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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/23/15




CORPORATE ED REFORM




Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children | Creative by Nature
Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children | Creative by Nature: Factory Model Education “Reforms” Were Designed for Product Testing, Not Children“The factory model was developed to ensure quality control and produce identical “consumer” products cheaply. It is NOT an approach that should be used with children. Modern researchers and professional educators ha
Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected | Tampa Bay Times
Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expected | Tampa Bay Times: Gates partnership leaves Hillsborough schools shouldering millions more than expectedA seven-year effort to put better teachers in Hillsborough County schools is costing the system millions of dollars more than officials projected. And the district's partner in the project, the Bill & Melin
Seattle School Board To Vote on Suspension Ban | Al Jazeera America
Seattle School Board To Vote on Suspension Ban | Al Jazeera America: Seattle School Board to vote on elementary school suspension banPlan would halt out-of-school suspensions in Seattle public schools, which disproportionately affect students of colorThe Seattle School Board will vote Wednesday evening whether schools should stop suspending elementary school children for breaking rules, a move pro
AB 101 Ethnic Studies - Will California Lead the Way in Ethnic Studies?
AB 101 Ethnic Studies: Will California Lead the Way in Ethnic Studies?There has been a flourishing interest in Ethnic Studies since the State of Arizona banned the successful Mexican American Studies program a few years ago. Arizona has had a history of passing discriminatory laws that have drawn criticism from numerous civil rights and education advocates.However, in California, the state legisla
2015-2016 NYS Refusal Letter - NYS ALLIES for Public Education
2015-2016 NYS Refusal Letter - NYS ALLIES for Public Education: NYS ALLIES for Public Education2015-2016 NYS Refusal LetterStudent:   _____________________School:     ______________________Teacher:   _____________________Grade:      ______ Dear ____________________,We are writing today to formally inform the district of our decision to refuse to allow our child __________________, to participate i
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to Ruling: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part One, Overview of Reaction to RulingThere will be three threads to this topic. Overview of Reaction to the RulingThe Ruling ItselfCurrent OverviewPart One: Overview of Reaction to the RulingSimply put, many people - from the unscrupulous fol
The Great Homework Debate: What's Getting Lost in the Hype - NEA Today
The Great Homework Debate: What's Getting Lost in the Hype - NEA Today: The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the HypeHomework – is it an unnecessary evil or a sound and valuable pedagogical practice? The media coverage of the debate often zeroes in on these two seemingly polar opposite views, even though they may not be all that far apart. Homework can be good until – well, until it i
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest: The National Center for Fair & Open TestingThe National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.Learn more about us and our mission.SpotlightNancy Carlsson-P
DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education
DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARD | Deborah Meier on Education: DEBORAH W. MEIER HEROES IN EDUCATION AWARDWednesday, November 11, 2015, 6 – 8:30 PMMulticultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., Cambridge, MADrinks and hors d’oeuvres will be servedLani Guinier is the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, at which she was the first woman of color appointed to a tenured professor
You Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing | EduShyster
You Should Hear What I’ve Been Hearing | EduShyster: You Should Hear What I’ve Been HearingWhich is why I’m launching a podcast series!THAT’S MY NEW MICROPHONE!I’ve spent the last two years visiting cities like Chicago, New Orleans and Philadelphia that are on the front lines of the often bitter battle over the future of public schools in the US. And what I’ve heard along the way is far more inter
Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes | OregonLive.com
Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizes | OregonLive.com: Portland Public Schools finishes staffing adjustments to decrease class sizesA group of parents from Portland's Sabin School personally delivered letters to the district to advocate for lower class sizes. Portland Public Schools is currently adding some staff to over crowded schools. (Laura Frazier/The
Climbing the Common Core Staircase | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn
Climbing the Common Core Staircase | Johnathan Chase | LinkedIn: Climbing the Common Core StaircaseThe CCSSO and NGA clearly have high hopes and great expectations for their Common Core State Standards…"The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do a
The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores
The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scores: The complicated correlation between poverty and lower test scoresThe many factors that contribute to a student being successful in the classroom interweave into a complicated tapestry, and one that has grown even more intricate in the last decade.Pull a single thread and the tapestry falls apart.For students who grow up in an impov
