School Choice Week: Are We Leaving Children Behind by Design? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

School Choice Week: Are We Leaving Children Behind by Design? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

School Choice Week: Are We Leaving Children Behind by Design?

by Anthony Cody

Part 1 of 2

National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) Group: 1 in 5 charter schools not doing well enough to stay open

A group that oversees more than half of the nation's 5,600 charter schools said
 as many as one in five U.S. charter schools should be shut down because of 
poor academic performance. 
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019784379_charterschools29.html

Advocates of public funding for private, parochial and charter schools have declared this School Choice Week, and that means we will be getting a heavy dose of advertising and advocacy promoting market-based reforms of our education system. Choice and competition between schools will spur innovation, we are told. Students will find their ways to the school that is just right for them.
But the marketplace and the drive for profits are proving to be very poor at delivering equitable outcomes for many of our students. Why is this? Perhaps the very design of these school choice systems allows - even promotes - the systematic abandonment of students most affected by poverty and lacking parental support.
The marketplace that has been created in education is far from a level playing field. It is systematically flawed in ways that hamper public schools and provide advantages to many charter and private schools. Some charter schools screen out students who lack parental support or are otherwise not "a good fit." Research has 

Jersey Jazzman: Where Is Chris Cerf's Accountability?

Jersey Jazzman: Where Is Chris Cerf's Accountability?:

Where Is Chris Cerf's Accountability?

by Duke

LEAP Academy, a charter school in Camden, has lost its non-profit status, which puts $8.5 million in bonds at risk for default. Since these bonds are guaranteed by Rutgers-Camden, either state taxpayers or tuition-paying students will have to take a haircut if the bonds go south. In addition, the school has been under-performing academically, not having made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the last two years.

And yet, just this past fall, NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf proudly cut the ribbon for the opening of LEAP's brand new $12.5 million STEM school.

This is an enormous embarrassment for Cerf, because his office is the only authority in the state that charter schools have to answer to. The New Jersey Department Of Education is ultimately responsible for charter 

School Tech Connect: In Which I Refer To Vomit

School Tech Connect: In Which I Refer To Vomit:

In Which I Refer To Vomit

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

I've been working the phones for my local school organization and not paying much attention to other issues, but I see that my friends have been flagging this astonishing post from Greg Hinz about the private pipeline Juan Rangel has to Illinois taxpayer money.

I only just now read the whole thing, and I narrowly avoided vomiting directly onto the keyboard.

Juan Rangel is behaving as a politically connected magnate is expected to behave, so I really have nothing to say about that--- other than that I did in fact spend a few days at one of his schools and it was really just shmeh.

But Heather Steans stinks to high heaven.

And then go all the way to page 52 of the 89-page amendment, to Section 110, and you'll see a 

Pedagogy of Puppyhood

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

How you doin'? Huh?

Evidently I've missed out on half the viral videos from the past few years, including the one below, which 2.5m people have seen.

I just want to point out that while this is a dog video, it's also an ed reform video. I'm so sick of ed reform and all of the gas being expelled in conversations about teacher evaluation.

If you want to know what good teaching looks like, just watch this dog in action. She knows how to teach, 

Diane in the Evening 1-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Why Are We Hoodwinked by Metrics?

by dianerav

A reader explains why policymakers and the public are hoodwinked by numbers. Follow the links:
Diane-
I got to this article in the WSJ through the Naked Capitalism blog I read daily:

What Hath Reform Wrought?

by dianerav

Veteran teacher Marc Epstein surveys the wreckage of “school reform” and wonders who will come along to put our nation’s education system back together again.
He writes:
“Today’s education reform rests on the premise that the civil rights movement that overturned Plessy and

Chicago Charter Fines Mom $3,000 for Her Son’s Misbehavior

by dianerav

No excuses!
The Noble Network of charter schools in Chicago is proud of its high test scores. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says Noble has some “secret sauce” that produces great success.
Could this be it?
A Noble charter has

