Urgent: Contact Milwaukee Common Council Members and Attend Committee Meeting on Tuesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m. | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Urgent: Contact Milwaukee Common Council Members and Attend Committee Meeting on Tuesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m. | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Urgent: Contact Milwaukee Common Council Members and Attend Committee Meeting on Tuesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m.

Filed under: MPS Buildings — millerlf @ 5:00 pm 

Urge Common Council Committee to Vote YES to Develop Malcolm X In a Way That Will Benefit All Taxpayers.

On Tuesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m. the City of Milwaukee Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee will consider a resolution to authorize the sale of Malcolm X Academy to 2760 Holdings, LLC (the developers who are engaged in developing an MPS school, community and cultural center, and affordable housing at that site). This sale has been approved by the MPS School Board and now moves to the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee. If approved by the committee, it will move to the Common Council for approval.

Please plan to attend this important public hearing on Tuesday, October 29 at City Hall (Room 301-B, 3rd Fl.)and testify using any or all of the talking points below. It is important for Common Council members to see and hear from constituents who support public education and community spaces that benefit all taxpayers.

In addition, please take a moment between now and Tuesday to call or email the Milwaukee Alderpersons who are on this committee (see list and contact info below) and encourage them to vote YES on this resolution. The proposed development will benefit allchildren, all community residents and all taxpayers with:

•               A community and cultural center that could include after school activities and events, as well as health care and other support services for community residents

•  Affordable housing for neighborhood residents

• A strong community school with multiple community partnerships

• The expansion of International Baccalaureate (IB) opportunities for students

• An improved tax base and opportunities to develop taxable real estate at the site

Please contact the members of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee:

Ald. James Bohl, Chair, 5^th District Alderman: Office Phone: (414) 286-3870 Fax: (414) 286-3456 TDD: (414) 286-2025 After Hours Phone:(414) 286-2150

Ald. Willie C. Wade, Vice Chair, 7^th District Alderman

Office Phone: (414) 286-2221 Fax: (414) 286-3456 wvvade@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Michael Murphy, 10^th District Alderman Office Phone: (414) 286-2221 Fax: (414) 286-3456 After Hours Phone: (414) 286-2150mmurph@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Robert J. Bauman, 4^th District Alderman Office Phone: (414) 286-3532 Fax: (414) 286-3456 After Hours Phone: (414) 286-2150 rjbauma@milwaukee.gov

Ald. Terry L. Witkowski 13th District Alderman Office Phone: (414) 286-8537 Fax: (414) 286-3456 TDD: (414) 286-2025 After Hours Phone: (414) 286-2150 Home/Cell Phone: (414) 731-0472 twitko@milwaukee.gov

Study: Poor children are now the majority in American public schools in South, West

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by millerlf / 48min 

How Poverty Sinks Our Schools (in 2 Graphs) - Jordan Weissmann - The Atlantic

How Poverty Sinks Our Schools (in 2 Graphs) - Jordan Weissmann - The Atlantic:

How Poverty Sinks Our Schools (in 2 Graphs)

As a pair of recent reports reminds us, states with the most poor students produce the worst education results. 

American teens are some of the smartest students in the world. At least, they are in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont. Kids who live in Alabama and Mississippi, on the other hand, appear to be among the worst learners. So says a fascinating new report by the Department of Education, which uses some clever projections to show how each U.S. state's standardized math and science test scores would rank globally.

My colleague Julia Ryan reported the details this morning. But the big picture is that, as in so many other things, the U.S. is a deeply divided nation when it comes to educational excellence. Some states crank out geniuses while others mass produce mediocrity.

And one of the reasons why is most certainly poverty. As I reported last week, roughly half of public school students now come from low-income families. But just as achievement varies state to state, so too does financial deprivation—and the two are highly correlated. For each state, I've plotted out the percentage of low-income students against the math and science test scores the Department of Education used in its new reported.* 

Generally, states with more low-income students fared worse in both subjects. Here's math:

And here's science. How Poverty Sinks Our Schools (in 2 Graphs) - Jordan Weissmann - The Atlantic:

America's Most Popular Boys' Names Since 1960, in 1 Spectacular GIF - Megan Garber - The Atlantic

America's Most Popular Boys' Names Since 1960, in 1 Spectacular GIF - Megan Garber - The Atlantic:

America's Most Popular Boys' Names Since 1960, in 1 Spectacular GIF

An infographic depiction of the epic battle between "Michael" and "Jacob" 

 

Call it Jacob's ladder.

When it comes to the most popular names for baby boys in the United States, "Michael" long held sway. For most of the 1960s, and then on throughout the '70s and '80s (and almost all of the '90s!), the given name of Mssrs. Jackson and Jordan, Kors and J. Fox, was the most common in the land. And then, in 1999—probably under the influence of boredom and/or Y2K fears and/or Prince songs—Michael fell, ever so slightly, in the rankings. The go-to name for so many decades' worth of American boys was forced to give up its crown to the new name-leader: Jacob. 

