Friday, December 17, 2010

“Parent Trigger” Updates | Engaging Parents In School...

“Parent Trigger” Updates Here are a couple of articles on the parent trigger debate that appeared today: N.J. legislator proposes ‘parent trigger’ for failing schools Our lame-duck Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post supporting it.

“Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform” Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform is a new report issued by the Harvard Family Research Project. This is how they describe it: *Beyond Random Acts provides a research-based framing ...

“California Board of Education seeks probe of Compton charter campaign” California Board of Education seeks probe of Compton charter campaign is the headline of a story in the Los Angeles Times this morning. It’s all about the flawed effort to use the flawed “parent trigger” law.

The Answer Sheet - The disaster California schools face, and a teacher's call to action

The disaster California schools face, and a teacher's call to action

This was written by educator Anthony Cody, who taught science for 18 years in inner-city Oakland and who now works with a team of science teacher-coaches that supports novice teachers. He is a National Board-certified teacher and an active member of the Teacher Leaders Network. This post appeared on his Teachers Magazine blog, Living in Dialogue. By Anthony Cody California Gov.-elect Jerry Brown has a better understanding than most politicians of education issues, as we discovered last year when he sent some cogent advice to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. However, he can't seem to find a way to conjure $25 (or perhaps now $28) billion out of thin air, and is warning educators that the schools will suffer a 20-25 percent cut in funding next year. California already is in 49th place in the nation in terms of student/teacher ratio, and is dead last in the ratio of students

The carrot, the stick ... or something else?

My guest is Sean Slade, director of Healthy School Communities, part of the Whole Child Initiative at ASCD, an educational leadership organization. By Sean Slade A study on chronic student truancy that was generally ignored by the news media concluded that punishing parents when their children skip school -- an idea under discussion in some places -- is counterproductive. “Hauling parents into family court is not the best way to combat a rising tide of kids who chronically miss school," it says. Chronic truancy has been long hailed as a key indicator of other youth risk-taking behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse, and an indicator of a host of social, emotional, and mental health issues.

Carrot for changing teacher evaluations | Thoughts on Public Education

Carrot for changing teacher evaluations - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Last month, State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell couldn’t get any votes for his plan to encourage districts to change the way they evaluate teachers and administrators. Education groups didn’t like the proposal any better. But this week, with the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators now praising it, the [...]

Ted Mitchell on the State Board of Education’s policy to encourage comprehensive teacher and principal evaluations - by admin

by admin

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Del Valle talks school business at mayoral forum. Watch! « Fred Klonsky's blog

Del Valle talks school business at mayoral forum. Watch!

by Fred Klonsky

“It’s time to focus on neighborhood schools,” said Miguel Del Valle at the UIC Forum the other night.

Schools Matter: The Media Bullpen

The Media Bullpen

by Kenneth Libby

Keep an eye on this new "media/policy platform," The Media Bullpen. It's put together by the Center for Education Reform and is funded, at least in part, but the Gates Foundation.

From Idealist:

The Center for Education Reform is seeking a top-notch Managing Editor as it prepares for the launch of The Media Bullpen, a groundbreaking journalistic media/policy platform dedicated to dedicated to: a) correcting the record on K-12 education issues and; b) improving the media/public understanding of topics in K-12 education and education reform.

The ideal candidate will lead The Media Bullpen’s editorial program, under the supervision of CER senior executives, through an evolving combination of hands-on content creation and

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Teachers union hosts 3rd mayoral forum

Teachers union hosts 3rd mayoral forum

by Mike Klonsky

M. Klonsky photo

It looked to me like about 600-700 (mostly teachers) packing the Operating Engineers union hall last night. I didn't hear much new from any of the five candidates who showed up--Miguel del Valle, Carol Moseley Braun, James Meeks, Gery Chico and William "Dock" Walls.

As expected, Rahm Emanuel didn't deem the crowd worthy of his presence (I wonder what's really in those 20 boxes he has hidden in that crawl space in his former house?). Congressman Danny Davis was also a no-show. He phoned in a brief statement from D.C. where he rushed to heed Obama's call to vote yes on the $858 billion tax-break-for-the-rich bill. How sad.

Lots of ed clichés tossed about. We learned that all kids can learn, we should leave no child behind, and that it

An end to regulation?

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.), the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee (left) huddles with the current chairman, Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) at a hearing in September. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Spencer Bachus, the incoming G.O.P. chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told

Hoover Experts Strike Out « InterACT

Hoover Experts Strike Out

by David B. Cohen

photo: Jawed Karim (commons.wikimedia.org)

Eleven “education experts” at the Hoover Institution have recently offered up their review of the Best and Worst in American Education, 2010, and totally missed the mark in eight of their ten conclusions. Regarding a math teaching study, and a voucher system in Washington D.C., I don’t have an opinion. On every other count I disagree strongly, and will highlight the worst of their review, leading to the conclusion that this type of thinking

My First Vlog: On Arne Duncan and the Poverty of The Discussion of Poverty — The Jose Vilson

My First Vlog: On Arne Duncan and the Poverty of The Discussion of Poverty

by Jose

My first webcam video, where I discuss Secretary Arne Duncan, poverty, Black and Latino males, and teacher effectiveness. This was liberating.