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Milwaukee Civic Leaders: Save Our Public Schools by dianerav This opinion piece appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It was titled “Defend Public Schools, Our Children, Our Democracy” This op-ed was submitted by 11 leaders of community and education organizations in Milwaukee. We need communitywide discussion and action to protect the future of the Milwaukee Public Schools. We welcome input from all who believe in and support Has School Become a Treadmill? by dianerav There was a time in my life whe... more »

Va Dept of Ed Blows Off 60% of Virginia Students « PWC Education Reform Blog

Va Dept of Ed Blows Off 60% of Virginia Students « PWC Education Reform Blog:

Va Dept of Ed Blows Off 60% of Virginia Students

by pwceducationreform

Va Dept of Ed Blows Off 60% of Virginia Students

January 27, 2013 — pwceducationreform

This summer, after receiving a wavier from NCLB’s 100% passing requirements, the VA Dept of Ed established new goals for the percentage of students passing the SOL in all school divisions and public schools in the state.   The new targeted percentage passing was set for the state overall and for groups of students;  groups that are based on race.

The Va Dept of Ed took lots of flack from the public because the pass rate targets for 2013 – 2017 for Black and Hispanic students are lower than the pass rate targets for White and Asian students.   The Dept of Ed was accused of having lower expectations for Black and Hispanic students than they do for White and Asian students.

The VA Dept of Ed responded that the goals don’t reflect lower expectations for Black or Hispanic students as the final goal, 73% passing by 2017, is uniform across all groups. Instead of setting a uniform starting point that didn’t reflect actual pass rates, the Dept of Ed set the 2012 actual pass rates as the point from which annual increases are expected.  The goals for annual increases for Black and Hispanic students, according the the Dept of Ed, will be challenging but are achievable.

Unfortunately the Dept of Ed blew off White

“Be More Interested Than Interesting” | Connected Principals

“Be More Interested Than Interesting” | Connected Principals:

“Be More Interested Than Interesting”

by Chris Wejr

Be more interested: Listen.
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Bindaas Madhavi:
http://flickr.com/photos/mkuram/5961100771/

Originally posted at The Wejr Board blog.
At some point in the past year (for a variety of reasons) the how, the why, and the when of social media slightly changed for me.  I have been reflecting a ton on the purpose of social media to me – both professionally and personally (see Social Media in Education: Who Is It Really About?).  I have been thinking about HOW I read online (unfortunately, often just scan) and HOW I interact with others. I have been thinking about the purpose of social media as it pertains to my learning and my life.  I have altered the amount of time I spend learning from and with others online.
Over the holidays, one of the books I read was Mark Goulston’s “Just Listen: Discovering the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone”.  Among the many things that resonated with me in this great read was that I 

A Turning Tide? U of Puerto Rico Rolls Back Student Fees «

A Turning Tide? U of Puerto Rico Rolls Back Student Fees «:

A Turning Tide? U of Puerto Rico Rolls Back Student Fees

from Student Activism by Angus Johnston

The University of Puerto Rico announced that it will roll back a huge fee increase that sparked years of massive student protests throughout the island, as Puerto Rico’s new governor pledged to increase funding to the university.
This is big.
Students shut down ten of eleven UPR campuses for two months in the spring of 2010 in an effort to stop the fee hike, but university administrators later reneged on a pledge to withdraw it. Dozens of students were arrested 

Ed Notes Online: Eva Violation: Using Parents of Success Chater Schools Funded With Public Money for Poliitcal Operation

Ed Notes Online: Eva Violation: Using Parents of Success Chater Schools Funded With Public Money for Poliitcal Operation:

Eva Violation: Using Parents of Success Chater Schools Funded With Public Money for Poliitcal Operation

by ed notes online

The Success Charter outrages continue. It is time to call for an investigation of the use of schools to create a political operation. If they were private without feeding at the public trough, gey gezunt. But not with OUR money. Imagine if a public school principal organized parents to picket mayoral candidates and used school resources to do so. Of course they won't be picketing Christine Quinn I guess. And where is the UFT on this one?

Parents,
Last week the teachers union and several mayoral candidates called for a halt on all co-locations.  As you know, we depend on underutilized space in public school buildings to educate your child.  As your children grow and their younger siblings start school, we are going to need more space.  Without co-location, we won't be able to get it.  

