Wednesday, December 8, 2010

More Lessons for Education “Reformers” « InterACT

More Lessons for Education “Reformers”

by David B. Cohen

photo: Tiffany Szerpicki (via stock.xchng)

Quiz time for education “reformers” – what’s missing from the picture at right? Answers to follow – read on.

Over at Huffington Post, Suzanne Tacheny Kubach, the Executive Director of Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network, has written a useful reminder to the edreform crowd that there are certain standards they should hold themselves to while pursuing their agenda (“Lessons from Gotham for Education Reformers”). Using as her example the controversies around the recent appointment of Cathie Black as Chancellor for New York City Public Schools, Kubach observes that the leaders of that movement must be more consistent in their views of transparency and in articulating a compelling vision for education.

Kubach’s main concern seems to be winning over the general public, and perhaps more specifically, parents and

Shanker Blog » Why Does Joel Klein Keep Misrepresenting Al Shanker?

Why Does Joel Klein Keep Misrepresenting Al Shanker?

by Eugenia Kemble

Outgoing New York City Chancellor Klein loves to try to wrap himself in the mantle of Al Shanker. He is especially fond of pulling clipped Shanker quotes out of his hat—and out of context—when speaking about his favorite education “reforms.” At first this may seem puzzling, because the ex-Chancellor is disinclined to give either the United Federation of Teachers or its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, credit for much of anything except intransigence. It must be an inconvenient truth for Klein that Shanker devoted his life to making both organizations into the strong and aggressive advocates for teachers and teaching that they continue to be.

In “What I Learned at the Barricades,” a December 6 Wall Street Journal column, Klein leads up to his latest Shanker references with a characteristic litany of inaccurate claims – ones that Al would be quick to correct:

First, it is wrong to assert that students’ poverty and family circumstances severely limit their educational potential.” And “Second, traditional proposals for improving education—more money, better curriculum, smaller classes, etc —aren’t going to get the job done.

Really? It’ hard to imagine which barricades Klein learned at. There is plenty of evidence to support the impact of

Whom Do Americans Trust? Nurses…And Teachers!

by Randall Garton

Just a couple months after the prestigious Institute of Medicine urged that nurses be seen as “full partners” in redesigning the American health care system, they have received another vote of confidence, this one from the American public. According to the most recent Gallup poll, for the 9th straight year (and the 11th year in all), the American people ranked nurses as the most honest and ethical workers in the country.

When asked to the rate the ethics and honesty of people in a variety of occupations, 81 percent of those surveyed gave a “very high/high” rating to nurses. Doctors received a very high/high rating from a still respectable of 66 percent of respondents.

Despite being regularly scapegoated by politicians and the media for the past several years, grade school teachers still edged out doctors by 1 percentage point (a statistical tie), with 67 of those polled expressing high regard for the profession. Although this places teachers fairly high on the list of trusted professions—in fourth place, behind nurses (81 percent), military officers (73 percent), and pharmacists (71 percent)—the teacher

Working Class Hero - John Lennon

Guilt, Innocence, and Justice in the Julian Assange Case « Student Activism

Guilt, Innocence, and Justice in the Julian Assange Case

by Angus Johnston

Last week I argued that some media outlets were publishing stories about the Julian Assange sexual misconduct investigation that seemed to misrepresent both the relevant law and the allegations against him. Despite what you might have read on the web, for instance, consensual sex without a condom isn’t illegal in Sweden.

I didn’t take a position on Assange’s guilt or innocence in that piece, because I don’t have one. I was just trying to make sure that the accusations against him were reported accurately. (Assange is accused of holding a woman down against her will during a sexual encounter, and of failing to comply with her request that he use a condom during sex. He is accused of having sex with another woman without her consent while she slept — again without using a condom.)

When a public figure is accused of misconduct, his supporters are often tempted to minimize the charges against him — to say that the accusations are not merely false, but also unserious. But in this case the accusations are serious. Assange may be guilty or he may be innocent, but he is accused of serious crim

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Observations on local control

Observations on local control

by The Perimeter Primate

This issue is all about who allows whom to have power in the society. Anti-local control people don't have a problem with wealthy communities having local control over their school districts. For instance, no one gripes about the local control of Piedmont City Unified (CA), even though the district is labeled “failing” because it hasn’t made AYP since 2003 (median household income = $168,947).

