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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Big Education Ape: 2-23-12 AM Public Schools Create Citizens In A Democratic Society EDition #CPS

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

Question of Cheating at Taft High School

citybeat.com - In a Cincinnati neighborhood plagued by high rates of blight, poverty and crime, the new $18.4 million Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School in the West End couldn’t offer a more contra...

DianeRavitch

School closure fight continues at Board of Ed

wbez.org - The Chicago Board of Education heard impassioned comments from the public Wednesday.People began lining up at 4 a.m. to address board members before they vote on whether to close seven schools and ...

mikeklonsky

Due to a generous grant, our school has a new Mac...

insidecolocation.tumblr.com - Due to a generous grant, our school has a new Mac lab. This room is being taken by Success Academy. There is no room upstairs that has the necessary wiring for our computer lab. According to the Bu...

DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Jerry Large | Race still a work in progress | Seattle Times Newspaper - goo.gl/HfUPAabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 ASCD Inservice: Teaching, Learning, and the "Curse of Knowledge" -goo.gl/MFGoeabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 What’s wrong with D.C.’s facilities/charter study - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post -goo.gl/YziX04 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

Wis. Republicans and ALEC Push Vouchers on Disabled Kids

progressive.org - By Ruth Conniff, February 21, 2012 It’s crunch time on school vouchers for disabled kids in Wisconsin. Last summer, I wrote about how Republicans and school choice groups are targeting kids in spec...

mikeklonsky

Bankstreet - Occasional Papers

bankstreet.edu - Guest editors Gail Boldt and Bill Ayers have asked 13 leading educators to address the politics of the teacher accountability movement in America. Who benefits and who is hurt? What is gained and w...

DianeRavitch

U.S. schools chief endorses release of teacher data

articles.latimes.com - August 16, 2010|By Jason Felch and Jason Song, Los Angeles TimesU.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Monday that parents have a right to know if their children's teachers are effective, end...

leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

California Will Not Be Fooled By Mitt Romney

huffingtonpost.com - I was two years old in 1988 when I left Guadalajara, Mexico with my mother to join my father in the United States. I don't remember the long car ride or when the world I was barely learning about d...

fklonsky

Town says, "frack you" to Anschutz

schoolingintheownershipsociety.blogspot.com - Phillip Anschutz, bankrolled the anti-public school propaganda film, Waiting for Superman. Now he's financing another film glorifying the so called, "parent trigger", a law which gives a group of ...

mikeklonsky

Board Closes All 17 Schools!

teachersforjustice.org - Tonight, Feb 22, 2012, at about 6:15 PM, the appointed Board of Education of the city of Chicago closed, phased out, and turned around all 17 schools on their chopping block without a dissenting vo...

K12NN

StoriesSee all

Yard sale. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - When I walk out of school on June 8th it will be with lots of memories and hands free. The few personal belongs that I have in and on my desk will have been taken home by then. Everything else stay...

fklonsky

Magisto Is A Lot Of Fun

larryferlazzo.edublogs.org - Magisto is an amazing video editor that is an app on its own and is also available as a YouTube editing tool. It was on The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011 list. I’ve just started u...

coopmike48

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Conn. mom pleads guilty in school residency case

boston.com - NORWALK, Conn.—A Connecticut woman who was homeless has pleaded guilty to fraudulently enrolling her son in the wrong school district.Tonya McDowell entered her plea Wednesday in Norwalk Superior C...

coopmike48

EnvironmentSee all

New York Judge Rules Town Can Ban Gas Hydrofracking

nytimes.com - In a victory for opponents of the drilling process known as hydrofracking, a New York State judge ruled on Tuesday that the upstate town of Dryden in Tompkins County can ban natural gas drilling wi...

DianeRavitch

New York Judge Rules Town Can Ban Gas Hydrofracking

nytimes.com - In a victory for opponents of the drilling process known as hydrofracking, a New York State judge ruled on Tuesday that the upstate town of Dryden in Tompkins County can ban natural gas drilling wi...

leoniehaimson

#eduRead this paperSee all

Modern School: Why Girls Don’t Go For STEM Careers

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Modern School: Why Girls Don’t Go For STEM Careers:Why Girls Don’t Go For STEM Careersby Michael DunnGirl Scouts of Central Maryland host STEM event (Image from Flickr, by RDECOM)A new nationwide s...

coopmike48

#cpsSee all

School Tech Connect: No Big Surprises

schooltechconnect.com - No big surprises at the CPS Board meeting tonight. If anyone thought they weren't going to vote in lockstep agreement on the "turnarounds," then that person was seriously deluded. Dissent is not t...

