Jersey Jazzman: The Ruiz NJ Tenure Bogeyman Protection Bill!

Jersey Jazzman: The Ruiz NJ Tenure Bogeyman Protection Bill!:

Happy "Where's Cerf's Charter Report?" Day!

by Duke

It's the one year anniversary of ACTING NJ DOE Commissioner Cerf's promise to produce a report on charter school effectiveness "as quickly as is humanly possible"!

Vowing to create "more transparency," acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf today said the state will ask an outside agency to analyze why some charter schools out-perform traditional public schools.

Speaking at a meeting of the state Board of Education, Cerf said "we stand by" controversial data about charter school performance released in January, but acknowledged that "deeper analysis" is necessary.

That data showed that 79 percent of charter schools outperformed district schools

The Ruiz NJ Tenure Bogeyman Protection Bill!

by Duke

So State Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-DiVincenzo/Christiecrat) had a big hearing Monday about her tenure "reform" bill, and the usual suspects breathlessly declared war on the Tenure Bogeyman. "There is no greater urgency in my city," pronounced Cory Booker, apparently unaware of the soaring Newark murder rate. He wasn't the only non-educator who was screaming in fear at the big, scary, tenure monster:

The chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Jeffrey Scheininger, said his manufacturing company was “shocked” to find the vast majority of job applicants could not perform simple math with fractions. “We need a steady stream of literate and numerate young people,” he said. “Our economic stability depends on it.”

Of course, he didn't mention that people who can do math are working at jobs where their salaries have stagnated for years. And the cuts in state and local jobs have made things far worse. Are we going to blame the

Happy "Where's Cerf's Charter Report?" Day!

by Duke

It's the one year anniversary of ACTING NJ DOE Commissioner Cerf's promise to produce a report on charter school effectiveness "as quickly as is humanly possible"!

Vowing to create "more transparency," acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf today said the state will ask an outside agency to analyze why some charter schools out-perform traditional public schools.

Speaking at a meeting of the state Board of Education, Cerf said "we stand by" controversial data about charter school performance released in January, but

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Coalition demands extension of deadline for LSC candidate sign-up

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Coalition demands extension of deadline for LSC candidate sign-up:

Coalition demands extension of deadline for LSC candidate sign-up

by Mike Klonsky

Chicago's popularly-elected Local School Councils have been an effective model of democratic school management in this district for more than two decades. But in all those years, they have never received the kind of support they deserve from district leadership, especially under mayoral control of the schools. In fact, the mayor, his hand-picked school board and CEO, and the city's powerful corporate reformers would like nothing better than a quiet death of the LSCs, which would enable them to have total and unrestricted control over principal selection and millions of dollars in discretionary funds now in the hands of the councils.

With this year's LSC elections drawing near and the deadline for candidates to sign up to run for election only a day away, only about 2,000 parent, community teacher, non-teaching staff, and student candidates have been

Jeb Bush Sure Picked a Strange Time to Raise Money | Scathing Purple Musings

Jeb Bush Sure Picked a Strange Time to Raise Money | Scathing Purple Musings:

Jeb Bush Sure Picked a Strange Time to Raise Money

by Bob Sikes

Apparently, Bush’s number one policy wonk Patricia Levesque is quarterbacking the PR campaign to hold off growing opposition to parent trigger legislation. For some reason, Levesque and Bush see this as an opportunity to raise cash. Reports Dara Kam in The Palm Beach Post:

The controversial “Parent Empowerment” proposal isn’t just causing a bipartisan kerfuffle in the Senate where critics say the measure is a cash cow for for-profit charter schools and private management companies.

But the “parent trigger” measure could also make hay for Gov. Jeb Bush’s non-profit Foundation for Florida’s Future. Bush is backing the bill, pushed by Los Angeles-based Parent Revolution and

Why I Compare Primary Care Physicians to Classroom Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Why I Compare Primary Care Physicians to Classroom Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Why I Compare Primary Care Physicians to Classroom Teachers

by larrycuban

In a forthcoming book, I compare the practice of primary care physicians to that of K-12 teachers. For some readers, the comparison may be a stretch since so many differences separate the two professions. [i]

Consider the following:

*Doctors go to school eight years (undergraduate and graduate) to secure an M.D. and then spend another two to six years (of which most are clinical practice) learning a specialty; most teachers spend five years (of which six months to a year are in supervised classroom practice) to earn a bachelors and then a master’s degree in education; those who receive alternative certification have little to no time in supervised teaching prior to entering

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 3-7 AM Posts #soschat #edreform