This opposition to co-location is not about doing what is best for children.  It is about trying to 

Jersey Jazzman and Fiorillo Blame Weingarten Over Impact of Newark Deal

by ed notes online

In this post, Aftermath of the Newark Teachers Contract, JJ gives Randi the benefit of the doubt as negotiating the best contract she could. But he doesn't know Randi like we do here. Michael saved me the trouble of commenting as he points out why a certain segment of the UFT/AFT that we represent put the leadership squarely in the category of being on the other side of the fence -- that is when they are not straddling it as a way to try to convince the members they are on their side while the daily outrages against teachers pile up. Michael is of course just skimming the surface in this casual comment and doesn't even mention the role they played in the open support, lack of response to the charter invasion.

UFT Election Nuts and Bolts, Revised

by ed notes online

The UFT election committee met this past week and even though these dates and numbers have to be officially ratified at the Feb. 4 UFT Executive Board meeting, it is expected that the official election campaign will begin with petitioning at the Feb. 6 Delegate Assembly when petitions will be available. On Feb. 7 they will be available in the borough offices. {if there are any changes I will update this post.}

The daunting task of petitioning forces anyone serious about running to join a slate. There are expected to be 3 slates: MORE, New Action and Unity.

Excuse the last post as the send button betrayed me.

Here are the crucial dates and deadlines:

Petitions available - Feb 6 at DA

Vallas in Wonderland Part II - Sentence first, verdict afterwards reappears - Wait, What?

Vallas in Wonderland Part II - Sentence first, verdict afterwards reappears - Wait, What?:

Vallas in Wonderland Part II – Sentence first, verdict afterwards reappears

by jonpelto

The Queen of Heart’s strategy of “Sentence first, verdict afterwards” has reared its ugly head again in Bridgeport.

A new week is beginning and more drama has surfaced related to the never-ending saga of the Bridgeport Board of Education’s effort to extend Paul Vallas’ contract as Superintendent of Schools.

Almost ten days ago, out of the blue, and just barely meeting the state of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information meeting notification law, the Chairperson of the Bridgeport Board announced that the Board would be holding a special meeting to evaluate Superintendent Paul Vallas’ performance and discuss extending his contract.

Faced with the obvious violation of policies and procedures, the meeting was delayed twenty-four hours and the agenda changed to read “Review Evaluation Criteria with 

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, ELDORADO, SHANGRI-LA, HOLY GRAIL, FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND EDUCATION REFORMERS « Teachers Fight Back

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, ELDORADO, SHANGRI-LA, HOLY GRAIL, FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND EDUCATION REFORMERS « Teachers Fight Back:

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, ELDORADO, SHANGRI-LA, HOLY GRAIL, FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND EDUCATION REFORMERS

by alkleen

Oh the excitement, the anticipation, the potential !  Yes, it is now upon us. Beginning on February 1st, the State of Illinois will be launching its new state survey on education. The survey, believed to be one of the largest state surveys of its kind in the nation is supposed to provide crucial information that will lead to improved schools. The survey will gather “candid” information on how teachers are teaching, students are learning, and principals are leading.
According to enthusiastic education reformers, this survey should be the most important ingredient ever used when it comes to transforming our schools into the successful places that they need to be. Never mind about the hundreds of other products of education reform that have been tried in the last few decades, this one is the one that will truly make a difference.
Education reformers have so much in common with all the people in past history who have searched for that one elusive place or method that would lead to greatness. Education reformers have looked for the perfect curriculum, the perfect motivational techniques, the perfect discipline plans, the perfect teacher and principal training, the 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Special Meeting This Thursday for Interim Plan Vote

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Special Meeting This Thursday for Interim Plan Vote:

Special Meeting This Thursday for Interim Plan Vote

by Melissa Westbrook

From President Smith-Blum:

SCHOOL BOARD TO VOTE ON CAPACITY MANAGEMENT PLAN AT

JANUARY 31st SPECIAL MEETING

The School Board is expected to vote on the Short Term Capacity Management Plan during a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 31st at the auditorium of the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence.

On January 23rd, the Board decided to delay the vote by a week to review 2013-14 enrollment projections, which are expected the week of January 28th. District staff will review the options to address our growing enrollment for next year with this additional data.

