Thursday, December 6, 2012

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Michelle Rhee Advising Governor Kasich in Ohio about Funding

This Ohio blogger reports that Michelle Rhee is now advising the anti-public school administration of Governor John Kasich and the Republican legislature about how to fund education.
Given the predisposition of the leadership in Ohio, the outcome is predictable and it won’t be good for public education.
Ohio has a flourishing landscape of charters and a growing voucher program.
The charter landscape is very profitable for certain big-time charter operators, but charters do not outperform 


How Eva’s Success Academy Thrives

A high school for at-risk students in Manhattan, now located in a beautiful state-of-the-art facility, will be relocated to make room for Eva Moskowitz’s charter empire to grow.
The students at Innovation Diploma Plus high school will be relocated to a 90-year-old school with no science labs or gym.
Success Academy recently raised its management fee to $2,000 per student. It has a wealthy and powerful 


Charlie Crist Renounces His Support for Vouchers

Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, switched from Republican to independent to Democrat.
It is rumored that he may run for governor as a Democrat.
In an interview recently, he said he was wrong for supporting vouchers.
Angry conservatives don’t like


Indiana: “One Last Stab at Teachers”

Karen Francisco is an outstanding writer for the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette in Indiana.
For her fearless coverage of the right-wing attack on public education, she joins our honor roll.
Unlike so many journalists who report what is in the press release, she digs deeper and informs the public
In her most recent column, she explains that defeated State Superintendent Tony Bennett was using his last days in office to continue his attack on the teaching profession. Before the election, in which he was decisively defeated, he proposed to lower standards for new teachers and for principals. Her column appeared before


NY Superintendent to President Obama: “Stop the Madness”

Jere Hochman, superintendent of the Bedford schools, has written an eloquent plea to President Obama.
He supported President Obama.
Now, he says, its time to put the brakes on the testing frenzy that is enveloping students, teachers, and schools.
He begins:
I do not doubt that your intentions and those of Mr. Duncan and others are sincere. I do doubt the intentions of 


A Petition to the President

A group of educators asked me to post this petition. You may recall that Linda Darling-Hammond was President Obama’s education spokesman when he ran for office in 2008.
Dear Concerned Educators,
The Coalition for Justice in Education (CJE) has started the petition “President Barack Obama: Replace Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, with Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond” and needs your help to get it off the ground. CJE believes it’s time that we let President Obama know how we feel about the education policies he and Mr. Duncan are enacting.
Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here’s the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-barack-obama-replace-secretary-of-education-arne-duncan-with-dr-linda-darling-hammond?utm_source=guides&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_created

Here’s why it’s important:
The Obama/Duncan education policies have been totally unsuccessful in terms of creating significant, positive changes to help students become proficient citizens and scholars.
You can sign CJE’s petition by clicking here.
Thanks!
Dan Drmacich, Chairman
Coalition for Justice in Education
ps: Please help with this effort by sending it to friends & organizations who might sign it as well. Thanks for your help!



Baker: New York Educator Evaluation Is Fundamentally Flawed

Bruce Baker of Rutgers says that New York state’s educator evaluation system is biased, inaccurate and unfair. Even the consultants who created the system, he writes, acknowledged the high rate of error. But the state says “full speed ahead.” Baker urges educators to “just say no.”



Florida Botches New Teacher Evaluation Reports

Florida’s Department of Education rolled out its much-anticipated teacher evaluation reports, and only hours later, withdrew them. Most teachers were rated effective or highly effective, but the reports had numerous errors.
At some point, after hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted trying to standardize a process that requires human judgement, after thousands of excellent teachers have abandoned a profession they once loved, 



Another Great Public School Targeted for Closure in NYC

The Bloomberg administration continues its path of closing schools rather than helping them.
Read more here on the New York City parent blog.
Only 13 years ago, DeWitt Clinton High School was rated one of the best in the nation. It was once an honored 


Diane in the Evening 12-5-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 50 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Half of Michigan’s African Americans Lose Self-Government by dianerav Eclectablog daily digest UPDATED: Are over half of Mich African Americans about to be under the control of an Emergency Financial Mgr UPDATED: Are over half of Mich African Americans about to be under the control of an Emergency Financial Mgr? Posted: 05 Dec 2012 11:23 AM PST Look out, Detroit! It’s coming right for ya! The Detroit Free Press is reporting this afternoon that an Emergency Financial Manager is being called *LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-5-12 Diane Ravitch's blog* coopmike48... more »