Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Parents also get a Head Start | Jerry Large | The Seattle Times

Parents also get a Head Start | Jerry Large | The Seattle Times:


Parents also get a Head Start

Head Start serves children by helping their parents, too.
Seattle Times staff columnist



 Head Start is a good place for parents to get an education. The always evolving program isn't just about kids.
Children are at its center, but if you want to help children thrive, it's best to have engaged, knowledgeable parents.
If you're one of those people whose response to school trouble or juvenile crime is to point to the parents, then you ought to champion early-education programs like Head Start that more and more are about the whole family.
Lori Pittman, one of the many parents who have benefited from Head Start, got to tell her story at the White House last week, because she is now helping other parents. Pittman was one of 11 people from around the country who were honored as Head Start "Champions of Change." I caught up with her this week as she was working 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: A Simple Moment: Tremendous Impact! They Care That We Care!

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: A Simple Moment: Tremendous Impact! They Care That We Care!:


A Simple Moment: Tremendous Impact! They Care That We Care!


I was cleaning out a folder in which I keep a lot of my "teacher stuff" from the last couple of years.  In it, I found a short essay I had written a few years ago in response to a question from Project Wisdom . When I read it, I thought how well it goes along with Angela Maier's concept, "#You Matter." This is what I wrote:


Over the years, I am proud to have become one of "those" teachers.  You know, the ones parents request every year. They request you because they have heard great things about you from other parents or your colleagues. Or maybe their child persuaded them that your class is where they wanted to be.


One moment in my teaching history stands out, a moment, out of so many, that I have not forgotten. It was the 

Graduation and dropout rates for the Class of 2011 - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Graduation and dropout rates for the Class of 2011 - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:


Graduation and dropout rates for the Class of 2011



Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 at 11:33 am in No Comments
The four-year graduation rate in Oakland Unified rose about four points in the latest estimate released today by the California Department of Education. About 59 percent of students who started high school in 2007 graduated with their classmates in 2011. About 28 percent dropped out, and 12 percent were still enrolled in school when the data were collected.
Some Oakland high schools had dropout rates in the 40s. Life Academy and Metwest lost the lowest percentage of students among OUSD schools, though their dropout rates were still higher than 10 percent. Charter schools are listed separately; you have to call each of them up individually to see how they did.
This is the second year the state has followed a cohort of students — each, with a unique ID — through four 

Jersey Jazzman: Cuomo's Reformy Commission: Watch Out, NY Teachers!

Jersey Jazzman: Cuomo's Reformy Commission: Watch Out, NY Teachers!:


Cuomo's Reformy Commission: Watch Out, NY Teachers!

Via Randi Weingarten, it seems the "New" New York Education Reform Commission had its first meeting today.Teachers and principals were not invited. Because if you had a medical reform commission, you would obviously exclude doctors and nurses. And if you had an air travel reform commission, you'd exclude pilots.  And if you had a baseball reform commission, you'd exclude baseball players. It just makes so much sense...

Of course, Weingarten is there, supposedly to advance the interests of teachers in her role as president of the AFT. Today, the divided the commission into three subgroups:

  • New York’s Public Education System:
  • Teacher and Principal Quality and School District Leadership: 
  • Student Achievement and Family Engagement:
Except they didn't put Weingarten in the teacher group; she's in the first group, dealing with the systems 

Yong Zhao: Standardized test scores do not reflect teacher ability, school quality or a student's future - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Yong Zhao: Standardized test scores do not reflect teacher ability, school quality or a student's future - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:


Yong Zhao: Standardized test scores do not reflect teacher ability, school quality or a student's future


Yong-zhao.jpg


"American education is not getting worse, it's always been bad."  
-Dr.Yong Zhao making the point that it's LESS bad than Asian education even though Asian countries may have higher PISA test scores (because we don't totally destroy spirit and confidence which are necessary for . . . )
VIDEO BELOW (start at 54:00 mark)
by C.J. Westerberg
I've been a fan of Dr. Yong Zhao since reading his last book, Catching Up or Leading the Way,  and he does not disappoint with this keynote from Tuesday's ISTE 2012 Conference.
Just start at the 54:00 mark - speech runs about 30 minutes.  (I will also be reading his upcoming book, World Class Learners:  Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students.)

