Brown’s Prop 98 contortion | Thoughts on Public Education

Brown’s Prop 98 contortion | Thoughts on Public Education:

Brown’s Prop 98 contortion - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Governors and legislatures have shifted programs and revenues in and out of Proposition 98 – based on policy and expediency – ever since the school funding law was created two decades ago. But what Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing in the event voters reject his tax increase in November is unprecedented in terms of impact [...]

California Partnership Academies: They’re effective – and threatened - by David Stern

by David Stern

California Partnership Academies (CPAs) are college-and-career pathways that typically enroll 150-200 students within a large high school. The good news is that they work. The bad news is that their funding is threatened. The state currently supports nearly 500 CPAs, each receiving a grant of about $60,000, depending on how many students are enrolled and whether [...]

Governor’s Grim Proposed State Budget Is Stark Proof That Schools Need Stable New Revenues - California Teachers Association

Governor’s Grim Proposed State Budget Is Stark Proof That Schools Need Stable New Revenues - California Teachers Association:

Governor’s Grim Proposed State Budget Is Stark Proof That Schools Need Stable New Revenues

Contacts: Sandra Jackson, 916-325-1550 or sjackson@cta.org or Mike Myslinski, 650-552-5324 or mmyslinski@cta.org

BURLINGAME – The following statement was issued today by Dean E. Vogel, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association, in response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s new state budget proposals:

“The governor’s 2012-13 state budget proposal makes it crystal clear that California cannot cut its way out of its ongoing budget deficit. Additional revenue is the only way to protect public education and the essential public services that all Californians count on every day, and that millions of our students deserve.

“Our schools and colleges have already been cut more than $20 billion in the last four years, and that doesn’t include the latest round of millions in midyear cuts to colleges, universities, and home-to-school transportation. We already rank 46th in per- pupil funding—additional cuts will not help us move in the right direction. This is another stark reminder that a state with the eighth-largest economy in the world

School Tech Connect: Round Up The Librarians...

School Tech Connect: Round Up The Librarians...:

Round Up The Librarians...

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

...and put them in labor camps.

Basically, the powers that be want to run the libraries with volunteers. It's all about those onerous work rules.

Watch January 9, 2012 - Library Hours on PBS. See more from Chicago Tonight.

I loathe these people, including my alderman. Did you hear about the TIF figures at the very end? They could keep the libraries open, but their goal is to create a hatred for unions.

By the way, a lifetime ago--after 22 years of teaching 8th grade English, I was working toward an MLS degree in Tucson--- I passed a school librarian certification exam and got snapped up as a school librarian at a middle school. I read hundreds of young adult books, threw my life into booktalks and increasing the circulation; I taught

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 1-11 #edreform #ows

Schools Matter: With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the States

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Schools Matter: With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the States:With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the Statesby Jim HornDuring this political season, corporations are taking their turns lining up to sponsor political debates whose results are then made made entirely meaningless and irrelevant by subsequent unlimited blasts of negative ads that serve to buy the candidate most likely to prostrate himself completely at the feet of American plutocrats. Since the ... more »

Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your state « Parents Across America

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your state « Parents Across America:Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your stateby pureparentsPAA member Caroline Grannan recently posted this update on the parent trigger, explaining that, despite well-funded propaganda, there are no successful parent trigger programs. The Parent Revolution, which pushed the California parent trigger law, has apparently abandoned the strategy.Yet parent trigger proposals are popping up all over the country, including Florida. Details in this PAA ... more »

RheeFirst! » Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

RheeFirst! » Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?:Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?by adminNote: Although these tests occurred in 2011, one year after Rhee’s departure from DC, the DC school personnel that administered them are the same personnel and system that she put in place.Written by Jay Mathews for The Washington Post. Read the entire article here.“Is this an intentional effort to deny parents, voters and taxpayers the information they need to judge the integrity of D.C. test ... more »

Misunderstanding & Misrepresenting the “Costs” & “Economics” of Online Learning « School Finance 101

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Misunderstanding Misrepresenting the “Costs” “Economics” of Online Learning « School Finance 101:Misunderstanding Misrepresenting the “Costs” “Economics” of Online Learningby schoolfinance101The Fordham Institute has just released its report titled “The Costs of Online Learning” in which they argue that it is incrementally cheaper to move from a) brick and mortar schooling to b) blended learning and then c) fully online learning.http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2012/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning.pdfAccompanying this report is... more »