Police Anonymity Demands Thwart Release of UC Davis Pepper Spray Report « Student Activism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Police Anonymity Demands Thwart Release of UC Davis Pepper Spray Report « Student Activism:Police Anonymity Demands Thwart Release of UC Davis Pepper Spray Reportby Angus JohnstonAs I noted last month, only one of the dozens of police officers involved in the notorious November 18 UC Davis pepper-spray incident has yet been publicly identified. Now a police demand for continued anonymity has delayed today’s intended release of the university’s report on the incident.Attorneys for the officers claim that because the report ... more »

School official outs 8th-grader as pregnant - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

School official outs 8th-grader as pregnant - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:School official outs 8th-grader as pregnantby Valerie Strauss“We learn by example and by direct experience,” wrote Malcolm Gladwell in “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,” “because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.”And herein lies a fundamental obstacle to increasing efforts across the country to counter bullying by young people: adult bullies.Read full article

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education Reform: Socks Worn Inside-Out

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Education Reform: Socks Worn Inside-Out:Education Reform: Socks Worn Inside-Outby Charlie MasI have touched on this idea a couple of times before, but with the Board poised to vote on the contract with Teach for America I think it is time to bring it back.I am not an advocate for the status-quo. I'm surprised that I even have to write that. Holy cow, if I haven't established myself as a critic of the education establishment, then I ... more »

Florida Parent Groups Frustrated by Lack of Access « Parents Across America

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Florida Parent Groups Frustrated by Lack of Access « Parents Across America:Florida Parent Groups Frustrated by Lack of Accessby leoniehaimsonCheck your pockets when a Corporate Education reformer claims to care about parent empowerment; nearly always, as in this case, they are working for their own private ends.For immediate release.Tallahassee, FloridaOn Saturday, March 3, 2012, for the third time in a matter of weeks, a real Florida parent was cut off mid-sentence during testimony opposing SB 1718/”Parent Empowerment” and told by ... more »

Fresh Evidence: Pascale Mauclair’s Report Should be Declared Invalid | Edwize

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Fresh Evidence: Pascale Mauclair’s Report Should be Declared Invalid | Edwize:Fresh Evidence: Pascale Mauclair’s Report Should be Declared Invalidby Jackie BennettLast week, Leo Casey gave Edwize readers the real story of Pascal Mauclair, whom the NY Post declared was the “at the bottom of the heap” when the DOE released the Teacher Data Reports to the press. The DOE gave Ms. Mauclair a “0” on her report, but the results seemed, to put it mildly, arbitrary. As Casey pointed out, ... more »

Answering Questions of Fundamental Fairness | ED.gov Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Answering Questions of Fundamental Fairness | ED.gov Blog:Answering Questions of Fundamental FairnessPosted on March 6, 2012 by Cameron BrenchleyEarlier today, Secretary Duncan released new data from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that reveal unfortunate truths about our nation’s schools. The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a first-of-its kind national data tool that highlights schools that are making real progress in closing opportunity gaps, as well as educational inequities around teacher experience, discipline and high school rigor.Key ... more »

Dozens Arrested in California and New York Capitol Protests « Student Activism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Dozens Arrested in California and New York Capitol Protests « Student Activism:Dozens Arrested in California and New York Capitol Protestsby Angus JohnstonRunning around today, but wanted to at least quickly follow up on the student protests in Sacramento and Albany yesterday.The New York Times has a good overview of the Albany action. Excerpt:About 300 students, most of them from public universities in New York, rattled the Capitol on Monday with an outburst of loud protests, in the gallery of the ... more »

Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Department

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Department:Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Departmentby Joy ResmovitsIn Chicago public schools, black students receive harsher punishments for in-school infractions than white students, a fact that mirrors a nationwide trend, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday. The report paints a startling picture of racial disparities in how students are disciplined in schools across the country.Nationally, black students are more than three-and-a-half times... more »

Parent trigger: A farce in Florida - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Parent trigger: A farce in Florida - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Parent trigger: A farce in FloridaBy Valerie StraussThere’s one important thing missing from the effort in Florida to pass a bill that would institute a “parent trigger” allowing parents to force specific changes at low-performing public schools: support from Florida parents.The legislature has been considering whether to join a movementstarted in California that gives parents with children at low-performing (based on standardized test scores) to ask the ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Look who's taken by surprise

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Look who's taken by surprise:Look who's taken by surpriseby Mike KlonskyChicago Public Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard, second from left, takes part in a panel discussion Monday with moderator Tim Knowles, left, director of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute, Michael Milkie, CEO of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, and Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, superintendent of the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools. (Antonio Perez / March 5, 2012)Taken aback yesterday was corporate reformer Tim Knowles, ... more »

Motion to Cancel Teach for America, Inc. Contract in Seattle | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Motion to Cancel Teach for America, Inc. Contract in Seattle | Seattle Education:Motion to Cancel Teach for America, Inc. in Seattleby seattleducation2011On February 16th, there was a motion to cancel the Teach for America, Inc. contract by one of the school board members in the Board Curriculum and Instruction Committee meeting. Five board members were in attendance. A majority of them supported a motion to terminate the district’s contract with Teach for America, Inc. The motion will appear as an ... more »