Zhao spends most of his talk comparing Asian education to that of American education reform with some hilarious examples, along with the Asian-American Model Minority Myth.  Check it out.  He also talks about America's obsession with test scores and why the Asians are running away from that model.  He presents the confidence of the American student in a new light by 

Individuals, Not Corporations, Pick Up the Tax Tab for EITC Scholarships | The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center

Individuals, Not Corporations, Pick Up the Tax Tab for EITC Scholarships | The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center:


H.B. 1307 DRAMATICALLY OUTSOURCES PUBLIC EDUCATION
Funding Transferred Without Accountability of For-Profit Entities
                      
(Harrisburg, PA) – House Bill 1307, which will soon return to the House floor for further consideration, opens up the dramatic funneling of public tax payer funds to charter schools, wholly tax payer funded entities that are not required to meet any minimum accountability, transparency or mandatory ethical practice standards to or for the taxpayers who fund them year after year.

"As it stands now, this is simply a scheme to move hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from one of the nation's most historic and successful public education systems to private profiteers without even the pretense of government regulation," Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said today.

Given the recent report of excessive profiteering in Pennsylvania charter schools recently released by Auditor General Jack Wagner and the $1 billion funding cuts impacting on school districts across the state, Jordan said the failure of HB 1307 to even address any of these regulatory issues is "reason enough to reject the measure and call for opposition to this legislation right now."

The Bill has previously been labeled "anti-taxpayer and anti-public school kids" because it encourages a dramatic expansion of charter schools to drain students away from urban and poorer communities and into charter and cyber schools while giving the State the new authority to impose the granting of for-profit charter management companies on local school districts.

This creates a massive unfunded mandate imposed on Pennsylvania school districts while stripping citizens of their local voice, vote, and control over how their local tax dollars will be spent.
"And we cannot forget," Jordan said, "when the smoke and mirrors on this outsourcing of public money to the private sector goes away,  the untold economic and educational  costs left behind will be carried by the taxpaying families of the students who are left behind, and the committed teachers and school employees into whose charge those kids are placed daily."




Individuals, Not Corporations, Pick Up the Tax Tab for EITC Scholarships

Corporations get triple dip deduction for contributions to private schools
June 25, 2012

Executive Summary

The EITC Is a Minimal Cost to Companies, Making It Costly to Individual PA Taxpayers
“One of the major advantages of the EITC is that for Pennsylvania corporations, the taxpayer receives the benefit of both the credit AND the charitable contribution deduction, making the true out-of-pocket cost minimal in many circumstances.”
EisnerAmper Accountants & Advisors, State and Local Tax Advisory, June 2009
Individual taxpayers are footing the bill for $9 out of every $10 of corporate contributions for private and parochial school scholarships made through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). 
The EITC allows businesses to recover 75% to 90% of the cost of contributing to an EITC-qualified organization. Companies can also take state and federal tax deductions for a “charitable” contribution, amounting to a “triple dip” tax reduction. 
Altogether, a company making a $300,000 annual EITC contribution over two years will pay only $20 a year in out-of-pocket costs. For a company that contributes to a prekindergarten scholarship (which yields an even more generous credit), the tax benefit can be more than the total value of the “contribution.” 

Companies Taking the EITC Credit Get a Triple Dip Tax Reduction
The result — a minimal cost to companies, a substantial cost to taxpayers, and a further reduction in funding to support the quality public schools that Pennsylvania needs to build its economy. 
The General Assembly is expected to vote on House Bill 2468 in late June, which will expand the EITC and create a new scholarship program – altogether raising the cost from $75 million in 2011-12 to $200 million in 2012-13.  Tax credits will be available to businesses on donations up to $400,000 in 2012-13 and up to $750,000 after that – up from the current $300,000 cap.
Proponents argue that expanding the EITC doesn’t affect the budget because companies pay the bill; however, the opposite is true.  Individual taxpayers will pay at least $9 of $10 in EITC funding.
The EITC program needs substantial program reform prior to any expansion.  It is a costly program with little accountability that allows businesses to direct other taxpayers’ money to favored organizations.  
Expanding the EITC now will drain more state revenue away from public schools at a time when many are laying off teachers, cutting kindergarten or prekindergarten, and eliminating courses.


Gutierrez: "Pick Out The Immigrant" Speech on Arizona Law w/ Justin Bieb...


