National Green Ribbon Schools Named - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

National Green Ribbon Schools Named - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Congratulates First U.S. Department
of Education National Green Ribbon Awards Winners

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson congratulated four California schools that were among the 78 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools  recognized today at a national ceremony in Washington, D.C.

"Science, environmental, and outdoor education are all keys to helping our students become knowledgeable citizens and responsible stewards of California’s environment," Torlakson said. "These winners are models not only for California, but for the entire nation. I commend them for their commitment to the earth and to learning."

Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the Bureau of Indian Education nominated nearly 100 schools, of which 66 were public, including eight charters, and 12 were private. California nominated four schools and all were declared winners:

• Environmental Charter High School  , Lawndale Elementary School District.
• Longfellow Elementary School  , Long Beach Unified School District.
• Grand View Elementary School  , Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
• The Athenian School  , a private school in Danville.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, and U.S Surgeon General Dr.Regina Benjamin in congratulating the honorees for their exemplary enviro nmental programs and practices.

Honorees were awarded Forest Stewardship Council and Green Guard certif, ied plaques and biodegradable banners made of recycled bottles. This winter, all schools in participating states will have another opportunity to apply to their state education agencies to compete for state nominations for next year’s awards

# # # #

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

Blue Jersey:: Why Sheila Oliver, Loretta Weinberg & I are supporting Marie Corfield in LD-16

Blue Jersey:: Why Sheila Oliver, Loretta Weinberg & I are supporting Marie Corfield in LD-16:

Why Sheila Oliver, Loretta Weinberg & I are supporting Marie Corfield in LD-16

by Rosi Efthim

Marie Corfield for NJ Assembly

Support teacher Marie Corfield in her campaign!

Both Speaker Sheila Oliver and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg are in strong for Marie Corfield in Tuesday's primary. Both recorded calls for Corfield going out to voters. Do you know how unusual it is for legislative leadership to involve themselves in a primary fight to this degree? Very. But this is a solid chance for a Democratic pickup, and Corfield is a natural leader who nearly won the seat in November - coming about 3% behind entrenched GOP control (in a newly configured promising District) - and she's heavily endorsed. By comparison,  opponent Sue Nemeth has based her campaign on little more than mischaracterizing Corfield in nasty, personal terms, and insulting the intelligence of voters.Loretta Weinberg says:

"While Marie's opponent resorts to Chris Christie-style personal attacks Marie is busy campaigning to increase funding for education, deliver middle-class tax relief and bring jobs to NJ. 

OUCH: E-Mail From Baton Rouge Area Chamber Escapes, Stir Ensues (Updated)

OUCH: E-Mail From Baton Rouge Area Chamber Escapes, Stir Ensues (Updated):

OUCH: E-Mail From Baton Rouge Area Chamber Escapes, Stir Ensues (Updated)

by MacAoidh

Last week a move by citizen activists in Southeast Baton Rouge to create a breakaway school district independent of the failed East Baton Rouge Parish school system along the lines of those created by the people of Zachary and Central fell just four votes short of passage in the House of Representatives (nine votes short when the bill was brought for a second vote on the floor).

Among the groups fighting against the bill was the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.

It was puzzling why BRAC would take a position on the bill, a public policy argument which was not directly related to the question of economic development and the effect of which would not have been demonstrable one way or another. BRAC touted a study in progress by LSU professor Jim Richardson on the creation of a 

Analysis: Ruston school raises new voucher concern

BATON ROUGE — The New Living Word School probably wasn't the poster child Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration wanted for its new statewide voucher program.

The Ruston church-affiliated school has gotten widespread attention at the Capitol because of its plan to more than triple its enrollment by adding voucher students while raising tuition costs on the state's dime, though it's questionable whether the school has the immediate capability to handle such growth.

It's been a public relations nightmare for Superintendent of Education John White, and it has left even supporters of the voucher program that was pushed by the Republican governor publicly questioning whether enough safeguards were added to the program that will use tax dollars to send children to private and parochial schools.

Critics of the voucher program saw the example of the New Living Word School as new ammunition against a program that expands statewide for the upcoming school year.

