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Monday, May 6, 2019

CURMUDGUCATION: Jeanne Allen's Charter Murder Mystery

CURMUDGUCATION: Jeanne Allen's Charter Murder Mystery

Jeanne Allen's Charter Murder Mystery


Nobody represents the angry anti-public school side of reform better than Jeanne Allen. She's the founder, president, and chief spokesperson for the Center for Education reform. She graduated from Dickerson with a degree in political science, then moved on to study political philosophy at the Catholic University of America. She was the "youngest political appointee to serve at the pleasure of the president, Ronald Reagan, at the US Department of Education, then became the ed policy chief at the Heritage Foundation." She earned an Educational Entrepreneurship masters at University of Pennsylvania in a program that offers what I once called "a degree in soulless profiteering." She announced her intention to step out of the president role in 2013, but no successor was named and apparently, she stayed right in place.

CER is packed with charter groups, charter operators, and investor groups from their board to theadvisors to their contributors. Oddly enough, the smallest group is The Team


Allen is an expert lobbyist and advocate. She knows politics and business. She bills herself as "one of the nation’s most accomplished and relentless advocates for education reform, and a recognized expert, speaker and author in the field." She has no background or experience in actual educating. But she does know how to brand herself. If you want to see her in action,you can watch this 2012 clip, but chances are that by the time she says, "You can't have parent power and have teacher union power" and says "teacher union" with the same tone of voice one would use for "rotting cockroach carcasses," you will want to say unkind things to her. 

She's pretty intensely committed. It took her about fifteen minutes to get over her initial antipathy toward the Trump administration, and her analysis of the GOP's 2018 losses was that they weren't reform enough. She went to bat for cyber charters when even folks in the charter sector were CONTINUE READING: 
CURMUDGUCATION: Jeanne Allen's Charter Murder Mystery


Hidden camera in school: Union may sue for report CVUSD won't release

Hidden camera in school: Union may sue for report CVUSD won't release

Hidden camera in classroom: Teachers union may sue for investigative report CVUSD won't release



The Coachella Valley Teachers Association may sue to force school district leaders to release the report from its investigation into a hidden camera found in a classroom at a Mecca elementary school, Carissa Carrera, the union's president, said on Friday.
Carrera said the union's lawyer has requested the investigative report through California Public Records Act and written a letter to the district asking Coachella Valley Unified School District administrators to refrain from destroying any records related to the investigation.
"We’re always working towards transparency," Carrera said. "The more information that’s shared with people, the less we have to rely on speculation and rumors."
Since the camera was discovered at Saul Martinez Elementary School in March, the district has revealed few details as to why surveillance equipment was placed in a classroom. 
In a statement earlier this week, Superintendent Edwin Gomez said the district had intended to place the camera in a different school in an effort to "capture footage of suspects who previously broke into the classroom." He provided no other details about the error.
During the month between this statement and the discovery of the camera, Carrera said "People thought someone was trying to spy on the teacher." She said more transparency would have "eliminated fears."




SomeDamPoet Explains the Mysterious Gulen Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

SomeDamPoet Explains the Mysterious Gulen Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

SomeDamPoet Explains the Mysterious Gulen Schools



One of the abiding mysteries of charter world is the Gulen charter chain. The schools use different names, like Harmony or Magnolia or Sonoran, but they have certain characteristics in common. The board is dominated by Turkish me. Many of the teachers are Turkish, in the US on visas. The schools teach the Turkish language. But when asked if they are Gulen schools, the head of the school (usually Turkish) insists they are not.
Recently the state of Alabama approved a Gulen charter to open in a rural county, despite intense local opposition. The new principal was identified only as “Amy O.” The CEO, Soner Tarim,  is Turkish. He previously was CEO of a Gulen charter in Texas. But he insists that the new charter, Woodland Prep, is not a Gulen School. Neither was the previous one. Imam Fethullah Gulen lives in seclusion in the Poconos.
Our blog poet wrote:
The Shadow Knows”
The Shadow knows ’bout Amy O’s
Turkish cults in Turkish clothes
The Shadow knows ’bout Gulen schools
Gulen books and Gulen rules
The Shadow knows ’bout Gulen money
Gulen milk and Gulen honey
We don’t know, but The Shadow knows
‘Bout exiled Turks in the Poconos

Many Oregon School Districts To Close May 8 For Teacher Walkout . News | OPB

Many Oregon School Districts To Close May 8 For Teacher Walkout . News | OPB

Many Oregon School Districts To Close May 8 For Teacher Walkout



Schools in 24 districts across Oregon will close for at least part of the day on Wednesday in response to a planned walk out by teachers to advocate for more school funding.
It’s part of the teacher “Day of Action” led by the Oregon Education Association, the state’s largest public education employee union.
Teachers and community members will attend rallies and marches all over the state while advocating for smaller class sizes, full funding for electives and more school counselors.
School districts and state lawmakers are both in the midst of setting budgets. Some districts project dozens of teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.
Several school districts made the decision to cancel classes for the day out of concern for staffing and supervision of students because teachers had expressed plans to walk out of class.
To make up the missed day, some districts have extended the school year. Others have swapped out a teacher development day for May 8.
And even with most of Oregon’s school districts having class, a few schools plan to host events related to the “Day of Action.” 
Umatilla Schools will host an event called “Walk In Their Shoes,” inviting CONTINUE READING: Many Oregon School Districts To Close May 8 For Teacher Walkout . News | OPB

Angry teachers slap down praise from Betsy DeVos: ‘You can thank us by resigning’

Angry teachers slap down praise from Betsy DeVos: ‘You can thank us by resigning’
Angry teachers slap down praise from Betsy DeVos: ‘You can thank us by resigning’

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos marked Teacher Appreciation Week with a social media video thanking educators — who then demanded her resignation in tweet after tweet.

The education secretary urged Americans to show their appreciation by thanking a teacher, but her efforts backfired.



Embedded video

America is blessed to have many great teachers. They dedicate their time, effort, and talents in service of their students.

During this National Teacher Appreciation Week be sure to take a moment and who has made a big impact in your life.

DeVos was met with furious anger by teachers and their supporters who believe she’s undermining public education with her policies.
“Remember folks - if you’re not undermining education, you’re thanking your teacher wrong” - Betsy DeVos

You neither appreciate nor value public education and public school teachers. Your “thank you” rings quite hollow. Resign and we will thank you.

How about we show our appreciation by giving them the respect and wages that they deserve?

The best thanks would be fully funding schools. And actually knowing what my job entails. Just sayin.

You could thank a teacher by not literally shitting on public schools and the thousands of teachers that occupy them.

Just a though.

If you think teachers wants less support for public schools and the end of resources for students who deal with sexual assault, discrimination and options to pay off student debt then I’ll find some teachers for you to meet who strongly disagree with that assessment.

You’re right, there are a ton of amazing teachers who do great things for kids!! Unfortunately, we have an awful government in this country that only values money and power, which is why you’re in office, sad. You need to understand the value in public education change your views


Words are empty when your policies do not reflect that regard for ... ...
Resources and Funding for our public schools..



Angry teachers slap down praise from Betsy DeVos: ‘You can thank us by resigning’