Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-22 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

“Mutual matching” off the table in Oakland - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 minutes ago

“Mutual matching” off the table in Oakland - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:“Mutual matching” off the table in OaklandTuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 10:48 pm in initiativesTony SmithNo CommentsThere will be no mutual matching in OUSD this spring. Without the support it needed from the Oakland Education Association, the OUSD administration says it’s run out of time to reach an agreement with union leaders and implement changes to its teacher transfer policies for the upcoming ... more »

Support PURE! » Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer day

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer day:Chicago parents’ letter to the Board of Education on longer dayby adminFebruary 22, 2012Dear Members of the Chicago Board of Education,Parents from community groups across the city have joined forces to help inform the Chicago Board of Education on what we view as necessary changes to the school day at CPS. Parents are concerned that Chicago Public Schools has set forth ... more »

‘Bake Sale Ban’ Rhetoric Swells Over Obama School Snacks Rules - Bloomberg

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‘Bake Sale Ban’ Rhetoric Swells Over Obama School Snacks Rules - Bloomberg:‘Bake Sale Ban’ Rhetoric Swells Over Obama School Snacks RulesBy Stephanie Armour - Feb 21, 2012 9:01 PM PTLinkedInGoogle +1PrintQUEUEQEnlarge imageStudents eat lunch near vending machines at Jones College Prep High School in Chicago. Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty ImagesSpecial-education students at Tooele High School in northwest Utahwho rely on weekly bake sales to pay for field trips and supplies may have to go without.Federal regulators, fresh off a contentious nutritional ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Prescience of Rev. Calvin Morris

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School Tech Connect: The Prescience of Rev. Calvin Morris:The Prescience of Rev. Calvin Morrisby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Just to review...The administration came up with a plan to "turnaround" x number of neighborhood schools. They had a series of hearings marked by overwhelming opposition. Today, the board is going to approve all but one of those "turnarounds," and the one exception is still a very vague concept, and even it scatters an entire class of freshmen in a school where freshman applications are ... more »

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Little Evan Stone of Educators 4 Excellence Influences Governor Cuomo

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SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Little Evan Stone of Educators 4 Excellence Influences Governor Cuomo:Little Evan Stone of Educators 4 Excellence Influences Governor Cuomoby noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)I have had it. Enough of the kvetching, the bellyaching, the whining, the blaming. We are directing out anger, out outrage, our concern over the new evaluation system at the wrong people. Governor Andy, Uncle Mike, Mulgrew, Randi, they are all just pawns of some bigger entity, a bigger force.We must bequeath our anger, our collective ... more »

Reformy Platitudes & Fact-Challenged Placards won’t Get Connecticut Schools what they Really Need! « School Finance 101

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Reformy Platitudes Fact-Challenged Placards won’t Get Connecticut Schools what they Really Need! « School Finance 101:Reformy Platitudes Fact-Challenged Placards won’t Get Connecticut Schools what they Really Need!by schoolfinance101For a short while yesterday – more than I would have liked to – I followed the circus of testimony and tweets about proposed education reform legislation in Connecticut. The reform legislation - SB 24 – includes the usual reformy elements of teacher tenure reform, ending seniority preferences, expanding and promoting charter schooling, ...more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Debunking turnaround claims of "unimaginable success"

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Debunking turnaround claims of "unimaginable success":Debunking turnaround claims of "unimaginable success"by Mike KlonskyAs hundred of protesters gather outside of CPS headquarters this morning to try and prevent the handing over of 10 more schools to AUSL, a private turnaround company, a new study is released which debunks claims made by the mayor and his CPS spin squad about the supposed overwhelming success of turnarounds.Turnaround schools have become a central piece of Arne Duncan's Race To The ... more »

Daily Kos: Education as "Politically Contested Spaces"

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Daily Kos: Education as "Politically Contested Spaces":Education as "Politically Contested Spaces"byplthomasEdDFollowShare2 PERMALINK1 COMMENTSteve Strieker in The Answer Sheet confronts ths current state of education from the specific events of his home state:"In Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, teaching has been relegated from professional status to political fodder."He then builds to this conclusion:"In Walker’s Wisconsin, education is not a profession. It is politics...."With the current attack on public education, however, our next generation of professional educators will have t... more »

Obama Proposal May Address Growing Education Gap - Student Loan Ranger (usnews.com)

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Obama Proposal May Address Growing Education Gap - Student Loan Ranger (usnews.com):Obama Proposal May Address Growing Education GapRecently, the New York Times reported on the growing education gap between low-income and affluent students. One study cited found that since the 1960s, the gap in standardized test scores has grown by about 40 percent.And the gap isn't limited to primary and secondary education. A separate University of Michigan study, also cited in the article, found that since the late 1980s, the ... more »

Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity | National Education Policy Center

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Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity | National Education Policy Center:Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity Share6by Julie Mead, Preston GreenFebruary 21, 2012Guided by the assumptions that charter schools will be part of our public educational system for the foreseeable future; that charter schools are neither inherently good, nor inherently bad; and that charter schools should be employed to further goals of equal educational opportunity, including...more »

Modern School: Battle Lines Drawn: CTU Wants 30% Raise—What About You?

