Friday, May 10, 2013

UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup Something to Smile (Ruefully) About

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed News Roundup:


Something to Smile (Ruefully) About

Over at Diane Ravitch's blog, she has more evidence of corporate ed reform crack-up.  I'll just let her tell you:

At a panel discussion in New York City, Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas made a startling admission. He said that the efforts to develop a teacher evaluation metric was a huge mess and that no one understands it.

He said:

“The Bridgeport, Conn. superintendent — who has served stints in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans and earned a reputation as a turnaround consultant for struggling districts with big budget gaps — said reforms he backed were at risk of collapsing “under the weight of how complicated we’re making it.”

“We’re working on the evaluation system right now,” Vallas said of Bridgeport. “And I’ll tell you, it is a 


Ed News Roundup

Like you'll really want to stay indoors and read this weekend but if you do, read on about:
  • a $43K K-5 school in NYC
  • how the income inequality gap hurts kids on both ends
  • public disclosure in NYC
  • lunchroom hidden camera - what's in that food, anyway?

 - in NYC, there's a new "for-profit" school and boy, it's a doozy.  It's a K-5 and grab your seat - it's $43k per year.  This article from the NY Times is actually funny reading.

How do you build humility at a school that costs $43,000 a year? Where students are tended to by a 10-person success team and are expected to find a passion — any passion — around which expertise, confidence and college admission may come?  


Avenues, which was founded by the media and education entrepreneur H. Christopher Whittle; Alan Greenberg, a former publisher of Esquire magazine; and the former Yale president Benno C. Schmidt Jr., was designed to be “a new school of thought,” unencumbered by legacy. It hired seasoned teachers and brought in consultants on everything from responsive classroom training to stairwell design. Mandarin or Spanish immersion begins in