Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, March 16, 2014

My Review of Proposed Privacy Legislation for Louisiana | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

My Review of Proposed Privacy Legislation for Louisiana | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:



My Review of Proposed Privacy Legislation for Louisiana

Posted on March 16, 2014




My apologies for not getting to this topic (and many others I’ve neglected) sooner. I may have finally bitten off more than I can effectively chew in things I’ve agreed to do. I have the best of intentions, I promise you, but sometimes my eagerness to help everyone runs smack into the limiting reality of my available free time.
While I haven’t been writing as much I have been working with different groups and gathering their input, and researching various stories, laws, and debunking other’s false research and statements. Consider that statement the segue into today’s post.
The Louisiana House Education Committee will be hearing statements and reviewing bills on student privacy, Wednesday March 19th starting at 9am. From what I’ve been hearing this should be a packed house in House, with many parents and parent’s groups eager to attend and be heard.
My good friend and fellow education blogger, Michael Deshotels, has been keeping track of the various education bills and posting them to his website. His last update was on March 10th. A link to that posting follows:
A number of parent’s groups and bloggers I work with have been very supportive of Schroeder’s privacy bill, HB 946. To my eye the first 5 bills Mike lists are very similar in intent and some of the 

Gates and Duncan and Their Common Core “Freedom” Charade | deutsch29

Gates and Duncan and Their Common Core “Freedom” Charade | deutsch29:



Gates and Duncan and Their Common Core “Freedom” Charade

March 16, 2014







In his purchased keynote at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) (I know, huh?), billionaire-with-zero-teaching-experience Bill Gates insisted that the feds are getting the bum rap when it comes to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). As Huffington Post’s Joy Resmovits notes,
Gates went on to address critiques that the Common Core represents a national curriculum, a federal takeover or the end of innovation. He said these claims are false and distract from teaching — and that teachers can provide the most effective response to critics. [Emphasis added.]
However, Resmovits continues with details that do indeed implicate US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his USDOE in attempting to fashion “a national curriculum, a federal takeover, and an end to innovation”:
The creation of the Common Core started in 2009, and thanks in part to nudges from the federal government via the Race to the Top competition and the application process for waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act, most states have adopted them. 
“Nudges”?? Come now, Joy.
Robert Scott: CCSS-adoption Pressure Is Real
Consider Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott’s account of of the “nudge”:
“We had just spent three to four years developing our own college and career 

Keeping Important Pinky Promises? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Keeping Important Pinky Promises? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:



Keeping Important Pinky Promises?

On the subway yesterday, I saw this advertisement for KIPP:
The claim is that “Our K-12 public schools promise to see each child to and through college.”
One problem with this claim is that even in the most generous study possible, KIPP’s own, only a third of students who completed KIPPs middle schools eventually graduated college.  This, of course, ignores that up to 40% of students who begin a KIPP middle school in 5th grade do not eventually complete 8th grade there.
In trying to figure out how they can make this claim without being sued for false advertisement, one thing I thought of is that in the picture above the ad, notice that the fingers on the students appear to be crossed.  Perhaps this is part of the SLANT posture, or maybe this is something that 

3-16-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:









Call Your State Senator Tomorrow in Tennessee

Local TV news in Knoxville has typical coverage below of the move by the TN House last week, which voted overwhelmingly to delay implementation of Common Core testing. Note that Mike Edwards, who leads off the "fair and balanced coverage," is the President of Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, a Board of Director member of the Teneessee Business Roundtable, member of the U. S. Chamber of Hor


3-15-14 Schools Matter All Week
Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekNonstop hi-tech testingSent to the Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2014Not mentioned in the Times' editorials  (March 13, 14) is the astonishing amount of testing required by the Common Core and the requirement that testing must be done online. No Child Left Behind "only" required tests at the end of year in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in

Is High Stakes Testing the Best Way to Improve Educational Performance Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:



 Is High Stakes Testing the Best Way to Improve Educational Performance Among  Students of Color and Students Living in Poverty?
By: Dr. Mark Naison


 
     Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, there has been a concerted effort to reduce gaps in educational  performance  by race and class by promoting regular testing in all grades and subjects and rating schools and teachers on the basis those tests.  As a consequence of such policies, thousands of  public schools in low income neighborhoods and communities of color have been closed, tens of thousands of teachers removed from their jobs, and charter schools promoted  as the best strategy to combat educational inequality.
 