Enrollment is projected to grow by 7,000 students over the next 10 years. The Capacity Management Plan addresses immediate capacity needs. If approved by voters on Feb. 12, renewal of the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy would provide capital funding for long-term growth.
Even though public testimony was heard on the Short Term Capacity Management Plan on January 9th and 

IEA President Cinda Klickna banned this petition from the IEA website. Will that stop you from signing it? « Fred Klonsky

IEA President Cinda Klickna banned this petition from the IEA website. Will that stop you from signing it? « Fred Klonsky:

IEA President Cinda Klickna banned this petition from the IEA website. Will that stop you from signing it?

by Fred Klonsky

IEA President Cinda Klickna banned this petition from the IEA website.
Will that stop you from signing it?
From reposting it?
From sending it to your colleagues, family and friends?
We are approaching 3,000 signatures.
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association put it on their website.
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery signed it.
We have a revenue problem. Not a pension problem.
And we have a leadership problem.

Florida BOE to Local School Boards: Raise Property Taxes to Pay for Our Charter School Priorities | Scathing Purple Musings

Florida BOE to Local School Boards: Raise Property Taxes to Pay for Our Charter School Priorities | Scathing Purple Musings:

Florida BOE to Local School Boards: Raise Property Taxes to Pay for Our Charter School Priorities

by Bob Sikes

The roll-out of Tony Bennett’s FLDOE budget included capital outlay for charter schools, but none for public schools. Consider this bit of nuance in Jason Shultz’ Palm Beach Post story which the FLDOE uses to justify their position :

The state’s budget request reflects the Board of Education’s priorities to assist charter schools, said Pam Stewart, chancellor of public schools for the state Department of Education. Stewart also pointed out that individual school districts can levy local individual property taxes of $1.50 for every $1,000 of taxable value to raise money for their local capital needs.
Districts statewide raised about $2 billion from local property taxes for their capital improvements last year and received another $401 million in sales tax revenues that could be used for capital 

Kelly: Despite hurtful words, teacher didn't deserve to be fired - NorthJersey.com

Kelly: Despite hurtful words, teacher didn't deserve to be fired - NorthJersey.com:

Kelly: Despite hurtful words, teacher didn't deserve to be fired

SUNDAY JANUARY 27, 2013, 12:36 PM

By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST

PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE | PRINT | E-MAIL

 

JENNIFER O’Brien is not America’s poster child for free speech. Maybe it’s time to anoint her. O’Brien is the Paterson teacher who was fired almost two years ago for writing on her Facebook page that she does not feel like an educator in the classroom but the equivalent of a “warden for future criminals.”
Was she insulting? Of course. Racist? Maybe.
When O’Brien wrote her Facebook posting, she was teaching 23 first graders at Paterson’s School 21. Every student was either black or Hispanic and from one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of America’s poorest cities. O’Brien is white and lives in Elmwood Park.
All this may be interesting to sociologists. But should skin color and the age of students play any role in whether a teacher has constitutional protection to express her views in public? 

Exploring the Origins of the Common Core « Diane Ravitch's blog

Exploring the Origins of the Common Core « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Exploring the Origins of the Common Core

by dianerav

Jim Martinez decided to research the sources of the Common Core State Standards. Given their importance as a redesign of the nation’s highly decentralized education system, we can expect to see many more such efforts to understand the origins of this important document.
“Engaging the nonsense – a brief investigation of the Common Core”
A teacher asked me where the Common Core came from, another suggested that I “teach” the Common Core in my Master’s degree level courses.
So my curiosity got the best of me and I spent some time understanding something about Common Core from my perspective as a scholar and educator.
My first discovery is that the Common Core is a political document. That may seem fairly obvious, but what I 

Excellence Happens in Vegas | EduShyster

Excellence Happens in Vegas | EduShyster:

