Schooling in the Ownership Society: Obama: Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration"

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Obama: Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration":

Obama: Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration"

by Mike Klonsky

President Obama speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images/ 10/6/2011

President Obama said Thursday that the Occupy Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration" among Americans about how the U.S. financial system works.

"I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest

Shining a new light on Daley's After School Matters

by Mike Klonsky

It looks like they're finally going after Daley's cash-cow after-school program which was used as back entrance to the old City Hall patronage system. According to this morning'sSun-Times:

After School Matters, the charity founded by Chicago’s former first lady Maggie Daley to occupy and educate teenagers, received $915,000 in contributions over a ten-year period from companies that got subsidies from the city, the city’s inspector general concluded Tuesday. (Read the report here.)

I don't know why this story is just breaking. Back in 2006, I blogged about Gov. Blago's funneling of state education funds to politically-favored programs, like the dollar-bloated after-school program/political patronage

MOTIVATION MOTIVATION MOTIVATION « Teachers Fight Back

MOTIVATION MOTIVATION MOTIVATION « Teachers Fight Back:

MOTIVATION MOTIVATION MOTIVATION

by alkleen

The high schools in the wealthy suburbs of Chicago are dealing with a “problem” that many teachers could only dream about having in their schools. The high schools are trying to convince students and parents that it’s a good idea for the students to have a lunch period. Apparently the students in those schools are so motivated, they are taking extra classes in bunches, and even during what should be their lunch time. Some of the high schools are so concerned that they have made lunch period mandatory for all students. If only these were the kinds of problems that the average inner city high school had to deal with.

Motivation is an area where most teaching jobs have changed dramatically in the past thirty years. When I started teaching, students and their parents were expected to be self motivated. Motivation techniques were not one of the primary areas of concern for most teachers. Today, motivating the students is considered by many to

Grumpy Educators: South Carolina parents get a national spotlight

Grumpy Educators: South Carolina parents get a national spotlight:

South Carolina parents get a national spotlight

Grumpy Educators has been following the experiences of South Carolina parents who sought waivers from high stakes assessment for their students with complex medical conditions. If there is a poster child for compliance-driven testing that fails to protect the health and well-being of children, second guesses medical input, and hinders parent rights and involvement, then South Carolina takes the prize.

At long last, this important story has garnered some national attention. In "Testing, No Testing, Too Much Testing," Nirvi Shah, Education Week's On

South Carolina parents get a national spotlight

by Sandra

The One Reagan Quote That Republicans DON’T Talk About | MoveOn.Org

The One Reagan Quote That Republicans DON’T Talk About | MoveOn.Org:

The One Reagan Quote That Republicans DON'T Talk About

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Sara

Share this now!

Listen to that crowd roar at 0:40!

Found on ThinkProgressVideo’s YouTube channel. Originally submitted by Ann B.

NewBlackMan: Diane Ravitch Unplugged @ Duke University

NewBlackMan: Diane Ravitch Unplugged @ Duke University:

Diane Ravitch Unplugged @ Duke University

Duke's Program in Education and Durham Public Schools join to bringDiane Ravitch to campus and Durham schools.http://today.duke.edu/2011/10/ravitich

U.S. Gov\'t Goes to Federal Court to Block Alabama Immigration Law - Hispanically Speaking News

U.S. Gov\'t Goes to Federal Court to Block Alabama Immigration Law - Hispanically Speaking News:

JUST IN: U.S. Gov’t Goes to Federal Court to Block Alabama Immigration Law from Going into Effect

Today, the U.S. Justice Department has asked the Federal Appeals Court to block Alabama from enforcing its immigration law.

The H.B. 56 law is considered the toughest and most invasive immigration law of its kind in the nation. The new law now requires public schools to inquire as to the immigration status of a child – which has caused many Hispanic students to “vanish” from the system. The law also allows police officers to stop someone and ask their immigration status IF they suspect someone is in the country illegally and hold them without bond. The inquiry does not have to happen when someone is stopped on suspicion of committing a crime.

The appeal was filed at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on grounds that the new law

WEAVE Needs Your Help to Save SART

WEAVE Needs Your Help to Save SART:

Please demonstrate your commitment to the safety of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by making a donation.

