Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, October 22, 2010

Andrew Wolf: Michelle Rhee Stay Away from my Door

Andrew Wolf: Michelle Rhee Stay Away from my Door
Andrew Wolf

Andrew Wolf

Posted: October 21, 2010 01:27 AM

There is a lot of talk about the future of Michelle Rhee, who resigned as the Chancellor of Washington DC 's schools last week. Speculation centers around possibilities for her next job.

The timing couldn't be better for her. Not only is she leaving before she had to demonstrate sustained improved academic results for the children of the District, but is now the "star" of the propaganda documentary Waiting for Superman. Her public reputation is at its apex.

Some of the speculation has her coming to Newark, N.J., a school system whose failure is rivaled only by the one she is leaving in the nation's capital. Newark's schools are the lucky recipient of $100 million in the form of a charitable contribution from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.

Mr. Zuckerberg also understands public relations timing, as he is also the subject of a current film, one in which he is portrayed in a mostly negative way. It has been speculated that the timing of his generous gift is no accident, perhaps designed to counter the poor image presented of him in The

Superman: The Cartoon | NBC Washington

Superman: The Cartoon | NBC Washington

Superman: The Cartoon

Fenty, Rhee appear in animated Taiwan news report

By P.J. ORVETTI
Updated 8:18 AM EDT, Fri, Oct 22, 2010

“Supported by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, education councillorMichelle Rhee was determined to reform the system. She fired hundreds of teachers in DC. But Fenty and Rhee were overwhelmed by forces against education reform. They both lost their jobs.”

So reports Taiwan’s Next Media Animation, which reports the news of the world in often-hilarious computer animation. In NMA’s latest video, Rhee -- portrayed as Rambo with a broom -- chases a teacher dressed as a clown from a classroom after the clown teaches a class that 1+3=5. Rhee then high-fives a Sims version of Fenty

UFT casting change into 'Superman' - NYPOST.com

UFT casting change into 'Superman' - NYPOST.com

UFT casting change into 'Superman'

Last Updated: 2:13 AM, October 22, 2010

Posted: 1:27 AM, October 22, 2010

Comments: 0

Call them the men and women of "steal."

The city teachers union ripped a page from the very documentary that slammed it -- handing out blue Superman-style T-shirts Wednesday to hundreds of members with the famous "S" replaced by "UFT."

The self-given pat on the back came hot on the heels of the release of "Waiting for 'Superman,' " the documentary in which the umbrella union of the United Federation of Teachers is called to task for helping to create a national education crisis.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten -- former chief of the city local -- was cast in the role of the movie's villain.

COMICAL: At union HQ, a teacher wears the T-shirt that bosses say  isn't   a take-off on 'Waiting for 'Superman.' '
NY POST: CHAD RACHMAN
COMICAL: At union HQ, a teacher wears the T-shirt that bosses say isn't a take-off on "Waiting for 'Superman.' "

Still, UFT members proudly wore their snazzy superhero duds as they filed out of a union meeting at their downtown headquarters.

"The UFT must really dig the movie more than people thought they would," quipped Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/uft_casting_change_into_superman_YFe4Zpeh9wJ5BnUslnkEQI#ixzz135dVsDF6

ELL Teaching Methods Can Help All Students | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

ELL Teaching Methods Can Help All Students | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

L.A.’s teacher-rating firestorm blows east | The Education Report

L.A.’s teacher-rating firestorm blows east | The Education Report

L.A.’s teacher-rating firestorm blows east

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 1:47 pm in students, teachers

As soon as tomorrow, 12 news agencies could have the names and effectiveness ratings of 12,000 teachers from New York City’s public schools, the Washington Post reports.

The United Federation Of Teachers plans to file a lawsuit in state court to block the release of the data. The ratings in question are based on the average progress a teacher’s students made on standardized tests during the course of a school year. In edu-speak, they’re called “value-added” assessments.

It’s not clear from the Post story how many years of data were included in the New York City school district’s analysis. As researchers and statisticians note, these effectiveness ratings tend to vary wildly from year to year because the sample size — especially for elementary school teachers — is so small (20 to 30-some students). Read the rest of this entry »

On anniversary of hills fire, kids raise money to repair memorial

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 3:01 pm in community, private schools, students

Bentley bake sale. Photo courtesy of Bentley School

Fourth-graders at Bentley School, upset by a recent Tribune report of theft from the Oakland hills firestorm memorial, raised $350 this week through a bake sale to restore it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sources say former D.C. education chancellor considering N.J. job | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/21/2010

Sources say former D.C. education chancellor considering N.J. job | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/21/2010

Sources say former D.C. education chancellor considering N.J. job

Michelle A. Rhee, who is resigning as schools chancellor of Washington, D.C., is seriously considering becoming New Jersey's next education commissioner, according to a published report that cited two unidentified people familiar with the negotiations.

Gov. Christie's office asked Rhee, 40, to become education commissioner, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported Wednesday.

Rhee's stated desire to be close to family may prove too big an obstacle, however. Her husband, former NBA all-star Kevin Johnson, is the mayor of Sacramento, Calif.

She initially turned down the offer after assuming the



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20101021_Sources_say_former_D_C__education_chancellor_considering_N_J__job.html#ixzz135avryl6
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

School district's budget balanced for now, but tough choices loom

Thanks to some strategic spending cuts and some unexpected increases in revenue, the Philadelphia School District will close this fiscal year with a balanced $3.2 billion budget.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein wants nothing more than to release data on more than 12,000 teachers

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein wants nothing more than to release data on more than 12,000 teachers

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein wants nothing more than to release data on more than 12,000 teachers

Friday, October 22nd 2010, 4:00 AM

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein wants the world to believe his attempt to make public more than 12,000 Teacher Data Reports was merely a response to an information request from the press.

Don't buy it.

Klein couldn't wait to release the names, along with his arcane rating system that claims to show how much "value" each teacher added to the reading and math scores of their pupils.

He didn't seem to care about unfairly tarnishing the reputations of city teachers like Doreen Crinnigan, a 25-year veteran of the school system who teaches at Public School 48 in Bensonhurst.

"We don't blame anyone for wanting to look at how they (teachers) are performing, and value-added data is a window into that," Klein spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said.

This was before the teachers' union sued in Manhattan Supreme Court and Klein agreed to halt the release of the data, pending a Nov. 24 hearing.

Such a hearing will undoubtedly reveal that the very consultants



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_schools_chancellor_joel_klein_wants_nothing_more_than_to_release_data_on_more_th.html?r=ny_local/education#ixzz135aFS1GF