June 27, 2012 -- Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) discussed the Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. U.S., the case involving Arizona's SB1070 Show Me Your Papers law, on the floor of the House of Representatives today and provided a short quiz he called "Pick Out The Immigrant" with celebrity contestants like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Jeremy Lin, Tony Parker, Geraldo Rivera, Ted Koppel, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-27-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2



James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

A Big Education Ape Nite Cap

Teach students higher order or critical thinking skills? Not if the Texas Republicans have their way. | Dangerously Irrelevant

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Teach students higher order or critical thinking skills? Not if the Texas Republicans have their way. | Dangerously Irrelevant: Teach students higher order or critical thinking skills? Not if the Texas Republicans have their way. by dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com (Scott McLeod) [image: Republican Party of Texas Logo] The Republican Party of Texas states in its official 2012 political platform : *We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) ... more »

Union’s ‘community schools’ initiative gets a boost from the city | GothamSchools

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Union’s ‘community schools’ initiative gets a boost from the city | GothamSchools: Union’s “community schools” initiative get a boost from the city by Rose D'souza Teachers' union president, Michael Mulgrew, greets chancellor Dennis Walcott, at announcement for community school initiative. When teachers’ union president Michael Mulgrew announced a grant program last month to bolster social services in schools, he said the union was moving ahead because the Department of Education was not. But today, when Mulgrew announced the schools that will receive grants, Chancellor Dennis Walco... more »

All Education Matters: Partisan Battle Continued: Interest Rates on Student Loan To Increase?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
All Education Matters: Partisan Battle Continued: Interest Rates on Student Loan To Increase?: Partisan Battle Continued: Interest Rates on Student Loan To Increase? by Cryn Johannsen Most of you have probably already heard, but in case you haven't, student loan interest rates on Stafford loans are set to double on Saturday. They are currently a 3.4%. If they double, this change will impact over 7 million students currently in school. Here's an MSNBC video about the situation. Given the dire economic situation in this country, and the millions and millions of borrowers who are s... more »

Daily Kos: Some things should not be negotiable

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Daily Kos: Some things should not be negotiable: Some things should not be negotiable by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I have been active in politics since i was an adolescent, a period now of more than 5 decades. I have often been willing to support politicians with whom I had some strong disagreements on the issues, perhaps because I believed they were as good as we were likely to get. As I get older, the world seems to go by far more quickly. And while I do not have biological children, I think of the future in terms of the several thousands who passed through my care before i... more »

Old-School Lectures Are Out — Whole Child Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Old-School Lectures Are Out — Whole Child Education: Old-School Lectures Are Out by Klea Scharberg [image: ASCD Annual Conference] *Post submitted by whole child blogger Caroline Newton, a sophomore at Temple University. Newton is studying journalism and writes for *Jump: The Philly Music Project* magazine.* "The goal is to create an environment that is meaningful, challenging, and in which the students' minds are actively engaged," said Rick Smith, author of*Picture This!* and *Conscious Classroom Management*. Smith not only presented his teaching style, but he also used that approa... more »

So How DO We Measure Learning in the Arts... - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
So How DO We Measure Learning in the Arts... - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: So How DO We Measure Learning in the Arts... by Nancy Flanagan ... if we don't use some kind of standardized assessment? My previous blog has been re-posted, dissected, praised and scorned. But the question is still out there: *How do we measure learning in the arts?* Two critical observations: • Contrary to what some commenters seem to think, nobody is suggesting that learning in arts education can't or shouldn't be assessed. The blog wasn't a half-baked claim that the arts are too ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Gates Pushes Charter Giving to $1 Million

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Gates Pushes Charter Giving to $1 Million: Gates Pushes Charter Giving to $1 Million by Melissa Westbrook The Stranger Slog is reporting that Bill Gates' spending for I-1240 -which is not even on the ballot yet - is over $1M. Fine, he wants a fight, he'll get one. People of Seattle please understand. This is NOT about right and wrong - it's about telling the truth. Gates, Allen, League of Education Voters, Stand for Children, all these people supporting charters will *NOT* tell

