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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Mother Crusader: Three Strikes For Regis Academy Charter School; Separation Of Church And State, Enrollment Discrepancies And Skimming Students

Mother Crusader: Three Strikes For Regis Academy Charter School; Separation Of Church And State, Enrollment Discrepancies And Skimming Students:


Three Strikes For Regis Academy Charter School; Separation Of Church And State, Enrollment Discrepancies And Skimming Students

On March 12, 2012 Regis Academy held a Board of Trustees Meeting.  Let's take a look at the Minutes from the previous meeting on February 6, 2012, shall we?
Regis Board Notes
(I know the document is highlighted, but this wasn't done by me.  I won't be touching on all of these items, just the ones I think are reasons for the NJDOE to deny Regis their final charter.)


The thing that first struck me was that not only was the meeting held at Solid Rock Worship Center, but there was an invocation by Amir Khan before the meeting.  Invocation is defined by Merriam-Webster as:


a prayer of entreaty (as at the beginning of a service of worship) 

Oh dear. 


This made me do a bit of research to see what the current thinking is on starting a public school Board Meeting 

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-17 #soschat #EDReform


Dr. Diane Ravitch On Public Education, Privatization and Professionaliza...

Dr. Diane Ravitch, educator and historian gave a presentation in San Franciscoon Public Education, Privatization And Deprofessionalization on January 20, 2012. She provides an overview of the the corporate "reforms" being introduced into the education system in the United States and how these policies are undermining not only public education but the entire education process. She outlines the billion dollar non-profit corporations such as the Gates Foundation, Broad Foundation, Walton Foundation and Wall Street who are pushing this privatization of ... more »

Doonesbury Day #6 : the U-T San Diego Blackout Continues, Trudeau Talks Comedy Malpractice, And No, We Won’t Shut Up

Doonesbury Day #6 : the U-T San Diego Blackout Continues, Trudeau Talks Comedy Malpractice, And No, We Won’t Shut Up: Doonesbury Day #6 : theU-T San DiegoBlackout Continues, Trudeau Talks Comedy Malpractice, And No, We Won’t Shut UpbyANNA DANIELSonMARCH 17, 2012·0 COMMENTSinCIVIL RIGHTS,CULTURE,MEDIA,POLITICS,WOMEN'S RIGHTSSen. McDougle, I was assured that you were making Virginia safe for men at long last, but I still see ladies every time I go out. Ladies with, presumably, vaginers. Explain yourself, sir.Zack Foley on VA state ... more »

Verdict of Rutgers webcam spying case sends bullies a signal, observers say - NorthJersey.com

Verdict of Rutgers webcam spying case sends bullies a signal, observers say - NorthJersey.com: Verdict of Rutgers webcam spying case sends bullies a signal, observers saySATURDAY MARCH 17, 2012, 12:00 PMBY JAMES M. O’NEILL, DEON J. HAMPTON AND EVONNE COUTROSSTAFF WRITERSTHE RECORDGay rights groups, local prosecutors, Rutgers students and others said Friday the jury got the Dharun Ravi verdict right, calling the decision an important lesson about what constitutes bullying for a new generation raised on technology that can erode ... more »

Saturday coffee + Old school. « Fred Klonsky

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky:Saturday coffee.byFred KlonskyChicago dyes the river green today.Today it is a record fifth straight day of temperature’s in the upper 70s and lower 80s.I could be back at the White Castle, also known as the IEA RA, to hear Executive Director Audrey Soglin do her monotone rendition of her report and then vote on the remaining NBIs. Then just as the Chicago Saint Patrick’s day kicks off across the street from the Hilton, I could try ... more »

Mayoral Control of Schools: A Mixed Record | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog

Mayoral Control of Schools: A Mixed Record | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog: Mayoral Control of Schools: A Mixed RecordPosted ByThe Editors| March 17th, 2012 (41 seconds ago) | Category:Education|No Comments »Print This PostByKenneth J. CooperGiving the mayor control of a city’s public schools, once touted as a promising education reform, has not delivered on its promises of improving student achievement and eliminating politics from school decisions.Several years ago, researchers at Rutgers University examined nine major cities ... more »

