David Gamberg: A New Vision is Needed Now for Education! | Diane Ravitch's blog

David Gamberg: A New Vision is Needed Now for Education! | Diane Ravitch's blog

David Gamberg: A New Vision is Needed Now for Education!

David Gamberg recently retired as superintendent of schools in two adjoining towns on New York’s Long Island—Southold and Greenport—where he was beloved for his child-centered approach to schooling. In this article, he calls for new thinking and the courage to break free of the obsession with standardized testing and punitive accountability. He announced his retirement in January, not knowing what was about to happen to schools across the nation and the world.

He understands that the status quo of high-stakes testing and demoralizing punishment has failed.

He writes:

I argue that the emphasis must be on capturing the hearts and minds of our students, and not primarily seeking to make up for lost ground academically as noted by education author Alfie Kohn. We must abandon any pretense that the metrics used in recent years to judge, sort, and separate students, teachers and schools through a ranking system based on data that focused on math and ELA standardized testing will serve them well in the near future.

Therefore, the first step is an immediate cessation of the current accountability system, based primarily on the use of high stakes, standardized testing in grades 3-8 that CONTINUE READING: David Gamberg: A New Vision is Needed Now for Education! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ashley McCall: What If We Radically Reimagined School? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ashley McCall: What If We Radically Reimagined School? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ashley McCall: What If We Radically Reimagined School?

Ashley McCall is a bilingual third-grade teacher of English Language Arts in Chicago Public Schools. She asked in a recent post on her blog whether we might seize this opportunity to reimagine schooling for the future, to break free of a stale and oppressive status quo that stifles both children and teachers.

She writes:

“What if?” I thought. What if we did something different, on purpose? What if we refused to return to normal? Every week seems to introduce a new biblical plague and unsurprisingly, the nation is turning to schools to band-aid the situation and create a sense of “normalcy”–the same normalcy that has failed BIPOC communities for decades.

In her memoir, When They Call You a Terrorist, Patrisse Khan-Cullors states that “our nation [is] one big damn Survivor reality nightmare”. It always has been. America’s criminal navigation of the COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the ways we devalue the lives of the most CONTINUE READING: Ashley McCall: What If We Radically Reimagined School? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Michigan Republicans Attempt to Get Out Ahead in Back-to-School Policy | Teacher in a strange land

Michigan Republicans Attempt to Get Out Ahead in Back-to-School Policy | Teacher in a strange land

Michigan Republicans Attempt to Get Out Ahead in Back-to-School Policy

The first thing I did when I retired from teaching was embark on a PhD program in education policy. When I enrolled, my advisor wondered immediately why a newly retired teacher would want to study education policy. She thought I should be in the teacher education program—or maybe the ed leadership division, with all the wannabe superintendents.

But I wanted to study education policy—to see just how the sausage was made, by whom and for what reasons. As a long-suffering object of education policy, I wanted to untangle the process that had so often made me ask: What were they thinking, when they came up with this?

I learned a number of things, most of which weren’t part of any syllabus, none more important than the fact that education policy creation is seldom measured and thoughtful, informed by research, goodwill and common goals.

John Kingdon, one of the most influential thinkers on policy creation, believes that there are ‘windows’ where changes in policy become possible as three streams—a problem, a policy proposal, and politics converge to yield something new.

That’s where we are right now. Big problem: returning to school (or not) during a pandemic. Tons of policy options to address this problem. Politics swirling around the issue, from state control over health mandates, a bitter election season and the CONTINUE READING: Michigan Republicans Attempt to Get Out Ahead in Back-to-School Policy | Teacher in a strange land

Inside the case for defunding police in schools - Los Angeles Times

Inside the case for defunding police in schools - Los Angeles Times

Inside the decade-long movement to defund police in schools 

In the midst of the 1980s war on drugs and in the wake of devastating mass school shootings throughout the country, bolstering school police in Los Angeles was seen as a safety imperative by many educators and parents.

But for the last decade, a number of student advocacy groups have pushed the school board to reduce police presence in their schools, saying Black and Latino children are targeted for discipline more than others.

The Los Angeles School Police Department now employs about 470 officers and civilians, including placement of an armed and uniformed officer at every high school. In a highly publicized turn last week, the leadership of the Los Angeles teachers union voted to support the elimination of the $70-million school police budget.