   Given the failure of these policies to achieve their stated goal- namely, to  reduce the Black/White and Latino/White Test Achievement Gap as measured by test scores or college completion rates- and the many other consequences of such policies which have been largely negative, we would like to call for a reconsideration  of High Stakes Testing by elected officials and educators in Low Income Communities and Communities of Color, along with a search for alternative strategies which might produce better results.
 
   Before we provide a critical examination of some of the negative consequences of High Stakes Testing- we would like to call attention to another approach, put forward more than twenty years ago, which has been neglected in the years since No Child Left Behind- namely community schooling and culturally appropriate pedagogy. In the 1980’s and early 90’s, many educators of color were urging 

Colorado Parents: Push Back Guide for Bullying During Opt Out/Refusal | United Opt Out National

Colorado Parents: Push Back Guide for Bullying During Opt Out/Refusal | United Opt Out National:



COLORADO PARENTS: PUSH BACK GUIDE FOR BULLYING DURING OPT OUT/REFUSAL







 Colorado parents have received their share of bullying and intimidation tactics during the month of March. We have created this guide specific to the situations they have experienced which include armed security guards meeting them at the door and security guards escorting child/parent to car when they attempt to come to school after testing hours are done for the day.  Children have been “quarantined, sequestered, segregated”  (yes – these words are used by the folks doing the bullying) away from the students (sometimes for the whole day) if they return to school after testing hours, for fear they will hear answers and then decide to take the test – even though they have already submitted an opt out/refusal letter.

Parents have been told that if their child does not take the test the child may not attend field trips and/or end of year activities. Parents have been told that if the child does not take the test the child may not qualify for AP or honors classes and may NOT be exited from ELA (English Language Acquisition classes).
One child was followed by a monitor for the afternoon for fear that the child might hear something about the test answers and then decide to take the makeup test. A parent found a policeman at his door – sent by the Colorado Dept. of Education – after the parent called the CDE to explain his desire to opt  Colorado Parents: Push Back Guide for Bullying During Opt Out/Refusal | United Opt Out National:

A Primer for Engaging Teach For America Supporters | Cloaking Inequity

A Primer for Engaging Teach For America Supporters | Cloaking Inequity:



A Primer for Engaging Teach For America Supporters

Screen Shot 2014-03-16 at 6.55.45 PM
Have you ever found yourself trapped in the insufferable position of having to tolerate a Teach For America true believer relentlessly bombarding you with justifications for Teach For America’s placement atop the corporate org chart of educational excellence?
Teach for America is a $300 million “non-profit” organization that executes a highly sophisticated integrated marketing communications strategy that includes traditional and digital advertising, a wide range of experiential and special event initiatives, and plenty of public and media relations.
With millions spent on corporate communications, it’s to be expected that Teach For America has crafted a concise list of focus-group tested talking points. With discipline matched only by GOP pundits, Teach For America’s “brand evangelists” (from the corporate communications team all the way down to the on-campus recruitment interns) stay “on message” by relentlessly repeating the same lines. The only problem? Many are deceptive at best, while others are downright false.
Here are some suggested replies for eight of Teach For America’s most tried arguments.
1. When a Teach For America supporter says: ”Teach For America might not be the answer, but it’s a part of the solution.”
This is how you might respond: To overcome the challenges associated with educational inequity, Teach For America’s standard of training would require it to be vastly superior to any school of education or alternative route – 

NYC Public School Parents: Video of our student privacy panel at the NPE conference in Austin last month

NYC Public School Parents: Video of our student privacy panel at the NPE conference in Austin last month:



Video of our student privacy panel at the NPE conference in Austin last month







Check out our Network for Public Education panel presentations on student privacy, held in Austin on February 29, with a short slice of my powerpoint (the rest of it is here), along with some amazing parent advocates who beat back inBloom in their respective states and districts: Jason France of Louisiana (better known as Crazy Crawfish), Rachael Stickland of Colorado, and Julie Woestehoff of Parents United for Responsible Education in Chicago.



