Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/21/15 Charter Schools Players Ball Edition


Special Nite Cap Catch Up on Today's Post 3/21/15


Charter Schools Players Ball Edition

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM



Hedge fund execs' money for charter schools may pay off - NY Daily News: Hedge fund executives give 'til it hurts to politicians, especially Cuomo, to get more charter schools Outside the Harvard Club in Midtown, a group of parents from the Alliance for Quality Education picketed as they chanted, “Public schools are not for sale!”But the hedge fund chiefs inside had other ideas.The title of the he
No Child Left Behind Is a Cheats’ Charter: No Child Left Behind Is a Cheats’ Charter Although re-authorization is still politically complicated, 2015 appears to be the year the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) will bereformed.Popularly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), ESEA promised to close the achievement gap and herald an era of evidence-based education policy by giving federal
More California parents exercise right to skip standardized tests | Local News - KCRA Home: More California parents exercise right to skip standardized testsState launches its newest student testing programSACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —California launched its newest student testing program Tuesday. Superintendent of Instruction Tom Torlakson made the announcement at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento
PARCC Consortium Protects Pearson Using “Best Practices” Co-authored by Testing “Nonprofit” | deutsch29: PARCC Consortium Protects Pearson Using “Best Practices” Co-authored by Testing “Nonprofit” On March 20, 2015, I published a post about the lately-produced Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) “Test Fairness and Security” statement.Included in that statement i
She gets $250,000 a year to spearhead Rauner education plans - Government News - Crain's Chicago Business: She gets $250,000 a year to spearhead Rauner education plans(AP) — A former Chicago charter schools executive is earning $250,000 a year to spearhead Gov. Bruce Rauner's top education initiatives, a salary that is more than double what her predecessors received and places her as the highest-p
Charter leaders fired, they spent thousands on cars, spas, concerts: Charter leaders fired, they spent thousands on cars, spas, concerts Amid accusations its co-leaders used school credit cards for more than $94,000 in personal purchases, the Family Foundations Academy charter school has fired the pair, re-shuffled its board, and handed the reins to the leaders of Eastside Charter School in hopes
P is for PARCC, Pearson, and Pushback | The Progressive: P is for PARCC, Pearson, and Pushback Jennifer C. BerkshireBefore the first day of PARCC testing, the results are in. Push back against indefensible state policies and the state will crack.The special time you’ve been waiting for has at last arrived, boys and girls. It’s PARCC testing week! Think Easter but with a few key differences. Like i
The Crosshairs of High Expectation and Poverty | The Progressive: The Crosshairs of High Expectation and Poverty José Luis VilsonEverything is for the kids.Want to create a new program? Say it’s for the kids. Want to implement a new policy? Tell them it’s for the kids. Need to raze an entire school in a densely populated school district? Preface it with “We did it for the kids.” Need to convince t
CURMUDGUCATION: Whitney Tilson Is Better Than You: Whitney Tilson Is Better Than YouWhen we're talking about the kind of hedge-fund managing, faux-Democrat, rich fat cat, anti-public ed reformsters who are driving much of the modern ed reform agenda, we're talking about guys like Whitney Tilson.The Tilson Story Tilson is a walking Great Story-- his parents are educators who met while serving in th
Wendy Lecker: The truth about the SBACs - StamfordAdvocate: Wendy Lecker: The truth about the SBACs A New England state is leading the way on sane testing policy. Unfortunately for us Nutmeggers, that state is Vermont, not Connecticut.There is a growing national consensus that standardized testing has deleterious effects on education. The National Research Councilconcluded that test-based accounta
‘You do not speak for our children’ - The Washington Post: ‘You do not speak for our children’Earlier this year, 19 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the United Negro College Fund, issued a joint statement about what they would like to see in a newly written No Child Left Behind law, an exercise Congress is now attempting to complete.  The statement (which you can rea
Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education system - Europe - World - The Independent: Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education systemFor years, Finland has been the by-word for a successful education system, perched at the top of international league tables for literacy and numeracy.Only far e
What do teacher evaluations really accomplish? - Newsday: What do teacher evaluations really accomplish? In 2011, a few hundred educators were called to Albany by the State Education Department to be the vanguard for New York's education reform movement -- to learn the Common Core, and to introduce changes in teacher evaluation.The Common Core was barely newsworthy then, but the seeds of disconten
Fate of No Child Left Behind Law Generates Hope and Fear - NYTimes.com: Fate of No Child Left Behind Law Generates Hope and Fear CLEVELAND — Ginn Academy, the first and only public high school in Ohio just for boys, was conceived to help at-risk students make it through school — experimenting with small classes, a tough discipline code and life coaches around the clock.Its graduation rate was clos
Hipsters for charter schools: The big lie “Togetherness” tells about race and education - Salon.com: Hipsters for charter schools: The big lie “Togetherness” tells about race and educationRich whites run charter industry and funnel them cash. On HBO, it's a post-racial bandwagon gutting public schools Michelle Pierson, a 40-ish mother of two, is in a state of confusion over her the direction in li
School Medicaid claims rejected again :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: School Medicaid claims rejected againby Tom Chorneau(Calif.) After several years of negotiations, federal administrators of a school-based Medicaid program appeared this week to issue a final rejection of some $460 million in claims for services provided by California sch
New funding law creates disparity among low-income schools | EdSource: New funding law creates disparity among low-income schools The state’s new education funding formula provides extra money for all low-income children, students learning English and foster youth, and contributes more dollars if they make up the bulk of students in a district. But if these “high-need” kids happen to be concentrat
Common Core's cyber spies - Stephanie Simon - POLITICO: Common Core's cyber spies Bent over their computers in Salt Lake City, a dozen cyber sleuths scan the vast reaches of the Internet for contraband.Only, they’re not hunting traffickers of drugs or sex.Story Continued BelowIt’s standardized testing season across the U.S. — and they’re on the lookout for student tweets about the tests.The web pa
How to Build a School Library from Scratch | School Library Journal: How to Build a School Library from ScratchBy Jess deCourcy Hinds on March 9, 2015 Leave a CommentJess deCourcy Hinds with one of the student volunteers who helped build her library.Photo by Bruce ConwellFresh out of library school in 2009, I was invited to start a brand-new library for Bard High School Early College Queens (BHSEC

