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Friday, July 24, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/24/15


SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM





Smart ALECs or Wise Guys? Either Way, They Pose a Threat to Public Education - California Teachers Association
Smart ALECs or Wise Guys? Either Way, They Pose a Threat to Public Education - California Teachers Association: SMART ALECS OR WISE GUYS? EITHER WAY, THEY POSE A THREAT TO PUBLIC EDUCATIONA syndicate of self-styled rich, smart guys has in mind killing off public education, public pension systems, and public and private unions.CTA and its labor allies are hard at work trying to keep this group, the
Karen Magee: The Value Of Union Membership | WAMC
Karen Magee: The Value Of Union Membership | WAMC: Karen Magee: The Value Of Union MembershipListenListening...4:16Driving on the Thruway recently, I saw a bumper sticker that made me smile.The bumper sticker read:  Labor Unions:  The folks who brought you the weekend, child labor laws, overtime, minimum wage, pension security … and more.The point of that bumper sticker is to remind us that strong
Teachers, doing what they were trained to do, likely helped save lives during La. movie theater shooting - The Washington Post
Teachers, doing what they were trained to do, likely helped save lives during La. movie theater shooting - The Washington Post: Teachers, doing what they were trained to do, likely helped save lives during La. movie theater shootingMany of the nation’s teachers are now among the best prepared to handle mass shootings like the one that occurred in a Louisiana movie theater Thursday night, largely b
Marie Corfield: Franklin Twp update: No, Ms. Stanley, it's not your opinion. You're just wrong
Marie Corfield: Franklin Twp update: No, Ms. Stanley, it's not your opinion. You're just wrong: Franklin Twp update: No, Ms. Stanley, it's not your opinion. You're just wrongIf you've been following the controversy over Franklin Township (Somerset) Board of Education President Ed Potosnak's graduation speech last month, (Franklin Reporterhere; Blue Jersey here, here, here; NJ.com here), you know t
Some charter schools exempt from reporting salaries for Open Georgia site. Why? | Get Schooled
Some charter schools exempt from reporting salaries for Open Georgia site. Why? | Get Schooled: Some charter schools exempt from reporting salaries for Open Georgia site. Why?As an editorial writer, I was charged with looking at instances where state and local officials failed to follow the state’s open record and open meetings laws.While elected officials run on promises of transparency and profe
State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils New Road Map for Education
A Blueprint for Great Schools Version 2.0 - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education):State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils New Road Map for EducationLOS ANGELES—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today unveiled a new action plan to guide California's efforts as the state continues to transform its schools over the next four years.A Blueprint for Great Schools Version 2.0 builds o
Noncognitive Schooling: Do Students Need ‘Growth Mindsets’ and Grit to Succeed in the Classroom? - The Atlantic
Noncognitive Schooling: Do Students Need ‘Growth Mindsets’ and Grit to Succeed in the Classroom? - The Atlantic: What Does It Mean to Have ‘Grit’ in the Classroom?By learning how to persevere and change course, students learn how to push themselves.Nestled within the New-Age-y sounding concept of “noncognitive factors” are fairly concrete examples of what parents and educators should and shouldn’t
New-look education commissioner pursues similar agenda | Capital New York
New-look education commissioner pursues similar agenda | Capital New York: New-look education commissioner pursues similar agendaALBANY—New York’s new education commissioner, MaryEllen Elia, and her predecessor, John King, both support the state’s controversial reform agenda, including implementing the Common Core standards, testing students on the more difficult material and evaluating teachers u
The Discipline Gap: Despite the ADA’s Passage 25 Years Ago, Schools Disproportionately Suspend and Punish Special-Needs Children
The Discipline Gap: Despite the ADA’s Passage 25 Years Ago, Schools Disproportionately Suspend and Punish Special-Needs Children - The Atlantic: Why Schools Over-Discipline Children With DisabilitiesDespite the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act 25 years ago, students with disabilities are still punished at disproportionate rates.A quarter-century ago, on July 26, 1990, Congress passed
Mock Trial of Arne Duncan and other Government and Corporate Privatizers.
Mock Trial LIVE STREAM | Education Town Hall Forum: Archives, Announcements, & Extended Discussion on Weekly Broadcasts...: Mock Trial of Arne Duncan and other Government and Corporate Privatizers. (details here)Tune In Tonight at 6 p.m. for LIVE STREAM via We Act RadioMock Trial LIVE STREAM | Education Town Hall Forum: Archives, Announcements, & Extended Discussion on Weekly Broadcasts...
Evaluating teachers: Precise but irrelevant metrics? - The Hechinger Report
Evaluating teachers: Precise but irrelevant metrics? - The Hechinger Report: Evaluating teachers: Precise but irrelevant metrics? I've told this joke before:Two hot-air balloonists get lost, and they’re floating aimlessly. They spot someone down below and call out, “Hello!”The person on the ground replies, “Hello!”“Where are we?” one calls down.Up comes the reply: “You’re in a balloon!”They contin
With A Brooklyn Accent: What Our Children and Grandchildren Deserve: No Compromise With Current Education Policies
With A Brooklyn Accent: What Our Children and Grandchildren Deserve: No Compromise With Current Education Policies: What Our Children and Grandchildren Deserve: No Compromise With Current Education PoliciesEvery post I get from around the country suggests that the attack on teachers, students and public education shows no sign of letting up. Students are being tested more than ever; great teachers
Feds: Administration Can Keep Targeting 'Priority' and ‘Focus’ Schools - NJ Spotlight
Feds: Administration Can Keep Targeting 'Priority' and ‘Focus’ Schools - NJ Spotlight: FEDS: ADMINISTRATION CAN KEEP TARGETING 'PRIORITY' AND ‘FOCUS’ SCHOOLSState DOE revises accountability system for state-run districts, severely challenged schoolsThe Christie administration has won the federal Department of Education’s approval to continue using its accountability system to target “priority” and
Public School Systems Beat Charters with Equitable Services Systemically Provided | janresseger
Public School Systems Beat Charters with Equitable Services Systemically Provided | janresseger: Public School Systems Beat Charters with Equitable Services Systemically ProvidedWhile charter schools in a lot of places are known to use subtle, unnamed selective screens—there are far fewer English language learners, for example, and students with extremely serious disabilities enrolled in charter s
CURMUDGUCATION: Bill Bennett's Baloney
CURMUDGUCATION: Bill Bennett's Baloney: Bill Bennett's BaloneyWilliam Bennett appeared on Campbell Brown's reformster PR site to stick up for the Common Core,but he ignores some inconvenient truths in the process.The first stretcher is in his thesis-title: the GOP is wrong to run away from the Common Core-- because the standards are working. "Working" is a heck of a subjective term here,
The Walmart family is teaching hedge funds how to make money off publicly funded schools | Business Insider
The Walmart family is teaching hedge funds how to make money off publicly funded schools | Business Insider: The Walmart family is teaching hedge funds how to make money off publicly funded schoolsCharter Schools are drawing promoters from a place you might not think of: Walmart.The Walton Family Foundation — the philanthropic group run by the Walmart family — sponsored a symposium at the Harvard