Excellence Happens in Vegas

by edushyster2012

It’s time once again to climb aboard the rephorm express. Today we’re headed west, to Vegas, baby: home to the legendary Strip, the Hoover Dam, and these days, plenty of excellence, Teach for America style. Alas, what happens in Vegas likely won’t be staying there for long…
First, allow me to lay it on you historical style. Once upon a time, back at the peak of the economic boom, Nevada’s most populous county was opening upwards of 10 schools and hiring 2,000 new teachers—every year. Then the economy imploded thanks to the greed of a great many people who were not teachers. Now the excellent leaders of Las Vegas have at last identified the source of Sin 

USATODAY.com - Thousands of black teachers lost jobs

USATODAY.com - Thousands of black teachers lost jobs:

Thousands of black teachers lost jobs

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

In the spring of 1953, with the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation case pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, Wendell Godwin, superintendent of schools in Topeka, sent letters to black elementary school teachers. Painfully polite, the letters couldn't mask the message: If segregation dies, you will lose your jobs.

"Our Board will proceed on the assumption that the majority of people in Topeka will not want to employ negro teachers next year for White children," he wrote.

A year later, the high court declared segregation unconstitutional. Over the next 20 years, thousands of black educators in Topeka and elsewhere lost their jobs. Researchers say the firings decimated the black teaching force and educational tradition, helping set the stage for decades of poor performance by black students.

It's a little-known and unintended consequence of the ruling, but observers say the nation is still paying the price. "By and large, this culture of black teaching died with Brown ," says Vanessa Siddle Walker of Emory University, author of Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South.

In 1954, about 82,000 black teachers were responsible for teaching 2 million black children. In the 11 years immediately following Brown, more than 38,000 black teachers and administrators in 17 Southern and border states lost their jobs.

In Arkansas, for instance, virtually no black educators were hired in desegregated districts from 1958 to 1968. In Texas, 5,000 "substandard" white teachers were employed, while certified black teachers "were told to go into other lines of work," says Carol Karpinski, an independent researcher and New York City educator.

Black principals fared even worse. By some estimates, 90% lost their jobs in 11 Southern states. Many were fired, and others retired. Still others lost their jobs for minor transgressions, such as failing to hold monthly fire drills. Those who stayed often were demoted to assistant principal or to coaching or teaching jobs. Others were offered clerical or even janitorial work.

In 1964, Florida had black principals in all 67 school districts. Ten years later, with integration underway and the black school-aged population growing, only 40 districts had black principals.

In North Carolina, the number of black principals dropped from 620 to 40 from 1967 to 

The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky

The Sunday Mail. « Fred Klonsky:

The Sunday Mail.

by Fred Klonsky

Logan Square El station. 1954.

Young folks stepping up.
Teacher unions. We can fall apart or stand together. What’s it gonna be?
Alfie Kohn joins Debbie Meier at Bridging Differences. Why punishment doesn’t work.
So what happens when teachers join forces and make a carefully considered–and, importantly, collective–decision about what their students need?
How Senator Steans greased the UNO charter deal.
The Los Angeles Times has always hated teachers and public schools.
Why doesn’t the Illinois Education Association join our efforts and post our public employees’ petition on its website? Perhaps it is because the Illinois We Are One Coalition is planning a “summit” with a few, thus far, unsuspecting legislators (like Elaine Nekritz, for example, “who [said she] had not heard about the union 

National Public Voice: Robin Lane: Dont Do Teach For America

National Public Voice: Robin Lane: Dont Do Teach For America:

Robin Lane: Dont Do Teach For America

Why Not Teach For America (Guest Post by Robin Lane)

LINK

POSTED BY DLOITZ ⋅ DECEMBER 13, 2012 ⋅ 1 COMMENT

FILED UNDER  GUEST POST, NOT TEACH FOR AMERICA, TEACH FOR AMERICA

Well, it’s about that time of year — when seniors start frantically applying for fellowships and internships and jobs, the socially conscious among them aching for a career that will allow them to change the world, others looking for something they can put on their application for law school. Then comes along the recruiting powerhouse of Teach for America, to assure college students that yes, you can in fact change the world AND have an in to law school (or business school, or political office).

Progressive students of America who care about social justice: I know you care deeply about education. I know you see yourself as a change agent, fighting injustice. I know you have organized for progressive causes on campus and in your community; you’ve done civic engagement, you care about the DREAM Act, you are disgusted by th