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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Washington Post Co. used Kaplan students as a pawn to threaten Congress | Dailycensored.com

Washington Post Co. used Kaplan students as a pawn to threaten Congress | Dailycensored.com:

Washington Post Co. used Kaplan students as a pawn to threaten Congress

Written by Education, MediaDec 22, 2011
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Many readers might be wondering about the incessant coverage of for-profit predatory colleges and universities like Kaplan or the Phoenix University, to name just a few. The reason for the non-stop coverage is due to the incessant lobbying and profit taking on behalf of the one percent who own these colleges and seek to profit at any cost by allowing them to run roughshod over students, citizen taxpayers and lawmakers. Also, with one trillion dollars in private student

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Schools Matter: Support for standardized testing? Apathy, low expectations, illogical thinking?

Schools Matter: Support for standardized testing? Apathy, low expectations, illogical thinking?:

Support for standardized testing? Apathy, low expectations, illogical thinking?

by skrashen
In his article “Gingrich, Romney, Obama - Education Triplets” (Washington Post, Class Struggles Blog, Dec 22, 2011), Jay Mathews writes:

“ ... the general agreement over education policy at the highest levels of both parties pleases the many educators and parents who think using standardized tests, weeding out weak teachers and giving parents more choices will help our schools break out of decades of apathy, low expectations and illogical policies.”

Two comments:

(1) Support for standardized testing?
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Want to Improve Schools? Make Parent Involvement Meaningful – SchoolBook

Want to Improve Schools? Make Parent Involvement Meaningful – SchoolBook:

Want to Improve Schools? Make Parent Involvement Meaningful

by Al Vann

Truly involving parents and communities in our public schools, and the decisions that affect them, is essential to improving our school system.

While parent involvement is crucial to a child’s educational success, the reality is that such involvement is not always present for various reasons. However, the larger communities in which a student’s school and home are located also play an instrumental role in nurturing educational achievement, as expressed by the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Unfortunately over the past several years, the Department of Education has consistently failed to meaningfully empower and involve these important stakeholders in its decisions about schools. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the Education Department’s decisions and proposals regarding closing or phasing out schools,


Looking Again at Police Arrest Data

by SchoolBook

Over a 50-day period recently, beginning last summer, the police arrested or ticketed four New York City students a day, according to records released by the New York City Police Department last month. Over all, the department’s school safety division arrested 63 students and issued 182 summonses to middle school and high school students during that period, the report said.

The New York Police Department released the information to comply with a City Council request, at the urging of the New York City Liberties Union, but it has not commented on the data it released.

“It has really confirmed for us our worst fears, that the police are using criminal law tactics to enforce school rule violations,” Johanna Miller, assistant advocacy director at New York Civil Liberties Union, told Laura Keller, a reporter and student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, in a video that was produced by Lars Vercelli, another student.

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The NEA’s Van Roekel and TFA’s Kopp on teacher quality. That’s reaching deep. « Fred Klonsky

The NEA’s Van Roekel and TFA’s Kopp on teacher quality. That’s reaching deep. « Fred Klonsky:

The NEA’s Van Roekel and TFA’s Kopp on teacher quality. That’s reaching deep.

by Fred Klonsky

Teach for America’s Wendy Kopp, NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel’s new best friend.

I had some friends get down on me a few weeks ago when I criticized the NEA leadership, President Dennis Van Roekel in particuluar, for the NEA’s commission or committee or whatever the hell it was on teacher quality.