We wrap up with Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, who explains why student privacy is so critical -- and so endangered -- with the weakening of FERPA by the federal government and because so many states, private organizations and vendors are eager to collect, share and data-mine your children's  information.

All of these activists still remain working on this issue, pro bono, including advocating for state legislation to protect privacy,  well aware of how defeating inBloom is only the beginning of a longer battle.

For more information about the 2014 NPE Conference, visit our website and Diane Ravitch's blog, with links to many accounts of the different panels; see also videos of  the terrific keynote speakers, including John Kuhn, Karen Lewis and Diane herself.



Many of the activists I met for the first time said it was the best conference they ever attended, as did and many with whom I was able to re-connect; and I agree.  Please become a member of NPE to support public education, be kept up to date on our activities and be invited to next year's conference. 



Thanks to Schoolhouse Live and Vincent Precht for the video.

LISTEN: Ed Reform Stories from the perspective of people most directly affected by education policy Full film on Vimeo

LISTEN - Full film on Vimeo:





On TV, we have Bill Gates, Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan and “Waiting for ‘Superman’” talking about failing schools, low standards, and China, but rarely do they ever talk about students.
Who is going to tell the story of public education? Is it going to be the corporate-education reformers who haven’t spent a day teaching, or is it going to be the students, teachers, and parents who live the realities of these policies every day in the classroom?
LISTEN is a documentary, created by a student, that attempts to tell those stories from the perspective of people most directly affected by education policy--the students.
For more information on the film visit listenthefilm.net

To organize a screening of LISTEN email us at listenthefilm@gmail.com
facebook.com/listenthefilm

@Listenthefilm @ankrsingh







Nite Cap 3-16-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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