tbfurman

The Prescience of Rev. Calvin Morris

schooltechconnect.com - 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...

tbfurman

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Louisiana Educator: Basic Flaws in Education Reform

Louisiana Educator: Basic Flaws in Education Reform:

Basic Flaws in Education Reform

by Michael Deshotels
Several local and regional newspapers around the state are editorializing about what the editors perceive as possible flaws in the Jindal education reform package. In addition, some local superintendents and other long time educators are pointing out basic flaws in the plan. Our readers can get a good overview of concerns of educators and non-educators by reviewing the following recent articles from around the state:
Governor Jindal's education reform plan may have been well thought out politically; its like the "shock and awe"
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Oakland considers a different kind of charter school - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Oakland considers a different kind of charter school - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

“We are Oakland International,” a graphic novel

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 12:54 am in English learnershigh schoolsNo Comments

Students at Oakland International High School have come to California from all around the world — most of them, in the last few years. Through a project led by art teacher Thi Bui, the teenagers have told their stories in graphic novel form.

I wrote about this project in the fall of 2010; now the collection of stories is coming out in a book.

The book launch is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at the main branch of the Oakland Public Library,125 14th St. The event is in the teen zone on the second floor.

Books are $25 — and, if you go, you’ll get a signed copy. You can also find it on Amazon.

Oakland considers a different kind of charter school

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 12:19 am in charter schoolselementary schoolssmall schools

Two Oakland elementary schools whose attempted breakaway from the district was recently denied (by the district) are taking a different approach in their quest for independence. Tonight, the principals of ASCEND and Learning Without Limits turned in revised charter conversion applications — this time, for “partnership charters,” which would work closely with OUSD and its five-year strategic plan.

The faculties at both schools voted last fall to separate from the district in order to have more control over staffing, finances, curriculum and scheduling — conditions they said they felt all public schools should have. It was a blow to the district, and it came out as the board was holding its contentious school closure hearings.

But in recent weeks, district staff and the leaders of the two would-be charters — brought together by OUSD’s

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Teachers For Social Justice: Board Closes All 17 Schools!

Teachers For Social Justice: Board Closes All 17 Schools!:

Board Closes All 17 Schools!

by sarah-ji
Tonight, Feb 22, 2012, at about 6:15 PM, the appointedBoard of Education of the city of Chicago closed, phased out, and turned around all 17 schools on their chopping block without a dissenting vote and hardly a blink of an eye. Despite protests ranging from the sleepover on the sidewalk and mic-check takeover of the Board meeting in December, the 4-day sit-in at the mayor's office, the occupation of Piccolo school, the 500-plus person candlelight vigil to the mayor's house Monday night and the dozens of hearings, speakouts, and organizing meetings around the city where parents, students, teachers and community member poured out their hearts, developed plans, and were deeply involved in our children's education--this Board callously ignored the wisdom and love of Chicago's people. Even though we knew it was coming, we were deeply hurt and angered. They gave six schools to the very politically connected AUSL, rapidly on its way to building its empire in Chicago (now 25 schools) and soon to go national.
As Jitu Brown of KOCO told the press immediately after the so-called vote, "only in Black and Brown
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Torlakson, Brown differ on mandates | Thoughts on Public Education

Torlakson, Brown differ on mandates | Thoughts on Public Education:

Torlakson, Brown differ on mandates

Eliminating some would be a stealth budget cut

Posted on 2/23/12 • Categorized as STEM, State Budget

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has taken issue with Gov. Brown’s plan to eliminate half of K-12 mandates this year and to fund the remaining half through a block grant.

“We have some grave concerns on his selection of some critical mandated programs to be eliminated,” Erin Gabel, Torlakson’s director of the Legislative Affairs and Fiscal Policy Division at the state Department of Education, testified during a Senate Budget Committee last week.

Once the Legislature mandates programs or requirements, the state must in turn fund them. In his 2012-13 budget, Brown proposes to drop two dozen mandates that he considers unnecessary, that are funded by the federal government, or that local distric

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No Student Left Untested by Diana Ravich - ParentAdvocates.org

Parent Advocates - ParentAdvocates.org:

No Student Left Untested by Diana Ravich
The new evaluation system pretends to be balanced, but it is not. Teachers will be ranked on a scale of 1-100. Teachers will be rated as “ineffective, developing, effective, or highly effective.” Forty percent of their grade will be based on the rise or fall of student test scores; the other sixty percent will be based on other measures, such as classroom observations by principals, independent evaluators, and peers, plus feedback from students and parents. But one sentence in the agreement shows what matters most: “Teachers rated ineffective on student performance based on objective assessments must be rated ineffective overall.” What this means is that a teacher who does not raise test scores will be found ineffective overall, no matter how well he or she does with the remaining sixty percent. In other words, the 40 percent allocated to student performance actually counts for 100 percent. Two years of ineffective ratings and the teacher is fired.