Democurmudgeon: Teacher Reductions, School Closings more of those Courageous Decisions?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Democurmudgeon: Teacher Reductions, School Closings more of those Courageous Decisions?: Teacher Reductions, School Closings more of those Courageous Decisions? by Democurmudgeon There's going to be an avalanche of school district news; where teacher reductions and school closing announcements will be made time and time again. Portage is thinking about closing up to 3 schools along with teacher reductions, even if a proposed referendum passes. From the *Brookfield Patch:* *Back in March, noted education historian Diane Ravitch penned a blog for Education Week called “Why Are Teach... more »

School Tech Connect: Parent Protest at CPS Board Meeting

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Parent Protest at CPS Board Meeting: Parent Protest at CPS Board Meeting by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Here's just a few of the sites and sounds from this morning's protest before the Chicago Public Schools unelected board meeting. I didn't go in----but I look forward to reading the reports from Substance News, Labor Beat, and I believe Katie Osgood was inside as well. More detailed coverage in the posts below. Popout Student Voices at CPS Headquarters I did not get this young man's last name today, but his first name is Alberto, and he goes to Roosev... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Clemente follow up

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Clemente follow up: Clemente follow up by Mike Klonsky Driving past Clemente last night, we couldn't help but notice the big heart sign on the wall saying, WE LOVE OUR GREAT TEACHERS. But after Rahm's Monday massacre, where about 20 of those great teachers were given pink slips, we have our doubts. Now we learn that the school is being used by CPS as model for youth development. I'm sure teachers like *Kevin Hough* had nothing to do with that. Next up for the fired teachers -- Attending thoday's 'Parents will walk picket lines...' by Mike Klo... more »

Daily Kos: BEWARE: Corporate Consumerism Culture and the Rise of the National Curriculum

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Daily Kos: BEWARE: Corporate Consumerism Culture and the Rise of the National Curriculum: BEWARE: Corporate Consumerism Culture and the Rise of the National Curriculum byplthomasEdDFollow Share PERMALINK1 COMMENT "Without social activism that will confront and change the economic system that has generated one educational reform charade after another," argues Gerald Coles, "continued generations of poor children will be doomed to wretched adulthood." That economic system, one that pervades every aspect of American culture including our foundational democratic institutions such a... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Real SIGnificance of SIGs

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: The Real SIGnificance of SIGs: The Real SIGnificance of SIGs by Anngie In 2009 the DoED developed the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, designed to fund rapid turn around for chronically failing schools. Since then, 1,200 schools have received SIGs which are awarded up to $2 million for three years. The total spent on SIGs so far is around $4 billion. DESE identified thirty schools in Missouri who qualify for SIG and has been responsible for doling out the $33 million given to the state so far. Eleven of those consistently low performing school... more »

Public Education and the Bully Pulpit | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Public Education and the Bully Pulpit | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Public Education and the Bully Pulpit by Cheryl S. Williams At a recent briefing at the U.S. Department of Education, Peter Cunningham, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach, interviewed Rick Hess and Andrew Kelly from the American Enterprise Institute on the role of the federal government in K-12 public education. The conversation was structured around a recently released book that Hess and Kelly co-edited entitled *Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit: Lessons from a Half... more »

The Miracle and the Moment (Michelle Kerr) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Miracle and the Moment (Michelle Kerr) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: The Miracle and the Moment (Michelle Kerr) by larrycuban *Michele Kerr is a second-career teacher with a master’s in education from Stanford University, with credentials in math, history, and English. She will start her fourth year of teaching in the fall.* My best moment as a teacher–so far–came right after a miracle. It was the end of the school year. I was teaching a unit on Elizabethan theater in my freshman humanities class, and on this day the students delved briefly into the... more »

Two items on the pension obligation cost shift. A disaster for Illinois’ working class towns. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Two items on the pension obligation cost shift. A disaster for Illinois’ working class towns. « Fred Klonsky: Two items on the pension obligation cost shift. A disaster for Illinois’ working class towns. by Fred Klonsky Let me point you in the direction of two items on the topic of the Madigan-Quinn cost shift proposal. The Governor claims this will be painless to the local school districts and municipalities. From the Springfield Journal Register: The governor’s office estimates that, depending on how quickly a pension-cost shift is phased in, the cost to the district during thos... more »