There's probably some dividing line of wealth in a district, above which local control is a non-issue for the anti-local control crowd, but under which they consider it abhorrent. We can't let the unwashed masses make their own decisions and have their own leaders, can we?

And if the complaint is that there is a dearth of strong local leadership talent at the grassroots level, then why

Still much to say about Rhee

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 28: Michelle Rhee speaks at a meeting with College Board officials before speaking on a panel at one of her last scheduled public appearances at the College Board National Conference at Washington Hilton Hotel on October 28, 2010 in Washington, DC. Friday, Oct. 29 is Rhee's last day as DC schools chancellor. (Photo by Susan Biddle/For The Washington Post.) (Susan Biddle)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

kilgallinfred: You want to talk real reform, let's talk about delivering content in what we now know as brain-friendly ways; let's talk about grouping by ability and learning styles rather than strictly age; let's talk about home involvement that includes parental reading habits and accountability for other domestic issues; let's talk about dealing in a straightforward way with poverty.

jl09: Ms. Rhee and Adrian Fenty were visionaries and doers with best intentions for the betterment of the students.

kerryberger: A fresh approach to raising education standards was necessary, and unfortunately in our society, with a short-term mentality, we don't give programs time enough to prove their effectiveness. The victims are a generation of children who only know a world of inconsistency. And we wonder why standards drop?

hotezzy: Rhee should be involved in the day-to -day operations of school systems so that she will thoroughly understand the system as it really operates, not just her theoretical

The Answer Sheet - Schools eligible for 2011 John Lennon Scholarship

Schools eligible for 2011 John Lennon Scholarship

By Valerie Strauss

Songwriters and/or composers between the ages of 15 and 24 may be eligible to compete in the John Lennon Scholarship Program,established by Yoko Ono in 1997.

Each year, a group of colleges and universities is selected to participate in the program, named after the former Beatle who was slain 30 years ago Wednesday. You can see the application athttp://www.bmi.com/pdfs/foundation/lennon2011.pdf ; the deadline is Jan. 31, 2011.

Here are the 2011 schools eligible for the competition. Applicants may also be selected from the National Association for Music Education, but competition is open only to students currently enrolled at a school with an active MENC collegiate chapter. Alumni from these schools are

Black doesn't connect with UFT prez - NYPOST.com

Cathie in UFT snub

Too busy to meet with union prez

By YOAV GONEN Education Reporter

Last Updated: 9:34 AM, December 8, 2010

Posted: 2:18 AM, December 8, 2010

Comments: 9

A month into her appointment as incoming schools chancellor and more than a week after getting state approval for the role, Cathie Black has yet to meet with the head of the powerful city teachers union, she told The Post yesterday.

Instead, Black has been busy visiting seven high-performing public schools in the past 10 days, meeting with principals union president Ernie Logan, and attending yesterday's high-school football championship game at Yankee Stadium.

"I've got a million things going on at once. Right now, being in schools is really, really important for me," Black told The Post editorial board yesterday when asked why there's been no tete-a-tete yet with United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew.

CHAD RACHMAN/NEW YORK POST

Cathie Black

"I'm trying to be out in the community to meet the electeds, but he's obviously very important," she added. "There will be things we differ on, I'm sure . . . but I would hope that we can have as positive a relationship as we possibly can."

Black noted, however, that coming together on issues like teacher tenure, seniority-based layoffs and reforming teacher evaluations would be difficult -- especially with looming budget cuts.

"There aren't a lot of gives to give, so finding a common ground is not going to be easy, but I will work very hard toward that," Black said. "The most important thing for me is to have the best teachers, so we have to work through these quite contentious issues between the UFT and the Department of Education."

Mulgrew told The Post that Black had canceled their last scheduled meeting, and left the possibility of a get-together in her hands.

Parent “Trigger” Is Parent “Involvement” At Its Worst | Engaging Parents In School...

Parent “Trigger” Is Parent “Involvement” At Its Worst

by Larry Ferlazzo

I’ve written often about the sham that is the California “parent trigger” law that allows an unclear number of parents in a school’s general area to “trigger” that school’s takeover by a charter school operator (not-so-coincidentally, the push for the law was led by a group connected to a charter school company).

