Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Afternoon Udate: New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools 1-25-11 Get Involved- Read Education News

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

Get Involved- Read Education News


Parents 4 democratic Schools

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Departing from plan, Black slows down special ed changes | GothamSchools

Departing from plan, Black slows down special ed changes | GothamSchools

Departing from plan, Black slows down special ed changes

by Philissa Cramer

A delay in special education reforms is the first sign that plans laid out before Chancellor Cathie Black’s arrival might not be carried out as intended.

The Department of Education was supposed to expand changes to special education from 260 schools system-wide this fall. But that plan has been pushed back to 2012, Black told principals in an email earlier this week. The move was first reported by Insideschools, which reported that special education advocates said the city would not have been able to scale up the changes successfully on its original timeline.

The slowdown is notable because it marks Black’s first departure from the script set out for her by her predecessor, Joel Klein. Since being appointed chancellor, Black has largely indicated that she will stay Klein’s course. In her previous “Principals Weekly” emails, she expressed commitments to many of Klein’s priorities,

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Fire at EWA

Fire at EWA

Fire at EWA

by Ben Miller



For those who haven’t heard, there was a fire today at the headquarters of the Education Writers Association here in Washington. Fortunately, no one was injured, but they expect there to be some damage. Over at the Educated Reporter, one of EWA’s blogs, Linda Perlstein has a request for help:

There was a building fire at EWA this morning. Everyone is okay, but there will be damage, and even without this setback, the organization could use some love. By love I mean money. Did you know that there is no cost to join EWA? Did you know that nearly everyone attends our conferences for free, and that includes travel subsidies? Did you know of the nearly 400 journalists who have come to me for one-on-one help over the last three years, none had to pay a penny?

EWA relies on the generosity of foundations, but anyone connected to the nonprofit world, especially in journalism, knows that that is not enough these days. If you feel like you have been helped by EWA—either directly or because you feel like better education journalism means better education for our kids (which is certainly how I feel)—please consider a donation.

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Schools Matter: Will Justice Department Go After the Real Crooks?

Schools Matter: Will Justice Department Go After the Real Crooks?

Will Justice Department Go After the Real Crooks?

by Jim Horn
In a scene reminiscent of the glory days of Hoover's G-Men, the FBI rounded up over a hundred numbers runners, thugs, drug dealers, and arms salesmen last week in a big, big story showing the get-toughness on crime by Team Obama.

The question that remains is whether or not the Justice Department and the FBI will raid the casinos on Wall Street to pick up the real criminals who have walked away with trillions of other people's dollars, while leaving the taxpayers to pay it all back.

This clip from HuffPo has this story suggesting that there is plenty to indicate that orange jumpsuits and prosecutions are in order, but will Obama and Congress go after their largest political contributors?
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TFA Founder Wendy Kopp: Don't Release Teacher Value-Added Scores to Newspapers - Dana Goldstein

TFA Founder Wendy Kopp: Don't Release Teacher Value-Added Scores to Newspapers - Dana Goldstein

TFA Founder Wendy Kopp: Don't Release Teacher Value-Added Scores to Newspapers

by Dana Goldstein

I enjoyed spending some time with Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp last Tuesday, and today my profile of her is up at The Daily Beast. Two newsy bits from our interview:

1. Kopp said being the chancellor of the New York City public schools would be "the best job in the world...just awesome," but that she was not approached about the position by Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

2. Kopp said she does not support the Bloomberg administration's policy of seeking to release to news organizations individual teachers' value-added ratings. In fact, she said the idea of doing so is "baffling. ... I can't imagine it's a good organizational strategy to go publish the names of teachers and one data point about whether they are effective or not in the newspaper."

Read the whole thing.

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Black Mother Jailed for Sending Her Kids to White School « Student Activism

Black Mother Jailed for Sending Her Kids to White School « Student Activism

Black Mother Jailed for Sending Her Kids to White School

by Angus Johnston

(I stole the headline for this post from one by Boyce Watkins, who has a thorough and well-worth-reading rundown of the story.)