46th District Seattle Democrats pass a resolution to support Nathan Hale High School teachers who do not administer the SBAC | Seattle Education
46th District Seattle Democrats pass a resolution to support Nathan Hale High School teachers who do not administer the SBAC | Seattle Education:46th District Seattle Democrats pass a resolution to support Nathan Hale High School teachers who do not administer the SBACThis resolution is a highly shortened version of other legislative district resolutions but it does show support for the Nathan Hal
NJ, Pearson, and PARCC: Lies or ineptitude? | Bob Braun's Ledger
NJ, Pearson, and PARCC: Lies or ineptitude? | Bob Braun's Ledger:NJ, Pearson, and PARCC: Lies or ineptitude? A legal analyst for the New Jersey education department told a legislative committee the other day that Pearson, the multi-billion British corporation that produces the PARCC tests,  could protect its “intellectual property” rights in the test by searching out what students are posting abou
Winner Of $1 Million Teaching Prize Has Some Depressing Thoughts About The State Of Education
Winner Of $1 Million Teaching Prize Has Some Depressing Thoughts About The State Of Education: Winner Of $1 Million Teaching Prize Has Some Depressing Thoughts About The State Of Education Nancie Atwell, who over the weekend won a $1 million award for her accomplishments in education, has been a teacher for more than four decades -- but she said she would not advise her students to go down the sam
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on All the Days Post 3/20/15
Special Nite Cap Catch Up on All the Days Post 3/19/15Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMPARCC’s Lately-Published “Test Fairness and Security” Statement | deutsch29PARCC’s Lately-Published “Test Fairness and Security” Statement | deutsch29: PARCC’s Lately-Published “Test Fairness and Security” StatementUnder the heading, “Latest News,” the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and C


2015 National Conference – Chicago

The Countdown to Chicago Has Begun!

If you haven’t registered for the 2nd Annual NPE Conference in Chicago, there is still time! You can register for the conference on our Eventbrite page, and take advantage of discounted hotel rates at the site of this year’s conference, the Drake Hotel, by following this link. 

These rates expire on March 22nd! 

Make your reservation today, and take advantage of this opportunity to stay at the Drake Hotel with the nation’s most celebrated public school activists.
The theme of this year’s conference is:



Bob Braun's Ledger
Bob Braun
Join host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he continues to expose how Pearson is invading the privacy and taking away the first amendment rights of our students.

Bob Braun of the Bob Braun's Ledger will return to continue his great reporting on the nefarious union between the NJ Department of Ed and Pearson. 



Also joining us for the hour will be Ken Previti - retired teacher and blogger for Reclaim Reform.
http://reclaimreform.com/

And a last minute update! 


Also joining us on the show on Sunday will be Leonie Haimson - Executive Director of Class Size Matters and Co-chair of the Parent Coalition to protect student privacy.
http://www.classsizematters.org/

The more we learn, the scarier it gets...

Click on the website below to listen live and join the discussion:

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

 Sunday 


2:00 PM PDT
4:00 PM CDT
5:00 PM EDT

A direct listen-in line only
Station 1 - 716-748-0150

To call-in and interact live
Station 1 - 888-627-6008

The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr