Big Education Ape: Aug 22, 2019

Thursday, August 22, 2019

CURMUDGUCATION: EnrichED, the National Charter Substitute (Sort Of) Service

CURMUDGUCATION: EnrichED, the National Charter Substitute (Sort Of) Service

EnrichED, the National Charter Substitute (Sort Of) Service

You've had to miss a day of school, so you cross your fingers and put in for a sub. You prepare a whole lesson, run off materials, tag everything, put them in neat piles and arrange them on your desk. The day after your absence, you walk through your door and get a sinking feeling--the stacks of planned materials have been pushed to one side on your desk, but are otherwise untouched. "Oh, yeah," says a student in your first period class. "He said he didn't really get what you wanted us to do, so he just spent the period talking about his samurai sword replica collection instead."

Now. Imagine that someone built an entire business using that as a model. Not a but, not even a feature, but the feature.

Meet EnrichED.

Founded in 2012 as one teacher’s day dream, Enriched has grown to become a national movement of educators, creatives and community leaders united on a mission to reimagine substitute teaching.

We believe that every day matters for kids and our communities are full of amazing people with skills and talents to share.

We’re on a mission to enrich lives, one classroom at a time.

She seems nice. I'll bet she dances well.

The founder is Andre Feigler, who began the company as a start-up in New Orleans, sharing office space with Uber and mSchool, teaming up with the 4.0 Schools group. The company puts its "guest teachers" through a "multi-step vetting process" (more about that in a bit) then gives them some "personalized CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: EnrichED, the National Charter Substitute (Sort Of) Service

The Technology Cheating Problem Is Still a Problem

The Technology Cheating Problem Is Still a Problem

The Technology Cheating Problem Is Still a Problem

While many were appalled at the celebrity college entrance scandal, there’s another scandal that gets minimal attention. Students cheat with technology! Cheating has always been a problem in school but with technology it runs rampant.

In the classroom, teachers curtail cheating by supervising students in person. They learn about students and become familiar with their daily work. Teachers try to avoid circumstances where students feel tempted to cheat, but cheating with technology can still be a problem.

Cheating became more of a problem with standards and high-stakes testing.

In 2011, an NEPC report about virtual learning described concerns about the authenticity of student work online. They said, in a virtual classroom, how does one—the teacher, the superintendent, the college admissions officer, the employer—know that the student who signed up for the course actually did the assignments and took the tests?

In 2019, there are still few solutions to cheating. Technology has made cheating easier. It seems almost expected that students will CONTINUE READING: The Technology Cheating Problem Is Still a Problem

Teaching in the Age of Trump (Andrea Rinard) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teaching in the Age of Trump (Andrea Rinard) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teaching in the Age of Trump (Andrea Rinard)

ANDREA RINARD: “I’M A WIFE, MOTHER OF THREE, HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER, WRITER OF

THINGS, AND NATIVE FLORIDIAN.” THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN MEDIUM, JULY 13, 2018.

Full disclosure: I’m not a Trump fan. I woke up on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 with a sense of dread and foreboding. I wondered how I was going to get up, go to school, and be a responsible high school English teacher in this brave new world of Trump.

Like many, I figured I would ride it out. My previous job, at a very conservative school, taught me to keep my head down when President Obama was elected and both colleagues and school families responded as if it were the end times. It was my turn now, I reasoned. Sure, Trump had admitted to groping women, he’d mocked a disabled journalist, done myriad things I found repugnant, but there were checks and balances. How bad could it be?

Well, I’ve now taught one school year that spanned the election and inauguration, and I’ve taught one school year under the Trump presidency. In my perspective, it’s been so much worse than I could have ever imagined — but I have a job to do. It’s a job that I take seriously, and I’ve tried my best to be a responsible educator in the age of Trump. As I prepare for the 2018–2019 school, I wanted to share the five tenets I now cling to.

Kids need to learn how to be more responsible and canny media consumers

Alternative facts and fake news have become the modern version of “nuh-uh.” If you don’t like what I’m saying, call it fake news. If you can’t refute my assertion CONTINUE READING: Teaching in the Age of Trump (Andrea Rinard) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The One Thing School Leaders Must Do During Their Welcome Back Presentation - Teacher Habits

The One Thing School Leaders Must Do During Their Welcome Back Presentation - Teacher Habits

The One Thing School Leaders Must Do During Their Welcome Back Presentation

One of my favorite education writers, Peter Greene, recently wrote two articles about back to school PD presentations. One, titled Six Unforgivable Sins of Teacher Professional Development, describes the missteps too many speakers take, including my personal pet peeve, the reading aloud of slides to people who are going to find every grammatical error before it’s spoken. The other, a deeply satisfying romp identifying The Thirteen Presenters Who Will Ruin Your First Day Back imagines what some of the worst welcome back speakers would say if they were 100% honest.

Both articles, which have resonated with teachers to such a degree that the ubiquity of such talks are in little doubt, demonstrate the many pitfalls presenters face when welcoming the return of teachers from their summer vacations. Teachers are a tough crowd on a good day. Teachers who are forced to listen to a welcome back speech when they have a thousand other things they need to do to get ready for the school year can be especially critical.

The Worst Speech I’ve Ever Heard

The worst welcome back presentation I ever sat through occurred seven years ago. After some initial pleasantries, the thanking of the kitchen staff for the breakfast that 70% of the staff had skipped in favor of more sleep, and the annual request for teacher contributions CONTINUE READING: The One Thing School Leaders Must Do During Their Welcome Back Presentation - Teacher Habits

OSBI conducts second search in Epic investigation

OSBI conducts second search in Epic investigation

OSBI conducts second search in Epic investigation

The OSBI has seized new evidence in an embezzlement investigation into Epic Charter Schools.

In a search warrant affidavit filed Wednesday, agents raised new allegations of forgery and willful neglect against Epic, the state’s largest virtual charter school system.

The OSBI searched the home of Kurt Talbott, of OKC Storm Athletics, an Epic vendor. Investigators alleged the home-school athletics organization unlawfully received state funds from Epic.

“Kurt Talbott employed over a dozen coaches who were not certified teachers and provided direct instruction to players,” OSBI agent Tommy Johnson reported in the search warrant. “Kurt Talbott admitted that state appropriated funds were used to buy uniforms for Epic students, cover some of the costs of paying the coaches, and other expenses of the OKC Storm.”

Talbott told Johnson that he directly invoiced Epic for players’ fees, uniforms and training. OKC Storm coaches home-school students in basketball, swimming, tennis, cross country, track, golf, pom and volleyball.

When reached by phone, Talbott said he would speak with a reporter later, but he did not CONTINUE READING: OSBI conducts second search in Epic investigation

Brookings Institution: Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

The rate of turnover among senior level advisers to President Trump has generated a great deal of attention. Below, we offer four resources to help measure and contextualize this turnover. The first set of resources tracks turnover among senior-ranking advisers in the executive office of the president (which does not include Cabinet secretaries), whereas the second set of resources tracks turnover in the Cabinet.

TURNOVER ON THE PRESIDENT’S “A TEAM”

President Trump’s “A Team” turnover is 75% as of August 2, 2019

The following chart and table reflect turnover among the most influential positions within the executive office of the president. This data is compiled and tracked by Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, who refers to this group of advisers as the president’s “A Team.” The list of positions that make up the “A Team” is based on National Journal “Decision Makers” editions, and Dunn Tenpas’s methodology is described in detail in a report she published in January 2018. The chart and table below will be updated as additional members of the “A Team” depart their positions. It is important to note the following:

Because the “A Team” is made up of members of the executive office of the president, it does not include Cabinet secretaries.
The count for Donald Trump’s “Year 3” is ongoing.
Each position on the “A Team” is only counted once. If multiple people hold and depart from the same position (e.g., communications director), only the initial departure is tracked/affects the turnover rate.

Summary and analysis of “A Team” turnover in the Trump administration

Set out below is a list of the senior level departures from the executive office of the president since the beginning of the Trump administration (each of the 65 “A Team” positions is only counted once toward the turnover rate, thus, this chart only includes the first person to hold/depart a given CONTINUE READING: Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

NYC Educator: What Should We Do About Cell Phones?

NYC Educator: What Should We Do About Cell Phones?

What Should We Do About Cell Phones?

It's happening in some schools, and I know a lot of my colleagues will love the idea. I've got mixed feelings. Certainly I spend more time than I'd like to looking out for cell phone use, and certainly I also have more phones confiscated than I'd like to. (Ideally, it would be zero).

For me at least, most cell phone use is stopped with a word or a look. Students know I'm a pain in the ass and generally put them away when signaled. Of course, there are those who take extreme measures, like challenging me, and that doesn't end well for them.

Once, in fact, after I called the dean on a repeat offender, he announced, "I put the fucking phone away." I'm not sure how that was supposed to improve the situation. After that, when the dean came, he punched the wall outside with his fist and was removed from my class permanently.

More frequently it's about me bending over in some odd position to see the phone underneath the table or desk. Now here's the thing--I've got varying degrees of patience, and the phone is not the only thing that tries my patience. Sometimes students come in late every single day, and I hate that. I will call home, and I will speak to the student, and I will do whatever I can think of to alter that behavior. But by the time that student uses a phone in my class, my patience may be exhausted, and mom or dad could have to come in and pick up the phone.

This may discourage a student from lateness, or whatever habit I'd like to see discouraged, or it may not. But it couldn't hurt to try after everything else has failed. I've seen teachers get bad write-ups on rating sheets because too many students came late, or because they failed to challenge them. I've also seen teachers get letters in file for the way they spoke to them when they arrived, Why did you challenge the student? Why didn't you wait until you could speak privately? So that's a lose-lose when you're dealing with some supervisors.

Maybe the phones discourage things students used to do back when I was in high school. Maybe there are fewer notes being passed. I don't have a statistical study. However, as long as there have been classrooms, there have been students who didn't want to be in them, students who watched the clock and searched for something, anything other than CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: What Should We Do About Cell Phones?

5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out As a Teacher - Teacher Habits

5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out As a Teacher - Teacher Habits

5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out As a Teacher

Burnout is a real threat, not just for high-profile businessmen but for teachers, parents, schoolchildren and more. In fact, burnout can affect anyone from any walk of life, and we all need to be aware of our feelings and to be able to spot the warning signs before burnout becomes a problem.

For teachers, it’s particularly important to avoid burnout because they have a responsibility to the next generation. If our teachers start to suffer from burnout, they’ll be unable to deliver the quality of education that today’s youth deserves. That’s bad news, because the youth is always the future.

And so with that in mind, in today’s article we’re going to spend a little time looking at five of the ways you can spot and avoid burnout as a teacher. Let’s get started.

5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out as a Teacher

Learn to meditate Burnout is a real threat, not just for high-profile businessmen but for teachers, parents, schoolchildren and more. In fact, burnout can affect anyone from any walk of life, and we all need to be aware of our feelings and to be able to spot the warning signs before burnout becomes a problem.

For teachers, it’s particularly important to avoid burnout because they have a responsibility to the next generation. If our teachers start to suffer from burnout, they’ll be unable to deliver the quality of education that today’s youth deserves. That’s bad news, because the youth is always the future.

And so with that in mind, in today’s article we’re going to spend a little time looking at five of the ways you can spot and avoid burnout as a teacher. Let’s get started.

5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out as a Teacher

Learn to meditate

There’s a reason why so many high-profile figures, from athletes to CONTINUE READING: 5 Ways to Avoid Burning Out As a Teacher - Teacher Habits

Harrisburg schools leader makes it clear she has no time for charter schools - pennlive.com

Harrisburg schools leader makes it clear she has no time for charter schools - pennlive.com

Harrisburg schools leader makes it clear she has no time for charter schools

At 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, a line of parents stood outside of Premier Arts and Science Charter School waiting to pick up their children after their first day of classes in the 2019-20 school year.

A little less than three hours later, the district’s new receiver Janet Samuels held a public meeting, where she announced that a process intended to shut down the charter school at the corner of State and North 17th streets will continue.

At that same meeting, Samuels announced plans to block another charter school, Pennsylvania STEAM Academy, from opening. And that’s all while criticizing the performance of cyber charter schools.

“Students who attend cyber charter schools struggle mightily,” Samuels said, before pitting the Harrisburg School District against local charters.

“Here in the Harrisburg School District, we are ready to compete with any and all charter schools in this region, in this area,” she said.

With that said, Samuels presented and approved a resolution that allows Harrisburg School District officials to move forward with proceedings to close Premier Charter School, which is currently operating without an approved agreement.

That’s the case after the district’s elected school board members moved last year to begin a process that would revoke Premier’s charter, citing charter leadership’s failure to report accurate enrollment numbers as well as lower-than-expected attendance rates and underperformance on standardized tests.

Premier officials appealed.

As part of that appeal, a series of public hearings about the revocation were expected to take place, but they were postponed multiple times for CONTINUE READING: Harrisburg schools leader makes it clear she has no time for charter schools - pennlive.com

Educators Actually Do “Work” in the Summer - LA Progressive

Educators Actually Do “Work” in the Summer - LA Progressive

Educators Actually Do “Work” in the Summer

I love what I do. Being an educator is interesting, creative, and rewarding. And it is also hard work. That’s why it is offensive as we head back to school to hear people say “must have been nice to have the summer off to do nothing.” Surely most do not intend to offend. I get that. But comments such as that are indicative of the low status educators hold in the U.S. and are a dramatic misunderstanding of what educators “do” in the summer.

