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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break 7-3 #soschat #edreform



Big Education Ape - Mid Day Banana Break


National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 minutes ago
National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education: National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress JULY 3, 2012 *Contact: * Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Average math scores for fourth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools have improved since 2009 according to a national study released today, though the overall academic progress of these students has stalled since 2005. The National Indian Education Study (NIES) study, which provides data on the educ... more »

NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago
NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association: NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY *NEA RA 2012* -* NEA: We Educate America* *Friday, June 29 - Friday, July 6, 2012 - Washington, DC* *Registration for the NEA RA is now closed* The NEA Representative Assembly is the largest democratic deliberative assembly in the world. California sends more than 1,000 delegates to the NEA RA each summer. During this annual meeting, CTA members help set policy and chart the direction of NEA business through participation on various committees, constituencies, caucuses, and leadership groups... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 32 minutes ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION by Mike Klonsky With all eyes on Chicago as Rahm continues to push the teachers and their union to the wall, the NEA Regional Assembly voted overwhelmingly to support the CTU. The resolution came out of the Illinois Delegation. Here's brother Fred making the pitch. Popout Unanimous! Solidarity! Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich by Mike Klonsky Ohio Tea-Party Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hug after Jackson talked about the agreement th... more »

Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 33 minutes ago
Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education: Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! by Kate_Lenox [image: Home] Recently I posted about the requirements of the new Race to the Top grants for school districts. The federal Dept. of Education has doubled down on the emphasis on standardized tests by moving to use them not only to judge schools, but also to judge teachers and administrators. Even more disturbing is the new requirement that tests for schools boards be developed. Is this just another way to... more »

Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics: International House of Education Statistics by Duke I'll be doing the #soschat tonight on the Twitter machine, which should be fun (if TweetDeck for Mac stops acting so quirky). Stop in if you can: 9:00 PM EDT. We needed a topic, and I'm sick of talking about Chris Christie, so I thought we'd talk about international comparisons. Why? Because they seem to be a lynchpin of the entire reformy argument: "*Our kids suck compared to the rest of the world! Even our kids who we say don't suck really suck! 'Cause their teacher... more »

D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post: D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry by Bill Turque While I was gone, a significant announcement from the D.C. Charter School Board that slipped through without much notice. The board is proposing a streamlined approval process that would allow experienced charter operators with good track records in other cities to open their doors in the District a full year ahead of the current timetable. (Astrid Riecken - FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) The new guidelines, unveiled at th... more »

Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky: Justice was our floor strategy. by Fred Klonsky PopoutA couple of folks came up today and asked me if I had a floor strategy. At an NEA RA that’s what the big boys do. When you want to control the speakers, you plant folks at different microphones who then give their time over to those prepared to speak. The Illinois caucus had already voted for the New Business Item calling for the NEA to support the AFT Chicago teacher local in their negotiations with Rahm and his hand-picked school board. It had now been assigned a number: NBI 13. A... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World by Duke A citizen revolution has been brewing in Newark for some time, with local citizens getting increasingly sick and tired of being left out of decisions that affect their own children. So, if this is a revolution, yesterday was the Battle of Lexington and Concord: The Newark public schools uneasy relationship with the city’s charter schools stirred more debate last night, as the district’s advisory board rejected leases to share space with the alternative ... more »

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Urges Delegates to Stay Strong

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
*NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the National Education Association's 91st Representative Assembly today with a challenge to members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America's public schools into world class institutions of learning.*

PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools) Parents United for Responsible Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools): PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools) by admin *For our nation’s birthday – let’s give some thought to what it really means to be a great nation.* (I’m trying to take a little work break in honor of July 4th so I’m just going to share the most recent Action of the Week from the Parents Across America June 28 newsletter.) The Supreme Court has upheld the federal healthcare reform law. My long-time friend and PURE colleague Johnny Ho;mes sa... more »

Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog: Why Elected Local School Boards Matter by dianerav Lance Hill in New Orleans knows what it is like to have no democratic control of schools funded with taxpayer dollars (so do people in New York City, but that’s another topic). He writes: *Local democratic control of schools is the last remaining obstacle to the complete privatization of public education. For that reason alone, the movement to save public education needs to make this a central program tenet.**Locally elected boards are the only entity that has the miss... more »

Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish: Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish by Joy Resmovits [image: Biden Education] Vice President Joe Biden thinks that teachers face a "fullblown assault" thanks to people like Mitt Romney. "I can't think of a candidate for president who's ever made such a direct assault on such an honorable profession," Biden said at the National Education Association's annual convention, in front of thousands of teachers in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning. Romney and Republicans, Biden asserted, want to increase the in... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, July 3, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Mono Lake Tufa SNR* Education Headlines *Tuesday, July 3, 2012* The story behind school superintendent's dubious degreeIn July 1996, FBI agents raided a nondescript office building beside a church in Mandeville, La., a small town near New Orleans. That long-ago raid, half a nation away, came home late this spring when questions were raised at a school board meeting about the educational attainment of Columbia Union School District Superintendent John Pendley. SF Superintendent Carlos Garcia ends 37-year careerFor a city accustomed ... more »

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally For the foreseeable future, the battle to save public education from uncontrolled testing and Corporate control will not be won at the national level. Both political parties are in the pockets of the Billionaire reformers, and the national leadership of teachers unions are desperately trying to save their organizations by making compromises that will leave them... more »

The Arrogance of Privilege

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
The Arrogance of Privilege: The Arrogance of PrivilegeTuesday, 03 July 2012 11:39By P.L. Thomas, The Daily Censored | News Analysis - 3 - font size [image: decrease font size] [image: increase font size] - Print - Email Charles Blow has offered a recent video of a disturbing account of bullying on a bus captured on video and posted to YouTube: "The video shows Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother and bus monitor in upstate New York, being relentlessly tormented by a group of young boys." "But what, if anything, does this say about society at large?" asks Blow, ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich: Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich by Mike Klonsky Ohio Tea-Party Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hug after Jackson talked about the agreement that was reached on the Cleveland reform plan. (Plain Dealer)Privatizers' dream, union goes along Two things are predictable when states pass school reform laws that only apply to one city. First, that city has a largely poor, black and brown school population and second, the reform is more about privatization, charter

Sample Policies and Implementation Plans - School Environment (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Sample Policies and Implementation Plans - School Environment (CA Dept of Education): Sample Policies and Implementation PlansModel policies and plans on the prevention of bullying and on conflict resolution that were developed by the California Department of Education as resources to help California schools address these vital school safety concerns. ------------------------------ To ensure that the California schools act promptly to resolve disputes, taunting, harassment, intimidation, or bullying that could result in violence, the Legislature and the Governor enacted Assembly B... more »

Stand for Children on Education Radio | Seattle Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Stand for Children on Education Radio | Seattle Education: Stand for Children on Education Radio by seattleducation2011 *In December of 2011, one of the programs on Education Radio focused on Stand for Children.* *With the Gates funded organizations Stand for Children (SFC) and the League of Education Voters (LEV) pushing for charter schools in our state and campaigning for state legislative candidates who are pro ed-reform, it seemed appropriate to once again take a look at this organization.* *To follow is the introduction to the radio show:* Stand for Children or Stand for Profit... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact?: Career Tracking for Kindergartners. Parody or Fact? by stlgretchen ACT assesses kindergartners for college/career track so they can reach full potential? Is this from The Onion or fact? *WASHINGTON -- A new digital tool to test academic and behavioral skills will target students starting in kindergarten.* *ACT, the organization that developed the ACT college-entrance exam, will start testing the tool in the fall. It will be available to schools starting in 2014.The tool tracks students' career inte... more »

NYC Educator: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
NYC Educator: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home: Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home by NYC Educator NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured at left, says the arbitrator exceeded his authority when he ruled for the union. The arbitrator, according to Mayor4Life, should not have considered the union's arguments. Evidently, the city feels its opponents have no authority to make arguments, let alone have them heard, and that only the city's arguments should be considered. Listen to our side, ignore the other, and then make an informed decision. There is precedent for that, of course. The city h... more »

Lakeview Elementary Raided « occupy california

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Lakeview Elementary Raided « occupy california: Lakeview Elementary Raided by * OAKLAND, California – The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) shut the doors to 5 elementary schools in June reportedly due to budget cuts. As community members including teachers and parents first heard about the proposed shuttering of the schools over a year ago, they began organizing against the school closures. The 5 schools closed were all in areas of the city home to low-income families of color. On June 15, parents, teachers and some children established a camp outside the Lakeview Elementary ... more »

