Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, August 2, 2010

Rise & Shine: Critics call for investigation of inflated test scores | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Critics call for investigation of inflated test scores | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Critics call for investigation of inflated test scores

Test score fallout:
  • New state test scores widened the gap between the city’s highest and lowest performing schools. (WSJ)
  • Principals worry what this year’s low pass rates on state tests will mean for their schools. (Times)
  • Statewide, charter schools’ scores fell farthest, but city charters still outperformed district schools. (WSJ)
  • Schools in Queens out-performed those in other boroughs on the state tests. (Daily News)
  • Critics call for an investigation into inflated scores, but state ed officials want to move on. (Daily News)
  • Diane Ravitch writes that the chances city and state officials will be held accountable are ”not promising.”
  • The Daily News: charges that the test scores show city schools have made no progress are “bogus.”
  • The Post says city students have made big gains since before the mayor took over the schools.
And in other news:
  • A homeless Bedford Academy student won a full college scholarship. (Daily News)
  • Massachusetts data links academic performance to how often students switch schools. (Boston Globe)
  • KIPP charter schools in D.C. aim to double their enrollment using a $5 mill. donation. (Washington Post)
  • Madison, Wisc. schools are nationally known for including students with autism into most classes. (Times)
  • Sally Ride, the first woman in space, has launched a science training program for teachers. (USA Today)
  • The textbook publishing market is changing as more states allow open-source texts. (Times)

Public Waldorf schools booming in Sacramento -- but are they legal? - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Public Waldorf schools booming in Sacramento -- but are they legal? - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Public Waldorf schools booming in Sacramento -- but are they legal?

Published: Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Sacramento is the epicenter of the debate over whether the Waldorf system – whose educational philosophy goes back 100 years – is appropriate for a public school.
Parent interest in Waldorf schools is exploding, with a wait-listed K-8 school in south Sacramento moving to a larger site this summer.
Sacramento City Unified School District officials say they recognize the growing interest in Waldorf-inspired education, which is primarily offered at private schools.
The district opened a second Waldorf – a small
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/02/2929597/public-waldorf-schools-booming.html#ixzz0vRtOXxjQ


Six Sacramento City Unified School District campuses, dubbed Superintendent's Priority Schools, are undergoing face-lifts this summer, and district officials seek the community's help in protecting them from vandalism.
In these dismal economic times, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has likened selling state assets to holding a garage sale to pay bills.
California State University campuses will begin accepting applications for next spring on Sunday, though whether they enroll any students depends on the final state budget that lawmakers approve.
Members of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce can apply for a scholarship to get a master's degree at Drexel University's center in downtown Sacramento.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0vRtcPNV1

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Cambridge to consider student immigrant resolution - Boston.com

Cambridge to consider student immigrant resolution - Boston.com

Cambridge to consider student immigrant resolution


August 1, 2010
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Cambridge city councilors are scheduled to vote on a resolution calling for passage of federal legislation that would give illegal immigrant students a path to citizenship if they join the military or finish college.
Christopher Hope, a member of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission and author of the resolution, said councilors are slated Monday to consider the resolution.
The federal proposal, also known as the DREAM Act, would allow young undocumented immigrants to qualify for permanent



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“Communities For Excellent Public Schools” | Engaging Parents In School...

“Communities For Excellent Public Schools” | Engaging Parents In School...

“Communities For Excellent Public Schools”

“Communities For Excellent Public Schools” has just come out with a useful report. This is how they describe themselves:
Communities For Excellent Public Schools is a newly formed coalition supported by 24 local, state and national parent and community organizing groups across the country. CEPS has launched a national campaign calling for dramatic action to improve low performing schools by emphasizing parent, student and community engagement and research-based educational practices.
On July 28, 2010 CEPS issued a report, Our Communities Left Behind: An Analysis of the Administration’s

“Parent Involvement is Essential, but Should it be Mandatory?”


School Tech Connect: Did You See The UCC?

School Tech Connect: Did You See The UCC?

Did You See The UCC?

