Wednesday, July 20, 2011

This Week In Education: Thompson: Broken School Discipline System Lacks Discretion

Thompson: Broken School Discipline System Lacks Discretion

by john thompson

Should we worry about the New York Times' chart showing that 15% of students receive eleven or more disciplinary actions during six years of secondary school? Or should we concentrate on the "half of those students who ended up in juvenile-justice facilities or programs for an average of 73 schooldays?" As explained in the Washington Post, suspension numbers do not tell us "whether some schools might be more tolerant of misbehavior, or better at classroom management or using alternative approaches." This is just another data-driven nostrums, another silver bullet for classroom management, which simply reduces discretionary methods for fighting and classroom disruptions.

AM News: US Students Still Lost On Geography

by Alexander Russo

Geography Report Card Finds Students Lagging NYT: Even as schools aim to better prepare students for a global work force, fewer than one in three American students are proficient in geography. PLUS: US Students Make Scant Geography Progress WSJ.

54 New Jersey Schools Found Above-Average Answer Erasures Asbury Park Press: The Asbury Park Press and New Jersey Press Media Group successfully sued to get the reports from the state Department of Education.

Teacher turnover much higher at LA charters than public schools KPCC: Turnover is also higher among white teachers compared to minority teachers.

LAUSD Fights Summer Brain Drain Amid Budget Cuts NPR: Los Angeles' summer school budget was reduced from $8 million last year to $3 million this year.

New Approach Proposed for Science Curriculums NYT: A new approach for improving American science education includes focusing on core ideas and problem-solving.

36 States, D.C. to Apply for Race Early Ed. Money EdWeek: Governors in 36 states, along with District of Columbia officials, have told the U.S. Department of Education that they want to compete for $500 million in new Race to the Top money.

Fla. Education Chief: Give Miami-Dade, Duval More Time to Fix Failing Schools: Six chronically failing public schools will have yet another year to get their act together under a waiver recommended by state Education Commissioner John Winn.

One District Has No Instances Of Bullying, But Another Has 4,000 HuffED: The increasing focus on cyberbullying has also become controversial, raising questions on whether a school is responsible for what happens beyond school grounds.

Anthony Cody on why teachers are marching in Washington | Thoughts on Public Education

Anthony Cody on why teachers are marching in Washington

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Posted on 7/19/11 • Categorized as Teacher Development, Unions, Video, Video of the week

By admin

Click here for the Video of the interview.

Click here for the transcipt of the interview.

Anthony Cody, an Oakland science teacher who is organizing the Save Our Schools March on July 30 in Washington, says frustration with federal policies and the Obama administration's continued focus on standardized tests as the key to reform, led teachers to organize the July 30, 2011 march. He was interviewed by John Fensterwald of TOP-Ed, Thoughts on Public Education in California. July 2011.

School Tech Connect: Data Driven

Data Driven

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

AUSL caught in a push-out. Nice catch by Linda Lutton.

We really need to get some policy around the reporting of drop-out rate; it's subject to more gaming than

ASCD Inservice: Assessing Pupil Progress—New Methods Are Emerging (1975)

Assessing Pupil Progress—New Methods Are Emerging (1975)

James L. Leary, superintendent for instruction in Plymouth, Mich., schools, knows that grades aren't everything. After all, he relates, "A high school principal recently indicated his concern to me about the fact that the top three students (academically) from the graduating class of '71 are now in mental institutions, having 'bombed out' from drug abuse."

From here, Leary shares strides in making grading a more meaningful endeavor in his 1975 Educational Leadership article.

Read the article: Assessing Pupil Progress: New Methods Are Emerging (PDF)

Some of these methods, such as student involvement in the evaluation process, open-ended essay responses rather than

Jersey Jazzman: Why I'm Anonymous

Why I'm Anonymous

by Duke

I've been called out on the Twitter machine for being anonymous. OK, fair enough - here's my reasoning. You can take it or leave it, but at least you'll know I've thought about it a fair bit.

The first reason I'm anonymous is for the most obvious reason: I don't want the hassle for my family. I have school-aged kids and I don't want anything I say to redound to them while they're still in school. My wife has a life outside our home and, unfortunately, we live in a world where some folks still can't separate a person from the views of their spouse (look at the nonsense Michelle Obama has had to endure lately).

I once wrote a letter to the editor when I lived in Florida; a week later, I got an anonymous envelope with a bunch of "You're a moron!" statements written on little scraps of paper. This was right after the anthrax scares. I took it down to a friend who worked in the sheriff's office; he didn't find it very funny, and neither did I. Although he said I probably wasn't in any danger, I should still be checking my mail for the same handwriting, and I shouldn't open

Duncan’s Dilemma « The Enterprise Blog

Duncan’s Dilemma

By Whitney Downs

July 20, 2011, 8:27 am

A A A

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, education writer Stephanie Banchero highlighted the increasing impatience among state leaders over Congress’s inability to “fix” No Child Left Behind. Reauthorization of the law, which was enacted during the George W. Bush administration and technically expired in 2007, has been one of President Obama’s top priorities. “I’m calling on Congress to send me an education reform bill I can sign into law before the next school year begins,” he said back in March.

Currently, NCLB requires that individual schools and districts show certain levels of student proficiency on statewide language arts and math tests. Schools must not only have a satisfactory school-wide average, but must also demonstrate proficiency among subgroups of the student population, such as special education and African American students. If schools or districts fail to demonstrate “adequate yearly progress,” then a “remedy cascade” kicks in, which include replacing staff or leadership, reopening the school as a charter school, or placing the district under state control.