Sadly, we can now see how it will be used by “school reformers” as they try it for the first time on a school in Compton (see Parents hope to force sweeping changes at Compton school).

Ben Austin, the head of the group pushing for the takeover, demonstrated a fair amount of self-righteous over-

Michelle Rhee brings her fix-the-schools drive to Sacramento - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Michelle Rhee brings her fix-the-schools drive to Sacramento

By Laurel Rosenhall - Updated: 7:01 am

She is nothing if not controversial. During three and a half years as the chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools, Michelle Rhee closed two dozen campuses, fired hundreds of teachers and allowed TV cameras to follow her as she battled teachers unions and canned principals.

Viewpoints: Learning the lessons of Rhee's D.C. stint

Nearly 1 in 4 capital high school students drop out

By Phillip Reese - Updated: 6:42 am

Almost one in four Sacramento County high school students drop out before getting their diploma, according to a new state report.

Remodeled library to reopen in Davis

By Hudson Sangree - Updated: Tuesday, December 7 2010 - 7:09 am

Davis residents love their library and use it heavily, checking out 1.2 million items per year.

Yolo Branch Library in Davis to re-open Tuesday

UC looks to cash in on out-of-state students

By Laurel Rosenhall - Updated: Tuesday, December 7 2010 - 6:48 am

The University of California concluded more than a year of self-reflection Monday, issuing a report intended to guide it through an era of declining public support.

Michelle Rhee launches student advocacy group

By Melody Gutierrez - Updated: Tuesday, December 7 2010 - 6:53 am

Education reformers have waited for the word. Teachers unions have braced for the announcement.

Internet, cost spur textbook revolt

By Laurel Rosenhall - Updated: Monday, December 6 2010 - 2:20 pm

When Elizabeth Walz ran for student government last year, she built her campaign around an issue she knew would resonate with her peers at UC Davis: the cost of textbooks.

Business textbooks meet the graphic novel

Christie administration blames Corzine on charters | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/07/2010

Christie administration blames Corzine on charters

By Rita Giordano

Inquirer Staff Writer

The Christie administration said Monday that New Jersey's failure to win a federal grant for charter school start-ups was the fault of a weak and understaffed state charter operation it inherited from Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

Democratic leaders criticized Gov. Christie last week after the state's failed bid for $14 million in education funds was made public by The Inquirer.

New Jersey's low-scoring application - combined with the Christie administration's unsuccessful effort to secure a $400 million federal Race to the Top education grant - indicates that education is not a priority for the governor, the lawmakers charged.

When asked about losing the grant, Christie spokesmen initially cited the governor's support of school choice and said efforts were being made to strengthen the charter program. The state plans to reapply for the grant,

Schools take biggest hit in budget wars | California Watch

Schools take biggest hit in budget wars

by Louis Freedberg

Louis Freedberg

in Sacramento's desperate attempts to balance the state's budget, California's K-12 public schools and community colleges have been especially hard hit compared to reductions in funding for all other state programs.

That's according to calculations by Strategic Education Services, an influential lobbying firm representing large urban school districts like Los Angeles, Santa Ana and San Bernardino. It points out that the amount of basic support provided by the state for K-14 education (through so-called Proposition 98 funds) declined by $6.9 billion from the 2007-08 fiscal year to the current 2010-11 school year.

That comes to a reduction of 12 percent in funding from the state's general fund – compared to a reduction of a mere $600 million, or 0.7 percent in the rest of state's general fund budget.

"The Legislature claims that its number one priority is educational funding for the schools, but the reality is

This Week In Education: Turnarounds: Parents Pull The Trigger On South Central School

Turnarounds: Parents Pull The Trigger On South Central School

by Alexander Russo

Those crazy Californians, letting the little people vote on everything (legalizing gay marriage, tax policy, pot legalization) directly rather than relying on politicians to make decisions for them. And now it's spreading to the schools. It was bad enough when they let teachers have a say in how their schools were going to be run, but now they're letting parents in on the decisionmaking process which is just so messy and uncertain. Here's lots

Politics: Rahm Residency, Schooling Decisions Unclear

by Alexander Russo

His eligibility to be a mayoral candidate remains up in the air, but former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel still won't commit to sending his kids to public schools if elected mayor of Chicago: Emanuel won't commit to public school for his kids: Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel wants to increase teacher training programs but says he won't commit to sending his kids to public schools if he's