One year ago, WEAVE faced an unfathomable situation when Sacramento County eliminated all of its funding for the Sexual Assault Response Team program. Without that critical support we feared that victims of sexual assault would not receive the support and advocacy they need in the harrowing hours after reporting a sexual assault. We reached out to you and you responded. With your help, we ensured that every victim of sexual assault had an advocate with them during the examination. Your support ensured counseling and advocacy was available in the months that followed. 213 victims of sexual assault were supported. Your gift ensured that every victim was able to leave the hospital in fresh clothes after her own were kept as evidence. You stood together with hundreds of others to help victims take that first step toward being a survivor. We are asking for your help once again. Please renew your support of the SART Program today. Without your help, our community is still at risk of losing its SART Program. Our county continues to suffer during these challenging economic times and is not in a position to reinstate funding for WEAVE’s SART Program. As a community, we can come together to fill this financial gap and stand with victims of sexual assault. With your support, every victim will be met at the hospital by a trained advocate. With your help, these survivors will receive the comfort, care, and support they need. “Everyone I met during the exam was beyond helpful. I am really grateful so many people were willing to help me. I’m not sure I would have gone through the exam without so much support.” "The kindness, consideration and love I felt was so amazing that it made the experience unforgettable in a positive way." If WEAVE can raise $25,852, we can leverage an additional $312,351 in state and federal funding to operate the SART team and provide comprehensive services for victims of sexual assault. We want to ensure funding for next year by raising these critical funds by October 31st. We need your help. In the next 24 hours, the phone will ring and a SART Advocate will go to meet a victim. That call will repeat itself every day of the year as victims seek help, hope, and healing. We can answer that call with your support. I ask you to once again stand with the victims of sexual assault who need your help and make your gift today. We cannot imagine a community without a SART Program. The thought is too much to bear. Please donate today. Sincerely, Beth Hassett

One Urban District with a Bad Habit - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

One Urban District with a Bad Habit - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

One Urban District with a Bad Habit

By Anthony Cody on February 16, 2009 11:03 AM | 3 Comments | No Recommendations

Oakland is addicted to low-cost beginning teachers.

Ten years ago, the Oakland schools had a big problem. Every summer 400 teaching positions would open up, but only one hundred teachers would be found who were willing to accept jobs in Oakland at the salary offered. When fall came, 300 teaching positions (out of 2,500) would be left unfilled. The new Superintendent Dennis Chaconas thought he had an answer. Raise teacher pay in Oakland by 20%, moving us from way below average to a bit above average for the region. It worked! Over the next two years, fewer teachers left, and more teachers applied, so the District was well-staffed.

But there was a problem with this solution. When teachers stayed, they moved

Teachers’ union bankrolls NAACP bash - NYPOST.com

Teachers’ union bankrolls NAACP bash - NYPOST.com:

NAACP taking heat as UFT chips in 25G

By CARL CAMPANILE

Last Updated: 12:27 AM, October 7, 2011

Posted: 12:27 AM, October 7, 2011

More Print

It’s the teacher’s pet.

The city teachers union is helping bankroll the costs of the New York NAACP’s 75th-anniversary conference beginning today.

The United Federation of Teachers is listed as one of the top three financial sponsors for the three-day Diamond Jubilee celebration at the Westin Times Square Hotel and Conference Center.

The UFT contributed $25,000, and union President Mike Mulgrew is listed as one of the participants.

Charter-school parents immediately ripped the UFT’s role in the civil-rights group’s conference. They say it provides further evidence that the NAACP has become a union lackey instead of

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/naacp_taking_heat_as_uft_chips_in_vKEylVpmmuGtjRhKdTWI5L#ixzz1a6l3GoKl

Students to protest charter school in Providence - Boston.com

Students to protest charter school in Providence - Boston.com:

Students to protest charter school in Providence

October 7, 2011

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PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Students opposed to an Achievement First charter school in Providence are set to hold a rally at the state Department of Education.

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High school students who are part of a group called Providence Student Labor Action Project will gather outside the department's headquarters Friday afternoon to protest the opening of a charter run by the New Haven, Conn.-based nonprofit.

