Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/10/15



CORPORATE ED REFORM






The Philanthropy Hustle | Jacobin
The Philanthropy Hustle | Jacobin: The Philanthropy HustleGlobal North or South, private foundations are part of the problem, not the solution.Meet Ajay Banga. The son of an Indian army officer, Banga was born in Khadki, a cantonment a few hours outside Mumbai. After studying economics at Delhi University, he took an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and began an illustrious career worki
Now the fun begins. . . | Crazy Crawfish
Now the fun begins. . . | Crazy Crawfish: Now the fun begins. . . The last year and a half has not been all that fun for me personally.  You see, I started my BESE campaign about that long ago.  I was told I would enjoy the experience, make new friends, and  have an opportunity to guide the conversation.  Maybe that’s true in other states, but not Louisiana.  I actually lost a number of friends wh
Another Charter School Front Group in Connecticut? Naw…Same people just different name - Wait What?
Another Charter School Front Group in Connecticut? Naw…Same people just different name - Wait What?: Another Charter School Front Group in Connecticut? Naw…Same people just different nameBeware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTERAstroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actu
Charter group says LAUSD anti-Broad measure appears 'unlawful' - LA School Report
Charter group says LAUSD anti-Broad measure appears 'unlawful' - LA School Report:Charter group says LAUSD anti-Broad measure appears ‘unlawful’Petition REPEAL Charter School Act of 1992 in CA Ballot Initiative http://bit.ly/1Gt6Nu3LA Unified school board member Scott Schmerelson is bringing a resolutionbefore the board today, asking it to go on record opposing a plan by theBroad Foundation to add
L.A. Board of Education learns what to look for in their next schools chief - LA Times
L.A. Board of Education learns what to look for in their next schools chief - LA Times: Seeking a superhero? L.A. school board gets advice on next superintendent people have spoken about what they want in a new superintendent for theLos Angeles Unified School District, and the hunt for Superman or Superwoman is on.The official verdict is that Los Angeles' students, parents, district staff, clergy
Schools Matter: Hillary Wants More Kids in Charter Schools
Schools Matter: Hillary Wants More Kids in Charter Schools: Schools Matter: Hillary Wants More Kids in Charter SchoolsHillary supporters who, at least, are not explicitly hostile to public schools have coughed and groaned for a long time when confronted with evidence the Clintons' unyielding support for Common Core, TFA, standardized tests, continued school resegregation, and corporate reform &quo
Singling Out Students Who “Got to Go”—An American Institution | The Progressive
Singling Out Students Who “Got to Go”—An American Institution | The Progressive: Singling Out Students Who “Got to Go”—An American InstitutionJosé Luis VilsonA couple of weeks ago, I watched in horror as a school resource officer flung a teenager halfway across a room in the name of school discipline. The horrific event sparked a plethora of conversations that were already at peak levels since Sec
With A Brooklyn Accent: Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the Bronx
With A Brooklyn Accent: Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the Bronx: Why It's Not Irrational to Fear Gentrification- Especially in the BronxGentrification is nothing new. There have always been urban development initiatives which have displaced poor and working class people, sometimes associated with urban renewal, sometimes shaped by market forcesBut what makes gentrif
Why aren’t schools in poor communities built to meet local students’ needs? - The Hechinger Report
Why aren’t schools in poor communities built to meet local students’ needs? - The Hechinger Report: Why aren’t schools in poor communities built to meet local students’ needs?Dilapidated schools are about neglected communities, not poor constructionFederal official visits dilapidated Gary school buildingsBuilding a school just for academic security is like building a home just to keep dry from rai
LAUSD, Los Angeles Times, Howard Blum, Teresa Watanabe - Perdaily.com
LAUSD, Los Angeles Times, Howard Blum, Teresa Watanabe - Perdaily.com: "SPOTLIGHT" ON LAUSD AND THE LOS ANGELES TIMES(Mensaje se repite en Español)While the recently released movieSpotlight is supposed to be a film about the long ignored Boston child molestation scandal that was allowed to run rampant for far too long because of the power of the Catholic Church, it actually has a much mo