This Week In Education: Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City
This Week In Education: Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma City: Thompson: School Closings in Chicago, Newark & Oklahoma CityLike so many reformers in Newark and elsewhere, Cory Booker was a true believer in "disruptive innovation" to produce "transformative" change. Dale Russakoff, in The Prize, explains that Newark reformers, funded by Mark Zucker
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?: Pushing Chicago's poor out of the city. Who will stand up to Rahm Emanuel's death budget?At last night's Progressive Caucus community forum in Logan Square, Caucus members and community groups spoke out against Rahm's austerity budget and massive property tax increase. Will eno
CURMUDGUCATION: The Feds Don't Get Testing Consequences
CURMUDGUCATION: The Feds Don't Get Testing Consequences: The Feds Don't Get Testing ConsequencesValerie Strauss asked a fairly simple question of the White House and the Education Department:Are you aware that one consequence of the policy requiring test results in teacher evaluation is that many teachers' evaluations are based on subjects or students they don't teach.For example, in New York City
Chicago’s brand of teacher organizing goes viral | Catalyst Chicago
Chicago’s brand of teacher organizing goes viral | Catalyst Chicago: Chicago’s brand of teacher organizing goes viralIn June, thousands of CPS teachers and their supporters turned out for a march to support teachers' calls for a new, fair contract.ThenAfter legendary Chicago Teachers Union president Jacqueline Vaughn died in 1994, her successor, Tom Reece, adopted a low profile and built a less ch
TEACH FREEDOM | Bill Ayers
TEACH FREEDOM | Bill Ayers: TEACH FREEDOMSchools are an obvious venue for the creation of a public space, a site of freedom. People are coming together, searching for something better, deciding what we value, what we hope to pass on, who we want to be. But schools are seldom constructed as sites of freedom nor places for the practice of freedom.An urgent challenge to teachers is to see each studen
Jersey Jazzman: Don't Believe the Data In "The Prize"
Jersey Jazzman: Don't Believe the Data In "The Prize": Don't Believe the Data In "The Prize"I have a new policy brief out this week at the NJ Education Forum about the (mis-)use of data in Dale Russakoff's The Prize. Let me add a few words here: The Prize, as I described in my initial review, is the story of how then-Mayor Cory Booker and Governor Chris Christie worked to cajol
Common Core: ‘the gift that Pearson counts on to keep giving’ - The Washington Post
Common Core: ‘the gift that Pearson counts on to keep giving’ - The Washington Post: Common Core: ‘the gift that Pearson counts on to keep giving’Mercedes Schneider is a veteran teacher in Louisiana who has been educating students for more than two decades, as well as an education researcher who has been highly critical of corporate school reform. She is also the author of two books, “A Chronicle
Society’s elite don’t want to pay too much for equality, study suggests | The Verge
Society’s elite don’t want to pay too much for equality, study suggests | The Verge: Society’s elite don’t want to pay too much for equality, study suggestsThe well-educated and wealthy prefer giving to others when it is cheap and benefits everyoneAmerica's well-educated and wealthy elite don’t like giving their money to others — unless sacrificing a small amount creates a big payoff for someone e
Reform bill would indirectly help schools keep equipment | The Columbus Dispatch
Reform bill would indirectly help schools keep equipment | The Columbus Dispatch: Reform bill would indirectly help schools keep equipmentThe big charter-school reform bill pending in the Ohio House would take steps toward curbing for-profit charter operators from keeping furniture and equipment bought with taxpayer money.But it doesn’t directly address the issue.The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last
GOP education reform gets trampled by Trumpmania | TheHill
GOP education reform gets trampled by Trumpmania | TheHill: GOP education reform gets trampled by TrumpmaniaSix months ago, it looked like conservative education thought would enjoy a renaissance in the race for the GOP presidential nod. Education was the signature issue of early front-runner Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, who always returned to his gubernatorial school reform record when maki
Sacramento mayor continues to resist public record requests for emails | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Sacramento mayor continues to resist public record requests for emails | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Sacramento mayor continues to resist public record requests for emailsKevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, and the Sacramento City Attorney are now resisting efforts by two separate news organizations to gain access to public records, according to a recent filing in a Californi
Arne Duncan's Wars
Arne Duncan's Wars: Arne Duncan's WarsWith drive, ingenuity and a willingness to throw elbows, Obama’s closest friend in the Cabinet has tried to reshape American schools. Now will the backlash erase his legacy?Education Secretary Arne Duncan is a mild-mannered, even-tempered, introverted kind of guy, but he’s spent much of his six and a half years in Washington in combat. He’s fought with school
On New Philanthropy, Education Reform, and Eli Broad's Big Plan for L.A. Schools