AM News: White House Wants "Race 2.0" Funding

by Alexander Russo

White House Pushes for Race to Top 2.0 in Budget EdWeek: The administration also wants to see the Race to the Top competition opened up to districts... N.Y. Teachers Fight Effort To Make Ratings Public NPR: The union representing New York City's teachers goes to court Wednesday to try to stop the release to the media of a database of teacher effectiveness ratings... Gates Foundation forges education partnerships Seattle PI: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping traditional school districts in nine cities form partnerships with charter school organizations, to help both kinds of schools learn from each other and improve student learning... Report: Tough times far from over for states AP: Lawmakers have reduced spending for parks, health care for low-income children and some state-funded medical transplants. Still, the tough times are far from over.

LA lays off effective teachers — Joanne Jacobs

LA lays off effective teachers

by Joanne

When Los Angeles schools lay off teachers, performance doesn’t count, reports the Los Angeles Times. Seniority is the only factor. Schools with young staffs have been hit hard by layoffs.

At John H. Liechty Middle School opened in 2007 in Los Angeles’ impoverished Westlake neighborhood with a seasoned principal, dozens of energetic young teachers and a mission to “reinvent education” in the nation’s second-largest school district.
The students had come from some of the lowest-performing schools in the city. But by the end of the first year, their scores on standardized tests showed the most improvement in English among district middle schools and exceptional growth in math, according to a Times analysis.
. . . But when budget cuts came in the summer of 2009 — at the end of the school’s second year

Nothing new about differential pay
by Joanne
Paying some teachers more than others has roots in Western civilization, writes Rick Hess.
In the Greek city-state of Teos, for example, elementary teachers were paid 600 drachmas for the first grade, 550 for the second, and 500 for the third. Equally noteworthy is that the Greeks also paid instructors differentially depending on the subject taught. Teosian archery and javelin teachers were the lowest-paid teachers, at 250 drachmas per year; literature teachers earned 500 to 600 drachmas; and music teachers were the highest-paid teachers, at 700 drachmas.
. . . In Athens, meanwhile, both the Sophists and the Philosophes charged tuition as they saw fit,

SRC ratification resolutions: Still no letup | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

SRC ratification resolutions: Still no letup

by Paul Socolar on Dec 07 2010 Posted in Latest news

Despite some questions about the practice raised by commissioners this fall, a significant percentage of the measures approved by the School Reform Commission each month continue to be in the form of "ratification resolutions" - items brought up for a vote after the contract or work to be approved has already started.

What has changed, as Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky noted publicly at a November SRC meeting, is that the District is now following a new protocol, providing the commission with "a justification for seeking a ratification rather than a pre-approval" on any resolution that comes to the SRC after the fact.

SRC resolutions approving any financial activity after the fact are always labeled as ratifications. However, the written justifications for these ratifications are not included in the abridged, "summary" version of the resolutions that is made available to the public and the media at SRC meetings

Dworetzky said in November he would not support any further ratification resolutions that don't include a justification statement.

In November, 10 of the 68 resolutions on the SRC's agenda involved ratifications after the fact. In October, seven of 35 resolutions involved ratifications.

Gates brokers pact with L.A. Unified, charters | Thoughts on Public Education

Gates brokers pact with L.A. Unified, charters - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Los Angeles Unified and charter schools continue to fight in court over access to district buildings, but on Tuesday, they hit the reset button on other areas of their often contentious relationships. Los Angeles leaders joined counterparts in eight other cities in signing a compact, brokered by the Gates Foundation, to work together to share best [...]

Mayor Villaraigosa attacks UTLA - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Los Angeles Mayor Antionio Villaraigosa, who cut his teeth organizing for United Teachers of Los Angeles, unloaded on the union in a speech Tuesday at a conference in Sacramento sponsored by the Public Policy Institute of California. Characterizing the UTLA union leadership as “one, unwavering roadblock to reform,” the mayor called on the union [...]

Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Still much to say about Rhee

Schools eligible for 2011 John Lennon Scholarship

Christie administration blames Corzine on charters

SRC ratification resolutions: Still no letup

by Paul Socolar on Dec 07 2010 Posted in Latest news