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Modern School: Battle Lines Drawn: CTU Wants 30% Raise—What About You?:Battle Lines Drawn: CTU Wants 30% Raise—What About You?by Michael DunnHuck/Konopacki Labor CartoonsChicago Public Schools (CPS) is imposing a longer school day next year and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has responded with a request for 30% raises over the next two years, the Chicago Tribune reported last week. Their proposal also calls for reducing K-5 class sizes from 28 to 23 students and shrinking middle and high school class ... more »

TIME FOR LIE DETECTOR TESTS « Teachers Fight Back

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TIME FOR LIE DETECTOR TESTS « Teachers Fight Back:TIME FOR LIE DETECTOR TESTSby alkleenI had another dream. (I’ve been dreaming a lot lately). I dreamt that I ruled the U.S. as a dictator with unlimited powers. I had my military police round up every person in the country who has been bashing teacher unions. I rounded up all the people who said that teacher unions are partly responsible for the current “education crisis”. I detained any person who bashed the ... more »

Sh*t TFA'ers Say

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

This video was actually produced internally at Teach For America for cheap yuks. Apparently, they're proud of their superficial, jargon-y gloss on the problems of inner-city poverty and education.

Grumpy Educators: Value Added Measurement: Wanted Professional Palm Reader

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Grumpy Educators: Value Added Measurement: Wanted Professional Palm Reader:Value Added Measurement: Wanted Professional Palm ReaderWant to bet on a horse? Put your trust in a bookie whose job it is to predict winners after studying potential to win based on breeding, training, and standings in recent races. Want to invest in the stockmarket? Put your trust in a stockbroker whose job it is to predict companies that show signs of being a good investment, with potential growth, and a stable ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-21 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform BlogBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-31 minutes agoTeacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform Blog:Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and TerminationFebruary 21, 2012 — pwceducationreformThe VA General Assembly is considering a number of bills that affect education. One is HB576, which deals with teacher contracts, evaluation policies, and reasons for terminating a teacher, among other things.Current LawCurrently teachers are hired for what is called a ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal

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School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal:The Crane Dealby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Very mixed feelings about the apparent deal to keep Crane as a neighborhood high school. The one thing I know for sure is that I have faith in the Crane Coalition's judgment. I guess my questions are these: is it still a neighborhood school for kids who aren't interested in health careers? If I'm a poet or an astronomer, will those doors still be open to me? And what does it ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Smartest Guy in the Room

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Smartest Guy in the Room:The Smartest Guy in the Roomby Melissa WestbrookOver at Publicola, the jousting goes on. Firing back at the letter that WEA President, Mary Lindquist, wrote yesterday, Knight-in-Shining Armor, Nick Hanauer writes a long reply.What is somewhat funny is he agrees with her on all the reasons why a "lifelong Democrat and committed progressive" shouldn't want Rob McKenna as governor. But then he says that "McKenna is on the right track and ... more »

Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform Blog

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Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform Blog:Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and TerminationFebruary 21, 2012 — pwceducationreformThe VA General Assembly is considering a number of bills that affect education. One is HB576, which deals with teacher contracts, evaluation policies, and reasons for terminating a teacher, among other things.Current LawCurrently teachers are hired for what is called a continuing contract after they’ve completed their probationary period. A continuing contract runs for 5 years and specifies step and grade ...more »

“The School for Workers survived McCarthyism. It may not survive Walker.” « Fred Klonsky

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“The School for Workers survived McCarthyism. It may not survive Walker.” « Fred Klonsky:“The School for Workers survived McCarthyism. It may not survive Walker.”by Fred KlonskyThe School for Workers was established in 1925 as an extension program of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.They had planned an art exhibit of posters and other political art created during the past year of labor struggle in Wisconsin.Wisconsin Republicans wouldn’t hear of it.The Progressive:The University of Wisconsin’s School for Workers was planning on ... more »

Daily Kos: A few things I do not understand

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Daily Kos: A few things I do not understand:A few things I do not understandby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)How does lowering the minimum wage in Greece do anything to improve the economy of the nation? Does lowering the income of those barely making it in any way contribute to stimulating the economy, or is it merely to increase profits of those already benefiting from wages that are insufficient?Why is the Obama administration taking $6 million dollars from the funding of NAEP - ... more »

RheeFirst! » “Dozens of East Bay teachers picketed on February 7, 2012 the Oakland appearance of education privatizer and union buster Michelle Rhee”

RheeFirst! » “Dozens of East Bay teachers picketed on February 7, 2012 the Oakland appearance of education privatizer and union buster Michelle Rhee”:

More on what Michelle Rhee and Santorum’s super-donor Foster Friess have in common

by admin

Written by Karoli for Crooks and Liars. Read the entire post here.
“Some readers have accused me of unfairly linking Michelle Rhee with the right-wing cabal’s aim to kill public education altogether. I ask them to consider Rick Santorum’s statement, Foster Friess’ very clear hatred of public schools (and unions), Rhee’s associations with Rupert Murdoch, the Koch Foundation, Betsy DeVos and Scott Walker, her current ‘consulting’ in Alabama (where there are currently no charter schools), and tell me again that she doesn’t share their goals.