You may have seen the amazing GIF of the nation's most popular girls' namesthat Becca wrote about last week. Today, Deadspin GIFmaster Reuben Fischer-Baum has published the male version of that image: a single GIF depicting the 

Philadelphia Schools Partnership seeks private management over student placement | Parents United for Public Education

Philadelphia Schools Partnership seeks private management over student placement | Parents United for Public Education:

Philadelphia Schools Partnership seeks private management over student placement

Posted on October 24, 2013 by HELENGYMLeave a comment

For months, the Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) has been working to put in place a new citywide process for placing students in schools. Most troubling is that PSP wants this process to be run by an outside, private entity that is created by PSP and could eventually charge a per-pupil fee from participating systems.

“Universal enrollment,” as it is called, would match students to either a District, charter, or parochial school whenever they decide to transfer, move, or transition to another school level.

The PSP proposal would not only take the current student-placement program out of the District’s hands – unprecedented in any other city – it would also include parochial schools and coordinate the selection process 

10-24-13 Motivation, Attention, Memory, Cognition, and Action — Whole Child Education

Motivation, Attention, Memory, Cognition, and Action — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Motivation, Attention, Memory, Cognition, and Action

October 24, 2013 by Klea Scharberg

Human beings are born to learn. During the last few decades, developmental science has exploded with discoveries of how, specifically, learning happens. This provides us with an unprecedented window into children's minds: how and when they begin to think, perceive, understand, and apply knowledge.

Author, Whole Child Podcast guest, and Whole Child Virtual Conference presenter Wendy Ostroff builds on this research and, in her book Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child Development to the Classroom, shows you how to harness the power of the brain, the most powerful learning machine in the universe. She highlights the processes that inspire or propel learning—play, confidence, self-regulation, movement, mnemonic strategies, metacognition, articulation, and collaboration—and distills the research into a synthesis of the most important, takeaway ideas that teachers will need as they design their curriculum and pedagogy. Ostroff writes:

Incorporating developmental science research into the classroom means shifting the focus of education from teaching back to learning. In the United States, the content of schooling is determined at the state, local, and national level and is often given the highest priority. Students' ability to remember facts for standardized tests determines how well their schools will get funded. But 

The Tools for a Successful Young Learner — Whole Child Education

The Tools for a Successful Young Learner — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGThe Tools for a Successful Young LearnerOctober 23, 2013 by Pauline GremaudEducation begins in preschool and kindergarten for a reason. These are important formative years where students build skills and develop behaviors to carry them through many years of learning. As a kindergarten teacher, I make it my goal f

by mike simpson / 6h 

Sacramento Press / SCOE Leadership Institute has graduated has nearly 175 education leaders.

Sacramento Press / County Office Leadership Program Earns Prestigious Honor:

County Office Leadership Program Earns Prestigious Honor

by Tim Herrera, published on October 24, 2013 at 12:30 PM

To date, the SCOE Leadership Institute has graduated has nearly 175 education leaders.

David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools.

The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) Leadership Institute, a collaboration with local school districts that prepares and supports aspiring education leaders, is receiving the Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association (CSBA).

This highly respected honor will be presented during the CSBA Awards Luncheon in San Diego on Saturday, December 7, 2013. This is SCOE’s seventh Golden Bell.

“We developed our Leadership Institute to provide cutting edge training, on all levels, to meet the needs of our local schools and districts,” said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools.

The Institute is a ten-month program which focuses on aspiring administrators to fill the expected need for highly qualified and trained administrators. The Institute is designed to help train newly appointed administrators with one or two years of experience, continuing 

California groups publish how-to guide for districts on Common Core | EdSource Today

California groups publish how-to guide for districts on Common Core | EdSource Today:

California groups publish how-to guide for districts on Common Core

October 24th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

1

California school districts having trouble getting their arms around the elephant known as Common Core now have a 60-page guide to help them focus.

The first edition of the Leadership Planning Guide to implement the Common Core standards and assessments was published last week by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association with help from other organizations representing the teachers, school boards, school administrators, charter schools and parents.

“The Planning Guide emphasizes a team approach to Common Core implementation and features quick links to a wealth of resources from California and across the nation,” said David Gordon, superintendent of schools for the Sacramento County Office of Education, which took a leading role in the publication. “It’s a quick read and should be helpful to districts well along the road to implementation as well as those just starting out.”

The Planning Guide lists 10 components that districts must act on to create an effective Common Core implementation plan.

The guide breaks down the path to adopting Common Core standards in math and English language arts into 10 basic components, from professional development to curriculum development and technology support. An appendix has a checklist for each category for districts to mark their progress.

