Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, February 24, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts 2-24 #edreform #soschat


Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’ - Philly.com

Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’ - Philly.com:Danza: School cuts signal to kids ‘they really don’t matter’February 23, 2012|By Kristen A. Graham, INQUIRER STAFF WRITERThe speakers came from different backgrounds - an actor-turned-teacher, two union officials and a state senator - but their message was the same: budget cuts have hit the Philadelphia School District too hard and must stop.Speaking at a news conference on the steps of the district's North Broad Street headquarters Thursday, Danza ... more »

Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core | Thoughts on Public Education

Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core | Thoughts on Public Education:Outside evaluator must tell us how well prepared are we for Common Core - by John Affeldtby John AffeldtCalifornia, like many states, is embarking on an ambitious rewiring of its public school system. By the 2014-15 school year, it plans to implement new Common Core academic standards in English and math for all grades. The new standards were adopted by the State Board ... more »

Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Duncan’s equity commission and the ‘rising tide’ of avarice, hostility, testingby Valerie StraussThis was written by John Merrow, veteran education reporter for PBS, NPR, and dozens of national publications. He is the president of the nonprofit media production company Learning Matters. Merrow’s latest book is “The Influence of Teachers.” This post first appeared on Merrow’s blog, Taking Note.Read full article A test ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal's A Crock

School Tech Connect: The Crane Deal's A Crock:The Crane Deal's A Crockby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I started to regret saying anything positive about the Crane “deal” the instant I heard that Rahm had praised it. In the very same nanosecond, I started to worry that the deal won't be what it seems, that it would be steeped in patronage, and that it would somehow turn out to be a disaster for the neighborhood Crane serves and the teachers who work there. That's ... more »

Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’ - Chicago Sun-Times

Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’ - Chicago Sun-Times:Rahm Emanuel: Protests over school closings ‘noise associated with change’BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com February 23, 2012 2:34PMReprints11Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited with preschoolers at Metropolitan Family Services at 3249 N. Central Ave. L-r: Yeasbeth Ortiz, Serena Reyes and Izabella Lagunas-Hernandez. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-TimesRELATED STORIESBoard of Education OKs shake-ups for 17 schoolsUpdated: February 24, 2012 2:24AM Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday... more »

Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted outby Tawnell Hobbs/ReporterSome Occupy Dallas members were removed from a Dallas ISD board meeting on Thursday after breaking out in loud chant. The group was escorted out of the auditorium by DISD police. They were protesting various issues, including the board's recent decision to close 11 schools and its approval to extend teacher workdays by 45 minutes without more pay. ... more »

Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson

Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson:Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myselfby JoseNot sure if you’ve heard, but, against their own wishes -ahem-, the NYC Department of Education is releasing their infamous Teacher Data Reports, a set of papers ostensibly compiling a teacher’s student scores on English and Math scores from 3rd to 8th grade to determine their effectiveness, normalizing scores for effects like poverty and growth. ... more »

NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun

NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun:Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gunby NYC EducatorSo says Mike Klonsky, on whether VAM, or value-added, should be part of any evaluation system. This notwithstanding, there are various ways of looking at New York's new evaluation system, and UFT High School VP Leo Casey may not see eye to eye with Klonsky.I'd like nothing more than to agree with Casey. This would mean that all my colleagues ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders

Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders:In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disordersby stlgretchenThe government obsession of obesity and controlling student food choices may result in unintended consequences.Producing fit workers for the society might just boomerang into producing a generation of children with increasing emotional problems. While the food police is obsessing about ... more »

AFT - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools:Research Begins to Detail Successin Community SchoolsTeachers know firsthand that wraparound services like healthcare and family counseling really help when it comes to getting students ready to learn. But education experts are only beginning to gather actual data that show us how."Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools" begins to fill that gap. The report, produced by the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-23 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

Buyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education WeekBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-46 minutes agoBuyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Buyer Bewareby Deborah MeierDear Diane,Three days with the North Dakota Study Group restores my spirits every year. Some great speeches, small "works in progress" workshops, presentations by students, and just food and talk, talk, talk.I read your blog this week while I was at the NDSG and passed it around. It's superb, and we should all tweet it ... more »

Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scores | GothamSchools

Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scores | GothamSchools:Why we won’t publish individual teachers’ value-added scoresby Elizabeth Green and Philissa Cramer, at 6:24 pmTomorrow’s planned release of 12,000 New York City teacher ratings raises questions for the courts, parents, principals, bureaucrats, teachers — and one other party: news organizations. The journalists who requested the release of the data in the first place now must decide what to do with it all.At GothamSchools, we joined other reporters in requesting to ... more »

Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. « Fred Klonsky

Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. « Fred Klonsky:Thirty minutes with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.by Fred KlonskyToday on my favorite local news show.The in box: Will Guzzardi challenges Toni Berrio’s lies.by Fred KlonskyRepresentative Berrios,I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to ask a quick question about a mailer you sent out recently, discussing a law firm you claim is “allied with” me.This struck me as curious, given that I’m not allied with any ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cracks in the pavement

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cracks in the pavement:Cracks in the pavementby Mike Klonsky"This is Little Rock, 1957," Jackson told the board. "This is apartheid."The mayor had no trouble getting his hand-picked gaggle of billionaires and their toadies on the school board to unanimously vote for more school closings and turnarounds. But it's become clear that mounting protests have begun to create some space for dissent among the minions. Media coverage of the protests seems to have moved somewhat out of ... more »

Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to Sacramento - Rosemont, CA Patch

Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to Sacramento - Rosemont, CA Patch:Video: Mr. Raymond Goes to SacramentoThe Sacramento City Unified School District's superintendent testified before the California senate last week.By Cody KitauraEmail the author2:00 pm Email Print Comment1 of 1 Upload Photos and VideosThe school district that includes Rosemont made some tough budget decisions earlier this month, cutting $28 million from next year's budget.Last week, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond went to the source of the district's funding to ...more »

United Opt Out National

United Opt Out National:OCCUPY THE DOE IN DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – PLEASE READ ENTIRE POSTEvent:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postStart:March 30, 2012End:April 2, 2012Organizer:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postUpdated:December 9, 2011Venue:U.S. Department of EducationAddress:Google Map400 Maryland Ave, SW ,Washington, DC, 20202,United StatesUnited Opt Out National endorses Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together by creating ACTION in solidarity. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST ... more »

INSANE or NUMB? (please report) | Mr. Teachbad

INSANE or NUMB? (please report) | Mr. Teachbad:INSANE or NUMB? (please report)by teachbadA couple of weeks ago someone posted a comment I think you should read. Jessica Knapp wrote about what teaching can do to people. Her words struck an arrow through my heart. I would very much like for you to add your thoughts and stories. Here’s what she said: I taught KG for 6 years in an inner city school where 94% of the stu­dent body qual­i­fied for ... more »

Arne Duncan on a legislative proposal in South Carolina to block implementation of the Common Core

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan | U.S. Department of Education:Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne DuncanOn a Legislative Proposal in South Carolina to Block Implementation of the Common Core Academic StandardsFEBRUARY 23, 2012Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Following is a statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on a legislative proposal in South Carolina to block implementation of the Common Core academic standards:“The idea that the Common Core standards are nationally-imposed is a conspiracy ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!&"

Jersey Jazzman: Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!":Christie to Teachers: "Tough S#!"by DukeWe now live in a world where politicians that give huge tax breaks to the wealthy and break promises to middle-class workers are considered "courageous":Dellossa, a teacher at Palisades Park High School, where the town hall was held, asked Christie why he had gone back on a campaign promise not to cut teacher benefits.She spoke specifically of one provision of his public employee benefits overhaul that hit close to ... more »

First Interim Status Report for 2011-12 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

First Interim Status Report for 2011-12 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson: One Student in
Three Attends a School District in Financial Jeopardy

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson warned today that the latest review of school district budgets shows that one-third of public school students in California attend a district in financial jeopardy.

The state's First Interim Status Report for fiscal year 2011-12 indicates that 127 districts are either in negative or qualified financial status, totaling 17 more than at this point last year. Combined, nearly 2 million students attend school in a district with serious financial challenges.

"The financial emergency facing our schools remains both wide and deep," Torlakson said. "The deep cuts made to school funding—and looming uncertainties about the future—are driving school districts to the brink of insolvency. Plain and simple, our schools need new revenues to get back on solid financial ground."

The California Department of Education semiannually receives Interim Status Reports on the financial status of the state's 1,037 local educational agencies (LEA), comprised of school districts, county offices of education, and joint powers agencies. The certifications are classified as positive, qualified, or negative. The new report shows seven districts in negative certification and 120 as qualified.

A negative certification—the most serious of the classifications—is assigned when a district will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal year. This certification means the LEA's county office of education may intervene in the LEA's finances.

A qualified certification is assigned when the district may not meet its financial obligations for the current or two subsequent fiscal years. This certification allows the LEA's county office of education to provide assistance to the LEA.

A positive certification is assigned when the district will meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent fiscal years.

The number of districts in qualified or negative status declined slightly from last June when the Second Interim Status Report for FY 2010-11 was issued, but overall remain at historic highs. As late as 2006-07, only 22 districts were in negative or qualified status at any time during the fiscal year.

This new list is a compilation of the certifications of First Interim Status Reports by LEAs that were due December 15, 2011, and cover the financial and budgetary status of the districts for the period ending October 31, 2011. The certifications reflect whether the LEA is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years, based on projections at that point in time.

These certifications predate the Governor's budget proposal in January. Because these Interim Status Reports are snapshots in time, the LEAs' financial status may have changed since these certifications were collected.

For more information and a list of LEAs on the first Interim Status Report, please visit the Interim Status - Fiscal Status.

Related Content
  • School Financial Emergency - Reports to the education community and the public on the impact of California's state budget crisis on education funding.

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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Hyper-accountability, Burnout and Blame: A TFA Corps Member Speaks Out - Living in Dialogue

Hyper-accountability, Burnout and Blame: A TFA Corps Member Speaks Out - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Hyper-accountability, Burnout and Blame: A TFA Corps Member Speaks Out

Guest post by Jameson Brewer.

The rhetoric of educational policy is an ever swaying pendulum from the conservative right to the progressive left. However, in reality, in the decades leading up to and the ten years following the passing of No Child Left Behind, it has been neoliberal policies and practices that have dramatically shaped the American education landscape. Perhaps this claim is best characterized by the onslaught of hyper accountability that traces its most recent roots to NCLB. The neoliberal practice of hyper accountability, specifically that of teacher accountability, has led to an increase of labeling (e.g., failing schools), cheating (Atlanta Public Schools), and burnout.

As a traditionally trained educator who graduated from college at the beginning of what is now being called the "Great Recession," I, like many other graduates, found landing a teaching job very difficult. In fact, over the

Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education Supports of AB1172

The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:


Obama Administration Announces Together for Tomorrow | U.S. Department of Education

Obama Administration Announces Together for Tomorrow | U.S. Department of Education:

Obama Administration Announces Together for Tomorrow

New initiative will foster, expand community engagement in low-performing schools

Contact:
Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov


The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced today Together for Tomorrow, a new initiative to spotlight existing and spur new community engagement in turning around persistently low-performing schools.

"Together for Tomorrow is aimed at changing the relationship between schools and community partners so everyone feels a shared responsibility to improve low-performing schools," said Joshua DuBois, special assistant to the President and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. "Every child deserves an education that will enable them to succeed in a global economy. Faith and community groups are critical partners in this all-hands on deck moment."

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the initiative during a town hall meeting at Memorial Middle School in Orlando, Fla.

"Community and family involvement can be the make or break factor in successfully turning around low-performing schools," said Duncan. "Together for Tomorrow will provide real-life examples of how to effectively transform our struggling schools, and build a community-to-community support system that can help take this critical work to scale."

Duncan was joined by fellow Administration officials including, DuBois, Robert Velasco, II, acting chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and Roberto Rodriguez, special assistant to the President for Education Policy. Also in attendance were U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, and Brian Gallagher, chief executive officer and president of United Way Worldwide and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

"Harnessing the power of national service to help improve schools across the nation is a great example of community driven solutions at work," said Velasco. "The partnership of schools to their local communities is a natural marriage and the clearest pathway to provide these schools with the tools and resources necessary for success."

The initiative will promote a community culture where education improvement is viewed as everyone's responsibility. The work of skilled principals, teachers and school staff, in concert with dedicated parents, community organizations and volunteers will achieve positive results with the support of Together for Tomorrow.

The community surrounding Orlando's Memorial Middle School is one of six demonstration sites, acting as examples for effective community participation in school intervention efforts. The site is led locally by the Heart of Florida United Way in cooperation with Orange County Public Schools and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's Cities of Service initiative. Additional sites include communities in Center and Denver, Colo.; New Haven, Conn.; New Orleans, La; and Memphis, Tenn.

In the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Education will officially launch the initiative with a series of partnership events and a national challenge through Challenge.gov. The initiative's efforts will focus on community and family partnerships' ability to boost key measurable student outcomes—Attendance, Behavior, Course performance, and ­College access, the ABCs of improving low-performing schools. Together for Tomorrow will also spotlight exemplary programs underway that have strong capacity to manage school-community partnerships and demonstrate progress in the ABCs. Supporting services will involve providing guidance on how to harness existing federal, private and nonprofit funding streams in addition to connecting local programs with technical assistance opportunities.

Following the official launch, regional Together for Tomorrow events will be held in demonstration site locations and other areas across the country in urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities.

Communities interested in details and updates on the Together for Tomorrow challenge should emailedpartners@ed.gov or visit www.ed.gov/edpartners. Press inquiries should be sent to the U.S. Department of Education at press@ed.gov. For national service inquiries, please contact Sara Albright at salbright@cns.gov.

NYC Public School Parents: Why you should not believe a word in the teacher data reports, due to be released today

NYC Public School Parents: Why you should not believe a word in the teacher data reports, due to be released today:

Why you should not believe a word in the teacher data reports, due to be released today

The DOE is due to release the inaccurate and unreliable teacher data reports today, based solely on standardized test scores from 2010 state exams known to be invalid; with the names of 3-8th grade individual teachers attached. All the major newspapers are likely to post these false and defamatory reports as soon as tomorrow . I suggest you refrain from looking up your child’s teacher, but if you do,you should NOT believe ANYTHING the report says.
Check out my interview on WPIX - TV news yesterday where I explain the huge margin of error in these reports and more. There is not another profession, whether in the public or the private sector, where the media has ever publicized this confidential stuff, whether accurate or not – and the reporters are all

Blue Jersey:: Dysfunctional School Aid

Blue Jersey:: Dysfunctional School Aid:

Dysfunctional School Aid

School financing in New Jersey is like a dysfunctional family's Christmas. Everyone wakes up early, runs downstairs, and anxiously divvies up what's under the tree. Some favored children get a big pile of shiny new toys; others get socks. No one knows why, and everyone knows next year will be different; it all depends on Daddy's mood the night before (and how deep he got into the eggnog bowl).

Here in Jersey, "Daddy" is none other then Chris Christie, and the "gifts" he hands out are school aid. Yesterday, superintendents, school boards, educators and parents perused spreadsheets released by the NJDOE, anxiously peering to see what presents Chris Chringle left under their schools' tree.

Apparently, the governor thinks some districts have been naughty: 97 districts are losing aid. Among them is Newark, which is losing population to charter schools, despite the fact that ACTING Commissioner Cerf still

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Looking back to '09: Boy was I wrong!

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Looking back to '09: Boy was I wrong!:

Looking back to '09: Boy was I wrong!

Three years ago today, opponents of Renaissance 2010 protest Chicago school board decision to close or "turnaround" 16 schools.
It was three years ago yesterday, still joyful from the great election victory three months earlier, that I took a swipe at Diane Ravitch for her comment: "It looks like Obama's education policy will be a third term for President George W. Bush. This is not change I can believe in." (Politico)

My response back then: "What a joke! Obama has done more to save public education in one month than the entire Bush regime did in 12 years."