No Student Left Untested
by Diana Ravich
LINK

Last week, the New York State Education Department and the teachers’ unions reached an agreement to allow the state to use student test scores to evaluate teachers. The pact was brought to a conclusion after Governor Andrew Cuomo warned the parties that if they didn’t come to an agreement quickly, he would impose his own solution (though he did not explain what that would be). He further told school districts that they would lose future state aid if they didn’t promptly implement the agreement after it was released to the public. The reason
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Missouri Education Watchdog: It's Time for Parents to Unite Against the Educational Nanny State. Enough.

Missouri Education Watchdog: It's Time for Parents to Unite Against the Educational Nanny State. Enough.:

It's Time for Parents to Unite Against the Educational Nanny State. Enough.

by stlgretchen
School administrators and staff are fast becoming the authorities in students' lives. They are policing what your child is eating, how their social interactions take place, and even providing medical care unbeknownst to parents. Policing what your children eat at school is a minor issue compared to what this mother discovered Marcus Garvey Academy in Detroit medically provided to her daughter without the mother's permission:

From wxyz.com in Detroit:

Sighle Kinney is fuming after her 14-year-old daughter was given four shots by the school nurse at Marcus
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Last Stand for Children First: We Did It!! Chicago School Board Approves Turnarounds

Last Stand for Children First: We Did It!! Chicago School Board Approves Turnarounds:

We Did It!! Chicago School Board Approves Turnarounds

by Last Stand for Children
"We were all scared to breathe. We closed our eyes and held hands and then one by one they voted to approve every one of the proposed actions unanimously! We hoped for 3 or 4 schools, but we got a shut out!" cried Last Stand for Children's Monica Caldwell

Ms. Caldwell could be forgiven her excitement as everybody at Last Stand for Children First was ecstatic over the Chicago School Board's decision to turn around every single school on the list. Only a few hours earlier Caldwell had joined dozens of other speakers at the open meeting. Caldwell's impassioned speech urged the Board to not be dissuaded by the poor academic performance of earlier turnarounds, the overwhelming parental sentiment against the turnarounds, or the deaths of students like Derrion Albert who were victims of previous
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Join News Conference This Saturday: New Charter School May Put Students at Risk « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Join News Conference This Saturday: New Charter School May Put Students at Risk « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Join News Conference This Saturday: New Charter School May Put Students at Risk

by millerlf

News Conference – New Lighthouse Charter School

The “Women Committed to an Informed Community” will conduct a news conference at the location of the New Lighthouse Charter School:

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

12:00 p.m.

4200 W. Douglas Avenue, 53209

Our objective is to bring attention to the approval of this facility to be used as a school for (644) K-12 grade children. This is a former steel processing factory!

Once you see this location, you will agree this should not be used for a school. The health, safety and welfare of


New Bill Will Degrade Special Education in Wisconsin

by millerlf

Following is a call by the parent group I Love My Public Schools.

SPECIAL NEEDS VOUCHERS BILLS ARE BEING FAST-TRACKED NOW IN MADISON. DISABILITY GROUPS CONTINUE TO OPPOSE MODIFIED BILLS ­— CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS NOW!

New education bill AB110 takes funding for special-education services and educators from public schools, allows voucher schools to hire non-certified special-education teachers and services, and does not provide suitable funding to address the needs of moderately to severely disabled students. Skip to the bottom of this message for a call to action, or keep reading for more details on this fast-tracked legislation. AB 110 degrades the quality of special education for students in public and voucher schools.

Background: This past fall, AB110 was introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly. During the public hearing, all disability groups in Wisconsin opposed the bill. Legislators from both sides of the aisle recognized that this bill


Voucher Chaos in Florida

by millerlf

McKay scholarship program sparks a cottage industry of fraud and chaos

By Gus Garcia-Roberts Miami NewTimes NewsThursday, Jun 23 2011
Christopher Vaughn spent three years in a McKay high school before discovering his credits were worthless.