CURMUDGUCATION: Another Standards Anniversary
CURMUDGUCATION: Another Standards Anniversary: Another Standards AnniversaryI stumbled upon a government website that has a few things to say in support of the move to develop standards.It opens by pointing out that in airplane piloting and Olympic athletes, we want people who have been trained to the highest standards. Ditto with students.When we do not hold all students to high academic standard
Time for a Little Civil Disobedience | United Opt Out National
Time for a Little Civil Disobedience | United Opt Out National: TIME FOR A LITTLE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE Time for a Little Civil DisobedienceMarch is testing madness month in most areas around the country. Schools have been gearing up with “test pep rallies” and other nonsense trying to encourage motivation to test and redirect student and teacher anxiety away from the grim reality: that this new test
Common Core As “Technologically Necessary”: A Looming Shift In Sales Pitch? | deutsch29
Common Core As “Technologically Necessary”: A Looming Shift In Sales Pitch? | deutsch29: Common Core As “Technologically Necessary”: A Looming Shift In Sales Pitch?March 16, 2014The term Common Core is so negatively charged that Common Core State Standards (CCSS) proponents are trying their hardest to ditch the term– not ditch CCSS– just the term. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee suggested t
"Opting Out" with #JesseHagopian on Vimeo
Opting Out on Vimeo: "Opting Out" with #JesseHagopian on Vimeo Opting Out from Schoolhouse Live on Vimeo.Colorado Dept. of Ed. & Your Child’s Data: The Golden Record | United Opt Out NationalColorado Dept. of Ed. & Your Child’s Data: The Golden Record | United Opt Out National: COLORADO DEPT. OF ED. & YOUR CHILD’S DATA: THE GOLDEN RECORD We bring to you a video featuring Dan
Opt Out Actions State by State with a Parent “Get Tough Guide” | Seattle Education
Opt Out Actions State by State with a Parent “Get Tough Guide” | Seattle Education: Opt Out Actions State by State with a Parent “Get Tough Guide”Drawing by Fred Klonsky, author of the Fred Klonsky blog.Excerpt from the Chicago Teachers Union position paper: Debunking the Myths of Standardized Testing.Corporate reform groups such as Advance Illinois and Stand for Children claim teachers are the ma
3-16-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools This WeekMonday, March 17thThe wearing o' the Green.  Happy St. Patrick's Day.To note: signups for public testimony for the School Board meeting start at 8 am this morning. Tuesday, March 18thAudit&Finance Meeting from 4:30-6:30 p.m.  AgendaWednesday, March 19thSchool Board meeting starting at 4:15 p.m.  Agenda.I see a LOT of audit update items
My Brother’s Keeper | Bill Ayers
My Brother’s Keeper | Bill Ayers: My Brother’s KeeperThe announcement was unusually personal and many thought quite heart-felt: at the end of February President Obama introduced a White House initiative he called “My Brother’s Keeper,” designed, the administration claimed, to empower boys and young men of color to meet the challenges and overcome the obstacles to success that they face disproporti
Twitter Storm: Call for Congressional Hearings on Abuses of High-Stakes Testing | I AM AN EDUCATOR
Twitter Storm: Call for Congressional Hearings on Abuses of High-Stakes Testing | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Twitter Storm: Call for Congressional Hearings on Abuses of High-Stakes TestingBy I AM AN EDUCATOR on March 16, 2014I recently had the honor of presenting at the Network for Public Education’s first national conference in Austin, Texas, which brought together many of the people who inspire me most i
Louisiana Educator: Important Student Data Privacy Bills
Louisiana Educator: Important Student Data Privacy Bills: Important Student Data Privacy BillsFour important bills dealing with student data privacy will be considered by the Louisiana House Education Committee this Wednesday, March 19. If your State Representative is a member of the House Education Committee, you may want to send him/her an email expressing your opinion on student privacy. If you
VAMs “Contribute to Student Learning?” |
VAMs “Contribute to Student Learning?” |: VAMs “Contribute to Student Learning?” On Friday, The Florida Times-Union released an Opinion-Editorial (Op-Ed) titled “VAM Data Helps [sic] Contribute to Student Learning.” With curiosity, I thought this might be the first Op-Ed to suggest, hopefully with at least some evidence, that VAM-based data can be used in some type of formative way(s). The author
Marie Corfield: Rally for NJ Public Education Part l: It's the Poverty, Stupid!
Marie Corfield: Rally for NJ Public Education Part l: It's the Poverty, Stupid!: Rally for NJ Public Education Part l: It's the Poverty, Stupid!This is a story about a hospital in an inner city neighborhood that serves a very high population of low-income people of color. Many don’t have the resources to properly care for themselves. Unemployment is high, and many still don’t have health insurance
Video: “Parent Involvement Builds Academic Success” | Engaging Parents In School…
Video: “Parent Involvement Builds Academic Success” | Engaging Parents In School…: Video: “Parent Involvement Builds Academic Success”
Gates and Duncan Seek to Use Trust in Teachers to Promote Common Core - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher
Gates and Duncan Seek to Use Trust in Teachers to Promote Common Core - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Gates and Duncan Seek to Use Trust in Teachers to Promote Common CoreBy Anthony Cody on March 16, 2014 12:45 PMThis week, National Board certified teachers gathered in Washington for the National Board's annual Teaching and Learning conference. They were presented with a beguiling v
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 2): Glorifying Educational Authoritarianism
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 2): Glorifying Educational Authoritarianism: How Does PISA Put the World at Risk (Part 2): Glorifying Educational Authoritarianism16 MARCH 2014 459 NO COMMENTauthoritarian: of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)authoritarianism: principle of blind submis
School voucher bill could triple money for politically... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com
School voucher bill could triple money for politically... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com: School voucher bill could triple money for politically connected groupPosted: 9:00 a.m. Sunday, March 16, 2014Email 0Facebook 0Twitter 0ShareThis NewBY JOHN KENNEDY - PALM BEACH POST CAPITAL BUREAUTALLAHASSEE — A proposal expanding private school vouchers in Florida could pour millions of dollars into a politicall
U.S. Inequality by Region | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!
U.S. Inequality by Region | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: U.S. Inequality by RegionFiled under: Inequality — millerlf @ 10:37 am NY Times 3/16/14Fairfax County, Va., and McDowell County, W.Va., are separated by 350 miles, about a half-day’s drive. Traveling west from Fairfax County, the gated communities and bland architecture of military contractors give way to exurbs, then to farml
Christie’s charter school nightmare: “White flight, and they’re bankrupting us” - Salon.com
Christie’s charter school nightmare: “White flight, and they’re bankrupting us” - Salon.com: Christie’s charter school nightmare: “White flight, and they’re bankrupting us”“We are creating separate but equal school systems,” Hoboken school board president warns SalonChris Christie (Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson)While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie deals with burgeoning scandals surrounding accusat
Christie breaks the law. Again. | Bob Braun's Ledger
Christie breaks the law. Again. | Bob Braun's Ledger: Christie breaks the law. Again.Christie mug shot on the cover of TimeKids get busted for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Motorists are given tickets for burned-out brake lights. Small-time stuff, not even real crimes, but the municipal courts are jammed with it. Now, how about a governor—like, say Chris Christie–who consistently flout