In Bad Faith | Edwize

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

In Bad Faith | Edwize:In Bad Faithby Leo CaseyThere is but one conclusion that can be drawn from the NYC Department of Education’s last minute walk out of negotiations over a teacher evaluation system for 33 schools placed in the Transformation and Restart models: it was always Tweed’s intention to refuse to enter into an agreement for teacher evaluations.Part of the evidence for this conclusion comes from the conduct of NYC DOE officials during negotiations. Throughout the month of December, ... more »

Blue Jersey:: Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy It

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Blue Jersey:: Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy It:Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy Itby: Jersey JazzmanTue Jan 10, 2012 at 12:30:00 PM ESTLast evening, the New Jersey Senate passed the Urban Hope Act by a margin of 53-3:The charter school pilot bill designates three failing school districts - in Trenton, Camden and Newark - as renaissance school districts. The bill enables one or more nonprofit entities to apply to the state to supplant the existing non-performing schools ... more »

John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB by Anthony CodyGuest post by John Thompson.On the 10th anniversary of "the lost decade," produced by No Child Left Behind, we will read plenty of explanations of why the law did little good, and often did great harm to poor children of color. Ironically, the rationale for NCLB was that educators had ...more »

Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund:Selling Schools OutBY LEE FANGTHE NATIONNOVEMBER 17, 2011Under the banner of high-tech progress, corporate lobbyists have rammed through legislation privatizing K-12 education across the country.EmailContact usPrintShareIN CONJUNCTION WITHSee this story at its source »MICROSOFTBill Gates and Rupert Murdoch, two of the tycoons who stand to benefit from a wave of school privatization laws, at a Microsoft CEO Summit in 2009.If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Morning Posts #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

Schools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 minute agoSchools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?:Why not try the obvious first?by skrashenWhy not try the obvious first?Sent to the Chicago Tribune, Jan 9, 2012According to one principal, students need a longer school day so they can catch up in reading (“Chicago schools to begin longer days Monday,” Jan 9).We can get much bigger gains spending less money and with much less work, with ... more »

This Week In Education: Video: What The Nation's "Best" Teachers Have To Say

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 3 hours ago

This Week In Education: Video: What The Nation's "Best" Teachers Have To Say: Thompson: Building On Disaggregationby john thompsonNCLB supporters have been celebrating the law's tenth anniversary by savaging the educators who had the temerity to challenge the self-evident righteousness of data-driven accountability. Opponents have been citing NCLB's failure to improve student performance, while recounting the damage it did to the children it was supposed to help. Jack Jennings's take on NCLB in Education Week best exemplifies the retrospectives by ... more »

Parents catching up under No Child Left Behind - Featured Stories - Modbee.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Parents catching up under No Child Left Behind - Featured Stories - Modbee.com:Parents catching up under No Child Left BehindBy Nan Austin naustin@modbee.com E-Mail Printreprint or license0 CommentsText Size: Parents were supposed to get power under the No Child Left Behind Act to recognize failing schools and choose to leave them or help fix them.But too often all the schools in low-income neighborhoods are on federal watch lists. Few parents move their children to higher performing schools when given the ... more »

State senators pass a teacher effectiveness bill with blessing of Rhee’s group: Are they trying to irk teachers? | Get Schooled

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

State senators pass a teacher effectiveness bill with blessing of Rhee’s group: Are they trying to irk teachers? | Get Schooled:State senators pass a teacher effectiveness bill with blessing of Rhee’s group: Are they trying to irk teachers?6:18 pm January 9, 2012, by Maureen DowneyI am perplexed why the first official state press release on an education reform bill out of the Georgia Senate quotes an official from StudentsFirst, the education advocacy group created by former Washington school chancellor Michelle ... more »

Diane Ravitch To Discuss NY School Reform in Cobble Hill - Carroll Gardens, NY Patch

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Diane Ravitch To Discuss NY School Reform in Cobble Hill - Carroll Gardens, NY Patch:Diane Ravitch To Discuss NY School Reform in Cobble HillThe bestselling author will be speaking at PS 29 on Tuesday, January 10.By Gwen RuelleEmail the authorJanuary 9, 2012 Email Print Comment Upload Photos and VideosDiane Ravitch will be discussing her newest bestseller, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, tommorrow evening at PS 29 in Cobble ... more »

What’s missing from education reform debate - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

What’s missing from education reform debate - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:What’s missing from education reform debateby Valerie StraussThis was written by Mark Naison, professor of African and African American Studies at Fordham University in New York and chair of the department of African and African-American Studies. He is also co-director of the Urban Studies Program, African-American History 20th Century. This first appeared on the blog With A Brooklyn Accent.Read full article Virginia governor pushes questionable ed reformsValerie ... more »