The 10 components are:

1. “Capacity building and leadership development” at the district office and among principals and teachers to support collaboration and professional learning;

2. “Communication and stakeholder engagement” through an outreach plan to inform the community about the new standards;

3. Review of curriculum and instruction to create a coherent curriculum, taking advantage of the pending 

What I’ve Learned: The Public Needs to Know More About ESPs | NEA Today

What I’ve Learned: The Public Needs to Know More About ESPs | NEA Today:

What I’ve Learned: The Public Needs to Know More About ESPs

October 24, 2013 by twalker  
Filed under Education Support Professionals, Featured News, Top Stories

Leave a Comment

By Cindy Long

Educators may spend their careers preparing lessons, but often the most memorable are those they learn themselves.  With that in mind, NEA Today asked school staff –  everyone from classroom teachers and bus drivers to guidance counselors and school nurses – to share the everyday lessons they’ve picked up along the way in a series called “What I’ve Learned.”

Audrey Haskell: Administrative Assistant, Lewis & Clark Elementary School in Grand Forks, North Dakota

I’ve learned that most parents and kids have no idea how many hats we wear in our schools.  No matter what our job descriptions really say, we are also nurses and counselors. We repair everything from glasses to copy machines, straighten lopsided ponytails and listen to whatever really important story an eager student has to tell us each morning. One little boy told his mom that my job was to give out ice packs, answer the phone and be nice to people. He said I must be pretty good at it because they give me money.

I’ve learned that no matter how prepared I think I am for almost any situation, I’m wrong. The only one who 

 

Two Teachers Killed this Week: How Safe Are US Schools?

Residents of Boston’s North Shore suburbs were struggling to absorb the news Wednesday that Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer was murdered, and that a 14-year-old male student has been charged. The tragedy occurred one day after the Sparks Middle School shooting in Nevada, in which police say math teacher Michael Landsberry was killed by a 12-year-old male student who then killed him

1 by twalker / 2h 

American Education Week 2013, November 18-22

American Education Week—November 18-22, 2013—presents all Americans with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education. The weeklong celebration features a special observance each day of the week. Check out NEA’s American Education Week page for more information. Related posts: Ameri

1 by twalker / 2h 

YESTERDAY

In the Danger Zone: Schools Bring Healing to Communities Hit by Disaster

By Anita Merina and Brenda Alvarez In our continuing series on ZIP codes – and on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy – NEA Today takes you to three areas of the country that share a menacing trait—they are ground zero for destructive natural disasters. But they also share an inspiring trait—they are resilient and they draw strength from their school communities to recover and move on. The

by twalker / 1d 

Why Do Teachers Quit?

Approximately 15.7 percent of teachers leave their posts every year, and 40 percent of teachers who pursue undergraduate degrees in teaching never even enter the classroom at all. With teacher effectiveness a top priority of the education reform movement, the question remains: Why are all these teachers leaving—or not even entering the classroom in the first place? “One of the big reasons I quit w

by twalker / 1d 

No Time to Wait for a Definition of ‘Bullying’

The challenge of defining bullying is real for researchers and lawmakers who need the specificity in order to measure and determine the consequences of bullying. However, while that larger discussion is taking place, people in the trenches continue to face the many manifestations of bullying, social cruelty and victimization, whether it appears in schools, colleges, workplaces or the community. So

10 by twalker / 1d 

Corporal Punishment Persists in U.S. Schools

Even as an increasing number of districts and states abolish the practice, corporal punishment remains a legal form of discipline in 19 states, most of them in the South, according to the Center for Effective Discipline, a nonprofit based in Columbus, Ohio, that provides educational information on corporal punishment and alternatives to its use. That’s a decrease from 2004, when 22 states permitte

by twalker / 1d 

How to close the “opportunity gap?” Let’s find out | HechingerEd Blog

How to close the “opportunity gap?” Let’s find out | HechingerEd Blog:

How to close the “opportunity gap?” Let’s find out

In 2006, researchers at Johns Hopkins University drew an important conclusion after a quarter-century following rich and poor students in Baltimore from childhood to adulthood. The summer, they said, is a major reason students from low-income families are continually playing catch-up with their wealthier peers. Affluent children stay academically engaged during enriching summer camps, museum excursions and other travel experiences, not to mention more frequent library visits. Each fall they come back ahead of where they left off in the spring, while poor students tend to stay the same or fall behind.

Of course, summer isn’t the only source of the problem. From the time babies are born, there is a huge disparity in access to brain-building stimulation and activities. A study just released by Stanford University found that, by 2 years old, children from high-income families are six months ahead of their future classmates in language proficiency.

In neighborhoods plagued by violence, parents must make keeping their children safe their top priority; getting them ahead comes second.

By sixth grade, the disparities translate to an estimated 6,000-hour difference in learning opportunities. Six hours a day in school 180 days a year is nowhere close to an adequate solution.