Saturday, July 13, 2013

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:


TODAY

Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia? | Diane Ravitch’s blog
A new survey shows that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any of the nation’s 10 largest cities. 28% of the city’s people are poor, as are 39% of its children. The national child poverty rate is 23%. Now we know from reformers that poverty is no “excuse” for low test scores, but we ...read moreThe post Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia? | Diane Ravitch’s blog appeared first on
Hugh Bailey: Fighting democracy a losing battle – Connecticut Post
by Hugh Bailey – What has democracy ever done for Bridgeport, anyway? The state’s largest city is an afterthought at the Capitol. The rest of Fairfield County, unimaginably rich by comparison, is just fine leaving Bridgeport to deal with the prisons, the power plants and anything else the wealthier among us would rather not have ...read moreThe post Hugh Bailey: Fighting democracy a losing battle
Kids Count on Public Education, Not Grit or “No Excuses” | the becoming radical
by Paul Thomas – Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has often stated that “education [is] the one true path out of poverty—the great equalizer that overcomes differences in background, culture and privilege. It’s the only way to secure our common future in a competitive global economy.” While this claim appears obvious, when Matt Bruenig asked ...read moreThe post Kids Count on Public Education, N
Corporate Education’s Friend, Randi Weingarten | Schools Matter at The Chalk Face
AFT under Weingarten has embraced corporate charter schools, teacher evaluation based on value-added test scores, the Common Core, and merit pay for raising school test scores.  There is a reason she is the golden girl at Fordham I., the Education Sector, and the corporate foundations. Now, personally, I do not know what Randi Weingarten believes, and ...read moreThe post Corporate Education’s Fri
Solutions for Closing the Opportunity Gap | Schools Matter at The Chalk Face
by John Thompson – Paul Tough, who was predisposed to support the contemporary school reform movement, nailed the reason why it failed.  Accountability-driven “reform” was a result of “liberal posttraumatic shock” from abandoning the War on Poverty. In fact, we did not lose the war against poverty, but its inconclusive result undermined the confidence of ...read moreThe post Solutions for Closing
The doctor-teacher analogy rides again! | Schools Matter at The Chalk Face
Just imagine for a moment. Given this country’s obesity epidemic and the rising rates of diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease, our physicians have failed. In order to hold them accountable, we should judge them effective or ineffective based on such values as, for example, BMI, cholesterol values, blood pressure, and resting heart rate. I’m ...read moreThe post The doctor-teacher analogy r
Microsoft Gives Spy Agencies Encryption Codes for Email, Chat, Skype, and Cloud Storage | Schools Matter at The Chalk Face
These are the people who are at the forefront of developing data surveillance systems for every aspect of your child’s education. James Risen has the story for the NYTimes, which appeared first in The Guardian.  A clip: WASHINGTON — Microsoft has collaborated with the National Security Agency more extensively than it previously acknowledged, providing the ...read moreThe post Microsoft Gives Spy A
Paul Horton’s Open Letter to President Obama: Listen to Committed Teachers | Living in Dialogue – Education Week Teacher
by Paul Horton; posted by Anthony Cody – Dear Mr. President, Like thousands of experienced classroom teachers throughout our great country, I am very concerned about how you decided to go the way that you did with your Education policies. I was recently told by a close friend of the yours that “Arne’s Team looked ...read moreThe post Paul Horton’s Open Letter to President Obama: Listen to Committe
And massive foreclosure lawsuit against Kenneth Moales Jr. and his Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love, Inc. officially filed | Wait, What?
by Jonathan Pelto – While controversy swirls around Paul Vallas and the illegal attempt to keep him as head of Bridgeport Schools, the case of FOUNDATION CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. v. PRAYER TABERNACLE CHURCH OF LOVE, INC. Et Al, was officially filed on July 11, 2013. Kenneth Moales Jr. is now one step closer to losing ...read moreThe post And massive foreclosure lawsuit against Kenneth Moales Jr. an
Let’s try this: A simple analogy for Vallas, Pryor and Malloy | Wait, What?
by Jonathan Pelto The education reform industry claims to be driven by a “real-world” business model or mindset. So here is a very simple, “real-world” business analogy that Paul Vallas, Stefan Pryor and Dan Malloy might understand. The ACME Delivery Company needs a new experienced driver so it places an advertisement in the newspaper that ...read moreThe post Let’s try this: A simple analogy for
Vallas Fiasco Continues – CT taxpayers inappropriately paying Vallas’ legal bill | Wait, What?
by Jonathan Pelto – Connecticut’s superior court has ruled that Paul Vallas lacks the legal credentials to serve as Bridgeport’s superintendent of schools. Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education violated Connecticut law when he waived Vallas’ certification requirements because Vallas had not completed a school leadership program as required. The Connecticut court further ruled that because ..
Start planning for post-Vallas school system | Connecticut Post
by the Editorial Board – There are now two strikes against Bridgeport Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas. First, a judge ruled that he lacked proper certification to hold his position. Then, this week, that same judge ruled that he cannot serve in his position while an appeal is considered. “The residents of the city of Bridgeport ...read moreThe post Start planning for post-Vallas school system |