Monday, May 14, 2012

by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by whole child blogger Caroline Newton, a sophomore at Temple University. Newton is studying journalism and writes for Jump: The Philly Music Project magazine.
"You know what we're gonna lay down today?" Todd Whitaker of Indiana State University asked the audience. "A bunch of frog pictures."
As a child, Whitaker's favorite part of the encyclopedia was the frog section, where the frog's body was dissected so that he could see its entire anatomy. In his session "What Great Teachers Do Differently" at ASCD's recent Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Whitaker dissected the traits of great educators.

"How many of you know which teachers will send the most kids to the principal's office next year?" Whitaker asked. More than half the audience raised their hands. "And you don't even have the rosters made up yet!" he said. "It's not the students. The variable is the problem."
Crummy teachers treat everyone like they are up to no good; punishing all the students when only a few were being bad, Whitaker said. Take as an example the beginning-of-the-year assembly where the rules of the school

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: After a decade of NCLB and Florida test madness...

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: After a decade of NCLB and Florida test madness...:

After a decade of NCLB and Florida test madness...

by Mike Klonsky

After a decade of No Child Left Behind, where the total focus was on standardized testing and FCAT, after test-crazed govs Bush and Scott, after millions spent on Michelle Rhee's consultingand $250 million more to NCS Pearson to administer and score the FCAT through the end of 2013.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/04/2783911/whos-accountable-for-the-fcat.html#storylink=cpy

Florida's writing scores plummeted once again.

Passing scores in eighth grade fell from 82 percent to 33 percent. Tenth graders taking the test saw a similar drop in success. While 80 percent passed the test last year, only 38 percent scored a 4 or above on a 6-point scale this time

Students can be retained in third grade if they don’t pass their FCAT. They will be denied high school graduation if they don’t

Education Week: The Changing Face of Education Advocacy

Education Week: The Changing Face of Education Advocacy:

New Advocacy Groups Shaking Up Ed. Field

The organizations' influence over policy and politics appears to be growing, especially at the state and local levels.

May 14, 2012 - Education Week

New K-12 Advocacy Groups Wield State-Level Clout

May 16, 2012 New organizations are making their impact felt in statehouses on issues such as teacher evaluation and charter schools.

Foundation Cash Boosts Education Advocacy Groups

May 16, 2012 Grants to prominent K-12 groups often helps underwrite activities touching on sensitive areas of education policy.

Interactive

Discussion Forum

A new generation of education advocacy groups are shaping policy through aggressive lobbying and campaign activity. What impact do you see these groups having on public education? Join the discussion.

About This Series

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Other Astroturf lobbying groups like Stand ON Children First

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER©

Proudly Sponsored by

Schools Matter: Rhee-jected!

Schools Matter: Rhee-jected!:

Rhee-jected!

by Jim Horn

From Daily Kos:

There's good news for public education in Alabama and Connecticut, as the Michelle Rhee breed of privatizers and corporate reformers were thwarted in both states, at least partially and at least for now. InAlabama, "a radical, far-reaching charter bill that would have allowed wholesale privatization of public education in the state" was declared dead in the state House for the session just ending. And in Connecticut, legislators fought Gov. Dannel Malloy's initial, teacher-scapegoating plan and gave teachers unions a voice in arriving at acompromise.

Michelle Rhee and StudentsFirst were involved in the efforts in both states. Though StudentsFirst is attempting to claim victory in Connecticut, even Malloy at the height of his teacher-bashing saw Rhee as

Jersey Jazzman: Zombie Lies Eat Laura Waters's Brain!

Jersey Jazzman: Zombie Lies Eat Laura Waters's Brain!:

Zombie Lies Eat Laura Waters's Brain!

by Duke

Zombie lies will not die in the brain of Laura Waters:

Who needs Zoloft? [Do you really want to know? - JJ] We've got Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf, a featured speaker at NJEA's Annual Convention this past November. (Last year, then-Ed. Comm. Rochelle Hendricks declined the invitation.) We've got NJEA Executive Director Vince Giordano telling a Star-Ledger columnist, "this label that we are the organization of 'no' I don't think is accurate. We've turned a corner. We understand our role. We want to be part of the solution." (Last year an NJEA officer sent out a memo that included a prayer for Gov. Christie's early demise.) [Emphasis mine]

I really thought we were past this stupidity, but I guess this is the sort of nonsense that is destined to live on like the lie that Al Gore said he invented the internet (he never said he did). So, once again, let's go back to 2010:

"The head of the teachers union in Bergen County sent out an email encouraging his members to pray for the death of the governor" (7:45): Let's lay this stupidity to rest once and for all. Here's the "prayer" that was sent out:
"Dear Lord this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick

Torlakson Responds to May Revision - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

Torlakson Responds to May Revision - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Issues Statement on Governor's May Revision

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement today on Governor Brown's May Revision of the State Budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year:

"Today's May Revision raises the stakes for California's public schools, which now need the help of voters to prevent more than $5 billion in cuts and a dramatically shortened school year.

"Our state's financial difficulties cannot be resolved within the Capitol alone. As Californians, we share a common future. The 6.2 million students we serve today will soon be the doctors who treat our aches and pains, the architects and skilled workers who build our homes and factories, and the programmers and engineers who design our cars and our computers.