Graduate, Dropout Rates Released - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Graduate, Dropout Rates Released - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Reports Climb in Graduation Rates for California Students SACRAMENTO—Graduation rates among California's public school students are climbing and dropout rates are falling, with the biggest gains being made among English learners and the state's largest minority groups, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today. More than three quarters, or 76.3 percent, of students who started high school in 2007 graduated with their class in 2011. That is up 1.5 p... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Queen of Tenure Goes "Viral"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Queen of Tenure Goes "Viral": The Queen of Tenure Goes "Viral" by Duke I didn't think the saga of Perth Amboy schools superintendent Janine Caffrey - at war with both her own school board and (hypocritically) tenure for teachers - could get any more bizarre. Then I saw this: Popout Gannett reports on the video: Superintendent of Schools Janine Walker Caffrey’s determination to hold onto her job and lead reform in the urban district of about 10,000 students, has gone viral. A YouTube video featuring Caffrey and produced by Choice Media.TV, has been posted jus... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, June 27, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 8 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Disneyland Resorts' new Cars Land * Education Headlines *Wednesday, June 27, 2012* Stockton USD merges schools, closes anotherStockton Unified Superintendent Steve Lowder mingled with the crowd during a short break for refreshments Tuesday night - his first Board of Trustees meeting as the district's top educator - and told those around him that he's eager to get to work. Bret Harte keeps programsBret Harte Union High School District board members, met Monday night, approving a budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year that preserves cur... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm/Brizard try and shift blame to Daley/Duncan

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm/Brizard try and shift blame to Daley/Duncan: Rahm/Brizard try and shift blame to Daley/Duncan by Mike Klonsky *"We in many ways were lying to parents and to kids about proficiency." *-- J.C. Brizard This morning, hundreds of union teachers and their community supporters are packing the CPS board meeting to protest the board's failed reform policies. With a teachers' strike looming and public opinion continuing to turn against the mayor, Chicago schools CEO *J.C. Brizard *is trying to shift blame for current failures onto the previous regime. H... more »

Orange County School Board Adopts Resolution on High Stakes Tests | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 9 hours ago
Orange County School Board Adopts Resolution on High Stakes Tests | Scathing Purple Musings: Orange County School Board Adopts Resolution on High Stakes Tests by Bob Sikes A Orange county teacher emails this conclusion to OCPS resolution which was agreed to Tuesday: WHEREAS, excessive test preparation stifles innovation, creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking that allow students to thrive in a democracy and in a global society and economy; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County School Board calls on the Governor, Florida Legislature, and State ... more »

“A Misguided System of Accountability Which is Wildly Over-Weighted on the FCAT” | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
“A Misguided System of Accountability Which is Wildly Over-Weighted on the FCAT” | Scathing Purple Musings: “A Misguided System of Accountability Which is Wildly Over-Weighted on the FCAT” by Bob Sikes Frank Barbieri is on the first Florida school board which passed a resolution on high-stakes testing. The chairman of the Palm Beach board offers his own words in this morning’s* Palm Beach Post*: …………..We oppose the over-reliance on the FCAT. One test given on one day does not define each child’s progress annually, nor can it be used to demonstrate a teacher’s mastery of skills.... more »

Taking the Chicago story to DC. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Taking the Chicago story to DC. « Fred Klonsky: Taking the Chicago story to DC. by Fred Klonsky In 1938, the great blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Huddie Ledbetter wrote about his experiences in Washington, D.C.. *I tell all the colored folks to listen to me.* *Don’t try to find you no home in Washington, DC * *‘Cause it’s a bourgeois town.* *Uhm, the bourgeois town.* *I got the bourgeois blues, * *Gonna spread the news all* around. Washington is historically a Southern city. It was also the first city in the United States with an African-

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee: 'Witchfinder general' of America's classrooms flies in to give Gove her gospel - Profiles - People - The Independent

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Michelle Rhee: 'Witchfinder general' of America's classrooms flies in to give Gove her gospel - Profiles - People - The Independent: Michelle Rhee: 'Witchfinder general' of America's classrooms flies in to give Gove her gospel Richard Garner meets the woman who lives to sack teachers Michael Gove yesterday endorsed the policies of an American education expert who advocates sacking large numbers of incompetent teachers. Michelle Rhee has earned a reputation as a "witchfinder general of the classroom" in the US, identifying under-performing teachers and forcing them out of the profes... more »