Hillary’s Charter School Problem
Hillary Clinton Charter Schools: Hillary’s Charter School ProblemGood news! Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just admitted there are significant problems with the nation’s charter schools!Bad news! She has no interest in solving them! In fact, she thinks charters are just great.Here’s Clinton criticizing charter schools:Most charter schools — I don’t want to say every one — but mo
Racial Tension and Protests on Campuses Across the Country - The New York Times
Racial Tension and Protests on Campuses Across the Country - The New York Times: Racial Tension and Protests on Campuses Across the CountryInstances of racism and bigotry have ignited protests at colleges across the United States, and social media has amplified students’ messages far beyond campus. Here are some examples.University of Missouri NEWS CLIPS: U.S.  2:19Tackling Racial Tensions on Camp
NPR State Impact: National Education Association Prez Calls for Equity Among Schools - Lily's Blackboard
NPR State Impact: National Education Association Prez Calls for Equity Among Schools - Lily's Blackboard: NPR State Impact: National Education Association Prez Calls for Equity Among SchoolsLily spoke with NPR State Impact to discuss the importance of ensuring opportunity for every student, regardless of ZIP code.An editorial on NPR State Impact:NPR State Impact: National Education Association Pre
DHS/Police Are Paying School Kids To Spy On Classmates | PopularResistance.Org
DHS/Police Are Paying School Kids To Spy On Classmates | PopularResistance.Org: DHS/Police Are Paying School Kids To Spy On ClassmatesApparently DHS’s “If You See Something Say Something” spying program isn’t enough. Now DHS/Police want to turn school kids into spies.The “Project Safe Campus” (PSC) program is an anonymous CASH rewards program that pays students $100.00 to spy on fellow classmates!
The Economic Imperative of Bilingual Education in Schools - The Atlantic
The Economic Imperative of Bilingual Education in Schools - The Atlantic: The Economic Imperative of Bilingual EducationStates including Utah and Montana are aggressively pushing for programs that give native English speakers a competitive edge.Garland Independent School District, a fast-growing suburb northeast of Dallas, has undergone a dramatic demographic shift. Like districts across Texas, Ga
Pondering Charters: False Markets & Liberty as Substitute for Equity? | School Finance 101
Pondering Charters: False Markets & Liberty as Substitute for Equity? | School Finance 101: Pondering Charters: False Markets & Liberty as Substitute for Equity?Today’s musing:It is important to acknowledge that charter school market shares are not, in recent years, expanding exclusively or even primarily because of market demand and personal/family preferences for charter schools. Traditi
Achievement First Inc. pledged to do better with special education students but didn’t - Wait What?
Achievement First Inc. pledged to do better with special education students but didn’t - Wait What?: Achievement First Inc. pledged to do better with special education students but didn’tLast week, Achievement First Inc. the large charter school chain with schools in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island was hit with a lawsuit about its failure to fulfill its legal obligation to special education
Los Angeles Unified School District Suspension Ban: Teachers Complain of Constant Disruptions
Los Angeles Unified School District Suspension Ban: Teachers Complain of Constant Disruptions: Repeatedly Suspending Defiant Students Is Horrible. But So Is Dumping Them on Untrained Teachers.Superintendant Ramon Cortines agrees that many LAUSD schools haven't gotten the supports they need to implement "restorative justice."David McNew/Getty ImagesIt’s one of the biggest debates in educa
Phoenix police release 1996 recording of Kevin Johnson phone call to teenage accuser | The Sacramento Bee
Phoenix police release 1996 recording of Kevin Johnson phone call to teenage accuser | The Sacramento Bee: Phoenix police release 1996 recording of Kevin Johnson phone call to teenage accuserPhoenix police recorded this telephone call between Amanda Koba, then 16, and Kevin Johnson, at the time a 30-year-old basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. The Sacramento Bee in November 2015 obtained the a
Labor union dissenters influence political speech more than shareholders: law profs to SCOTUS