More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] More on Memphis: Jim Horn Responds by dianerav In my post about the Memphis-Shelby County schools yesterday, I quoted Jim Horn of Schools Matter. Horn was extremely critical of the plan to increase the proportion of students in charters from 4% to 19%, resulting in a $212 transfer of public school funding from the Memphis public schools to private hands. A comment on the web site was highly critical of Horn and said he knew nothing about the plan or its supporters. *As a... more »

Ex-Jindal aide disputes suits | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
School bill actions defended | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA: School bill actions defended [image: Jimmy Faircloth]Show caption *Ex-Jindal aide disputes suits* BY WILL SENTELL Capitol news bureau July 03, 2012 5 COMMENTS Gov. Bobby Jindal’s former executive counsel, who is defending Jindal’s public school overhaul measures, said in court filings that the Legislature acted properly when it approved a bill that expands Louisiana’s voucher program. Lawsuits by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, among others, contend that the voucher measure and one that makes it harder for te... more »

Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime | Scathing Purple Musings: Gerard Robinson Takes Another Stab At Spinning Florida’s Status Quo Test Regime by Bob Sikes *Gradebook’s* Jeff Solochek provides the link to Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson’s letter to the state’s parents. While observers of Florida education policy will find much to challenge, it is these two paragraphs which are most critical to Robinson and his handlers: The combination of changes to Florida’s accountability system will cause a temporary drop in some scho... more »

Daily Kos: Welcome to the rest of our lives.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Daily Kos: Welcome to the rest of our lives.: Welcome to the rest of our lives. by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) Still don’t believe in climate change? Then you’re either deep in denial or delirious from the heat. So begins Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson in Eugene Robinson: Feeling the heat, an opinion piece in today's *Washington Post.*Like me, Robinson lives in Arlington County, right across the Potomac from the District of Columbia, and I periodically see him in a local supermarket. It has power from a generator truck, but as I write this, the rest of that ... more »

Student Loan Changes for 2012 - US News and World Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 hours ago
Student Loan Changes for 2012 - US News and World Report: Student Loan Changes for 2012Get the scoop on new rules for undergraduate and graduate students. By KATY HOPKINS July 3, 2012 RSS Feed Print [image: A Congressional decision will keep subsidized Stafford loan interest rates at 3.4 percent for one more year.] A Congressional decision will keep subsidized Stafford loan interest rates at 3.4 percent for one more year. On Sunday, July 1, several changes to federal student loanprograms took effect. If you’re a current or soon-to-be college or graduate student, read on to see if yo... more »

Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot | Local News | The Seattle Times: Well-funded charter-school initiative has nearly enough signatures to make ballot Supporters of allowing charter schools in Washington state have raised nearly $2 million from a handful of high-profile donors and say they are poised to submit the needed 241,153 valid signatures by the Friday deadline. By Brian M. Rosenthal Seattle Times education reporter MOST POPULAR COMMENTS HIDE / SHOW COMMENTS Make no mistake about it, the same technology oligarchs that fund this ... more »

NEA 2012: It's All About Obama - Teacher Beat - Education Week

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
NEA 2012: It's All About Obama - Teacher Beat - Education Week: NEA 2012: It's All About Obama by Liana Heitin [image: obama wall.jpeg] *This post originally appeared on* Education Week Teacher's* Teaching Now blog.* Campaign rally or Representative Assembly? At some points yesterday it was hard to tell. The 8,000 or so delegates of the nation's largest teachers' union gathered in Washington for their annual convention heard one message above all others: Vote for Obama in November. Just outside the assembly hall, attendees traded off Sharpees to write notes to the president on a mas... more »

Schools Matter: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Schools Matter: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck: Guest Post: The Education Sector Attempts to Head Off a Common Core Trainwreck by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene [image: Dr. John Thompson was an award-winning historian, lobbyist, and guerilla-gardener who became an award-winning inner city teacher after crack and gangs hit his neighborhood.]By John Thompson The Education Sector's new report, *Getting to 2014 (and Beyond): The Choices and the Challenges Ahead*, could have been entitled "Whistling Past the Graveyard." The report starts wit... more »

Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? - Education - GOOD: Do We Need a 'Bar Exam' For Teachers? by Liz Dwyer [image: exam] Teachers unions ensure teachers have the resources and support they need to educate kids, but given the perception that they primarily protect bad teachers, there’s plenty of pressure on Randi Weingarten, head of theAmerican Federation of Teachers, to come up with ideas that’ll prove her union isn’t just about maintaining the status quo. In a conversation with Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Weingarten did just that, suggesting that making all pros... more »