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Jose

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Gov. Chris Christie to nominate ex-N.Y. schools official for N.J. education commissioner | NJ.com

Gov. Chris Christie to nominate ex-N.Y. schools official for N.J. education commissioner

Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010, 9:48 PM

By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger
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Christopher Cerf, former New York City deputy chancellor, will be nominated by Gov. Chris Chirstie to be the state's next education commissioner, sources say.

TRENTON — Christopher Cerf, a former New York City school official whose political savvy and record of education reform helped Mayor Michael Bloomberg win re-election last year, will be nominated as New Jersey’s next education commissioner, two people briefed on the appointment said tonight.

Gov. Chris Christie is expected to formally nominate Cerf, a 56-year-old Montclair resident, next week, according to the two people who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

If confirmed by the state Senate, Cerf would take over a department that has been in turmoil since August, when former Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired after the state lost $400 million in federal education aid.

The nomination, which Christie’s office would not confirm last night, ends months of speculation

Why We Are Identifying So Many Autistic Kids: They Breathe

by admin

Today, after a student study team meeting, the members, including the assistant principal, school nurse, psychologist and myself (the teacher and parent had already departed), all looked at one another in disbelief. Were we about to test another autistic kid? The school psychologist pointed out that statistically we should be identifying about 10 autistic children a year, and at our current pace we’ll make that easy. Why are so many autistic kids showing up at our door? I don’t think they all have advanced age fathers as research linking paternal age and autism would suggest. And as for blaming it on vaccination, I don’t roll that way. It’s easier for me to

At House education reform hearing parents come armed with data. « Fred Klonsky's blog

At House education reform hearing parents come armed with data.

by Fred Klonsky

An observer at today’s House Committee on Education Reform called to tell me that one of the odd things about the affair was it was a speaker representing parents who was among the few people who gave testimony that presented real data.

Julie Woestehoff, Executive Director of Parents United for Responsible Education waited all afternoon to testify. She wanted to sit at the table designated for education reform groups but was told it was too crowded by groups like the deep pocketed Stand for Children.

Woestehoff writes on PURE’s website:

It was a long afternoon out in Aurora, but the Illinois House Education Reform Committee got a good earful from teachers and others about not including them in this rushed legislation to create a new teacher evaluation process.

DREAM Act Vote Coming Saturday « Student Activism

DREAM Act Vote Coming Saturday

by Angus Johnston

Senate majority leader Harry Reid has scheduled votes on the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell for this Saturday — apparently defying the White House, which had reportedly been lobbying for the Senate to tackle the START arms control treaty first.

It was announced earlier today that Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden — a crucial vote for both the DREAM Act and

The Frustrated Teacher: DFER: The Real Billionaire Boys Club

DFER: The Real Billionaire Boys Club

L to R: David Einhorn, another hedge-funder on DFER’s advisory board, is president of Greenlight Capital, LLC; Board member Whitney Tilson is chief of T2 Partners and Tilson Funds and vice chair of New York’s KIPP Academy Charter Schools; Hedge-fund manager John Petry, a DFER board member, co-founded the Harlem Success Academy Charter School with Eva Moskowitz; DFER advisory board member Joel Greenblatt is a protégé of fallen junk-bond icon Michael Milken; Joe Williams heads Democrats for Education Reform and its sister organization, Education Reform Now.

Who are these people? They don’t sound like Democrats.

If party registration and political donations indicate political allegiance, these DFER deep pockets are blue-blood Democrats. The group’s financial records show board members, advisers and the organization itself contributing heavily to Democratic campaigns as well as to the Democratic National Committee and its Senate and House election committees. However, when it suits their anti-union agenda, DFER leaders are only too happy to cross party lines and endorse Republicans, as DFER’s Whitney Tilson did in

Happy Holidays from Occupy UCI « Occupy UCI!

Happy Holidays from Occupy UCI

by Mr. F

In response to Chancellor Drake’s shameful and conniving holiday greeting, we’d like to offer our own, signed by 95% of the world’s people.

NYC Public School Parents: Joel Klein, lousy manager from the beginning to the end

Joel Klein, lousy manager from the beginning to the end

by Leonie Haimson

See this article in Capital about what a bad manager Joel Klein was...with lots of stories of screaming fights at Tweed.

It might make good gossip, but anyone paying any attention to our schools has known for a long time that Klein was a terrible manager, though the mainstream media seems to have paid little attention before now. The theory floated in the article is that everything was better before Kristen Kane left in 2007.