Kelly Williams-Bolar, a black single mom in Akron, Ohio, was convicted of felony records-tampering charges and sentenced to ten days in jail for registering her kids for school at her father’s residence rather than her own. She lives in the projects, her dad lives in a good district, and he’s facing a felony grand theft charge for “stealing” two years of public school for his grandkids. Oh, and her felony conviction means that she’s going to have to give up

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The Slippery Slope of Stupidity « Occupy UCI!

The Slippery Slope of Stupidity « Occupy UCI!

The Slippery Slope of Stupidity

by Mr. F

A copy of the police incident report for the first chalking incident (Nov 17, 2010) has been obtained.

According to the report, the first 5 students that were detained were not caught writing anything, but had chalk on their hands or were standing near a chalk message. Additionally, the cost of cleanup of this “malicious vandalism” was… $10. What? The Student Center apparently did not request any arrests, but the report suggests that decorated officers Jamie Park and Michael Keller WOULD HAVE ARRESTED STUDENTS FOR CHALKING had it been requested by the UCI administration. As the one checked box indicates, they considered chalking a “violation of criminal laws”, even though we’ve previously posted legal justification that chalking IS NOT illegal.

The report was forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct and Director of Punishment Edgar Dormitorio, though

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The Answer Sheet - Why Oscar snubbed ‘Superman’ -- deservedly so

The Answer Sheet - Why Oscar snubbed ‘Superman’ -- deservedly so

Why Oscar snubbed ‘Superman’ -- deservedly so

The documentarians who select the films for Academy Award nominations in the feature documentary category got it right: “Waiting for Superman” was not good/accurate enough to be selected. The snub to Davis Guggenheim’s tendentious film was well-deserved, given that classic documentaries are factual and straightforward, and don’t, as did "Superman," fake scenes for emotional impact. Academy Award nominations are heavily political, yet this film didn’t make the cut even though President Obama called it “powerful” and welcomed to the White House the five charming students who starred in the film.
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Democurmudgeon: Sweden's Voucher System no Secret, just some important details are ignored by right wing advocates.

Democurmudgeon: Sweden's Voucher System no Secret, just some important details are ignored by right wing advocates.

Sweden's Voucher System no Secret, just some important details are ignored by right wing advocates.

by Democurmudgeon
Sweden is often brought up as the model of school voucher success. But what is never brought up are the elements of a big government curriculum and standardized testing, two issues the right wing in American won’t tolerate. Perhaps we should take a tip from what the former State Secretary of Schools in Sweden did to make their system work (note; the downsides and problems within their system were not included in this story):
BY ODD EIKEN – In 1993, Sweden introduced a system of school choice and vouchers, inspired by the ideas of American economists Milton and Rose Friedman. Even though the system was just as controversial then as any U.S. voucher proposal, the right to choose your school and bring the
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NAEP - 2009 Science: The Nation's Report Card

NAEP - 2009 Science: The Nation's Report Card

Summary of Major Findings

Fewer than one-half of students perform at or above the Proficient level in science at all three grades

Students throughout the nation in grades 4, 8, and 12 participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science. The assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, and research. To establish the baseline for future science assessments, the overall average score for each grade was set at 150 on a 0 to 300 scale.

  • Thirty-four percent of fourth-graders, 30 percent of eighth-graders, and 21 percent of twelfth-graders performed at or above the Proficient level.
  • Seventy-two percent of fourth-graders, 63 percent of eighth-graders, and 60 percent of twelfth-graders performed at or above the Basic level.
  • One percent of fourth-graders, 2 percent of eighth-graders, and 1 percent of twelfth-graders performed at the Advanced level.
  • Scores were higher than the nation in 24 states/jurisdictions at fourth-grade and 25 states/jurisdictions at eighth-grade.
  • At grade 12, there was no significant difference in scores for White and Asian/Pacific Islander students, and both groups scored higher on average than other racial/ethnic groups.
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NYC Public School Parents: Hurray for Hollywood!

NYC Public School Parents: Hurray for Hollywood!