Michelle Rhee presents herself as someone solely concerned ‘with the children.’ Yet her by-the-numbers, bottom

“Dozens of East Bay teachers picketed on February 7, 2012 the Oakland appearance of education privatizer and union buster Michelle Rhee”

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 22, 2012 AT 4:33PM

#UCDavis Students Sue University Over Pepper Spray Incident « Student Activism

UC Davis Students Sue University Over Pepper Spray Incident « Student Activism:

UC Davis Students Sue University Over Pepper Spray Incident

by Angus Johnston

Nineteen students and former students at UC Davis have filed a federal lawsuit charging the university’s chancellor, chief of police, and other officials of violating their civil rights in the November 18 pepper spray incident that made headlines around the world.

The lawsuit argues that “campus policies and practices” that led to the incident “offend both the state and federal constitutional guarantees of the rights to free speech and assembly.”

Five of those named in the suit are Davis administrators, including Chancellor Linda Katehi and Chief of Police Annette Spicuzza. The suit alleges that the five promulgated an unlawful dispersal order and failed in their duty to

Georgia & North Carolina for profit college deregulation tied to ALEC | Dailycensored.com

Georgia & North Carolina for profit college deregulation tied to ALEC | Dailycensored.com:

Georgia & North Carolina for profit college deregulation tied to ALEC

Written by Danny WeilBusiness, Education, PoliticsFeb 22, 2012

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In an article written for Truthout.org, entitled: How North Carolina’s Shock Doctrine Artists Are Resegregating Higher Education, I describe how in 2010, an alliance of conservative republicans took over the North Carolina legislature for the first time in 100 years and are now busy implementing legislation which can be traced back to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The article specifically looks at how the NC state legislature has weakened the licensing and regulation of for-profit colleges by wiping out public regulation of the for-profit college industry by shifting power and control of licensing and regulation to a new private board created to rubber stamp licenses and allegedly ‘regulate’ the burgeoning industry (http://www.truth-out.org/how-north-carolinas-shock-doctrine-artists-are-resegregating-higher-education/1329494334).

ALEC is not simply a front group for corporate interests; it is actually a working group of corporate heavyweights that are bent on buying

Setting The Record Straight On Teacher Evaluations: Scoring and the Role of Standardized Exams | Edwize

Setting The Record Straight On Teacher Evaluations: Scoring and the Role of Standardized Exams | Edwize:

Setting The Record Straight On Teacher Evaluations: Scoring and the Role of Standardized Exams

by Leo Casey

(This is the first of two posts on the new teacher evaluations, focusing on the overall scoring of the evaluations and the role of standardized exams. The second post will take up the question of appeals.)

The 2010 law that established a new framework for the evaluation of New York educators was a complex piece of legislation, and last week’s agreement to clarify and refine that law with additional legislation added another layer to that complexity. The complexity is unavoidable. It is important to have evaluations based on multiple measures of teacher effectiveness, just as it is important to evaluate students based on multiple measures of their learning: more measures and more forms of evidence produce more robust, more accurate and fairer evaluations. Further, multiple measures allowed New York to avoid placing inordinate weight on standardized exams and value-added algorithms, as other states have done to very negative consequences. And it was essential that the bulk of the evaluations be established locally through collective bargaining, with the law only

Rick Santorum on the "Weird Socialization" children receive in school.

Geezer Teachers - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Geezer Teachers - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Geezer Teachers

by Nancy Flanagan

It went by so fast on my Twitter feed this morning that I can't even remember whose tweet it was--but the gist was this: "Career teachers" are becoming a thing of the past. Ouch.

Is that true? Certainly seems so, if the modal number of years' teaching experience in public schools is one-point-something.

In 1987-'88, the most common level of experience among the nation's 3 million K-12 public school teachers was 14 years in the classroom. By 2007-'08, students were most likely to encounter a teacher with just one or two years of experience.

So what happened? How did we get so many new teachers and what happened to the old ones? And when did

Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Funds | Truth in American Education

Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Funds | Truth in American Education:

Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Funds

by James Bell

States and Localities Projected To Shed Lots of Dollars for the National Standards

The Obama Administration spent an unprecedented $4.35 billion in Stimulus money to create an incentive for states to join the Common Core Standards and compete in the Race to the Top competition.

All but five states (Virginia, Texas, Nebraska, Alaska, and Minnesota) jumped on the Common Core bandwagon, salivating for an outsized piece of the $4.35 billion in Stimulus money.

Bad fiscal decision.

A new cost analysis commissioned by the American Principles Project (Washington, DC), the Pacific Research Institute (San Francisco, CA), and the Pioneer Institute (Boston, MA) and conducted by Accountability Works