K-12 teachers do not simply do nothing all summer. Rather, they spend time thinking about their upcoming year, creating new lesson plans and projects, going to school to make sure their classrooms are visually appealing and stimulating, and more. Many use this time for continued education so that they can remain credentialed. Further, many K-12 teachers incur not unsubstantial costs to ready their classrooms. A study published in the New York Times in May 2018 found that 94 percent of K-12 teachers spend their own money on their classroom, with the average amount at $479. Meanwhile, a growing percentage of teachers cannot even afford to live where they teach, owing to low salaries and a lack of affordable housing. I know a lot of educators and none of them spend the summer loafing. Many work extra jobs just to survive.

In higher education, the summer can be a really busy time. We are required to publish in academic journals, write other scholarly pieces, and present at academic conferences. There is little time to do this during the academic year, so most college professors use their summer, if they are actually off, to write and prepare presentations. As an example, I have completed writing and editing three CONTINUE READING: Educators Actually Do “Work” in the Summer - LA Progressive

Republicans Are Dismantling Public Education in Alaska | Bitch Media

Republicans Are Dismantling Public Education in Alaska | Bitch Media

Alaska’s Public-Education Crisis Sets a Dangerous Precedent

On June 28, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed the budget passed by the state’s legislature and announced a staggering $444 million in cuts to social-service programs and public education, including $135 million from the University of Alaska system. The legislature could have overridden the veto in Juneau, but failed, as far-right Republican legislators abandoned their more moderate brethren to hold legislative session in a middle-school classroom in Wasilla simply because the governor ordered it. As the most successful attack on public higher ed and all it offers regionally and internationally, Alaska’s nightmare sets an ominous precedent for other red states.

Soon after the budget cuts were announced, the credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded the University of Alaska’s credit rating three degrees, which, as university President James Johnsen explained, “makes bonding or borrowing money substantially more expensive.” The only path left for the university system was financial exigency, which is like bankruptcy—but worse, because it does not discharge debts. Financial exigency means any campus, department, program, and position in the university system can be axed with little to no notice. This means that more than 1,300 jobs will likely be lost. The measure also nulls all previous contracts, jeopardizes the union’s collective-bargaining agreement, and permits massive and rapid restructuring of the university. The Board of Regents is considering a multi-university lead campus model or a single-accreditation model, the latter of which appears the frontrunner, despite student and staff concerns, as well as the chancellor’s championing of the consortium model. The single-accreditation model restructures the multi-campus system into one university, with each department “housed” at a designated campus, and all in-person offerings in that field at other campuses CONTINUE READING: Republicans Are Dismantling Public Education in Alaska | Bitch Media

AFT PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NEW FLORES RULE “CRUEL” | Black Star News

AFT PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NEW FLORES RULE “CRUEL” | Black Star News

AFT PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NEW FLORES RULE “CRUEL”

AFT's Weingarten: “In another cruel move, the Trump administration has chosen to once again target immigrant children, making it easier to hold them in detention indefinitely and under inhabitable conditions. The White House’s goal is quite clear: to prevent anyone from majority nonwhite countries from seeking refuge and asylum in the United States."
Today, AFT President Randi Weingarten spoke on the Trump Administration's "cruel" amending of Flores Settlement Agreement protections for migrant children.
Statement of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten following the Trump administration’s announcement of a new rule that would amend the Flores Settlement Agreement—an agreement that protects migrant children seeking asylum in the United States and ensures that they are released from immigration detention as quickly as possible:
“In another cruel move, the Trump administration has chosen to once again target immigrant children, making it easier to hold them in detention indefinitely and under inhabitable conditions. The White House’s goal is quite clear: to prevent anyone from majority nonwhite countries from seeking refuge and asylum in the United States. As a nation of many descendants of immigrant families who sought safety, opportunity and hope CONTINUE READING: AFT PRESIDENT RANDI WEINGARTEN: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NEW FLORES RULE “CRUEL” | Black Star News

YUGE NEWS SACRAMENTO! - SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE

YUGE NEWS SACRAMENTO!

As you know, Bernie is coming to town on August 22. He will be at Caesar E. Chavez Plaza at 910 I Street in Downtown Sacramento.

Parking will be scarce, so you need to get there early. We encourage you use alternate transportation if possible! You can follow this link to find a public transit route to get you there on time! Please be aware of Sacramento's parking enforcement policies.

