Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Shanker Blog » The Legend Of Last Fall

The Legend Of Last Fall

by Matthew Di Carlo

The subject of Michelle Rhee’s teaching record has recently received a lot of attention. While the controversy has been interesting, it could also be argued that it’s relatively unimportant. The evidence that she exaggerated her teaching prowess is, after all, inconclusive (though highly suggestive). A little resume inflation from a job 20 years ago might be overlooked, so long as Rhee’s current claims about her more recent record are accurate. But are they?

On Rhee’s new website, her official bio - in effect, her resume today (or at least her cover letter) - contains a few sentences about her record as chancellor of D.C Public Schools (DCPS), under the header “Driving Unprecedented Growth in the D.C. Public Schools.” There, her test-based accomplishments are characterized as follows:

Under her leadership, the worst performing school district in the country became the only major

This Week In Education: Books: Merrow's New Book Available Today

Books: Merrow's New Book Available Today [image: Picture 95] Check out PBS news correspondent John Merrow's new book, THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS, out today to rave reviews: "*Terrific*" *Jim Lehrer* **"*Invaluable*" *Marian Wright Edelman, Children's Defense Fund* "*Important and enjoyable, ...

Video Interlude: How Do Fleas Jump? At long last, the superslowmo answer to the debate over whether fleas jump with their knees or their feet (via The Awl).

Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education (CReATE): Myths and Realities: A Public Forum on Chicago School Reform

Myths and Realities: A Public Forum on Chicago School Reform

by Create Chicago

MYTHS AND REALITIES:

A Public Forum on

Chicago School Reform

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

7:00-9:00 p.m.

UIC Forum (725 W. Roosevelt St., Chicago)

In the midst of the 2011 Chicago mayoral election season, we hear many proclamations and promises about what it means to improve public schools. But how do they compare to what we know so far from research about the real problems and solutions? Dozens of local education researchers have come together to release a fact sheet, "Chicago School Reform: Myths, Realities, and New Visions.” To discuss this fact sheet and examine ways that it converges with the work of community organizations, please join this Public Forum as we explore next steps in the movement to improve public education.

Speakers Include:

Kevin Kumashiro, University of Illinois at Chicago (moderator)
Leslie Rebecca Bloom, Roosevelt University
Sumi Cho, DePaul University
Gregory Michie, Concordia University Chicago
Isabel Nunez, Concordia University Chicago
Brian Schultz, Northeastern Illinois University
Therese Quinn, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
William Watkins, University of Illinois at Chicago

With Responses By:

Jitu Brown, KOCO (Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization)
Jackson Potter, CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators), Chicago Teachers Union
And More

Organized by CReATE (Chicagoland Researchers and Advocates for Transformative Education).

Sponsored by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information: createchicago@gmail.com, and Facebook.

Stop the Walker Valentine's Day Massacre!!!!!!!

valueteachingt8 | February 14, 2011 |

Governor Scott Walker wants to take away the legal rights of teachers. The right of representation and to form Unions. The vote is this week. Please call your Senator and House Representatives and tell them to vote NO on the Budget Repair Bill. Please do this now. Wisconsin Public Education is in danger.

This was all just a big mistake. They were looking for “Mr. Klomsky.” « Fred Klonsky's blog

This was all just a big mistake. They were looking for “Mr. Klomsky.”

by Fred Klonsky

Ben Velderman of EAG filed a FOIA request on my work emails. Did he go after the wrong guy?

From Steve Gunn, “Communications Director of the Michigan-based Education Action Group:

Unfortunately Mr. Klomsky used our completely legal request as an excuse to launch a vicious Internet attack on our employee. Perhaps that’s an indication that Klomsky has indeed been using his site illegally, and decided that he needed to strike at us first. We’ll find out about that soon enough.

New Income Data Show Even More Uneven Gains « California Budget Bites

New Income Data Show Even More Uneven Gains

At first glance, it appears that Californians as a whole are far wealthier today than they were two decades ago. The total adjusted gross income (AGI) of all California taxpayers rose by nearly $300 billion on an inflation-adjusted basis over the past two decades – a gain that is roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Argentina today. But, as we’ve blogged about before, most of that additional income has flowed to a small sliver of wealthy Californians. New Franchise Tax Board data that we recently received enabled us to extend our analysis of income gains back to 1987 – six years earlier than our previous analysis. These new data show that of the nearly $300 billion increase in total AGI between 1987 and 2008:

40 percent of the gains went to the wealthiest 1 percent of California taxpayers;
More than 70 percent of the gains went to the wealthiest 10 percent of taxpayers;

In Wisconsin, the Pack backs WEAC! « Fred Klonsky's blog

In Wisconsin, the Pack backs WEAC!

by Fred Klonsky

STATEMENT BY CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE SUPERBOWL CHAMPION GREEN BAY PACKERS ON GOVERNOR WALKER’S ATTACKS ON PUBLIC WORKERS

We know that it is team work on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn’t have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans.