The union’s public announcement on the steps of City Hall — compelled by two weeks of protests and outrage over police brutality against Black people and the killing of George Floyd — has increased the urgency of the debate within the nation’s second-largest school district. The union leadership joins a number of community-based organizations who say the $70-million school police budget should be used to hire more counselors and build restorative justice programs.

 “This moment is different because if you all remember a couple weeks ago, people acted like ... the call to defund police was a radical call,” said Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder Melina Abdullah, a Cal State Los Angeles professor of Pan-African Studies and an L.A. Unified parent. “We’re at a moment when all of a sudden, our most radical imaginings are possible. We can end the system of policing as we know it. We can defund the police. And we have to begin with our children.”

The Los Angeles schools movement comes as school districts and universities throughout the country have joined city debates over defunding or reorganizing police departments.

Ultimately it’s up to the school board, which authorizes police spending, to decide whether to take action — two of seven school board members said they did not support the move, one said the issue should be discussed during budget deliberations CONTINUE READING: Inside the case for defunding police in schools - Los Angeles Times 

“No More Police” – Parenting for Liberation

“No More Police” – Parenting for Liberation

“No More Police”

In this moment of mass uprising, where people all over the country & globe are demanding justice & dignity for black lives which necessitates the end of the police & police state, we are reminded and keep coming back to a conversation with Cecilia Caballero (@ceciliacaballerophd) of Chicana M(other)work (@chicanamotherwork) from 2016. Cecilia shares her experience in processing the murder of Jesse Romero, a 14 year-old boy killed by LAPD, and the conversation she had with her 6 year old son at the time.

We share this today knowing that as we get activated around dismantling systems of white supremacy and violence, we must imagine what comes after we #defundpolice. We must stay in constant practice around imagining and creating liberation right now, and that work involves our children. Our children & young people are our greatest guides. Listen to them. Give them space to question, imagine, play, make sense, make anew.

The reflection and practice questions included here are from the book. Pre-order your copy from @FeministPress or your favorite black or woman-owned business. Let us know if you use the liberated strategies here and your thoughts!

You can also listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform. CONTINUE READING: “No More Police” – Parenting for Liberation

SPI Announces Initiatives on Implicit Bias, Racism + ACSE Agenda June 17, 2020 - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces Initiatives on Implicit Bias, Racism - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Multi-Pronged Partnerships, Initiatives to Address Implicit Bias and Racism

ACSE Agenda June 17, 2020 - Administration & Support (CA Dept of Education)

- https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/as/acseag0620.asp

Important Notice

Please note, the June 2020 Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE) meeting will be held as a teleconference; Room 1101 (board room) will be closed to the public. Please see ACSE Meeting Logistics section below for options to view and participate in the meeting.

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Thursday announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) has received a $500,000 philanthropic grant to train all of CDE’s 2,500 employees in implicit bias and to create guidance for school districts across California to help them accelerate their efforts to dismantle systemic racism in education.

During a virtual media check-in earlier today, Thurmond said this initiative is an important step to addressing the persistent inequities students of color have faced—including academic achievement gaps and disproportionate discipline—for decades in public education.

“Although this work was underway before the tragic deaths of George Floyd and others sparked the widespread unrest we see across the country, we know that we must accelerate the work of disrupting institutional racism with a sense of urgency,” said Thurmond. “We are grateful to be the recipient of such a large statewide investment that will support educators closing achievement gaps and securing racial justice for our students.”

The $500,000 grant was awarded by the S. D.  Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and secured through a partnership with the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation (CDEF), the philanthropic arm of CDE. The grant will fund the California Implicit Bias Training Initiative, a multi-pronged, months-long plan to partner with implicit bias and racial justice experts who will not only train CDE employees across the state, but also help CDE develop resources and guidance for schools to infuse implicit bias training into existing professional development.

During his remarks, State Superintendent Thurmond also called for greater mental health and counseling support for students who are experiencing trauma. The emotional distress of processing the impacts of the pandemic and the tragic events and unrest sweeping across the country are having a cumulative impact on all students, especially black and brown students who are more likely to experience chronic trauma that impacts their academic achievement.  

The State Superintendent invited two experts to join Thursday’s remarks: Dr. Daniel Lee, President-Elect for the New Jersey Psychological Association and Principal Consultant of N-PSY-T Psychological Services, who is developing a model for schools to address the impacts of implicit bias on student achievement, and Christine Stoner-Mertz, CEO of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services. Both spoke to the role that access to quality mental health resources can aid students during this time. During remarks, both offered insight into how they will be working with the State Superintendent as he and CDE lead next steps in this effort. 

