting “A Generation of School Voucher Success” by voucher advocate Paul Peterson of Harvard and Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institution. The article is based on a study of a privately funded voucher program in New York City and its effects on college enrollments of those who received vouchers. The study concluded that “*Overall, no significant impacts are observed*.” However, there were statistically significant gains in the college enr... more »

Pat Quinn. Now and always a political snake oil salesman. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Pat Quinn. Now and always a political snake oil salesman. « Fred Klonsky: Pat Quinn. Now and always a political snake oil salesman. by Fred Klonsky Jim Broadway publishes the valuable Illinois School Policy Updates. You might want to subscribe. In his most recent edition, Broadway addresses Constitutional Amendment 49. It will be on the ballot in November. He also reminds his readers of the political history of Pat Quinn. Broadway also gets into some stuff about FDR’s views on public worker unions. But that’s mostly crap. After all, FDR also supported the internment of Japanese Amer... more »

Chicago Teachers Picket Board Of Education, Hold 'Practice Strikes' (VIDEO)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
Chicago Teachers Picket Board Of Education, Hold 'Practice Strikes' (VIDEO): Chicago Teachers Picket Board Of Education, Hold 'Practice Strikes' (VIDEO) **Posted: 08/23/2012 11:15 am Updated: 08/23/2012 11:59 am 0 4 0 1 *GET CHICAGO ALERTS:* SIGN UP REACT: AmazingInspiringFunnyScaryHotCrazyImportantWeird FOLLOW: Video, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Teachers Picket, Chicago Teachers Protest, Chicago Teachers Union Protest, Teachers Picket Board Of Education , Teachers Picket Chicago Public Schools,Teachers Picket Cps, Chicago News [image: Chicagoteacherspicket] Members of the Chi... more »






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