Fourteen reasons schools are troubled (and no, it’s not all about teachers) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Fourteen reasons schools are troubled (and no, it’s not all about teachers) - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Fourteen reasons schools are troubled (and no, it’s not all about teachers)byValerie StrausThiswas written by Ronald Willett, a former university professor, researcher and administrator, and former corporate executive, entrepreneur and CEO. For the last decade, as an avocation, he has tracked and researched U.S. K-12, and advocated its legitimate reform and pursuit of innovation.By Ronald WillettIt is both bizarre and ... more »

Anti-Teacher Union Rhetoric Is Not Supported by Test Data | Scathing Purple Musings

Anti-Teacher Union Rhetoric Is Not Supported by Test Data | Scathing Purple Musings:Anti-Teacher Union Rhetoric Is Not Supported by Test DatabyBob SikesNo education reform rock startcan get througha few sentences without playing the”union” card.Walt Gardnermakes mince meatof the argument by pointing to those NAEP results they quote so much:……if teachers unions are responsible for low student achievement, then students in states where teachers unions are weak should do much better than students in states where teachers unions are strong. This ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Stand for Children back in Chicago flush with cash

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Stand for Children back in Chicago flush with cash: Look who's back in Chicago flush with cashbyMike KlonskyCTU backs Rudy Lozano. So do I.Union-busting school reformersStand For Children, are back in Illinois with deep pockets. This time around SFC is bankrolling a gaggle of Republican (and a few anti-union Dems) in local elections. In a letter to theChicago Tribune,SFC's director, Mary Anderson lauds the conservative paper's endorsed, mainly Republican candidates list.Most importantly to Chicagoans, Stand ... more »

What's the Purpose of School in the 21st Century? - Education - GOOD

What's the Purpose of School in the 21st Century? - Education - GOOD: What's the Purpose of School in the 21st Century?Consider some of the basic symbols of education in the United States: the textbook, the chalkboard, and the apple. Thanks to technological innovations and cultural forces, we’ve seen textbooks supplanted by videos and e-books, SMART Boards replace chalkboards, and the apple on the teacher’s desk pushed aside by the latest gadgets from, well, Apple.Just as our classrooms have changed ... more »

Over 500 Students and Staff Protest Suspension of Student | Dissident Voice

Over 500 Students and Staff Protest Suspension of Student | Dissident Voice: Over 500 Students and Staff Protest Suspension of StudentbyDefend EducationOn 16 March, over five hundred Cambridge students and staff protested against the 2 1/2 year suspension of a student. The student was suspended by a private university court – the “Court of Discipline” – after reading a poem in November 2011 at a peaceful protest against David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Sciences.Following the news of the student’s ... more »

Study: With Spanking, Nature and Nurture Create More Aggression - Hispanically Speaking News

Study: With Spanking, Nature and Nurture Create More Aggression - Hispanically Speaking News: With Spanking, Nature and Nurture Create More Aggression, Study SuggestsPhysical discipline seen to make problem worse in boys with certain genetic tendencies.Using spanking as a method of discipline for kids who have a genetic predisposition to aggressive behavior likely makes them even more aggressive, especially boys, new research suggests.“There’s an intricate interplay between nature and nurture,” said study co-author J.C. Barnes, an assistant professor of criminology at ... more »

Daily Kos: considering my future as a teacher

Daily Kos: considering my future as a teacher: considering my future as a teacherbyrss@dailykos.com (teacherken)I will turn 66 in May. I am already on Social Security. I will find out in next week or so if I am being offered a buyout of around $16,000 should decide to accept retirement. I have calculated that the buying power of my pension and social security (even without the one-time buyout) is more than 70% of what I currently earn (although we may ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Judge Not a College Student on the Content of His/Her Character, Judge Him/Her on Sexual Orientation.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Judge Not a College Student on the Content of His/Her Character, Judge Him/Her on Sexual Orientation.: Judge Not a College Student on the Content of His/Her Character, Judge Him/Her on Sexual Orientation.bystlgretchenCollege students may want to take a cue from the way40% of judges in California answered in a voluntary, state sanctioned questionnaire on their ethnicity, race and gender: "None of your business."From the NY Times:Officials of the University of California system have proposed asking incoming freshmen ... more »