Schools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Schools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?:Why not try the obvious first?by skrashenWhy not try the obvious first?Sent to the Chicago Tribune, Jan 9, 2012According to one principal, students need a longer school day so they can catch up in reading (“Chicago schools to begin longer days Monday,” Jan 9).We can get much bigger gains spending less money and with much less work, with an approach that children will like a lot better than staying in school longer: Invest ... more »

Florida’s budget solution: Ban the kids - Fred Grimm - MiamiHerald.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Florida’s budget solution: Ban the kids - Fred Grimm - MiamiHerald.com:Florida’s budget solution: Ban the kids BY FRED GRIMMFGRIMM@MIAMIHERALD.COMMiamiHerald.com/columnistsPondering the budget Gov. Scott sent to the Legislature, I’m overcome with something similar to the sentiment suffered by adults in the lobby of Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.One admires the soaring thatched ceiling, huge wooden beams, hard-carved furnishings, faux African artifacts and the wild (or at least wildish) animals roaming the grounds, and lament that this could be one of the ... more »

What’s Wrong With Walcott? « JD2718

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

What’s Wrong With Walcott? « JD2718:What’s Wrong With Walcott?by jd2718by Lynne Winderbaum, retired ESL teacher, JFK HS, and former Bronx High School UFT District Rep“I’m not going to remove him, but he knows he cannot have any similar type of comments. He is on a very strict line as far as his behavior,” said Walcott, who added that some school staffers want Chase to remain in his post.Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-principal-fire-outrageous-machine-comments-photocopier-article-1.1002357#ixzz1iy5ky7opFollowing the deplorable moral standards of his predecessors ... more »

Parents’ Rights in Prince William County Schools « PWC Education Reform Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Parents’ Rights in Prince William County Schools « PWC Education Reform Blog:Parents’ Rights in Prince William County SchoolsJanuary 9, 2012 — pwceducationreformCan parents review the information the public schools hold about them and their children? Can they access their child’s locker? Can the public schools distribute a student’s information outside the local school district without the parents’ consent, for instance to the state or federal Department of Education or other organizations / institutions?The first, can parents review the information PWCS ... more »

School Tech Connect: Low Morale?

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School Tech Connect: Low Morale?:Low Morale?by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I can't imagine why.Can you imagine trying to teach anything worthwhile while having these stupid pacing guides shoved down your

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed Reform Marches On In Washington State

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Ed Reform Marches On In Washington State:Ed Reform Marches On In Washington Stateby Melissa WestbrookLisa Macfarlane, who helped co-found LEV, has moved on and is now the head of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) with this modest-sounding goal:"..a political organization focused on encouraging a more productive conversation within the Democratic Party on the need to fundamentally reform public education. DFER operates at all levels of government to educate elected officials and support reform-minded candidates for public ... more »

No Chicken or Egg Choice « My Island View

No Chicken or Egg Choice « My Island View:

No Chicken or Egg Choice

by tomwhitby

Today, #Edchat’s first Topic was: Which should we support first for the best result, a reform in student learning (teaching methods), or a reform in teacher learning (PD)? I did have a preference when I made up the question, but I saved my opinion for the chat. There were a few comments about this being a question similar to: which came first, the chicken or the egg? I didn’t see it that way. I was simply looking for the most immediate way to affect needed change in a system that by many accounts is failing to meet goals, as its shortcomings are exacerbated by deepening dependence on data driven decisions based on high stakes testing results.

I have a unique position as an adjunct in the Department of Education in a small private college. I am a supervisor of student teachers in secondary English. My position enables me to visit and observe students totaling 40 to 50 visits a year in middle schools and high schools on Long Island, in New York. In addition to

Should teachers own their learning? | Ideas and Thoughts

Should teachers own their learning? | Ideas and Thoughts:

Should teachers own their learning?

by Dean Shareski

What if school districts and school administrators trusted teachers to let them direct their own PD?

What if the ideas of personalized learning and students owning their learning was applied to teachers?

These are questions I ask as I wonder about the ways in which schools and districts attempt to support teacher growth. In the same way schools have a hard time empowering students to own their learning, districts struggle with letting teachers own theirs. I'm not aware of any district that truly embraces the notion of personalized learning. Districts all seem to feel the need or push to set goals for schools and teachers. They tend to standardized professional development and in many ways replicate the industrial models of school. The underlying desire for accountability is largely the barrier to trust.

What if their goal was to have teachers truly own their own learning?