YESTERDAY

How KIPP charter school handles special ed/IEP students | Seattle Education
How KIPP charter school handles special ed/IEP students | Seattle Education: How KIPP charter school handles special ed/IEP studentsLeonie Haimson posted this in 2012 and I have linked to it several times over the last few years.Because I seem to be on a roll about KIPP charter schools, I decided this is an appropriate time to post this on Seattle Ed.“At KIPP, I would wake up sick, every single da
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/23/15
SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMPolishing the Apple: Examining Political Spending in New York to Influence Education PolicyCommon Cause – Polishing the Apple: Examining Political Spending in New York to Influence Education Policy: Polishing the Apple: Examining Political Spending in New York to Influence Education PolicyJune 15, 2015READ: Polishing the Apple: Examining Political Spending in Ne



When it comes to facing down Ohio's well-heeled charter school lobbyists, will state lawmakers be leaders -- or lapdogs? Brent Larkin | cleveland.com

When it comes to facing down Ohio's well-heeled charter school lobbyists, will state lawmakers be leaders -- or lapdogs? Brent Larkin | cleveland.com:

When it comes to facing down Ohio's well-heeled charter school lobbyists, will state lawmakers be leaders -- or lapdogs? 






 So atrocious are some charter schools in Ohio that children consigned to those awful places probably can't spell the one word they need to know about their state government.

Let's try to help them:
C-o-r-r-u-p-t.
Where are the Franklin County prosecutor and officials from the U.S. Justice Department when you really need them?
There's a reason why Greg Harris, the respected state director of the charter-friendly education reform group StudentsFirst, claims "most of the charters in Ohio stink."
It's because they do.
And the crime of it all is state government's failure to do much about it.
Gov. John Kasich has some legitimate bragging rights to recite for voters in his campaign for president. What you won't hear him talk about is Ohio's well-deserved national reputation as a place where money matters more than the future of a kid trapped in a dreadful charter school.
In late June, as has happened so many times in the past, the Ohio General Assembly sold out kids in favor of the lousy charter operators who fund legislators' campaigns. And in one of the first major tests of his leadership, new House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger earned an F.
After the Senate gave its unanimous blessing to a bill, supported by Kasich, that would made the taxpayer-funded schools more accountable and transparent, it was widely assumed the House would follow suit. 
At the 11th hour, Rosenberger blinked, offering a pathetic excuse of needing more time to study changes made by the Senate. The House then adjourned for the summer, allowing Rosenberger and his cronies to flee Columbus and probably delaying by at least another school year the passage of a bill designed to benefit children by making charters more accountable.
Ohio has some great charter schools — places that are saving young lives. The good schools tend to support reform. 
The awful ones have figured out how to sprinkle so much money around Statehouse corridors they've purchased immunity from having to care about kids.
In the past 17 years, Ohio's two largest charter school management companies — David Brennan's Akron-based White Hat Management and William Lager's Columbus-based Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) — have funneled more than $6 million to Republican candidates and causes. In the last election cycle, ECOT alone gave more than $400,000.
The payoff? About $1.76 billion in taxpayer money has flowed into charter schools run by Brennan and Lager since 1998.

Smart ALECs or Wise Guys? Either Way, They Pose a Threat to Public Education - California Teachers Association

Smart ALECs or Wise Guys? Either Way, They Pose a Threat to Public Education - California Teachers Association:

SMART ALECS OR WISE GUYS? EITHER WAY, THEY POSE A THREAT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION

A syndicate of self-styled rich, smart guys has in mind killing off public education, public pension systems, and public and private unions.
CTA and its labor allies are hard at work trying to keep this group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), from gaining a foothold in California. ALEC is an organization funded by corporate entities to formulate anti-union and anti-public education proposals into language that would become state legislation.
Friday is the last day of the group’s annual convention in San Diego. On Thursday, the group heard from Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, an avowed foe of public employee unions. His “plenary breakfast” preceded a panel discussion of “Setting an Effective State Led Education Agenda.” Read that to mean looking for ways to silence our voices, take away educators’ professional rights, privatize our jobs, undermine public education, and break teachers’ unions.
(Photo above) Working women and men, including members of the Sweetwater Education Association, protest at the ALEC annual meeting in San Diego.
A group of educators and other working women and men have been down in San Diego protesting the group’s anti-public education and anti-working people Smart ALECs or Wise Guys? Either Way, They Pose a Threat to Public Education - California Teachers Association: