A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 13 hours ago

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections. Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011: The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically “The Best Research Available On Parent [...]

“What Are Parents Thinking?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 22 hours ago

What Are Parents Thinking? is a new article in ASCD Educational Leadership by a “head of school” (I assume that’s another name for principal). He talks about some of his school’s parent involvement/engagement efforts, particularly using online surveys. I’m not a big fan of surveys — in my community organizing career, we always felt that [...]

Two Pieces On Parent Engagement & Community Organizing That Might Be Worth A Look

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 2 days ago

Just this week, two short pieces talking about community organizing and parent engagement were published. They might be worth a look: What Inspired Me to Study Parent and Community Engagement at Harvard Education Publishing. Education reform through community action at The Washington Post.

“Building Trust With Parents”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 3 days ago

Building Trust With Parents is another excellent post by Chris Wejr. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.

“Parent Involvement…begins with ‘Hello’”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago

“Parent Involvement…begins with ‘Hello’” is a very thoughtful response to the recent Louisville article about parent involvement there. It’s written by Myrdin Thompson, a former PTA president there.

History Of Technology Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology: A Before-Its-Time Machine is a diagram from The New York Times of the “first” computer design — “Researchers are planning to build a working … Continue reading →

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections. Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011: The Best Ideas … Continue reading →

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 19 hours ago

I’m beginning my annual “The Best…” list highlighting “year in review” images. There aren’t a whole lot right now on the date of this post, but they’ll soon be coming out of the woodwork. I figured it would be helpful … Continue reading →

I Love This Article! “The 5 Best Toys of All Time”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 19 hours ago

The 5 Best Toys of All Time is a must-read article from Wired by Jonathan Liu. “Stick” is ranked as number one. I’d also suggest you read his follow-up piece, Get a Kid the 6th Best Toy of All Time. … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Tech Tools

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

I recently revised an older post and converted it into The Best Good, Inexpensive & Simple Classroom Technology Tools. Please contribute additional suggestions…..

The Best (and Worst) Education News of 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

(NOTE: The Huffington Post has also republished this piece) Here’s my humble attempt to identify the best and the worst education news that occurred during the past 12 months. I hope you’ll take time to share your own choices in … Continue reading →

“International Day for the Abolition of Slavery”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Today, December 2nd, is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. ESL Holiday Lessons has a lesson for English Language Learners on the day. I’ve also updated The Best Resources For Learning About Human Trafficking Today.

Special ESL/EFL/ELL Edition Of “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

NOTE: I usually publish a list like this once or twice a week. Today, though, I’m sharing several impressive resources that might hold particular interest for ESL/EFL/ELL teachers. I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to … Continue reading →

Additional Resources On HIV & AIDS

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Today is World AIDS Day, and I’ve added many new resources to The Best Web Resources For Learning About HIV & AIDS: World AIDS Day 2011 is a photo gallery from the Sacramento Bee. HIV and Aids: interactive timeline of … Continue reading →

“What Is The Most Important Thing To Remember About Classroom Management?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

What Is The Most Important Thing To Remember About Classroom Management? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher column. As that post explains, the response will be a three-part series. I hope readers will offer … Continue reading →

Best Of TED Talks — 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

TED has announced 18 ideas that will shape 2012: Counting down TEDTalks on Huffington Post. This is how they describe it: TED and The Huffington Post are launching a year-end collaboration around 18 groundbreaking ideas that premiered on TED.com in … Continue reading →

Create A Simple Online Poll With “Hall”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

Hall is a new site that lets you do several things — all apparently without requiring registration — including creating a simple poll. That tool seems the most useful to me, so I’m highlighting it here and adding it to … Continue reading →

There Are Now 816 “The Best…” Lists

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

There are now 816 categorized “The Best…” lists. That’s a lot of lists…. You can find them categorized by subject here. They are listed chronologically here. The best way to find one that you’re looking for is to go to … Continue reading →

Gun-Toting Santas, Talking Coffee-Mates & Other Christmas “Delights”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa (by the way, a portion of that list was temporarily missing earlier today, but it’s all back now): Merry Christmas From Lee Friedlander is … Continue reading →

Join Me On Dec. 13th For A Free Webinar On “Student Motivation & Classroom Management”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

Eye On Education is sponsoring a free one hour webinar on December 13th, 4:30 PM Eastern Time, with me to discuss Student Motivation & Classroom Management. You can learn more about the Webinar, and register for it, here. EOE are … Continue reading →

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites (and books) that I think educators might find useful. Of course, there are a number of ways to gauge “popularity.” I just view these lists as opportunities to check-out some new sites, … Continue reading →

Looming state cuts endangering LAUSD magnet program despite its popularity - LA Daily News

Looming state cuts endangering LAUSD magnet program despite its popularity - LA Daily News:

Looming state cuts endangering LAUSD magnet program despite its popularity

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer

Posted: 12/03/2011 10:32:50 PM PST

Updated: 12/03/2011 10:36:17 PM PST

Thanks to a new online registration program and aggressive community outreach efforts, a record number of students are applying for Los Angeles Unified's magnet schools, long considered the "jewels" of the sprawling district.

With two weeks remaining before the Dec. 16 deadline, nearly 17,000 students have applied for about 20,000 vacant seats in the 172 magnet programs. That compares with about 2,500 applicants through Nov. 30 of last year, with online access credited for nearly all of the surge.

Despite the overwhelming demand for these inventive schools, however, supporters fear that looming cuts in state education and school- transportation funding could threaten the magnets' future. LAUSD could lose $113 million in K-12 funding and $38.2 million designated for busing when the state budget ax falls on Dec. 15, potentially devastating some of the district's most critical programs.

"This could be the death of the magnets," said parent Jennifer King, who mobilized an outreach program last year when the district planned to eliminate the positions of the coordinators who oversee and operate the

Choking on the Common Core Standards - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Choking on the Common Core Standards - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Choking on the Common Core Standards

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 4 hours ago

This was *written by Joanne Yatvin, a longtime public school educator, author and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She teachers part-time at Portland State University and is writing a book on good teaching in high poverty schools. * By Joanne Yatvin Many things that are commonplace activities for adults — driving, voting, and paying taxes, for example — are not appropriate for children. I count the Common Core State Standards, proposed for all our country’s public schools, among them. Read full article >>

Penn State applications up amid scandal

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

Undergraduate applications at Penn State University are up 4 percent over this time last year, school officials said, despite a sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the school to its foundation and led to speculation that many students would decide not to apply. At a Town Hall this week that was held to give students a chance to talk about the scandal with school officials, the school’s interim president, Rodney Erickson, gave what the school must consider good news about applications, according to the student newspaper *The Daily Collegian*. Read full article >>

The Answer Sheet - 1 day ago

What matters most in college admissions — money or merit?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

This *was written by Esther Quintero, a research associate at the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute. It first appeared on the institute’s blog. * By Esther Quintero A recent survey of college admission directors and enrollment managers conducted by Inside Higher Education sparked considerable media coverage about an issue that is not entirely new: Money, not only merit, matters incollege admissions . Read full article >>

Why gifted students can be so challenging

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 2 days ago

This* was written by Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education at San Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. * * By Mark Phillips What do Woody Allen and Steve Jobs have in common? Among other things (including brilliant, creative minds), they both hated school and were discipline problems. Read full article >>

Has teacher quality declined over time?

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago

This *was written by Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. This post originally appeared on the institute’s blog. * * By Matthew Di Carlo One of the common assumptions lurking in the background of our education debates is that “quality” of the teaching workforce has declined a great deal over the past few decades (see here, here, here and here [slide 16]). There is a very plausible storyline supporting this assertion: Prior to the dramatic rise in female labor force participation since the 1960s, professional wo... more »

Report: How much high-poverty schools get cheated on funding

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago

A new U.S. Education Department report shows that more than 40 percent of schools across the country that serve mostly students from low-income families are being shortchanged when it comes to state and local funding. The findings won’t surprise anybody who follows equity issues in public education funding, as high-poverty schools have long had fewer resources than wealthier ones — even those schools that have received extra federal money through the Title 1 program that is aimed at helping needy students. Read full article >>

Diocese letter pushed principals to promote vouchers

Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 3 days ago

Just how involved did the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh get in the effort to promote vouchers? Very. This is clear in an Oct. 20 letter that Dr. Ronald R. Bowes, assistant superintendent for policy and development in the diocese, wrote in October to Catholic school principals. It calls for them to be “relentless” in promoting school choice, in part by telling parents who had received financial aid that they had to call their state legislators and push for school choice legislation to receive more financial aid the next year. Read full article >>

Hades vs Public Education – The Clash of the Titans « Living Behind the Gates

Hades vs Public Education – The Clash of the Titans « Living Behind the Gates:

Hades vs Public Education – The Clash of the Titans

by livingbehindthegates

In a recent Op-Ed by Dave Johnson for Alter-Net and reprinted by Truthout entitled “Privatization Nightmare: 5 Public Services That Should Never Be Handed Over to Greedy Corporations”, Johnson makes a serious point.