Hurray for Hollywood!

by Leonie Haimson

Shocker! Waiting for Superman, the most heavily promoted documentary of all time, was snubbed for an Oscar nomination!

The film failed to get an Oscar nod, despite millions spent on making and promoting it by the privateers. Did Diane Ravitch's brilliant critique in the NY Review of Books have a negative effect?

Here's the first article in Movieline, back in November, that suggested her scathing review might hurt the film’s chances to win, but I don’t think anyone anticipated it would not be nominated.

Here’s the analysis by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post which

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New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools 1-25-11 Get Involved- Read Education News

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

Get Involved- Read Education News


Parents 4 democratic Schools

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Few Students Show Proficiency in Science, Tests Show - NYTimes.com

Few Students Show Proficiency in Science, Tests Show - NYTimes.com

In Tests, Few Students Excel in Science

By SAM DILLON
Published: January 25, 2011

On the most recent nationwide science test, about a third of fourth graders and a fifth of high school seniors scored at or above the level the federal Department of Education calls proficient, according to results released on Tuesday.

Only one or two students out of every 100 displayed the level of science mastery that the department defines as advanced, the government said.

“I was rather dismayed at the relatively lackluster performance at the top of the achievement levels,” said Alan Friedman, a former chief executive of the New York Hall of Science who sits on the board that oversees the federal tests. “The fact that

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If you stand for children, wouldn’t you do something about this data? « Fred Klonsky's blog

If you stand for children, wouldn’t you do something about this data? « Fred Klonsky's blog

If you stand for children, wouldn’t you do something about this data?

by Fred Klonsky

45% of Illinois public school children are poor. And the number is growing.

While Reformy groups like the well-funded Oregon-based Stand for Children concentrate on non-issues like tenure, and teacher-blaming issues like teacher collective bargaining rights, the number of children who qualify for free lunch programs continues to rise.

Chicago Tribune:

As a group, Illinois’ public school children are fewer in number, increasingly poor, more diverse and more likely than in recent years to spend the entire

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This Week In Education: Cheating: How Schools Enforce Code Of Silence

This Week In Education: Cheating: How Schools Enforce Code Of Silence
Cheating: How Schools Enforce Code Of Silence [image: ScreenHunter_08 Jan. 17 16.58] They say that cops are strict about enforcing the code of silence, but what about teachers? There's a fascinating story in the AJC about how whistleblowers in the classroom have been treated in their buildings ...
Quote: Should KIPP Shift To Elementary Schools? *[image: Quotes2] If KIPP focuses just on students who start in pre-K and kindergarten, it may ignore the needs of fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders who could also use nine-hour school days and imaginative teaching.* - Washington Post ...
Value-Added: Surprising Caution From Rhee [image: ScreenHunter_26 Jan. 23 19.14]When the LA Times first published ratings for individual teachers, Michelle Rhee expressed more caution that Arne Duncan (who endorsed the move immediately and without reservation). Since then, she's come out in ...
AM News: State Of The Education Union [image: Newsneon] State of the Union Edu-Cheat Sheet - Politics K-12EdWeek: President Barack Obama is expected to talk a lot about K-12 policy, call on Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and link his education agenda ..
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NYC Educator: Your Predictions about the New English Regents Here

NYC Educator: Your Predictions about the New English Regents Here

Your Predictions about the New English Regents Here

by Miss Eyre
As we high school teachers kick off Regents this week, the English teachers among us will have no doubt turned away dozens of students looking for their scores on the English Regents. The English Regents was given two weeks ago, two weeks before any other Regents, because it is a brand-new test format and the testing gnomes in Albany will need to norm it and curve it and all that before they establish what the raw cut score is.

I'm interested to see the results of this process. I scored the exam at my school, of course, and I was underwhelmed by the results. When I first saw the new exam format in the fall, my first reaction was one of something like revulsion; namely, "This test is so darn easy." But I don't know that the students at my school did all that well on an exam that I thought was lowballed quite a bit.

I think, then, what comes out of Albany will likely send a
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