Are the President's Education Policies Helping Our Kids? | | AlterNet

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Are the President's Education Policies Helping Our Kids? | | AlterNet: Are the President's Education Policies Helping Our Kids? An end-of-term report card assesses how the Obama administration has performed on five critical education issues. When Barack Obama ran for office in 2008, he did so on an education platform that was “ambitious” to say the least. Then-candidate Obamawas clear that he aimed to reform America’s entire education system, from preschool on up through higher education -- and during his first term as president, his administration has indeed made significant chang... more »

The Spruce Goose of School Reform? « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
The Spruce Goose of School Reform? « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Spruce Goose of School Reform? by dianerav New York State had the misfortune to win that pig in a poke known as Race to the Top. The state got $700 million. Our political leaders licked their chops, thinking that this was new money that could be used to offset budget cuts. Silly them. Every dollar of RTTT must be used for designated purposes, not a dollar can be moved to make up for deficits elsewhere. And many districts are now learning that whatever money they get f... more »

California budget cuts Cal Grants at most private schools - Education - The Sacramento Bee

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
California budget cuts Cal Grants at most private schools - Education - The Sacramento Bee: California budget cuts Cal Grants at most private schools by lrosenhall@sacbee.com (Laurel Rosenhall) California students will no longer be able to use state scholarships to pay tuition at most for-profit colleges under the final budget plan lawmakers are expected to send Gov. Jerry Brown today. Maria Luna, 23, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, wears her graduation cap from California State University, Sacramento, as she watches Assembly action in May on a college aid bill that would h... more »

Parent Trigger = Parent Tricker | K-12 News Network

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Parent Trigger = Parent Tricker | K-12 News Network: Parent Trigger = Parent Tricker by admin This is a must-read EdWeek article by Diane Ravitch with regard to the trickery behind the “parent trigger” law, and the recent decision by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to endorse a boilerplate bill pushed in four states by a hard-line right-wing group (ALEC). She notes that not one of the charter laws in CA, CT, MS, and TX has resulted in the success conversion of a public school into a charter: I wonder how the mayors would react to a similar proposal to allow citizens to seize contro... more »

Drop in immigration clouds future of school for Spanish speakers | California Watch

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
Drop in immigration clouds future of school for Spanish speakers | California Watch: Drop in immigration clouds future of school for Spanish speakers Grace Rubenstein Lianne Milton for The Bay Citizen Vianex Marquez, 9, and Wendy Maregque, 9, read a Spanish book together in a third-grade class. English and Spanish alternate seamlessly in the classrooms at the Mission Education Center in San Francisco. Decorative signs identify objects that in other schools would seem too basic to name: “clock” and “door.” This public elementary school has for 40 years served children who have just a... more »

The Educated Reporter: Career Programs Fail U.S. Department of Education's `Gainful Employment' Tests

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: Career Programs Fail U.S. Department of Education's `Gainful Employment' Tests: Career Programs Fail U.S. Department of Education's `Gainful Employment' Tests by Emily Richmond The U.S. Department of Education intends to crack down on postsecondary career programs that can’t demonstrate that enough graduates have found “gainful employment,” a move some for-profit colleges say could cost thousands of students the opportunity for a better future. Amid much controversy, the feds last year set new regulations for career training programs at public, nonprofit a... more »

Gerald Coles: Why Bother Educating the Poor? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
Gerald Coles: Why Bother Educating the Poor? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Gerald Coles: Why Bother Educating the Poor? by Anthony Cody *Lily* *Guest post by Gerald Coles.* In 1970, Sidney Willhelm's book "Who Needs the Negro?" (the latter word had currency at the time) argued that with the rise of automation within a capitalist economic system, African-American workers were transformed from being exploited to becoming "useless" from the viewpoint of those who controlled the economy and the automated productive processes emerging within it. Because of the racism ... more »

Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters by dianerav From a reader: *Without due process, I would not put it past local school boards to balance their ever-decreasing budgets on the backs of experienced teachers. Allowing Virginia teachers to be fired without cause reminds me of the times when female teachers could not keep their jobs when they were pregnant. These continual attacks on educators is incredibly demoralizing. It is harder and harder to tell my students, “... more »

UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT | The Classroom Sooth

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT | The Classroom Sooth: UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT by classroomsooth There’s no better time to make your UseYourTeacherVoice video clip than the month of July! As both major teachers unions set their agendas for the coming year, rank-and-file educators’ voices must be heard. *Do you agree with the actions of your Union? What’ does it take to build a fighting union? Would you like to see something else? Do you want to voice your support for actions taking place around the country?* I will be on location at the NEA conventi... more »

Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson | Dailycensored.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson | Dailycensored.com: Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson by Danny Weil *Picture of Iris Culver, an 11-year-old fifth-grader, wearing a pineapple costume she made with her friend, Asha Karmen-Chan, 10, who stands to her right. The students were protesting standardized testing outside Pearson’s Midtown office on June 7th, 2012. The parents and children who attended the r... more »

Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late | California Progress Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late | California Progress Report: Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late by megan *By the Public Policy Institute of California* State-funded support services for students who fail the California High School Exit Exam in grade 10 have helped only a small percentage of students go on to pass the test and obtain their diplomas, according to a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). The PPIC report assesses the impact of two state laws allocatin... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS: UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS June 26, 2012 Dear 4LAKids Reader: I write to express alarm and concern for the safety and well-being of our children. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is proposing to eliminate the Youth Services program (a $6.9 million cut) that provide... more »

School Tech Connect: Putting The Whole Thing Together

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Putting The Whole Thing Together: Putting The Whole Thing Together As I've said before, I think that in some ways the Rachel Maddow show is linked directly (through its silence on the issue, and the explicit education agenda of its advertiser, Exxon) to the promotion of corporate ed "reform," but there's nobody better in the world right now at explaining issues related to free speech. Here she is explaining how the Supreme Court's ruling in the Montana case affects you, me, the Caterpillar CEO, and the unions. It's really quite something. Visit msnbc.com fo... more »

In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012] | The Jose Vilson

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012] | The Jose Vilson: In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012] by Jose On The Future of Teaching blog, I made a list of the five things I learned this year, a standard writing prompt for writers who can’t for the life of them get a word out about the whirlwind named “The End of the Year.” Every year spins out of control right around the last two weeks, and the staff, prepared for emergency landing, lock their seatbelts extra tightly and enjoy the ride. Some of us, like yours... more »

Geaux Teacher!: REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
Geaux Teacher!: REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS: REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) PRESS RELEASE RECALL BOBBY JINDAL CAMPAIGN P. O. Box 12449 Lake Charles, Louisiana 70612-2449 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE: June 26, 2012 Contact: Lee Barrios, Communications/Media Director 985-789-8304 The initiators of several recall campaigns in Calcasieu and St. Tammany Parishes have received intimidating letters purportedly written on behalf of Jason P. Dore, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Louisiana. The ... more »

FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS « Teachers Fight Back: FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS by alkleen Chicago Public school officials unveiled revisions to the student code of conduct Monday that eliminated mandatory 10 day out-of-school suspensions for even the most serious cases. They reduced the automatic length of suspension from 10 days to 5 days for the most serious cases, including allegations of arson, sexual assault and use of a weapon. The suspensions will also be the “in school” variety, so these lovely children will not mi... more »

When A Strange Principal Calls - www.southbronxschool.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
http://www.southbronxschool.com: When A Strange Principal Calls by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher) I loved seeing Uncle Mike not getting his way last week when in a act of having some balls, the state legislature stood up to him and his quest to publicly shame teachers by publishing our evaluations, and made evaluations only to parents on a request to know basis in the principal's office with the Cone of Silenceactivated. Of course Uncle Mike is throwing a tantrum, which Leonie Haimson had a good snark at, by insisting, nay commanding, that principals will harass and harangue ... more »

Schools Matter: Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Schools Matter: Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper: Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper by Jim Horn WaPo has a story on Delaware's decision to go to online testing, so that now testing can happen all year round. Tests four times a year rather than one, tests to get ready for tests, and tests to prepare for the practice tests: The online format allows states to give standardized tests — once a week-long ordeal in the second half of the school year — as often as four times a year. It’s an opportunity that early adopters such as Delawa... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they?: Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they? by stlgretchen But does the State Board of Education REALLY want you to keep smoking to fund education? Which is it? Here is a post from KC Education Enterprise on the latest and greatest idea from the Missouri State Board of Education to drum up additional funding. *The current $.17 tax on cigarettes will be increased to $.90 if this State Board Initiative is placed on the November ballo... more »


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