Labor union dissenters influence political speech more than shareholders: law profs to SCOTUS: Labor union dissenters influence political speech more than shareholdersReuters) – Scathing commentary about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has tended to focus on the court’s refusal to restrict corporate political spending. As you know, the justi
Pedagogy and Poverty Taken Up by Teachers’ Union in One WV County | Nonprofit Quarterly
Pedagogy and Poverty Taken Up by Teachers’ Union in One WV County | Nonprofit Quarterly: Pedagogy and Poverty Taken Up by Teachers’ Union in One WV CountyThe editor of the Washington Monthly’s “Political Animal” blog, Ed Kilgore, writes about a partnership of nonprofit and public sector entities to attack poverty in McDowell County, a very poor part of Appalachian West Virginia, through the use of
Hillary Clinton rebukes charter schools - POLITICO
Hillary Clinton rebukes charter schools - POLITICO: Hillary Clinton rebukes charter schoolsThe decades-long proponent of charters criticizes the schools for cherry-picking kids.Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded less like a decades-long supporter of charter schools over the weekend and more like a teachers union president when she argued that most of these schools “don’t take the ha
Ohio school boards want to ban ads for bad charter schools | cleveland.com
Ohio school boards want to ban ads for bad charter schools | cleveland.com: Ohio school boards want to ban ads for bad charter schoolsSchool board members from across Ohio want to ban charter schools like Imagine Cleveland, which was forced to close this summer by the state, from advertising.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state may have just passed a major overhaul in its charter school laws, but school bo
Mayor’s office calls ‘Esquire’ article on his charter school stance ‘untrue and unsourced’ - Education - Boston.com
Mayor’s office calls ‘Esquire’ article on his charter school stance ‘untrue and unsourced’ - Education - Boston.com: Mayor’s office calls ‘Esquire’ article on his charter-school stance ‘untrue and unsourced’On Monday, Esquire’s political blogger Charles P. Pierce accused Boston Mayor Marty Walsh of pulling a “full Scott Walker”—in other words, changing his position on an issue once he got elected.

YESTERDAY

Teach Strong: More of the Same, But with a Game Board | deutsch29
Teach Strong: More of the Same, But with a Game Board | deutsch29: Teach Strong: More of the Same, But with a Game BoardA group of 40 organizations, including many that are chiefly test-score-driven, corporate-reform- bent, is launching an effort to prompt the 2016 presidential contenders who are saying little about educational issues (as though they all met together and agreed, “Let’s just not ta
Hillary Clinton’s Charter School Problem | gadflyonthewallblog
Hillary Clinton’s Charter School Problem | gadflyonthewallblog: Hillary Clinton’s Charter School ProblemGood news! Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just admitted there are significant problems with the nation’s charter schools!Bad news! She has no interest in solving them! In fact, she thinks charters are just great.Here’s Clinton criticizing charter schools:Most charter schools —
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: How Will Your Students Remember You?
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: How Will Your Students Remember You?: How Will Your Students Remember You?I have taught for 30+ years, and over the years, I have connected with former students.On the street, their jobs, emails, and visits. Last year, 3 siblings surprised me with a visit. I had each of them in my classroom. One had graduated from college and was working in D.C, one was in colleg
Houston Board Candidates Respond to their Teacher Evaluation System | VAMboozled!
Houston Board Candidates Respond to their Teacher Evaluation System | VAMboozled!: Houston Board Candidates Respond to their Teacher Evaluation SystemFor a recent article in the Houston Chronicle, the newspaper sent 12 current candidates for the Houston Independent School District (HISD) School Board a series of questions about HISD, to which seven candidates responded. The seven candidates’ respo
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/9/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMState lets Cash revamp five schools without union OK - City & Region - The Buffalo NewsState lets Cash revamp five schools without union OK - City & Region - The Buffalo News: State lets Cash revamp five schools without union OKIn one of her most significant actions as state education commissioner, MaryEllen Elia has granted Buffalo Superintendent Kriner Cash unprecedent