“Privatization is the 1% taking public wealth so they can make money off of it for themselves.Instead of democracy collecting taxes from the 1% privatization leaves everyone poorer and paying rent to the 1%.

Private Not Public Interest

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between public and private. When things are privatized of course profit comes first, not public interest. Public functions are supposed to serve the public, us, We, the People. The ‘private’ in ‘privatization’ means that it is done for the private gain of a

Daily Kos: I am fortunate

Daily Kos: I am fortunate:

I am fortunate

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I did not grow up in a financially wealthy family, but we were solidly middle class, and when my mother returned to her law career when I was around 8 we had plenty of money for things to enrich our lives. My sister spent 7 and I spent 8 delightful summers at National Music Camp in Interlochen. We both had music lessons, her in violin and music theory, me piano and cello, and with outstanding (and expensive teachers). We saw Broadway plays, both dramas and musicals. We had painting lessons. We went out to dinner. We did not have to worry about paying for college.

I am also fortunate in having had a superb education. It began with the terrific public schools of Mamaroneck School System in Westchester County, NY. MY sister went to Sarah Lawrence, then later Bank Street College of Education, finally getting a law degree at Western New England. My college attendances are too numerous to list all, but I have degrees from Haverford, St. Charles Seminary and Johns Hopkins and reached ABD (with almost all of it paid for by a university scholarship) at Catholic U.

We may not always have been quite so fortunate in our personal lives, but sister has two wonderful children (and now two granddaughters) from her now ended marriage, and after a series of missteps I am now approaching the 26th anniversary of my marriage to Leaves on the Current, with whom I have been for 37 of my 65+ years on this earth.

This is not to brag. Rather it is to establish the background for my Sunday morning reflection, which is this - I have an obligation that I have still not fulfilled. What I have given you is the background. Below I will explain in more detail should you continue to read.

Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian' - Inside Bay Area

Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian' - Inside Bay Area:

Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian'

By Jesse Washington Associated Press

Posted: 12/03/2011 04:33:02 PM PST

Updated: 12/03/2011 07:48:40 PM PST

Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.

"I didn't want to put 'Asian' down," Olmstead said, "because my mom told me there's discrimination against Asians in the application process."

For years, many Asian-Americans have been convinced that it's harder for them to gain admission to the nation's top colleges.

Studies show that Asian-Americans meet these colleges' admissions standards far out of proportion to their 6 percent representation in the U.S. population, and that they often need test scores hundreds of points higher than applicants

How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s Lunch - ParentAdvocates.org

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org:

How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s Lunch
An increasingly cozy alliance between companies that manufacture processed foods and companies that serve the meals is making students — a captive market — fat and sick while pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. At a time of fiscal austerity, these companies are seducing school administrators with promises to cut costs through privatization. Parents who want healthier meals, meanwhile, are outgunned.

December 3, 2011
How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s Lunch
By LUCY KOMISAR, NY TIMES
LINK

An increasingly cozy alliance between companies that manufacture processed foods and companies that serve the meals is making students — a captive market — fat and sick while pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. At a time of fiscal austerity, these companies are seducing school administrators with promises to cut costs through privatization. Parents who want healthier meals, meanwhile, are outgunned.

Each day, 32 million children in the United States get lunch at schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, which uses agricultural surplus to feed children. About 21 million of these students eat free or reduced-price meals, a number that has surged since the recession. The program, which also provides breakfast, costs $13.3 billion a year.

Sadly, it is being mismanaged and exploited. About

Hmmm… HOW (P)INTEREST(ing)! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

Hmmm… HOW (P)INTEREST(ing)! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

Hmmm… HOW (P)INTEREST(ing)!

by Oldschoolteach

As I read my tweets, talk about Pinterest kept appearing in various Tweets. It appeared in blogs and links, and it seemed that everyone, eveverywhere, was talking about it. I took a quick look, wasn’t that interested, and left the site.

I returned to the site after I posted , “How Do You Know You’re a Teacher? by Jeff Foxworthy and it ended up pinned, pinned, and repinned,

Schools Matter: Bloomberg Wants to Double Teacher Salaries--By Doubling Class Size

Schools Matter: Bloomberg Wants to Double Teacher Salaries--By Doubling Class Size:

Bloomberg Wants to Double Teacher Salaries--By Doubling Class Size

by Jim Horn

In the early 19th Century, an efficiency zealot before his time named Joseph Lancaster came up with a monitorial system for schooling the urban poor, wherein a single teacher served as overseer for classes as large as 500 students. With what might be thought of as a kind early Gingrich-style system using student assistants, these monitors checked and graded student work before passing the grades to a teacher at the front of the converted warehouse.

Sounds like Prince Mike might be dusting off some long-discarded ideas in order to further slash public services

EXEC SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") +

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") + STATEMENT OF JOINT INTEREST + THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") + STATEMENT OF JOINT INTEREST + THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT

SUMMARY BY UTLA | HTTP://BIT.LY/U6VAUS

(Dec. 2, 2011)

SCHOOL STABILIZATION

1. For the next three years, including PSC 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 schools, only in-District applicants (no charters) can apply under Public School Choice for Focus (existing) and new schools, nor can the District take any other action to give a District school to a charter operator (e.g. Jordan HS).

2. UTLA can unilaterally opt out of the agreement if the District violates the above provision.

3. For the next three years, no school can be reconstituted/restructured if it demonstrates “reasonably progress toward overall improvement.”

SUPPORT FOR HIGH NEEDS SCHOOLS

1. High needs schools identified by the Superintendent as PSC 3.0 Focus, future Focus, and at-risk Watch schools are eligible for a package of supports, coordinated by UTLA/AALA/District intervention teams, including assistance in plan writing, professional development, etc., from NBC teachers, universities, and displaced teachers (who provide intervention services, tutoring, CAHSEE support, class coverage support, etc.).

2. UTLA, AALA, and the District will provide continuing assistance to ensure that school plans will be accepted by the Superintendent

The Parent Trigger fails in California « Parents Across America

The Parent Trigger fails in California « Parents Across America:

The Parent Trigger fails in California

by CarolineSF

By Caroline Grannan, San Francisco

Parents Across America founding member

The Parent Trigger is a school reform idea that was hatched here in California, has won glowing press and is still being discussed around the nation as a school reform panacea.

The Parent Trigger supposedly allows 51% of the parents at a school to petition for “transformation” at the school, in one of four ways: turn the school into a charter, close the school, fire the principal, or restructure in more complicated ways.

It appears that some voices around the country are discussing the Parent Trigger as though it had been used successfully at schools throughout California. But that’s not true. The Parent Trigger has never succeeded at any school in California. There have been two known attempts to use it; both have failed. And Parent Revolution, the billionaire-funded Astroturf (fake grassroots) organization that created the Parent Trigger, appears to have basically abandoned it as a strategy.

In December 2010, Parent Revolution was acclaimed far and wide for its Parent Trigger

School Tech Connect: Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonight

School Tech Connect: Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonight:

Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonight

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Jackson Potter did a very nice job here a few nights ago.

Watch December 1, 2011 - Turnaround Schools on PBS. See more from CHICAGO TONIGHT.

George Schmidt gives the history here. It should come as no surprise to anyone when Common Core "data" are

Schools Matter: Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reform

Schools Matter: Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reform:

Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reform

by skrashen

Reclaiming Reform
By Michelle Newsum

Published in the Advocate, December, 2011, p. 13
advocate@coosdems.org


Our schools have been labeled as failing by people who have never stepped foot in them.The favorite weapon of these 'reformers' is test scores.So let's take a closer look at the data:

Based on the PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study)

* American kids in schools with less than 10% poverty far outscore all

Engaging Parents In School… - A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Engaging Parents In School… - A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011:

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

from Engaging Parents In School... by Larry Ferlazzo

Since I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections.

Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011:

The Best Ideas On How Parents Ca