But the attention generated by the school's plans could highlight potential loopholes and areas of concern, as education officials 

Vincent Precht: A Liberator | United Opt Out National

Vincent Precht: A Liberator | United Opt Out National:

Vincent Precht: A Liberator

by admin

Our Don’t Negotiate campaign is possible due to Liberators – those who do not negotiate with children’s lives.  Vincent Precht, also known as Califather, livestreamed our Occupation of The Department of Education in D.C. from March 30th to April 2nd.  He allowed the world to hear what mainstream media refused to share. Please follow him at his livestream channel or his blog and today, we share his words – we share what mainstream media denies the public – the truth.

In the words of William Lloyd Garrison, who famously declared in the first issue of The Liberator: “I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.”

Vincent Precht will be heard.

Watch live streaming video from califather at livestream.com

A Florida Teacher Explains Why She Thinks VAM is a Scam - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

A Florida Teacher Explains Why She Thinks VAM is a Scam - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

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A Florida Teacher Explains Why She Thinks VAM is a Scam

by Anthony Cody

Guest post by kafkateach, originally posted at her blog here.
In my previous post about VAM, I chose to discredit value added models on a purely humanistic level and to leave the attacks on the validity and reliability of the algorithm to the mathematicians. In the past week, I have learned so much about how VAMs will now be used in annual teacher evaluations in Florida that I can completely leave the pseudo science behind the algorithm out of the equation. I do not even need to prove that value added models are merely overpriced tarot card readings to demonstrate the truly malicious nature of how these models will be used to evaluate teachers. The master plan to use value added models to dismantle the teaching profession and anyone's chance of ever collecting a pension again is truly brilliant in design. Keep reading to see the scam for yourself.
This week I was called in to sign on the 50% of my evaluation that is actually based on MY performance instead of my students' performance. Teachers have been working this entire year without a clear idea of how they would be evaluated, even the administrators do not understand the new evaluation system. My administrator tried to tell 

Was I Mean to Eli Broad? « Diane Ravitch's blog

Was I Mean to Eli Broad? « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Was I Mean to Eli Broad?

by dianerav

This morning my former colleague Mike Petrilli at the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute wrote a paean of praise in honor of billionaire Eli Broad. He began it by saying:
It wouldn’t be super-hard to poke fun at Eli Broad. (Diane Ravitch did a mean-spirited version of that when she called him and his peers “The Billionaire Boys Club.”) Here’s a man who made his fortune  building tract housing in the ‘burbs,  who micromanages grants down to the penny, a man who names more than a few things after himself (the Broad Prize, the Broad Fellows, and his latest museum project, simply The Broad). He’s the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the 1 percent, and not ashamed of it, either.

I was surprised to hear Mike say that it was “mean-spirited” of me to refer to him and Bill Gates and the Walton Family Foundation as members of “the Billionaire Boys’ Club.” They are billionaires and they are guys. So I wrote Mike and asked him if I had said anything that was inaccurate, and he said, no, nothing inaccurate, just mean-spirited.

I admit I didn’t realize that people as powerful as Eli Broad (“the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the 1 percent”) were 

Vouchers and the Future of Public Education

by dianerav

I debated whether to give this blog the title you see or to call it “State Commissioner of Education John White Acknowledges That He Doesn’t Know How to Improve Schools.”
I felt a sense of outrage as I read the latest account of the Louisiana voucher program. Since Bobby Jindal is already doing what Mitt Romney promises to do, I keep a close watch on Louisiana. So should the national media. A Shreveport newspaper ran an article linking Jindal’s plan to the ALEC model of school reform.
The Reuters article skips the rhetoric about “the civil rights issue of our era” and goes to the heart of the voucher program:
“Louisiana is embarking on the nation’s boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.“
The voucher program is a bold effort to privatize public education by taking money away from public schools and giving it to anyone who claims that they can offer some sort of an educational or tutoring or apprenticeship program, in person or online, regardless of its quality.
Commissioner John White defends the radical privatization scheme, saying that: ”I know the governor and bill 

Trust and skepticism « Deborah Meier on Education

Trust and skepticism « Deborah Meier on Education:

Trust and skepticism

by rogermeier

Dear friends.
The poor get poorer, and more get poorer. Meanwhile college tuitions keep rising. Meanwhile the media declare that no one who hasn’t got a BA can possibly qualify for a living wage. Something’s rotten in this proposition. It’s a catch-22. And it doesn’t have to be that way. It isn’t that way in Finland, for example.
Finland didn’t do it overnight, but they built it around critical democratic habits: competence and trust. They didn’t trade off one for the other. They joined competence and trust—just as we do when we hire a baby-sitter. I often go back to this metaphor because it seems so odd that we understand trust when it comes to a babysitter (even when our children are so young that we can’t really get “their side” of the story) but keep looking for a trust-proof solution to system-wide public schooling.
Trust and skepticism go fine together. The leap of faith we make is always temporary—whether it’s a question of when to lock one’s car doors, leave chairs out on the lawn, etc,
It’s another reason why I like both small class and small school size. It’s easier to learn the culture: what’s 

What's the Secret to Student Success? — Whole Child Education

What's the Secret to Student Success? — Whole Child Education:

What’s the Secret to Student Success?

by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written by Willona Sloan and originally featured in Education Update.
Educators today face many exciting challenges: preparing students for life and careers in the 21st century and helping every student overcome obstacles and experience the joy of learning. To meet these challenges, every teacher and every administrator must work together within their schools and across schools, breaking free of their silos and collaborating. Just as principals can no longer stay in their offices, administrating behind closed doors, teachers also cannot seal themselves inside of their classrooms.
Research proves that when teachers collaborate effectively to analyze student performance, create interventions for struggling students, and continue their own professional learning, they can increase their efficacy. When principals empower teachers to do what they know is best for kids, children learn more and teachers find more satisfaction in their work. Collaboration creates a win-win-win situation for students, teachers, and

The Unknown Students

by Sean Slade

How well do you know your students? How well do you know each student? Many schools use the following activity or something similar as part of professional development.

Step 1: Arrange all the students' names by either year level or in the whole school, depending on size of the school, onto a large wall.
Step 2: Give each adult a Post-It note and ask him or her to stick it next to each student he or she "knows." Knowing can include knowing what sports the students play, what their interests are, or how many brothers and sisters they have—in short, knowing each student as a person.
Step 3: Step back and look at the wall. What do you see?
What typically happens is that there is somewhat of a bell curve represented across the wall. Then there is silence as the adults realize what they are looking at.

• There are 15–25 percent of students that everyone knows. These may be the outgoing, exuberant, or popular students. They may also be the more disruptive students. They are the ones that make 

Vallas, Adamowski et. al. – Undermining Connecticut’s Economy…One job, One Family at a Time - Wait, What?

Vallas, Adamowski et. al. – Undermining Connecticut’s Economy…One job, One Family at a Time - Wait, What?:

Vallas, Adamowski et. al. – Undermining Connecticut’s Economy…One job, One Family at a Time

by jonpelto

Just a few weeks ago, Bridgeport, Windham and other school districts cheered when the Legislature approved and Governor Malloy signed legislation that allocates an additional $98 million as part of the new “education reform” act.

Of that, Bridgeport will be receiving at least $4 million more in state funds while Windham will collect at least $800,000.  Depending on how the Malloy Administration approaches the creation of the new “Commissioner’s Network” system, the towns may receive significantly more.

So what is the first thing that Paul Vallas (Bridgeport’s $229,000 part-time interim 

Creative Approach Schools Lawsuit and Fundraiser | Seattle Education

Creative Approach Schools Lawsuit and Fundraiser | Seattle Education:

Creative Approach Schools Lawsuit and Fundraiser

by seattleducation2011

This is a guest post by Jack Whelan and an action that I support.
Why We’re Bringing Suit against the Creative Approach Schools MOU
On June 22, there will be a hearing to decide whether the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding Creative Approach Schools between the district and the SEA, the local teachers union, is legal. This MOU grants the superintendent the right to waive any Board policy while approving the transformation of neighborhood schools into Creative Approach Schools. This could include waiving whistle-blower policy, conflict of interest policies, academic and financial policies–any policy!  It also removes parents from the process.
A group of citizens–Rita Green, Carlina Brown, Eric Muhs, Robert Femiano, and I—is bringing a suit against the district because we think this MOU is illegal. The lawsuit does not attack the idea of Creative Approach Schools, but we are concerned about the precedent it sets regarding to whom these schools will be ultimately accountable. We believe that in approving this MOU the board has abdicated its responsibility to represent the broader community’s interests regarding the establishment of Creative Approach Schools.
Here’s some background:
On February 15, 2012, the Seattle School Board voted to approve this MOU despite Director Peaslee’s catching 