The Inadvertent Bigotry of Inappropriate Expectations (Chris Myers Asch) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Inadvertent Bigotry of Inappropriate Expectations (Chris Myers Asch) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: The Inadvertent Bigotry of Inappropriate Expectations (Chris Myers Asch)bylarrycubanChris Myers Asch teaches history at the University of the District of Columbia and coordinates UDC’s National Center for Urban Education. This commentary appeared inEducation Week,June 16, 2010.Several years ago, I took a group of low-income middle school students to a motivational talk at a local university. A dynamic young professor encouraged them not ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: How P.S. 261 ran-off Success Academy charter school hustlers

Schooling in the Ownership Society: How P.S. 261 ran-off Success Academy charter school hustlers: How P.S. 261 ran-off Success Academy charter school hustlersbyMike KlonskyFrom an opinion piece in the New York Times,"How charter schools can hurt", written by public school parent, Lucinda Rosenfeld:A few weeks ago, for three days in a row starting at 3 p.m., a representative from the Success Academy charter school that is scheduled to open this fall in adjacent Cobble Hill stood outside the doors of ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Your Moment of Sanity: Pensions

Jersey Jazzman: Your Moment of Sanity: Pensions: Your Moment of Sanity: PensionsbyDukeBelieve it or not, pensions save taxpayers money.So we should expand them:In response, in late February California State Senator Kevin De LeĂłn and Darrell Steinberg, the Senate president pro tempore,introduced legislationthat wouldallow private-sector workers in California to enroll in a modest, state-operated retirement program financed by the workers and their employers — at virtually no cost to taxpayers.This would increase coverage because employers would put every worker into a ... more »

The Video:Occupy Seattle v Gates Foundation – Education Policy Throwdown | Seattle Education

The Video:Occupy Seattle v Gates Foundation – Education Policy Throwdown | Seattle Education: The Video:Occupy Seattle v Gates Foundation – Education Policy Throwdownbyseattleducation2011From a post onTeachers’ Letters to Obama Facebook page:Top 5 things Bill Gates has taught us about school reform:1. No amount of money will fix failing schools unless you also address the socio-economic conditions

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 3-17 AM Posts #soschat #edreform

In Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a go - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schoolsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-4 hours agoIn Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a go - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: In Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a goFriday, March 16th, 2012 at 12:13 pm inJerry Brownpreschoolphoto of transitional kindergarten pilot at Greenleaf Elementary by Laura A. Oda/StaffIt’s been a confusing few months for families with ... more »

In Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a go - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

In Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a go - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: In Oakland, transitional kindergarten is still a goFriday, March 16th, 2012 at 12:13 pm inJerry Brownpreschoolphoto of transitional kindergarten pilot at Greenleaf Elementary by Laura A. Oda/StaffIt’s been a confusing few months for families with children who are turning 5 in November — kids who, until this year, would have been eligible to start kindergarten.First, they hear that their local district ... more »

Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN

Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: Top ContentRank1What students should do about a 'bad grade'Added byruthschapiraon March 7, 20122Why mobile learning?Added byThomas Whitbyon February 10, 20123Simple Booklet--simple, indeed!Added byLeanna K Johnsonon March 10, 20124How do you motivate your online learners?Posted byJackie Savinion March 12, 20125KONY 2012Added byThomas Whitbyon March 9, 20126How do you keep students engaged in your online classroom?Posted byJackie Savinion February 12, 20127More Assessment info from Dr. TomlinsonPosted byJamie Houseon March 6, 20128An Introd... more »

How Charter Schools Can Hurt - NYTimes.com

How Charter Schools Can Hurt - NYTimes.com: How Charter Schools Can HurtBy Lucinda RosenfeldPublished: March 16, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHAREMY daughter is a kindergarten pupil at P.S. 261 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. She started there in September, and she loves everything about it: her friends, her teachers and her school-related activities, like Girl Scouts. Intense excitement accompanied both the post office project earlier this year and theHalloweenDay Characters Parade, in which her class dressed up as the Three Little Pigs.Related in OpinionMore onEducati... more »