Catching up on email here and I see that the UCC has a comprehensive statement on education reform online. I'm reposting it here and will probably comment on it later. UCC is part of the group that has just informed the

NYC Public School Parents: Diane Ravitch and Leonie Haimson on Democracy Now

NYC Public School Parents: Diane Ravitch and Leonie Haimson on Democracy Now

Diane Ravitch and Leonie Haimson on Democracy Now

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Interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on June 30, we discuss NY State's admission of test score

Schools Matter: Children, Parents, and Teachers Pushed to the Bottom in "Race to the Top"

Schools Matter: Children, Parents, and Teachers Pushed to the Bottom in "Race to the Top"

Children, Parents, and Teachers Pushed to the Bottom in "Race to the Top"


From Tennessee to New York: Welcome Back to School--You Fail!
Jim Horn

When Tennessee children left school in early June, the majority of them were proficient in reading and math. When they return to school later this month, most of that majority of children will not be proficient or even close to it. From Saturday's The Commercial Appeal:

Friday, the State Board of Education passed new "cut" scores for the state tests, retooled last

Criteria for Ackerman's bonus released | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Criteria for Ackerman's bonus released | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Criteria for Ackerman's bonus released

by Erika Owens on Aug 01 2010
On Friday the District released the criteria used to evaluate Superintendent Ackerman for her $65,000 bonus after a judge granted theInquirer's open records request.
The documents released include:
The letter compares the bonus to compensation other urban superintendents

Queens Teacher: Klein Belongs in Jail

Queens Teacher: Klein Belongs in Jail

Klein Belongs in Jail

Klein was hired for one reason: not to improve PUBLIC schools but to open as many CHARTER schools as possible. How else do you explain a noneducator who never had an ounce of interest in education being hired to be CHANCELLOR OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS??? Where else would this have been acceptable? Notice how he paid

NAACP needs to reset sights on education | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/01/2010

NAACP needs to reset sights on education | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/01/2010

NAACP needs to reset sights on education

Anthony Williams
is a Democratic state senator from Philadelphia who ran for governor this year on a platform that included universal school choice
I was raised to revere the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As a child, I learned of its legendary achievements in fighting against the oppression of the human spirit and removing the barriers of segregation and racial discrimination. The organization's recent involvement in controversies surrounding Shirley Sherrod and the tea party, however, indicates a shift away from its core values. Today, the long-revered civil rights group seems more concerned about public relations, political positioning, and currying interest-group favor than providing a voice to the voiceless. Nowhere is this transformation more evident, or troubling, than in the area of education.
Whenever the NAACP is mentioned, one immediately thinks of Brown v. Board of Education, the historic civil rights case the NAACP argued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. With Brown, the NAACP helped to end legally segregated public schools and overturned the racist policy of "separate but equal." Unfortunately, the mission of the NAACP to protect equal access to quality public education has changed. At least it seemed that way to me as I read the Wall Street Journal article "Failing Schools Can Stay Open" on July 1, which described the NAACP's lawsuit to force New York City to keep open 19 failing public schools.
As a Pennsylvania state senator representing a district with failing schools, I have seen thousands of children deprived of a quality education. Only 10 percent of the children who enter Philadelphia's ninth grade go on to graduate college. In this country an African American male who drops out of high school is more likely than not to
Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20100801_NAACP_needs_to_reset_sights_on_education.html#ixzz0vMoaXVWc
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Vermont school district considers camera policy - Boston.com

Vermont school district considers camera policy - Boston.com

Vermont school district considers camera policy


August 1, 2010
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BURLINGTON, Vt.—The school board in Burlington, Vt., is looking at beefing up its policy on using surveillance cameras.
The Burlington Free Press reports many cameras have been installed in the schools with details of who can see the tapes and how long they would be kept.
The district installed 32 cameras in and around Burlington High School during the 2009-2010 school year. There are other



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School Tech Connect: Sunday, A Day of Rest


Sunday, A Day of Rest

Hugely busy Sunday here. My school year pretty much starts tomorrow so I've got about four million things to do for that, plus I'm filming another spot for Teachers Letters To Obama, and I wasted much of yesterday trying to find some appropriate music in the Creative Commons section of Jamendo for another little video I'm putting together.

By the way, if you're working with kids on technology, and there ever comes a day when there's nothing for them to do, send them to Jamendo, or some such place, to search for CC music that's appropriate for all the various