From June 2006 through November 2010, the woefully cash-strapped Florida Department of Education (DOE) forked over $2.057 million to Julius Brown, former middle school basketball coach and cofounder of a string of obscure sports apparel businesses.

Sheldon "Klassy" Klasfeld surveys his kingdom, Academic High in Boca Raton.
Michael McElroy
Sheldon “Klassy” Klasfeld surveys his kingdom, Academic High in Boca Raton.

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Elk Grove Citizen :1,500 protest proposed Elk Grove school district cuts

Elk Grove Citizen : Feature Story:

1,500 protest proposed Elk Grove school district cuts


FEATURE STORY

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1,500 protest proposed Elk Grove school district cuts


Maggie Ellis, president of the Elk Grove Education Association, speaks at her union's protest rally on Feb. 21. Photo by Steve Crowley.

More than 240 teachers, staff to receive pink slips

By Cameron Macdonald
Citizen News Editor
Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 2:24 PM PST
A crowd of about 1,500 teachers, counselors, school district staff, and children dressed in black held a mock funeral parade to protest proposed school district budget cuts on Feb. 21.

The Elk Grove police closed down traffic on a portion of Elk Grove Boulevard to let the protestors cross. They later crowded the lobby and parking lot of the Trigg Education Center during the Elk Grove Unified School District board’s meeting.

Many chanted for the removal of the district’s superintendent, Dr. Steven Ladd while the board heard a budget update.

A line of several dozen teachers tossed pink flowers into an open casket to symbolize the layoff notices they’ve received in years past.

Maggie Ellis, president of the Elk Grove Education Association (EGEA) that represents the

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Some Thoughts on Science Education Reforms in the Past Century | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Some Thoughts on Science Education Reforms in the Past Century | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Some Thoughts on Science Education Reforms in the Past Century

by larrycuban
Cover of "Inquiry and the National Scienc...

Cover via Amazon

Policymakers have tried to improve science education by altering curriculum for well over a century. The dream is that a new curriculum will get teachers to shift routine classroom practices and changed teaching practices will get students to learn more and better science. Over time, clear patterns have emerged from those dreams.

*Persistent shifting in purposes for science education, uncertainty over how best to teach the subject, and how to assess student learning. Multiple and competing aims for science education have plagued policymakers, academic scientists, practitioners, and reformers of all stripes for decades. Back-and-forth, time and again, different purposes have reverberated through the multi-layered curriculum (official, taught, learned, and tested), echoing previous reform efforts at the beginning of the 20th century, before and after Sputnik, and since the 1980s.

And there were differences over how to teach science. The dichotomy about teaching about science (e.g.,

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Why Do Florida’s Big Charter Schools Have So Much Cash in Reserve? | Scathing Purple Musings

Why Do Florida’s Big Charter Schools Have So Much Cash in Reserve? | Scathing Purple Musings:

Why Do Florida’s Big Charter Schools Have So Much Cash in Reserve?

by Bob Sikes

While their lobbying arms work overtime to put more cash in their pockets, Florida’s big charter school are doing just fine. Writes Mary McGrory and Scott Hiassen in the Miami Herald:

Earlier this month, Doug Rodriguez, the principal of the Doral Academy Preparatory Middle/High charter school, told a Senate committee that the lack of construction money has “placed a cap on our school. We’re not able to expand.”

But many charter schools, including Rodriguez’s, routinely collect more tax dollars than they spend, and sock away the unspent cash. The Doral Academy charter-school network, comprised of five Miami-Dade schools, had net assets of $13.6 million last year, much of it cash, records

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SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY PERVERTS JUSTICE FOR ALL TEACHERS - Perdaily.com

SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY PERVERTS JUSTICE FOR ALL TEACHERS (SUPERINTENDENTE JOHN DEASY PERVIERTE LA JUSTICIA PARA TODOS LOS MAESTROS) - Perdaily.com:

SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY PERVERTS JUSTICE FOR ALL TEACHERS (SUPERINTENDENTE JOHN DEASY PERVIERTE LA JUSTICIA PARA TODOS LOS MAESTROS)

by Leonard Isenberg
Injustice.jpeg
(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy needs a whipping boy for the engrained and dangerous institutional incompetence that his and prior administrations at LAUSD have allowed to exist, because they have not done their job.

On 89.3 KPCC today Reporter Vanessa Romo documented another case of administrative incompetence at LAUSD, where teacher George Martinez was allowed to leave LAUSD without charges and go to work for Inglewood Unified, even though it was pretty clear - and later proved by videos - that he was a
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