Helping girls make better choices - California Teachers Association

Helping girls make better choices - California Teachers Association: Helping girls make better choicesBy Sherry Posnick-GoodwinConnie Iglesias (left) with Bianca Arias.Castro Valley High School senior Bianca Arias plans on becoming a nurse, and she has applied to several universities to achieve her goal. She gives much of the credit for her academic success to the “strong support system” she receives from belonging to Mujeres, a group that meets regularly with school counselor Connie Iglesias.“Instead of thinking short-term, I’m thinking long-term,” ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-16 #soschat #EDReform

Hide8.7Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Texas Two-Step -- Cut budgets, increase class size2012-Mar-16Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The Texas Two-Step -- Cut budgets, increase class size: The Texas Two-Step -- Cut budgets, increase class sizebyMike Klonsky"I try to meet their needs. I'm not sure I am anymore," says Sara Estrada, who has been teaching for 27 years, says of her pre-kindergarten class at Lion Lane School in Houston, which has grown to 25 students even as it lost its full-time teacher's ... more »

Attorney Gen. Madigan Assigns Teams to Monitor Illinois Primary - Hispanically Speaking News

Attorney Gen. Madigan Assigns Teams to Monitor Illinois Primary - Hispanically Speaking News: Attorney Gen. Madigan Assigns Teams to Monitor Illinois Primary ElectionAttorney General Lisa Madigan announced today that more than 160 teams of assistant attorneys general and investigators from her staff will be working throughout the state on Tuesday, Mar. 20, to monitor the primary elections to ensure that Illinoisans’ voting rights are protected and that polling places are accessible.Madigan urges voters to call her office if they encounter ... more »

The World “Because of” Standardized Testing!(A Little Teacher Humor!:) « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

The World “Because of” Standardized Testing!(A Little Teacher Humor!:) « Diary of a Public School Teacher!: The World “Because of” Standardized Testing!(A Little Teacher Humor!:)byOldschoolteachThe World “Because of” Standardized Testing!(A Little TeacherHumor!:)Posted March 16, 2012 by Oldschoolteach inBlogging about Education,Education Blog,Elementary Education Blog,Standardized Testing. Tagged:cons of standardized testing,education humor,Standardized test,state testing,teacher,teacher humor. Leave a CommentI hate standardized testing. I hate what standardized testing has done to ...more »

FLORIDA CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: H/T @ritacolleen

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: *Florida: Source: bigeducationape.blogspot.com via Mike on PinterestFlorida charter schools (investigator observations)“Experiences As A Police Officer With The Ugly Side Of Charter Schools And Their Management Companies.”Florida Public Employees Partnership, 12/15/2011With such a strong push for continued expansion in Florida, I am compelled to share my experiences as a police officer with the ugly side of Charter Schools and their management companies. As a former investigator and supervisor of a public corruption unit, several years ago my unit ... more »

“I’m with Fred.” « Fred Klonsky

“I’m with Fred.” « Fred Klonsky: “I’m with Fred.”fromFred Klonsky's blogbyFred KlonskyI was trying to ask a question of Audrey Soglin, IEA Executive Director. This was several years ago right after she had led the committee that wrote the legislation that created PERA, the bill that tied teacher evaluation to student growth scores on standardized tests.Ken Swanson, who was IEA President at the time, refused to call me even though I was the first person at the microphone.“I didn’t see ... more »

Like White Castle to fine dining. « Fred Klonsky

Like White Castle to fine dining. « Fred Klonsky: Like White Castle to fine dining.byFred KlonskyFormer IEA President (right) and other members of IEA Retired leave the RA with 26,000 signatures for the governor. It was a grass roots effort to restore state funding to retiree health insurance.Democray is the the IEA RA what White Castle is to fine dining.This is not new a new observation.But things have never been this perilous for teachers and teacher unions. There is little ... more »