Schools Matter: Science Education: We can do even better

Schools Matter: Science Education: We can do even better:

Science Education: We can do even better

by skrashen

Sent to USA Today, June 4, 2012

Rising scores on the national (NAEP) science test are indeed reasons to “Quit fretting. U.S. is fine in science education” (June 3).

But we can make more progress: The average score for students not eligible for free and reduced price lunch was 164, just below the demanding proficient level (170), Those eligible for free/reduced lunch averaged 137, just below the basic level (141).

This is no surprise: Our middle class students who attend well-funded schools score at the top of the world on international tests. Our overall scores are less than spectacular because of our high rate of poverty, now 23%, highest in the industrialized world. Poverty means food deprivation, lack of health care, and lack of reading 

Failing Data in Education Reform

by P. L. Thomas

Few phrases have been written or uttered more often than "data-driven instruction" or "evidence-based decision making" since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) codified "scientifically-based" practices in 2001.

The accountability era begun in the early 1980s intensified the near mania for data in the U.S. that can be traced back to the first few decades of the twentieth century and the promises associated with quantifying student learning and teacher quality through standardized testing. Although the past century and the more recent thirty-year cycle of accountability based on standards and standardized testing have not delivered on the promises (see Hout & Elliot, 2011), "No Excuses" Reformers, including the current Department of Education headed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, remain steadfast in pursuing better tests based on better standards.

The "No Excuses" Reform movement is driven by bully politics that ironically includes an unbending faith in data 

UOON Supports Barbara Madeloni and UMass Students

by Jim Horn

Link from United Opt Out:

This week United Opt Out National stands in solidarity with the UMass teacher educators and the sixty-seven student teachers at UMass Amherst School of Education who together chose to boycott the Teacher Performance Assessment field test via Pearson.  Barbara Madeloni, lecturer at UMass and one of the teacher educators who joined the boycott, has recently been told that her contract will not be renewed. Today we share an interview with Barbara Madeloni as she shares her views on the TPA, Common Core and education activism.

After reading the interview please take action. Our action for the week of June 3, 2012, is to ask 

The Chinese Secret to Test Prep: IV Drips

by Jim Horn

Attention: Manhattan moms who are looking for the edge that Taylor and Thomasina need to get into that AP Kindergarten on the Upper East Side.  "A" is for Amino Acids!

Popout

Pinellas County School Board Looks to Endorse National Resolution on High Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

Pinellas County School Board Looks to Endorse National Resolution on High Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings:

Pinellas County School Board Looks to Endorse National Resolution on High Stakes Testing

by Bob Sikes

Reports Cara Fitzpatrick in Gradebook:

A resolution against high-stakes standardized testing seems to have found favor with the Pinellas County School Board.
Board members discussed it briefly Monday during a workshop meeting, quickly agreeing to add it to the agenda of their next regular meeting.
“I think we need to adopt this resolution and sign it,” said board member Janet Clark. “I don’t know what conversation needs to be had.”

GO TO 

National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirstNY’s Micah Lasher discussing education politics in New York City tonight

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirstNY’s Micah Lasher discussing education politics in New York City tonight:

StudentsFirstNY’s Micah Lasher discussing education politics in New York City tonight

by admin

Democratic Leadership for the 21^st Century will be hosting the discussion 7pm tonight (6/4) at Alpha Fusion II169 8th Ave (between 18^th and 19^th).
Details can be found here.  Moderator @elizwgreen is soliciting questions for Lasher, but readers should be advised that, in keeping with StudentsFirst tradition, Lasher will probably not be shedding any light onStudentsFirst’s funders.  Banalities will fly freely, tough questions will be dodged.  Don’t miss it.