It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work.

The right to negotiate wages and benefits is a fundamental underpinning of our middle class. When workers join

Don’t e-mail from work. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Don’t e-mail from work.

by Fred Klonsky

One lesson of the past week is one I have been preaching for a while: Don’t use work e-mail for personal use.

Your employer has always had the right to look at what you send out over their e-mail system.

But Illinois, and other states, have made teacher e-mails done on district e-mail systems available under state Freedom Of Information Acts.

In our district, the union may use district electronic communications systems to do union business. But we may

This Week In Education: Thompson: What Malcolm Gladwell Asked Wendy Kopp

People: A NYT Valentine For Ron Ferguson [image: image from graphics8.nytimes.com]On Monday the NYT's Mike Winerip profiled Harvard education guru Ron Ferguson -- apparently the first mainstream profile Ferguson's ever received -- and painted him as a sort of go-to guy on the achievement gap ...

Thompson: What Malcolm Gladwell Asked Wendy Kopp [image: Kopp]Last week in New York City, Wendy Kopp told Malcolm Gladwell that TFA is not a teaching organization but rather a leadership development organization. That's good to know. Then the conversation briefly turned to ways to make teaching ...

Schools Matter: Welcome to Planet Gladwell

Welcome to Planet Gladwell

by Kenneth Libby

The snippet below is from a recent interview/conversation between Malcolm Gladwell and Wendy Kopp. Just after the 25:00 mark, Gladwell and Kopp have this exchange:

Gladwell: I only ask because whenever I see Teach For America spoken of in a durogatory manner, it's invariably by someone on the right, which confuses me because because I would have thought that it was almost the other way around. Do you have a sense of this? Am I wrong in thinking this?

Kopp: Um...I doubt it. I mean, you're saying our folks are largely from the left? We have a diverse group of people.

Gladwell: What percentage of TFA alumni voted

Violence: Bloodbath At Bogan - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Violence: Bloodbath At Bogan Thanks to a a reader for sending in this jarring image of bloodstains on the floor near the entrance to Bogan that was apparently left over after a Thursday night confrontation at Bogan: "The students upon entering the building were greeted by the ...

Event: Fundraiser For Francisco Mendoza "You may be aware that this fall just before the beginning of school over 1100 teachers were laid off, 50 of whom were National Board Certified Teachers and many other award winning teachers. 200 were tenured and CPS ordered the court to reinstate ...

AM News: Teachers Union Can't Agree On Endorsement [image: image from webmedia.newseum.org] Testing young kids Tribune: To test into some of Chicago's top schools, incoming kindergartners must be able to do more than just count to 10 or rattle off the alphabet... South Shore High School students flag ...

Del Valle Blasts Red Light Cameras--Chicagoist

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Del Valle Blasts Red Light Cameras--Chicagoist

Del Valle Blasts Red Light Cameras--Chicagoist

by Joanna2011

From Chicagoist, 2.15.2011

Prior to last night's debate on WTTW, Miguel del Valle held a press conference at the intersection of Halsted and Madison, where he said thathe would review how the city is implementing its red light camera programif elected mayor and would reform what he called "oppressive" city driving and parking policies.

“Red light cameras were originally intended for the purpose of protecting pedestrians and reducing the number of automobile accidents at intersections with a history of automobile accidents,” said del Valle who voted for the original legislation allowing RLC enforcement when he was in the Illinois General Assembly. “I wan

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: To Rockford, Illinois: In solidarity!

To Rockford, Illinois: In solidarity!

This is a piece by David Stocker of Rockford, Illinois. He sent it to me to let me know what his city is experiencing, and I asked if I could post it here. Rockford residents are distraught and enraged at what is happening to their school district. Check out their Facebook page “Wanting a Resignation of LaVonne Sheffield” (“liked” by 2,993 people as of today).