3-16-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Videos Of The WeekIn yet another effort to get at my backlog of resources to share, I recently began this feature to share useful videos. I’ll still periodically highlight certain ones on their own, but the rest will be found on this regular post: Here’s an interesting video with Neil Degrasse Tyson that might, or might not
3-16-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and CancerThe Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and Cancer. via The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and Cancer.by plthomasedd / 1min All Week 3-15-14 @ THE CHALK FACE@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Bill Gates Tries to Fashion Teacher Suppor
3-16-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and CancerBorn and raised in a very small rural town in upstate South Carolina, I have lived my entire 53 years in the South. Most of that life has been spent teaching, and a large span of that career was in th
The Answer Sheet 3-16-14
The Answer Sheet: How three teachers are dealing with Common Core in classLove them or hate them, the Common Core State Standards in math and English/Language Arts are being implemented in classrooms in most of the country — in some places better than others. A nonpartisan organization called Young Education Professionals asked a few teachers how they are dealing with the new standards, and their
PCAPS To Launch Election Campaign for the Education Pennsylvania’s Children Deserve | WeArePCAPS
PCAPS To Launch Election Campaign for the Education Pennsylvania’s Children Deserve | WeArePCAPS: PCAPS To Launch Election Campaign for the Education Pennsylvania’s Children DeservePosted on March 16, 2014by wearepcapsOn March 29th the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools will kick off a seven month campaign to make this year’s gubernatorial election about fully funded, quality sch
Morning Wink 3-16-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSRivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schools - NY Daily NewsRivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schools - NY Daily News: Rivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schoolsThe two figures share a heated, political rivalry that goes much deeper than t
Rivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schools - NY Daily News
Rivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schools - NY Daily News: Rivalry between Mayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz stretches beyond charter schoolsThe two figures share a heated, political rivalry that goes much deeper than the charter school issue they are currently fighting over. BRYAN SMITHMayor de Blasio and Eva Moskowitz are often fighting on opposing sides,
Judge rules that state Controller Thomas DiNapoli cannot audit charter schools - NY Daily News
Judge rules that state Controller Thomas DiNapoli cannot audit charter schools - NY Daily News: Judge rules that state Controller Thomas DiNapoli cannot audit charter schoolsManhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin ruled DiNapoli did not have authority to audit any New York charter school.DAVID HANDSCHUHA judge ruled Thursday that state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli cannot audit New York chart
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-16-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Bloggers Propose the Fight of the CenturyThe bloggers at VAM have proposed what they call “the fight of the century” to replace “the fight of the century that wasn’t.” They refer to the debate that never happened between Michelle Rhee and me. They refer to efforts by Lehigh University to set up a debate between us on February 6, wh
3-16-14 Wait What?
Wait What?: Teachers just never know (By Roger Conway)Valued Reader Roger Conway weighs in with a great letter, For all the words spoken and written about education “reform” and all the bloviating about teacher benchmarks and evaluations, very little is said about what and how teachers feel. And part of the reason for this is that teachers keep their most important feelings about what […]The post
3-16-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida
Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: Miami Herald: “Vouchers Please a Few, But Undercuts the Many”The Miami Herald became the latest large state daily to criticize the republican legislatures’ latest expansion of its school voucher program: Florida’s school vouchers, called the Tax Credit Scholarship progra
3-16-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Sunday reads.  Maintenance costs for closed CPS schools cut by $300 million. Gates echoes union leaderships complaint of Common Core’s bumpy implementation. Or do they echo him? As living standards fall for seniors, signs of a Silver Revolution. Those of us who turned 20 in ’68 are 65 today. Investiga
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-16-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Mayor Garcetti’S Top Education Deputy Thelma MelĂ©Ndez Leaves City Hall For LausdBy Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1iRcRkd 3/15/14, 6:31 PM PDT   ::  Just seven months after joining Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, his top education deputy Thelma MelĂ©ndez is leaving to take a position at Los Angeles Unified School D
Geaux Teacher!: More White Lies from Louisiana
Geaux Teacher!: More White Lies from Louisiana: More White Lies from LouisianaMy letter to all members of the Louisiana House and Senate Education Committees:Ladies and Gentlemen of House and Senate Education: When legislation regarding PARCC assessments are presented before your committees, this information will be useful to prevent John White from pulling the wool over your eyes. I hope you ques
empathyeducates – Kansas Illegally Underfunds Poorer School Districts, Court Rules
empathyeducates – Kansas Illegally Underfunds Poorer School Districts, Court Rules: Kansas Illegally Underfunds Poorer School Districts, Court RulesKindergarten students in Kansas City, Kan., run during a physical education class at Frank Rushton Elementary School, which has a high percentage of poor and at-risk children. (John Hanna / Associated Press / January 9, 2014)Disparities in the public f
3-16-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Common Core Opponents Not "Drunk With Hysteria"The attempt to marginalize Common Core opponents and critics continues unabated these days, with newspaper editorial boards like the one at the Daily News accusing people who are against the Core of being "drunk with hysteria."A New Yorker writes a letter in respone to the Daily News to let them know why they
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Netflix education: Favoring markets over democracy
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Netflix education: Favoring markets over democracy: Netflix education: Favoring markets over democracyWhat's the No. 1 problem afflicting schools? According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, it's elected school boards...Fickle voters create too much churn. You know, the darn democracy thing. So uncontrollable.-- San Jose Mercury NewsThanks to Diane Ravith for callin
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » A rose by another name…
Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » A rose by another name…: A rose by another name…Sherman Dorn, unlike some of us, is a classy blogger. He had a recent poston the overuse of certain terms and created an Education Noise index. I was on the road at the time, but shot off a comment asking given the egregious excesses, what would you use to describe the behavior of Michelle Rhee.Dr. Dorn challe
New York’s ‘shoddy’ Common Core rollout puts special-needs students at risk; a veteran teacher demands a moratorium | Hechinger Report
New York’s ‘shoddy’ Common Core rollout puts special-needs students at risk; a veteran teacher demands a moratorium | Hechinger Report: New York’s ‘shoddy’ Common Core rollout puts special-needs students at risk; a veteran teacher demands a moratoriumBy Jennifer CurleyMy mother died suddenly last month and my father is in prison.  There are five of us now from 8 to 17 years old who are essentially