On New Philanthropy, Education Reform, and Eli Broad's Big Plan for L.A. Schools: On New Philanthropy, Education Reform, and Eli Broad's Big Plan for L.A. SchoolsThe Los Angeles Times published a confidential document yesterday, which seems to confirm earlier reports that the Broad Foundation wants at least 50 percent of L.A. public school students educated in charter schools over the next eight y
The Global Search for Education: The New UN Agenda - What is the Role of Education? | C. M. Rubin
The Global Search for Education: The New UN Agenda - What is the Role of Education? | C. M. Rubin: The Global Search for Education: The New UN Agenda - What is the Role of Education?"Educators have an opportunity to engage students in shared problem solving towards the goals, and the responsibility to instill in the next generation a deep understanding of the power of informed action and the
Educating for Democracy: Connecting the Dots | Joel Shatzky
Educating for Democracy: Connecting the Dots | Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Connecting the DotsThe recent debates of the Republican Presidential candidates sadly suggested to me as an educator how unlikely it would be for the viewers and voters to separate fact from fiction. History, to many American students, has always been "a thing of the past." It's all a matter of connecti
Common Core not so core | PCC Courier
Common Core not so core | PCC Courier: Common Core not so coreCommon Core is an answer that will not translate well from Chinese, Korean and Japanese to American English.With 20 percent of eligible third through eighth graders passing on the standardized exams last spring, the recently adopted Common Core standards have come under fire.Common Core, a programs adopted by 45 of the 50 states sets na

YESTERDAY

Cerf: Newark school budget deficit is all Cami Anderson’s fault | Bob Braun's Ledger
Cerf: Newark school budget deficit is all Cami Anderson’s fault | Bob Braun's Ledger: Cerf: Newark school budget deficit is all Cami Anderson’s faultCami Anderson? I don’t know Cami Anderson and, besides, it’s all her fault. (MIke Simpson)The state official running the Newark schools conceded at Tuesday night’s school board meeting that his predecessor–a woman he appointed–created a $63 million bu
Achievement gap points to ineffectiveness of decades of reforms | EdSource
Achievement gap points to ineffectiveness of decades of reforms | EdSource: Achievement gap points to ineffectiveness of decades of reformsThe vast achievement gaps in the Smarter Balanced test scores released this month point to the ineffectiveness of reforms over the past 15 years or more that were intended to close those gaps, raising the question of whether a new set of reforms being implement
Breakin’ it down: The District 3 City Council race, Kshawma Sawant vs Pamela Banks | Seattle Education
Breakin’ it down: The District 3 City Council race, Kshawma Sawant vs Pamela Banks | Seattle Education: Breakin’ it down: The District 3 City Council race, Kshawma Sawant vs Pamela BanksOur focus is on education and that has generally meant for us at the Seattle Education website sticking to the school board races during election season but with the mayor and City Council member Tim Burgess insinu
Blue Jersey:: Photo of the Day: Camden parents confront Norcross, Sweeney and Hespe
Blue Jersey:: Photo of the Day: Camden parents confront Norcross, Sweeney and Hespe:Photo of the Day: Camden parents confront Norcross, Sweeney and Hespe3 very different expressions on Steve Sweeney, Don Norcross, George Norcross as Camden parents confront them PHOTO: April Saul, Camden, NJ: A Spirit Invincible (on Facebook)Inside, a $35 ticket conference hosted by the New Jersey "School Choi
Schedules show Cuomo met with Dolan, Weingarten | POLITICO
Schedules show Cuomo met with Dolan, Weingarten | POLITICO: Schedules show Cuomo met with Dolan, WeingartenALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York, several weeks before re-introducing legislation to grant financial assistance for parents whose children attend private and parochial schools.According to newly posted schedule records, the Democr
Race and Class Collide in a Plan for Two Brooklyn Schools - The New York Times
Race and Class Collide in a Plan for Two Brooklyn Schools - The New York Times: Race and Class Collide in a Plan for Two Brooklyn SchoolsParents and students at Public School 8 Elementary School, right, in Brooklyn Heights and at Public School 307, left, in Dumbo, Brooklyn. CreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times, left; Sam Hodgson for The New York TimesAt Public School 8 in Brooklyn Heights
South Brunswick Board of Ed Tries to Oust Education Advocate - Education Lessons From A Sparkly District
Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: South Brunswick Board of Ed Tries to Oust Education Advocate: South Brunswick Board of Ed Tries to Oust Education AdvocateMelissa Katz, far left, is watched by a police officer.In every generation, you hope there will be people who are active and engaged in the community in which they live. You hope they are smart and willing to devote time to contribute
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/22/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMFeds Admit U.S. Education Department ‘Forced’ States To Accept Common Core From Its Start - BreitbartFeds Admit U.S. Education Department ‘Forced’ States To Accept Common Core From Its Start - Breitbart: FEDS ADMIT U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ‘FORCED’ STATES TO ACCEPT COMMON CORE FROM ITS STARTIn a remarkable admission, the former director of the Race to the Top (RttT) competitive