Egged on by such anti-union stalwarts as the American Enterprise Institute’s Fred Hess, the commission’s report fed perfectly into the corporate reformer’s critique of public education: The problem is the teachers. We’re

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Big Education APE 2011 Year in Review February #edreform Special #wiunion Edition

Big Education APE 2011 Year in Review February  #edreform

BIG EDUCATION APE NOTE: FEBRUARY and MARCH WAS A BUSY PERIOD DUE TO THE FIRE STORM CAUSED BY THE CORPORATE DEFORMERS


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QUOTES ON LABOR UNIONS #wiunion #killthebill #solidarityWI

Solidarity with Wisconsin public employees



we're for peace, protest, rights and solidarity #weac #wiunion #notmywi

Philly SRC hears dire warning on school funding | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/17/2011

Philly SRC hears dire warning on school funding - Philly.com

Big Education Ape: Ed News Feb. 21, 2011 Now,Special #wiunion Edition #wisolidarity #weac

Wisconsin Update: Ranking State SAT/ACT Statistics By Teacher Union Laws « Student Activism #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Protest Sign of the Day #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Don't U just love Democracy Teachers debate returning to work after Wisconsin protests – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

The audacity of Hope Moffett | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Micheal Moore posted Video from Cairo, Egypt for Wisconsin Protesters. Continuing Change #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Teachers Unions, ACT/SAT, and Student Performance: Is Wisconsin Out-Ranking the Non-Union States? « Student Activism #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Forum on Senate Bill 5 Today at YSU

Noam Chomsky on Reagan's Distorted Legacy, Wisconsin Protests & Obama's #wisolidarity #wiunion 

Wisconsin Democrats: ‘Gov. Scott Walker Is a Dictator’ | Politically Illustrated #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

The Answer Sheet - The irony of Obama’s ‘help’ for Wisconsin teachers #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

- Solidarity Actions #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac AFT - A Union of Professionals

A Challenging Week in the Indiana House of Representatives (facebook) by Terri Jo Austin #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Scott Walker and Tea Party Finance Backers, Koch Industries, Has Operations Near You « Larry Miller's Blog #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Charter schools: Public or private?

Busting Myths Instead of Unions in Wisconsin | The Forum for Education and Democracy #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick's Email to State Employees #StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI

Last hurrah in Madison? | Sheboygan Press | sheboyganpress.com

ACLU "Bust Card" aka GUIDE FOR DEMONSTRATORS #StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI

Big Education Ape: 2-27-11, Special PM #wiunion Edition #StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI

Guest blogger: Wisconsin might be an omen for the public employees of Illinois « Fred Klonsky's blog

NYC Educator: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

Rallies continue throughout the state! Next large Madison rally is planned for Saturday! | #wiunion #wisolidarity

Mind Stain: Scott Walker Asked to Leave Local Restaurant #wiunion #wisolidarity

“Hubris” -the likely downfall of Gov. Walker? « Teacher Reality #workers #union

Sacramento Press / Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson discuss education reform #wiunion #wisolidarity

Wisconsin Police Union Announces Solidarity with Occupation of State House

Reminder: Starting today at noon, Wisconsin solidarity ralliesAFL-CIO NOW BLOG #StateSOS #WIunion #SolidarityWI

No strong teacher unions, lower SAT/ACT scores. Any correlation? | Get Schooled #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac



This Week In Education: Teachers: Why Attacks On Bargaining Might Not Spread

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Daily Kos: What if you feel betrayed by your union's leadership?

Daily Kos: What if you feel betrayed by your union's leadership?:


What if you feel betrayed by your union's leadership?

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I find myself asking that question right now as the result of reading an op ed in today's USA Today. It has the title Column: 3 ways to improve the USA's teacher, and it is jointly written by Dennis Van Roekel, national President of the National Education Union, the teachers union for which I am a building representative, and Wendy Kopp, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Teach for America (TFA -USA Today incorrectly identifies that organization as "Teach for All").

Let me offer just one part of the piece which I find unbelievable:

One in three K-12 students will be assigned a teacher who is in the first three years of his or her career. As a new generation embarks on a career in teaching, we must commit to giving them the best preparation possible.

And yet, those who TFA recruits only commit to 2 years of teaching, which contributes to the turnover of the teaching corps in schools in which they work. As bad as that may be, I fail to see how a commitment to giving new teachers "the best preparation possible" is in accord with the practice of TFA taking its applicants - who may be outstanding students from elite colleges and universities - giving them only 5 weeks of training, with no



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Mother Crusader: Ti-i-i-ime, is NOT on my side, no it's not...

Mother Crusader: Ti-i-i-ime, is NOT on my side, no it's not...:

Ti-i-i-ime, is NOT on my side, no it's not...

by darciecima
On December 20th I sent the following email to the Charter School Office, Carly Bolger, soon to be ex-director of said office, and I cc:ed Acting Commissioner Cerf:

Hello Carly,
Applicants submitted their addenda responses on Friday 12/16 to the Commissioner and to the districts. The Application Review and Approval Process Document in the New Jersey Department of Education 2011 Charter School Expedited Application states:


  1. The districts identified in the application will have the opportunity to review applications and addenda, if applicable, and
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Good parents need access to good information « MomsRising Blog

Good parents need access to good information « MomsRising Blog:

Good parents need access to good information

by Rebecca Meuninck

Last week we hosted an event to test toys and holiday gifts for toxic chemicals. We do these events across Michigan and inevitably find some nasty chemical in one or more toys. At this particular event a mother of two came in carrying a large bag of her four-year-old son’s treasured items. She came to our event because her son’s blood lead levels recently came back at 10ug, a level at which most pediatricians recommend caution. She hired a lead assessor to test to lead in her home. She threw out the dishes that tested high for lead, and was even planning to remove her bathtub.

Then she told me she felt like a bad mom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Parents go to extreme measures to protect their children from hazards. But we can’t protect our children if we don’t have access to the

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This Week In Education: Thompson: CAP Waiver Analysis Misses Much

This Week In Education: Thompson: CAP Waiver Analysis Misses Much:

Thompson: CAP Waiver Analysis Misses Much

by john thompson

1971_SchoolCrossingDoes the Center for American Progress have a specific vendetta against Oklahoma schools? Or were we just a random target? Jeremy Ayers, author of the CAP's "No Child Left Behind Waiver," criticizes the Oklahoma NCLB waiver request as too complex but he gave no indication that he understands either the state's educational policy or politics. Oklahoma's performance-driven evaluation law was based on the Colorado law that the CAP pushed, and yet Ayers complains that we have not rushed past Colorado in nailing down the details. This is even though just last week, the OK State Board of Education reached a sensible compromise on teacher evaluations. The Board's logic was that the key to success is building a constructive culture of accountability, as we will learn from a pilot project in 2012. Ayers

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The Waiver Wire: Proceed with Caution

The Waiver Wire: Proceed with Caution:

The Waiver Wire: Proceed with Caution

by Anne Hyslop



Flickr photo by skyloader

The Center for American Progress released the first analysis of the initial 11 ESEA waiver applications that moves beyond the contents of each waiver proposal to the merits of a state’s application. As noted here, and here, and here the report calls out Massachusetts and Tennessee for submitting particularly well-crafted proposals and identifies four states where significant clarification is needed. These identifications are based on two aspects of the 100+ page applications – the state’s evaluation and accountability plans. Some of the more qualitative portions of the waivers, like how the state plans to transition to college- and career-ready standards and to implement effective school turnarounds, do not factor into the CAP ratings as “stand outs”, “middle of the

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Big Education APE 2011 Year in Review January #edreform

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State of the Union, 2011 - Education Reform



Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Join the Volunteer Team





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2011 Education Front review: A look back at No Child's revision | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

2011 Education Front review: A look back at No Child's revision | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com:

2011 Education Front review: A look back at No Child's revision

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

The second goal for the Education Front this year was tracking the rewriting of No Child Left Behind. Here's a brief look-back at that priority:

The Obama administration proposed some reforms, but Congress never could settle on a revision. As this year ended, everyone was still wrangling.

That was a good outcome. The ideas being proposed were not that helpful.

As I blogged back in September, it's fine to reconsider some parts of No Child. For example, "differentiated consequences" would show that schools did well with some students, but not with others. Better that kind of ranking than slapping the school with a poor grade if only some of the school's students failed their state exam.

But the proposals from the White House, which some were echoing in Congress, would not have helped schools. For example, the White House wanted the federal government to focus on the lowest performing campuses but

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