The plan to open at least two charters run by Achievement First in Cranston was voted down by a state school board. State education officials are considering a

PROTEST CHANCELLOR WALCOTT DURING HIS SPEECH Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

THE PRESIDENT OF LOCAL 372 & UNION MEMBERS PROTEST CHANCELLOR WALCOTT DURING HIS SPEECH

This morning, to protest DOE's decision to layoff 701 school support workers, Local 372 President, Santos Crespo, Jr. and union members stood up and turned their backs to Chancellor Dennis Walcott during his speech, to demonstrate their solidarity with those who will be laid off tomorrow. Chancellor Walcott spoke at an event that honored DOE workers with over 20 years of service.

"We are one. When DOE lays off even one of our workers, we all hurt," said Mr. Crespo.

"Chancellor Walcott failed to stand up for the lowest paid workers at DOE who are crucial in taking care of our city's children. How is DOE going to fill this void? These are workers who monitor the lunch room, the hallways, and the yards to ensure the safety of our school children and to help maintain order in the schools. These are workers who call parents when children do not attend school to find out what is happening with the child. These are workers who provide a communication link between parents and the school system," stated Mr. Crespo. Laying off these workers will further deteriorate our public schools which continue to take the brunt of budget cuts.

"We turned our backs on Chancellor Walcott as a statement because we are standing up for the future of New York City's school system and the future of our kids," stated Mr. Crespo.

On Friday, October 7, 2011, DOE will lay off 701 school support staff workers, affecting thousands of children in the poorest of New York City's communities. Local 372 members will wear black on Friday as a sign of mourning for the loss of their fellow workers.

Josefa Febrillet-Barr
Political Action Coordinator

Local 372

125 Barclay Street, 6th Floor

local37207@aol.com

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Seattle Times Op-Ed on "Teacher Quality"

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Seattle Times Op-Ed on "Teacher Quality":

Seattle Times Op-Ed on "Teacher Quality"

by Charlie Mas

Once again the Seattle Times ventures an opinion on public education, Refocusing the Teacher-Quality Debate. Once again the Times acts as the mouthpiece for Education Reform in the least thoughtful way.

The Times writes in support of changes in teacher education to replace much of the current regulation of those programs with, you guessed it, improvements in student test scores.

The Department of Education proposes different measures focused on outcomes, including asking schools to report how many graduates of teacher-education programs fill shortage positions, such as teaching math in high-poverty schools; how satisfied school principals are with their preparation and how much the graduates, once in the classroom, improved student learning based on test

Debt collectors with government contracts paid penalties - NorthJersey.com

Debt collectors with government contracts paid penalties - NorthJersey.com:

Debt collectors with government contracts paid penalties

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011

BY DAVID ESPO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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WASHINGTON — Two private debt collection companies that work for the Education Department paid more than $4 million combined in civil penalties in the past year after another federal agency accused them of using abusive language with consumers, making illegal threats and committing other violations of the law.

One of the firms, West Asset Management Inc., agreed in March to pay $2.8 million, a sum the Federal Trade Commission said was the largest civil penalty it had ever obtained in a debt collection case.

The second, Allied Interstate Inc., agreed in October 2010 to pay $1.75 million.

Education Department officials were aware of the enforcement actions at the time, and said — without providing any substantiation — that none of its borrowers had been impacted. It is unclear what impact, if any, the cases had on the firms' contracts to recover funds from holders of delinquent student loans.

"We closely monitor government contractors to ensure they are working in the best interests of

Denying the Facts: Investing in Computers and Higher Test Scores | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Denying the Facts: Investing in Computers and Higher Test Scores | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Denying the Facts: Investing in Computers and Higher Test Scores

by larrycuban

Five years ago, with little evidence that teacher and student use of computers in classroom lessons would raise test scores, Kyrene (AZ) school district voters authorized $33 million in technology expenditures. Since then Kyrene administrators and teachers have offered enthusiastic endorsements, teachers and students have used the technology, and, here is the kicker: test scores have stagnated.*

The tough question that journalist Matt Richtel asks in his report on the Kyrene (AZ) school district’s impressive investment in hardware and software is straightforward: Why have test scores been sluggish?

None of this has surprised those of us who, over the years, have pointed out the lack of cause-and-effect