State officials argue that flagging huge swaths of their schools as “failing” will be deeply destructive–infuriating parents and forcing schools of all sorts to adopt a series of crudely designed federal interventions. To make matters worse for states, the law calls for all schools to demonstrate 100 percent proficiency by 2014–or else face federally

At long last! No Child Left Inside bill introduced in Congress - Main Line Times - Main Line Media News

At long last! No Child Left Inside bill introduced in Congress

Published: Wednesday, July 20, 2011

By Mike Weilbacher

Bastille Day was a huge one for me, a grizzled environmental educator who has been teaching about nature and the environment since, yikes, 1975, and my ilk: the No Child Left Inside Coalition promoting a bill co-sponsored by some 20 senators (like Pennsylvania’s Casey) and 100-plus congressmen stormed the Capitol steps to introduce eagerly awaited legislation mandating that our kids become environmentally literate.

And I am fiercely praying this doesn’t get lost in the ill wind blowing through Washington these days.

Its nickname, of course, is the environmental-education (EE) movement’s twist on the “No Child Left Behind” initiatives of the last decade.

The No Child Left Inside Coalition is massive, a serious alliance of almost 2,000 business, education, environmental and other groups representing 50 million Americans, spearheaded by the

FEA, religious leaders sue state over religion amendment | Florida Politics | Sun Sentinel blog

FEA, religious leaders sue state over religion amendment

By Kathleen HaughneyJuly 20, 2011 09:48 AM

TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Education Association, joined by other school administrators and religious leaders, filed suit in a Tallahassee court Wednesday challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow state funds to go to religious institutions.

The amendment, called the Blaine Amendment, could pave the way to put more state funds toward private school vouchers.

“This is a shady way of opening the door for school vouchers for all,” said Florida Education Association (FEA) President Andy Ford. “Throughout the nation, voters have repeatedly rejected voucher initiatives, which would weaken our public schools. The leadership of the Legislature realized this, so they approved an amendment whose ballot

Cheating Students Out Of An Education - James K. Glassman - Ideas in Action - Forbes

Jul. 20 2011 - 8:48 am | 1 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments

What happens when struggling students turn in honest work and teachers cheat to make it appear that the kids are succeeding?

Well, what we’re seeing out of Atlanta – where a new report reveals that teachers boosted test scores by filling in the right answers for students – is much more than a debate about ethics in education. We’re seeing an assault on testing itself and on the principle of accountability.

Look, for example, at the way the head of the second-largest union, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, rationalized the unethical behavior. The widespread cheating, she said, “does raise

An Embattled Charter's Chance Could Disappear - voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled: The Education Blog

Delayed Money Could Put Schools in RedComments (1) | 9:12 pm

San Diego Unified could dip $2.5 million into the hole next spring because California is putting off payments to schools, even more than the school district had been expecting.

Its finance chief says that makes it impossible for the school district to rehire any more of its jettisoned employees. It could also force them to let go more school workers who don't teach.

"This is a very sobering report," Superintendent Bill Kowba said. "The common theme is incredible risk from one week to the next."

Read the rest of this article

An Embattled Charter's Chance Could DisappearComments (1) | 2:31 pm

The embattled Promise charter school was offered another chance to stay open if it agreed to remake its board through democratic elections, undergo training on transparency and conflict-of-interest laws, and meet a slew of other conditions.

But that chance could be pulled away after the charter tried to tinker with it.

The San Diego Unified school board will weigh its fate tonight in a meeting that could go in two radically different directions: taking the next step toward closing the troubled school or halting the process and letting it survive.

Read the rest of this article

What makes us citizens? #bloggermarch #sosmarch « Cooperative Catalyst

What makes us citizens? #bloggermarch #sosmarch

by Chad Sansing

Untitled by g_Walter

This is, perhaps, my favorite passage from the Save Our Schools March website:

There is no greater mandate in education than guiding our children to act as responsible citizens engaged in their community, nation, and the world around them.

Most American public schools do not do this work. They are not built to do it. They are not scheduled or staffed to do it.

Be that as it may, many teachers practice an active citizenship everyday.They work hard to make themselves more “responsible citizens engaged in their community, nation, and the world around them,” including their schools and districts. They advocate for kids. They advocate fort learning. They advocate for progress, transformation, and change.

I am most interested in saving this part of our shared work. I am most interested in preserving our roles as an

Corporate union bashers, triangulating Democrats and the IEA leadership sing praises of SB7, do a “Kumbaya.” « Fred Klonsky's blog

Corporate union bashers, triangulating Democrats and the IEA leadership sing praises of SB7, do a “Kumbaya.”

by Fred Klonsky

Jonah Edeleman wasn’t invited to the DC party.

Senator Lightford is here. Oh, look! There’s Audrey Soglin. And Elliot Regenstein from the Clinton think tank, The Center for American Progress. The lovely lady from Chicago’s upper crust, Advance Illinois, Robin Steans couldn’t make it. But Robin sends her love.

Jonah was going to be invited. But you know Jonah. He got all full of himself. He even tried claiming the party

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: The greatest teacher incentive: The freedom to teach

The greatest teacher incentive: The freedom to teach

by coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher)

The Washington Post oped is live The greatest teacher incentive: The freedom to teach and full of thoughts and words that echoed through my head as a result of the surveys you completed on Monday.

How it was written
Over 130 of you took the time and energy to share your thoughts. Your passion to teach and do what is right took my breath away. NONE of you asked for no accountability. You want to teach well and you want to be held accountable but you believe that the assessment of your proficiency as a teacher is unfair.

The overarching theme
If we told students that we would give them ONE test a year and that their entire grade for the whole year rested on that ONE test, nothing else. What would we see?

We would see parents yelling. We would see students crying. We would see legislators acting against those

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