Opposition to California’s school ranking system grows | EdSource Extra!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Opposition to California’s school ranking system grows | EdSource Extra!:Opposition to California’s school ranking system growsMarch 6th, 2012 | Add a CommentBy Louis Freedberg ~ EdSource ExtraShare on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusoneMore Sharing ServicesOpposition at the highest levels of state government is emerging against the more than decade-old system of ranking California’s schools on a scale of 1 to 10, based on how they score on the state’s Academic Performance Index.Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: "Um...no...data isn't all that important." - Bill Gates

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: "Um...no...data isn't all that important." - Bill Gates:"Um...no...data isn't all that important." - Bill Gatesby AnngieDon't worry. Every decision will be data driven.We've heard that a million times lately. It is meant to reassure us. But we are finding more and more of this data, that somebody just HAD to collect, that is not seeing the light of day and that should concern us.Forbes just reported that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been delaying ... more »

Hechinger Report | Must value-added models grade teachers on a curve?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Hechinger Report | Must value-added models grade teachers on a curve?:Must value-added models grade teachers on a curve?by Sarah ButrymowiczAdd one more point of critique to New York City’s Teacher Data Reports: experts and educators are worried about the bell curve along which the teacher ratings fell out.Like the distribution of teachers by rating across types of schools, the distribution of scores among teachers was essentially built into the “value-added” model that the city used to generate the ratings.The long-term ... more »

Daily Kos: Separate, Unequal...and Distracted

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Daily Kos: Separate, Unequal...and Distracted:Separate, Unequal...and DistractedbyplthomasEdDFollowShareNew PERMALINK1 COMMENTWhen research, history, and allegory all converge to tell us the same story, we must pause to ask why we have ignored the message for so long and why are we likely to continue missing the essential thing before us.The New York Times and Education Week reveal two important lessons in both the message they present and the distinct difference in their framing of that message:"Black Students Face More Discipline, Data Suggests ... more »

Shanker Blog » Why Stop In Early Childhood? Two-Generation Strategies To Improve Educational Outcomes

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Shanker Blog » Why Stop In Early Childhood? Two-Generation Strategies To Improve Educational Outcomes:Why Stop In Early Childhood? Two-Generation Strategies To Improve Educational Outcomesby Esther QuinteroIn education research, it is now widely accepted that ages 0 to 5 are crucial years for child development. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that children perform better behaviorally and academically in families with stable employment and rising incomes, families with stable employment and those where parents themselves are improving ... more »

Bobby Jindal vs. Public Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

Bobby Jindal vs. Public Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Bobby Jindal vs. Public Educationby Diane RavitchDear Deborah,I went to Lafayette, La., last week to speak to the Louisiana School Boards Association. These men and women, representing their local schools from across the state, are trying to preserve public education in the face of an unprecedented onslaught by Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state's Republican-dominated legislature. Jindal has the backing of the state's corporate leaders, the nation's biggest foundations, and ... more »

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Peggy Robertson On Next Mind of a Bronx Teacher Internet Radio Show

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Peggy Robertson On Next Mind of a Bronx Teacher Internet Radio Show:Peggy Robertson On Next Mind of a Bronx Teacher Internet Radio Showby noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bronx-teacher/2012/03/07/the-mind-of-a-bronx-teacherOn Tuesday night, March 6 at 9 PM EST we welcome one of the leaders of the Standardized Test Opt Out Movement, Peggy Robertson. Peggy is spearheading a nationwide movement for parents to choose for their children to opt out of bogus standardized tests. You can find out more at www.unitedoptout.com and ...more »

So many students are hurting; listen and learn from their views | Thoughts on Public Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 14 hours ago

So many students are hurting; listen and learn from their views | Thoughts on Public Education:So many students are hurting; listen and learn from their views - by Miriam Hernandezby Miriam HernandezAs I wake each morning, I tell myself, “Thank you, God, for another day; may I encounter smiles on people’s faces.” I walk to school and I run into a lot of my fellow students. Sadly, I can tell some are hurting inside. I wonder about their stories and ... more »

Gee, no eight. « Fred Klonsky

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

Gee, no eight. « Fred Klonsky:Gee, no eight.by Fred KlonskyObama says he is moving the G8 meeting out of Chicago to Camp David, Maryland.He says the reason is to facilitate the free flow of discussion.Obama must have been watching the latest discussion over school closings and decided Chicago under Rahm is not a a good place for free flowing discussion.There’s an old Chicago joke about how the first Mayor Daley and three Alderman were on a boat out on Lake ...more »