When [Kane] she left in 2007, Klein filled her position of chief operating officer, but no one took over her managerial responsibilities and the department suffered for it, a former official said.
“There really never was any high-level management coming out of Joel’s office without her, and certainly, she was never replaced,” said a former DOE official.

(Photo Anagnostopoulos replaced Kane as COO, though strangely, her name is never mentioned in the article. Photo is also the only top level DOE official to have quit, at least so far, since Cathie Black's appointment was

Roles for Supporting Meaningful Group Work « Outside the Cave

Roles for Supporting Meaningful Group Work

by Stephen Lazar

A couple people have asked me recently for the structure I use to support group work in my history class, so I’d figure I’d share it here for all. I would only ask that if you use them, you let me know how things go, and especially any changes you make. But first, some context:
As a progressive educator, I was trained to value group work. However, for much of the beginning of my career, I had inconsistent success. Some tasks would go well; others would just result in students copying information from each other. Last year, I spent a lot of time thinking about what makes group work successful and what would make it unsuccessful. After attending a workshop at a conference on group work in math classes (I always find value in getting outside of my content areas to be able to encounter new paradigms to bring back to humanities), I came to the conclusion that in history classes, there were two types of “group-worthy” tasks:

When students have a complex problem to solve with multiple entry points, various potential strategies to

Hechinger Report | NYC teachers learn lesson from pro baseball players: Don’t bank on privacy

NYC teachers learn lesson from pro baseball players: Don’t bank on privacy

by Justin Snider

Alex Rodriguez (photo by Keith Allison)

The world wasn’t exactly shocked in 2009 when Alex Rodriguez’s name turned up on a list of 104 Major League Baseball players who had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Nor was anyone surprised to learn later that year that David Ortiz—the Red Sox’s “Big Papi,” and a six-time All Star—was on the same list. Except, that is, David Ortiz. For years, his standard line about drug testing was, “All I know is they’re going to find a lot of rice and beans.” And steroids, he forgot to say.

Both the league and the players had planned on keeping the results private. And so they were—until 2009.

Promised confidentiality has, of course, a checkered history. Circumstances change, leaders change, norms change. Technology turns science fiction into reality. And what was once never intended for public consumption

California Springs Surprise Criminal Charges on Student Activists During Finals Period « Student Activism

California Springs Surprise Criminal Charges on Student Activists During Finals Period

by Angus Johnston

Last week the Orange County DA brought charges against nineteen participants in a sit-in at the University of California at Irvine.

The sit-in was last February. The charges were brought during finals week.

That’s right. The district attorney waited a total of 288 days to bring the charges, then brought them in the middle

A funny thing happened on the way to approving 10 new charters. Nothing happened. They weren’t approved. « Fred Klonsky's blog

A funny thing happened on the way to approving 10 new charters. Nothing happened. They weren’t approved.

by Fred Klonsky

The CPS board was to approve ten new Chicago charters yesterday.

But they didn’t.

The Chicago Board of Education was expected to approve 10 new charter campuses and expand 5 existing charters at its monthly meeting today. Instead, it withheld its vote. Before that non-vote, Board Headquarters at 125 S. Clark was

Queens Teacher: Time To Strike

Time To Strike

by Queens Teacher

From The Frustrated Teacher blog:
Teachers Are Losing The Reform Battle

There. I said it. We are losing. As I read the blogs, newspaper articles, and comments left, I am seeing many folks resigned to the fact that reform, in the guise of charters, longer days, paternalistic pedagogy, and bribery, will continue until the last ounce of professional dignity among teachers is ground into bits by the boots of the oligarchs and their puppets in government.

I have no faith in the intelligence of those in charge. Look what they have done so far--hired a publisher as an educational leader for the largest school district in the country, published the names and rankings of teachers in L.A. of a widely regarded as crap measure of competence, fired hundreds of teachers, closed schools and

Britain’s Lib Dems Call Local Election During University Holiday « Student Activism

Britain’s Lib Dems Call Local Election During University Holiday

by Angus Johnston

It’s the first parliamentary election since Britain’s governing coalition announced its plans for huge tuition fee increases and higher education budget cuts. It’s being held in a district with a university campus. And it’sscheduled for Christmas break.

The UK’s Liberal Democrats are the junior partners in the new British government, but they’re taking most of the student heat over the fee increases — they ran on a platform of eliminating tuition fees entirely, and won a high level of student support. (Many Lib Dem candidates, including the party’s leader, signed pledges not to vote to

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Friday, December 17, 2010

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Gov. Chris Christie to nominate ex-N.Y. schools official for N.J. education commissioner

Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010, 9:48 PM

It was a long afternoon out in Aurora, but the Illinois House Education Reform Committee got a good earful from teachers and others about not including them in this rushed legislation to create a new teacher evaluation process.

The Chicago Board of Education was expected to approve 10 new charter campuses and expand 5 existing charters at its monthly meeting today. Instead, it withheld its vote. Before that non-vote, Board Headquarters at 125 S. Clark was