"The quality of their work tomorrow depends on how well we summon the collective will—now and in November—to prevent further cuts, and to begin the hard but necessary work of investing once again in California's public schools.

"Today's proposal also puts the difficult choices before us in stark relief, and puts in jeopardy California's longstanding commitment to quality early learning and child care.

"I'm hopeful that the Governor and legislative leadership will ultimately craft a budget that preserves these vital programs, and puts our state back on track for long-term success."

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Scarsdale Superintendent Blasts Cuomo Plan « Diane Ravitch's blog

Scarsdale Superintendent Blasts Cuomo Plan « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Scarsdale Superintendent Blasts Cuomo Plan

by dianerav

Governor Andrew Cuomo once boasted that he was the lobbyist for the children of New York state. One of his signal claims is the new evaluation system for educators.
Many educators think it is a very bad system because it relies heavily on standardized test scores. More than 1/3 of the principals of New York state signed a protest against the system and continue to fight it. They have said, repeatedly, that reliance on test scores for evaluations will harm their teachers and their students. Governor Cuomo doesn’t listen.
Now a new article was just published in Newsday by Mike McGill, the superintendent of the Scarsdale public schools, one of the best in the state. McGill asks why it is necessary to rank and rate teachers on a 100-point scale. As an experienced educator, he knows the downside of this measurement obsession.
Here is the article, with which I agree.
Diane

McGill: Rating won’t help teachers or kids

Published: May 11, 2012 12:40 PM
By MICHAEL MCGILL

Photo credit: Illustration by Christopher Serra |
The State Education Department has mandated a new evaluation scheme for New York‘s teachers. In what

RheeFirst! » Scientology tutoring service is hired in DCPS & paid by failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee

RheeFirst! » Scientology tutoring service is hired in DCPS & paid by failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee:

Scientology tutoring service is hired in DCPS & paid by failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee

by admin

Written by Melanie Alnwick for Fox News (h/t CoopMike). Read the entire article here.
“Concerned parents contacted FOX 5 about one of the groups approved for tutoring by D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) – a group that has connections to the founder of the Church of Scientology. Applied Scholastics International is one of 29 tutoring services listed in the Title I Supplemental Educational Services Guide. Parents of students in failing D.C. public schools can choose which provider they would prefer for their children.
The list makes no mention of the group’s controversial ties. But Applied Scholastics’ website does not try to

2012 My Bright Idea Challenge. Do you have a Bright Idea that can help LAUSD

2012 My Bright Idea Challenge.

http://mybrightidea.lausd.net/

Do you have a Bright Idea that can help LAUSD…

Save money, resources and time?
Eliminate waste and duplication?
Speed up administrative processes and procedures?
Increase safety, promote good health, and improve student and employee morale?

If so, share your idea and get rewarded!

At LAUSD, we believe some of the best ideas come from the classroom, the faculty lounge, the cafeteria, parent centers and the home.

With that in mind, LAUSD is launching the 2012 My Bright Idea Challenge. The challenge is designed to encourage the broader LAUSD community to submit new and creative ideas on how the District can save money and operate more efficiently during these challenging economic times.

School Tech Connect: Houston, You've Got A Problem

School Tech Connect: Houston, You've Got A Problem:

Houston, You've Got A Problem

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I used to be a testing coordinator, and from that experience, I can tell you one thing about the NAEP: I don't hate it. First of all, it's administered by an organized group of specialists, not shoved into the already crazy-hectic day of school teachers. Second, it's done through sampling, so not every child in America has to endure test after test after test, as they will in Arne Duncan's America.

The NAEP is actually all we need. But don't get me started.

For a reasonable discussion of the NAEP, see this.

For snark, let me repeat a thing I've said before. In Mayor Emanuel's factless fantasy of how things are, the

Charter schools: Segregation or choice? – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs

Charter schools: Segregation or choice? – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs:

Charter schools: Segregation or choice?

from Starting Point

(CNN) More than 2 million kids are enrolled in charter schools, 32% of which are African American – and of that 32%, more that half attend schools comprised mostly of minority students. This morning, CNN education contributor Steve Perry explains the lack of diversity, saying "We had to convince white people to come to a very good school in the hood."

Perry is the founder of charter school Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, CT. The demographic of his school has, in the past, been primarily black, poor students–until they were given a quota to provide some semblance of balance. Perry explained the reasoning for the so-called "segregation."

"The children who are typically choosing charter schools are the children who

Florida Board of Education calls emergency meeting as FCAT writing scores tank | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | Tampa Bay Times

Florida Board of Education calls emergency meeting as FCAT writing scores tank | Education articles blog on schools in Florida & Tampa Bay: the Gradebook | Tampa Bay Times:

Florida Board of Education calls emergency meeting as FCAT writing scores tank

The Florida Board of Education has called an emergency conference call session for Tuesday morning to talk about how to handle a huge decline in the percentage of students scoring a passing mark on the FCAT writing exam.

Preliminary data released today shows that just 27 percent of fourth graders scored a Level 4 or higher on the test, compared to 81 percent in 2011. The numbers were 33 percent of eighth graders this year, compared to 82 percent last year; and 38 percent of tenth graders compared to 80 percent. See our story here.

The primary drivers of this steep drop are tougher scoring standards combined with a return to two graders for each test, rather than just one. As a budget-cutting move, the state decided to

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National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

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