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 6-5-12: More great events in Chicago! Go to at least one!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 6-5-12: More great events in Chicago! Go to at least one!:

PSAT for 6-5-12: More great events in Chicago! Go to at least one!

by admin

First of all, I’m delighted to introduce the new PSAT logo, which was a Mother’s Day gift from my wonderful, talented daughter-in-law, Kristin Hanson Turpin. Love it!
Secondly, the high energy continues among public school advocates in Chicago. Look at this list of upcoming events – please pledge to attend at least one.
Tuesday, June 5: 19th Ward Parents are sponsoring a screening of the movie “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman” with a panel discussion following the movie, featuring the Reader’s Ben Joravsky.
When: 7 p.m. screening followed by a panel discussion
Where: Beverly Arts Center, 111th and Western, Chicago
What: This documentary is about educational justice and the privatization of public schools in America. For more 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Let's Go Ahead and Chip Babies at Birth. It will be a More Efficient Way to Supply Information to the P20 Pipeline. Science Fiction or Real Possibility?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Let's Go Ahead and Chip Babies at Birth. It will be a More Efficient Way to Supply Information to the P20 Pipeline. Science Fiction or Real Possibility?:

Let's Go Ahead and Chip Babies at Birth. It will be a More Efficient Way to Supply Information to the P20 Pipeline. Science Fiction or Real Possibility?

by stlgretchen

Insert a lifeclock chip or barcode into humans.  What's the difference?

How many of you remember the movie "Logan's Run"?  If you missed it the first time around or were too young, here's a recap:

Logan's Run is a 1976 science fiction film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Michael York,Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett and Peter Ustinov. The screenplay by David Zelag Goodman was based on the novel of the same name by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. It depicts a dystopian future society in which population and the consumption of 

Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky

Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky:

Pension Call Tuesday.

by Fred Klonsky

Skip calling your own legislator tomorrow, Pension Call Tuesday.
If you have a friend or relative who lives in Wisconsin, give them a call instead.
Remind them that what happens in Wisconsin doesn’t stay in Wisconsin.
Recall Walker.
Let them know that we FIBs are depending on them.

Will the fear of a voter backlash push pension bill until after November? (Correction)

by Fred Klonsky

Rich Miller writes to say that I was not accurate in how I intepreted his article, linked here and in the post below. Rich says that he “never wrote that there wouldn’t be a pension deal this summer or that it would be put off until after november. I love your stuff, Fred, but please either correct that post or tell me where you saw me write what you say I wrote.”
Well, I have no interest in misquoting Rich Miller, who is a great source for Springfield information. What I took away from his article linked below was that the legislative leaders and the Governor would be trying to come to some agreement this summer, but that the GA would likely not meet and that:

The Republicans (and downstate and suburban Democrats) are so completely 

Police Should Stay Out of Schools « Cooperative Catalyst

Police Should Stay Out of Schools « Cooperative Catalyst:

Police Should Stay Out of Schools

by aaronregunberg

Earlier this week during a meeting of the after-school program I facilitate in Providence’s Hope High School, I witnessed a fascinating debate between a group of students. I think it was very illuminating, and so I wanted to try to recreate the conversation as best as I can.
The topic was the role of police inside schools. The discussion began when one student questioned the propriety of cops carrying loaded weapons around Hope. “They’re walking around with guns like this is some army base or something while we’re in our classrooms, trying to learn algebra,” she said. “We’re not criminals.”
Another student disagreed. “They need weapons in case something happens,” he said.
“Like what?” a couple folks shot back.
“Well…in case someone else with a gun comes in.”
Everyone thought about that for a while. Someone asked, “Can anyone remember that ever happening at Hope?” A couple rumors, maybe, but nobody in the group could remember that having actually happened.

Critique of the Charter School Invasion- Frontline for the Privateers

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Critique of the Charter School Invasion- Frontline for the Privateers

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Jun 3, 2012 by laborvideo 

Danny Weil, a charter education expert, journalist, former public policy lawyer and activist discusses Governor Brown's so called "compromise" tax initiative and what it will really mean for public education. He calls it a subsidy for charters that will help further privatization of all public education in California. He also discusses the