David is just one of several people from Rockford who have contacted me over the past several weeks after discovering my blog, The Broad Report. One person wrote this: “Lavonne Sheffield (2002 Broad graduate) is running Rockford Public Schools in Illinois into the ground.” Another wrote this: “Help!!In Rockford Illinois we are suffering the "Broad Effect" with Broad Graduate

Pork Hunting 101: Shredding the Pork « School Finance 101

Pork Hunting 101: Shredding the Pork I love a good pulled pork sandwich. In fact, it’s one of my favorite foods. And the best damn pork sandwich I can think of is the Hog Heaven at Oklahoma Joe’s in the side of a freakin’ gas station in Kansas City, Kansas. I expect that this statement ...

Disparate thinking: The administration’s blind eye & racially disparate impact Apparently the U.S. Department of Education has decided to take on public education policies that not only are intentionally racially discriminatory, but also state and local policies that happen to have a racially disparate impact on certain ...

On the Education Budget and the Crisis in the States; Or: What Does Money Have to do With Good Public Schools? - Dana Goldstein

On the Education Budget and the Crisis in the States; Or: What Does Money Have to do With Good Public Schools?

by Dana Goldstein

In the documentary "Waiting for Superman," there's a clip in which Bill Clinton is shown campaigning in 1992 in front of a teachers' union group. Education reform, he tells the teachers, "is not about money. Except when it isabout money."

This is supposed to make us laugh and deride the received wisdom of the Democratic Party. After all, everyone knows Washington, D.C. has the highest per pupil spending in the country and some of the worst achievement outcomes. Everyone knows the United States is spending more per pupil than any country except Switzerland, yet our kids are getting their asses kicked by those smarty-pants Singaporeans.

And it's true. Except when it isn't. Take a look at this scatter plot comparing per pupil spending to high school graduation rates. As you can see, some states--like D.C. and New York--are spending a heck of a lot and

The National Review Slams the For-Profit College Industry « Student Activism

The National Review Slams the For-Profit College Industry

by Angus Johnston

Does the for-profit college industry have any friends left? Seriously, it’s getting really ugly out there.

With new government regulations looming and a seemingly constant stream of bad press, for-profit higher education is on the ropes. They charge exorbitant prices, they provide sub-standard education, they target vulnerable students, they have an abysmal job placement record, and they do it all on the government dime.

Now even the National Review, the nation’s most prominent conservative journal, i

Facebook for Higher Education - How it Works #UCDavis #CSUS

Facebook for Higher Education - How it Works

Engage. Predict. Enroll. Retain.

Schools App is a third-party Facebook application created by Inigral that will allow you to create a private, branded social network for your students within Facebook that will engage them in ways that Pages and Groups can't.

How it's different

Facebook Pages are built for mass communication, not real engagement. Think of them kind of like a modern day mailing list. Facebook Groups are a little better but aren't built for larger audiences, like your incoming class.

Schools App is the only tool specifically designed to engage your current and future students in a dialogue and create a community before they ever set foot on campus.

The results: When our clients compared our application with their existing Facebook Groups and Pages, they saw are three times the number of members and seven times the activity in Schools on Facebook.

This Week In Education: Media: The Tightly Staged Presidential School Visit

Media: The Tightly Staged Presidential School Visit

by Alexander Russo

It looks casual and relaxed, but in reality it's tightly scripted and all but hermetically sealed. Yesterday's Presidential visit to Parkville Middle School went off without a hitch, thanks to extensive advance work by White House staffers who apparently started showing up more than a week ahead of time and a nearly complete clampdown on the local press and educators involved with the school. I'm told that local press access was limited to the Baltimore Sun; everyone else had to work off of images transmitted by

Building connections at Parents Across America forum « Failing Schools

Building connections at Parents Across America forum

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

by markfriedman1

Last Monday, February 7th, several members of the Rochester, NY-based Community Education Task Force traveled to downtown Manhattan to participate in the first Parents Across America national forum. Leonie Haimson is the head of Class Size Matters, co-founder of Parents Across America, an NYC parent, and a strong education advocate. Haimson hosted the event and provided excellent details on the numerous speakers at the event who spoke of the myriad issues in education nationally. The keynote speaker, Diane Ravitch, provided an insightful, passionate analysis of where we are in education as well as where we are going.

Powerful testimonies came forward from such advocates as Karran Harper Royal of

This time, it's Audenried students who walk | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

This time, it's Audenried students who walk

by Benjamin Herold

Students from Audenried High School left school this morning and about 40 have gathered at to 440 N. Broad St. Tuesday morning to protest plans to convert the school to a charter managed by Universal Companies.