An archived broadcast of the full media check-in can be viewed on the CDE’s Facebook page.

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

SPI Announces Initiatives on Implicit Bias, Racism - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

SPECIAL EDITION PROTEST AND EDUCATION: Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

SPECIAL EDITION PROTEST AND EDUCATION

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

TODAY

Video: “Kids Around the World Share Their Lockdown Experiences”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h

MiroslavaChrienova / Pixabay I’m adding this new video to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS :

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this

YESTERDAY

Part Five: Important Tweets About The Murder of George Floyd

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

Check out: Part One: Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd Part Two: Important Tweets About The Murder of George Floyd Part Three – Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd Part Four – Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd You might also be interested in all my “Best’ lists related to racism , particularly: New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White T

Useful Book Excerpt On Differentiated Math Instruction

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay Tiered Activities Make Math More Inclusive is the headline of a book excerpt appearing over at Middleweb. The book it’s excerpted from is The Math Teacher’s Toolbox by Bobson Wong and Larisa Bukalov, which is one of the three Toolbox books that Katie Hull and I have edited. I’m adding the excerpt to a post where you can find a ton of free materials from all the book

New CNN Video: “Schools in Hong Kong reopen after 4 months”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

Bob_Dmyt / Pixabay I’m adding this new CNN video to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL :

How My Theory Of Knowledge Students Evaluated Our Class – And Me!

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay As I always do at the end of a semester and a school year, students do anonymous evaluations of our classes and me. I’ve previously posted: Here Are The Questions I’m Having ELL Newcomer Students Answer In An End-Of-Year Class Evaluation The Results Are In! Here Is How My ELL Newcomer Students Evaluated Our Distance Learning Class Here Are The Questions I’m Havi

Video: “U.S. Protests Spark Reactions Around the World, From Citizens to Leaders”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 16h

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay This Wall Street Journal video is interesting for a whole lot of reasons, including to help students see how the U.S. is being perceived around the world:

Must-Watch Video: “Nikole Hannah-Jones on protests and the roots of racism in the U.S.”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 16h

Here’s how CBS News describes this video: Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times Magazine won a Pulitzer Prize for her work as the creator of “The 1619 Project,” which explored the legacy of slavery in the United States. She joined CBSN to discuss why that history is critical to understanding the protests that have spread across the country since the death of George Floyd in police custody las

Sacramento County Office Of Education Releases Fall Re-Opening Guidelines, Apparently Without Talking To Unions?

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17h

The Sacramento County Office of Education today released their guidelines for re-opening schools in the fall. You can read about it at the Sacramento Bee article, Sports canceled. Students in masks. Sacramento health officials urge big changes for schools . That article also has embedded the entire report which, as far as I can tell, is the only place you can get it right now. I called SCOE’s off

“What Educators Should – and Should Not Do – in Response to George Floyd’s Death”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17h

What Educators Should – and Should Not Do – in Response to George Floyd’s Death is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Two educators offer suggestions on what to do – and not do – in the wake of George Floyd’s death, such as learning about the legacy of racism before taking action and not just limiting actions to empty messages of support. Here are some excerpts:

JUN 01

Part Four – Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Check out: Part One: Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd Part Two: Important Tweets About The Murder of George Floyd Part Three – Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd You might also be interested in all my “Best’ lists related to racism , particularly: New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White Teachers To Reflect On How Race Influences Our Work New & Revis

New TED-Ed Video & Lesson: “When is a pandemic over?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

MirceaIancu / Pixabay I’m adding this new TED-Ed lesson and video to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS :

“What Teachers Should Learn From the Murder of George Floyd”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

What Teachers Should Learn From the Murder of George Floyd is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Two teachers (one is Antoine Germany, my colleague and friend) reflect and communicate about what they think educators should learn from the murder of George Floyd, including the importance of being anti-racist and challenging White teachers to acknowledge their implicit biases.

Very Good Interview: “What’s motivating nationwide protests?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

GDJ / Pixabay This is a very good ABC News interview with Marc Lamont Hill:

Part Three – Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd

32by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Check out: Part One: Important Tweets About The Murder Of George Floyd Part Two: Important Tweets About The Murder of George Floyd You might also be interested in all my “Best’ lists related to racism , particularly: New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White Teachers To Reflect On How Race Influences Our Work New & Revised: A Collection Of Advice On Talking To Students About Race &

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007