Well it turned out, the joke was on me. Obama's early positives -- including his rejection of school vouchers (pushed on him by DFER hedge-fund reformers, his 2009 stimulus package which looked then like a new deal for

City Teacher Data Reports Are Released – SchoolBook

City Teacher Data Reports Are Released – SchoolBook:

City Teacher Data Reports Are Released

12:00 p.m. | Updated After a long legal battle and amid much anguish by teachers and other educators, the city Department of Education released individual performance rankings of 18,000 New York City public school teachers to the public on Friday, after admonishing the news media not to use the scores to label or pillory teachers.

The reports, which name teachers as well as their schools, rank teachers based on their students’ gains on the state’s math and English exams over five years and up until the 2009-2010 school year. The reports place teachers on a curve that leaves 521 of them performing in the bottom fifth percentile on both math and English citywide and 696 consistently in the top fifth among their peers.

Citing both the wide margin of error — on average, a teacher’s math score could be 35 percentage points off, or 53 points on the English exam ––as well as the limited sample size — some teachers are being judged on as few as 10 students — city education officials said their confidence in the data varied widely from case to case.

“The purpose of these reports is not to look at any individual score in isolation ever,” said the city Education Department’s Chief Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky. “No principal would ever make a decision on this score alone and we would never invite anyone, parents, reporters, principals, teachers, to draw a conclusion based on this score alone.”

The data was handed to the news media on CD-ROMs, which contain spreadsheets listing teachers’ scores for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years. Roughly 12,000 teachers were given teacher data reports each year.

The teacher rankings began as a pilot program four years ago to improve instruction in 140 city schools. It has turned into the most controversial set of public school statistics to be released by the Bloomberg administration:individual rankings for roughly 18,000 math and English public school teachers from fourth through eighth grades.

Getting everyone to the table. « Fred Klonsky

Getting everyone to the table. « Fred Klonsky:

Getting everyone to the table.

I was not reassured by Governor Quinn’s budget speech.

Luckily he only has two sides of his mouth.

That seems to have created a limit on the number of different positions on pension reform that the governor could take.

On one side said he supported pension reform that is constitutional and fair to pension members.

On the other side he said that when it came to public employee pensions, everything is on the table.

IEA President Cinda Klickna was more sanguine.

We are glad the governor reiterated his commitment to a constitutional solution

War on teachers continues: Publication of Teacher “Data” Reports « JD2718

War on teachers continues: Publication of Teacher “Data” Reports « JD2718:

War on teachers continues: Publication of Teacher “Data” Reports

FEBRUARY 24, 2012 PM29 1:07 PM

The court forced NYC to hand over the reports? That’s what Bloomberg claimed on the John Gambling Show on WOR: “I think what people miss is the courts have ordered us to release the data.” Typical of that weasel. The media filed FOI requests because the City told them that, in violation of the agreement Klein signed with Weingarten, that the City would not contest the order. Please make me! Bloomberg begged. And they did. (that a union official would expect the City NOT to try to violate an agreement… that is an issue for another day).

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InsideSchools refuses to publish the reports. Their statement (written by Meredith Kolodner) is first rate:

Here are our top five reasons they won’t help and why you won’t be seeing them on

This Week In Education: Media: NYT & WNYC Publishing Old, Inaccurate Teacher Scores

This Week In Education: Media: NYT & WNYC Publishing Old, Inaccurate Teacher Scores:

Media: NYT & WNYC Publishing Old, Inaccurate Teacher Scores

Teacherseason

You'd think it would be the small, scrappy, online-only publication that would do something rash and regrettable, not the venerable legacy media outlet. But that's not how it's playing out in New York City, where everything is upside down right now. Tiny GothamSchools has declined to publish individual teacher ratings and the massive New York Times has come up with a fancy app to celebrate their arrival.

Click below for more about why the Times is going ahead --