Their message: "We like Audenried just the way it is."

The student protesters are chanting,"This is our house!" and "Where is the data?"

Featured Title:

Renaissance round 2: Student protest at 440 N. Broad

The New Audenried

by Guest blogger

We have another guest blog today, and this one is from educators at Audenried High School.

On January 25, the New Audenried High School was identified as a “Renaissance School” and slated to become a charter under outside control. Before the 11th graders take the new school's first-ever Pennsylvania State Standard Assessments, before the inaugural graduating class of 2012 accepts their diplomas, and before we send our students off to pursue colleges and careers, our present renaissance is being cut short.

ASCD Inservice: What if Students Had to Opt-Out of A.P.?

What if Students Had to Opt-Out of A.P.?

In Washington state's Federal Way Public Schools every student in grades 6-12 who passes the state test in a specific subject area is signed up for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International, or honors classes in that subject. It's the district's effort to open up classes that have traditionally served only a handful of privileged students to all students, regardless of their economic background, gender, and race.

Assistant Superintendent and former ASCD Emerging Leader Joshua Garcia describes the effort as an attempt to break institutional limitations on students and the ultimate form of parent engagement. Instead of the school determining

Weblogg-ed » The Urgency for Change

The Urgency for Change

by Will Richardson

I feel like I should do some fun tool blogging or great classroom blogging or something before heading down the depressing road of writing more about change in schools, but I guess I can’t help myself. Especially after taking pictures like the one at right at a school I visited a couple of weeks ago and after reading quotes like this one:

“Unless we change direction, the combined impact of these proposals will do for public schooling what market reform has done for housing, health care and the economy: produce fabulous profits for a few and unequal access and outcomes for the many.”

That’s Stan Karp of the New Jersey Education Law Center lamenting the cuts and “reforms” here in my great state and elsewhere in a blog post in the Washington Post. (If you want to see a video of Karp giving basically the same riff on the topic, check out his YouTube video and there is atranscript here.) It’s a really powerful exploration of the current conversation around change and the many problems surrounding it.

The critical point to me, however, is this: all of this orchestrated bashing of teachers and schools is opening the door for folks outside of education to come in and “save the day” Superman style, a fact that, as Karp suggests, could undermine the whole

The Problem with TFA - Bridging Differences - Education Week

The Problem with TFA

by Diane Ravitch

Dear Deborah,

This week Teach for America (TFA) celebrates its 20th anniversary. I have sometimes thought that if I were graduating from college now, I would apply to join TFA. It attracts well educated, bright, idealistic young people. Their energy and commitment are impressive.

The problem with TFA is that it grossly overstates its role in American education. This year, TFA sent 8,000 young people into high-needs schools; they agree to stay for two years; some stay longer, but most will be gone within three years. This is a small number indeed when you consider that our nation has 4 million teachers. And our most compelling problem is attrition. Of those who enter teaching, 50 percent are gone within five years. These are terrible statistics. We need a stable teaching profession, not a revolving door. We need to recruit new teachers who plan to stay in teaching and make a career of it. New teachers should have a solid education and strong preparation for their work. They should have the mentors and support they need to survive the trials of the early years and to improve continuously.

TFA does not solve any of those problems and needs. Yet its spectacular public relations and communications

Schools Matter: Join the Bartleby Project: Reject High-Stakes Testing

Join the Bartleby Project: Reject High-Stakes Testing

by Jim Horn

From Huffington Post:

"I'm inviting you to join a real conspiracy, call it an open conspiracy, with real consequences on millions of real lives. I know that sounds megalomaniacal, but be patient. If we pull this off, a great many will bless us, although the school industry few will curse us. This is about a project to destroy the standardized testing industry... This adventure is called 'The Bartleby Project.'" John Taylor Gatto.(Weapons of Mass Instruction, New Society Publishers 2008)
My 11-year-old son loves the show Myth Busters. From the first time he put two Legos together he was hooked on constructing intricate things (200 piece Bionicles at age 5). He creates Rube Goldberg contraptions and loves animals. He can manipulate through different technologies (Google Earth, iPad, iPod, Facebook, Sims, etc) and he doesn't need instructions because his curiosity enables him to navigate and learn new technologies. He also loves football. He watches

Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

To Rockford, Illinois: In solidarity!

Engage. Predict. Enroll. Retain.

How it's different

Building connections at Parents Across America forum

What if Students Had to Opt-Out of A.P.?