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE

You Belong Here - Lily's Blackboard

You Belong Here - Lily's Blackboard

You Belong Here

When school started this year in Mississippi, a child went to kindergarten on a Tuesday. Just imagine how excited and nervous she must have felt to meet her new teacher, to sit at a table with new friends, to take the first steps on this awesome adventure in education—and how proud and nervous her parents felt, too.

On Wednesday, during the second day of school, maybe while the 5-year-olds were working hard on their “All About Me” worksheets, the child’s parent was taken away by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

What do you imagine the new teacher said on Thursday? I know what I would have said: “You belong here. You’re safe here.” And how much we wish that to be true.

On that particular day, during raids at food processing plants in small towns across Mississippi, about 680 people were taken away. School officials in Scott County know many were parents of their students. They advised school bus drivers to make “visual contact” with a parent or guardian before dropping off a child, so that children wouldn’t go home to empty homes.

Minneapolis marchers protest federal immigration policies at the 2018 NEA at the 2018 NEA Representative Assembly in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo/Calvin Knight – June 29, 2018

What we are seeing is unimaginable on many levels. The cruelty of separating families. The senseless fear and trauma experienced by thousands of children that will impact them for the rest of their lives. But the most unimaginable for me is that this is being done by our government intentionally. Callously. Cruelly.

I believe that what happened in Mississippi on the second day of school, and what has happened during arrests or raids in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and across the U.S., and especially what is happening at our southern border to families seeking refuge, is heartless, cruel, and against everything that the United States, a nation of hard-working immigrants, stands for.

Putting that aside: These immigration policies also deeply affect the work of educators. After ICE departs, with our students’ parents in handcuffs, educators still have their children in our classrooms. We still must teach that CONTINUE READING: You Belong Here - Lily's Blackboard

Study: Charters in California Enroll Fewer Students with Disabilities, Fewer with Severe Disabilities | Diane Ravitch's blog

Study: Charters in California Enroll Fewer Students with Disabilities, Fewer with Severe Disabilities | Diane Ravitch's blog

Study: Charters in California Enroll Fewer Students with Disabilities, Fewer with Severe Disabilities

It has been widely reported that charter schools enroll fewer students with disabilities and few of the students they enroll have severe disabilities.

The California Teachers Association and the United Teachers of Los Angeles reviewed public records to document the enrollments of students with disabilities in charter schools in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

The study is titled “State of Denial: California Charter Schools and Special Education Students.”

https://www.utla.net/news/new-study-reveals-privately-run-charter-schools-under-enroll-students-disabilities

The study found that charters enroll fewer students with disabilities than public schools. Charter enrollment is 11% compared to more that 14% in public schools. Furthermore, charters enroll fewer students with severe disabilities. They avoid the students who are most expensive to educate. Consequently these charter policies cost the three districts between $64 million to $97 million each year.

In some of the charter networks, fewer than 10% of students are entitled to special education services. One celebrated charter in Oakland, the American Indian Model Schools, known for its high test scores, has fewer than 3%. The 12 Rocketship charter schools enroll only 7.34% students with disabilities. The two charters created by former Governor Jerry Brown in Oakland enroll fewer than 10% of students with disabilities.

CONCLUSIONS:

Advocates for students with disabilities have long held CONTINUE READING: Study: Charters in California Enroll Fewer Students with Disabilities, Fewer with Severe Disabilities | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bernie’s labor plan includes restoring pension rights undone by Obama/Biden in 2014. – Fred Klonsky

Bernie’s labor plan includes restoring pension rights undone by Obama/Biden in 2014. – Fred

BERNIE’S LABOR PLAN INCLUDES RESTORING PENSION RIGHTS UNDONE BY OBAMA/BIDEN IN 2014.

Campaigning in Iowa, Bernie Sanders released a comprehensive labor plan today as he and other Democratic presidential candidates addressed the Iowa Federation of Labor’s annual convention in Altoona.

Included in Sanders’ plan is a repeal of an Obama executive order, signed in 2014, allowing for major pension theft across private sector industries.

The 2014 bill, endorsed and signed by President Obama led to what was the first cuts in earned pension benefits to current retirees in over 40 years.

Writing in the Intercept in 2016, David Dayen:

The pension changes in the CRomnibus enable trustees of multi-employer plans — union-negotiated pension benefit funds that cover employees across entire industries like trucking or construction — to apply to the Treasury Department to cut benefits for current retirees in order to stretch the fund’s resources. This changed the ban on cutting such benefits written into the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, which governs private-sector pension plans.

There were no public hearings on this change to pension law, CONTINUE READING: Bernie’s labor plan includes restoring pension rights undone by Obama/Biden in 2014. – Fred

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