YESTERDAY

Colorado Dept. of Ed. & Your Child’s Data: The Golden Record | United Opt Out National
Colorado Dept. of Ed. & Your Child’s Data: The Golden Record | United Opt Out National: COLORADO DEPT. OF ED. & YOUR CHILD’S DATA: THE GOLDEN RECORD We bring to you a video featuring Dan Domagala, the Chief Information Officer of the Colorado Department of Education. Within this 14 minute video Domagala outlines clearly the broad plan to connect your child’s data in a longitudinal format t
The Administrative Tightrope and Finding Balance | Connected Principals
The Administrative Tightrope and Finding Balance | Connected Principals: The Administrative Tightrope and Finding Balanceby Tom Martellone • March 16, 2014 • 0 CommentsI wrote the following blog piece this past fall.  As an administrator heading into spring, I felt that it was appropriate to publish this piece again, to not only remind myself about finding balance in my work, but to remind others
Study: Los Angeles charter schools outperform traditional district schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC
Study: Los Angeles charter schools outperform traditional district schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: Study: Los Angeles charter schools outperform traditional district schoolsKristen Muller | March 15th, 2014, 4:04pmPhoto by Don Harder via Flickr Creative CommonsStanford University's Center for Research on Economic Outcomes (CREDO) issued a report Saturday that found charter school students in Lo
Nite Cap 3-15-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #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 CAPSchooling in the Ownership Society: The privatization of science replaces public good with super-profitsSchooling in the Ownership Society: The privatization of science replaces public good with super-profits: The privatization of science replace