The Educated Reporter: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago
The Educated Reporter: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories: From Schools to the Olympics, Women and Title IX Score New Victories by Emily Richmond Four school districts have agreed to ensure thousands of girls are given equal athletic opportunities after gender discrimination complaints were filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Title IX, the 1972 federal law banning gender discrimination in schools, applies to all campuses that receive public funding. In 2010, the National Women’s Law Center filed complaints agains... more »

From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. « Fred Klonsky: From Dennis Van Roekel’s speech at the opening session of the NEA RA. JULY 2, 2012 We all know there are plenty of people who are eager to offer advice — or worse, try to impose their ideas on our profession. Bloggers, columnists, elected officials, and self‑proclaimed reformers, they are constantly weighing in about public education. I mean, they have an opinion on everything — the who, the what, the when, the where, and the how — all of that about public education. Always opinions. The “who” th... more »

Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Schools Matter: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered: Democrats for Neoliberal Education Reform's Gloria J. Romero's Parent Tricker days are numbered *I think about former Senator Gloria Romero comparing Compton educators to "batterers" and wondered whether the writers of those words ever stop to think about the consequences of their prose. — Martha Infante* [image: Gloria J. Romero, Queen of California School Privatization, head of reactionary DFER, darling of the CCSA.] Photo by Mark Warner (CC BY-SA 2.0) As the DFER vene... more »

NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
NEA - Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates: Let’s Use Our Power to Make Public Education Stronger, Van Roekel Tells Delegates NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the 2012 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) by challenging members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America’s public schools into world class institutions of learning. Van Roekel said NEA members realize they can’t set education policy by themselves, but they do have the power to influence it. “You do i... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency: Obamacare and Education Reform Operate Under the Same Basic Principle: The Politics of Dependency by stlgretchen How many politicians will send their children to public school to learn under Common Core/RTTT mandates? Education reform has much in common with Obamacare: Absurdities. - Education reform: Governors and state boards of education signed onto Race to the Top and Common Core standards even before they knew what was contained in the ma... more »

solidaridad: Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker'

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
solidaridad: Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker': Thoughts on Matthew Di Carlo's recent Shanker Blog piece on the 'parent tricker' by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene *Barr's parent organization gave... a grass-roots visual... And his paid staffers hit the right rhetorical notes... while identifying themselves to reporters and officials only as parents. — Howard Blume (Los Angeles Times)* [image: Shirley Ford and Mary Najara of Parent Revolution née Los Angeles Parents Union] Matthew Di Carlo recently penned a thoughtful and somewhat nuance... more »

The debating starts. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
The debating starts. « Fred Klonsky: The debating starts. by Fred Klonsky *Speaking in support of my New Business Item to the Illinois caucus.* Yesterday morning I made some calls to people who I normally don’t have on my speed dial. IEA President Cinda Klickna. VP Kathy Griffin. Secrertary Treasurer Al Llorens. And other members of the Board of Directors and Steering Committee. “Can we talk. I’m in the lobby,” I voice mailed Klickna. And at about 11AM she came walking over to me in the lobby of the DC Renaissance. I wanted to run past her a New Business Item that would call on the ... more »

Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Anniversary of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 | U.S. Department of Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Anniversary of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 | U.S. Department of Education: Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Anniversary of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 JULY 2, 2012 *Contact: * Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov "Forty-eight years ago today, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act states, 'No person in the United States shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the... more »

Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president - LA Daily News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president - LA Daily News: Monica Garcia re-elected to sixth consecutive term as LAUSD board president By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer Posted: 07/02/2012 01:49:33 PM PDT Updated: 07/02/2012 01:51:20 PM PDT East LA's Monica Garcia was re-elected Monday to an unprecedented sixth consecutive term as president of the Los Angeles Unified school board, fending off a challenge from a three-member voting bloc which said it was somebody else's turn to lead. Garcia voted for herself, and also had the support of San Ferna... more »

Diane Ravitch Gets A Corporate Spin From the Charter Queen | redefinED

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Diane Ravitch, please stop distorting the origins of the parent trigger | redefinED: Diane Ravitch, please stop distorting the origins of the parent trigger (THE PARENT TRIGGER IS DISTORTED ENOUGH) By GLORIA ROMERO On JULY 2, 2012 In* EDUCATION REPORTING, GENERAL, CHARTER EMPOWERMENT,PARENTAL DECepTION, FAKE PROGRESSIVES AND ED DEFORM, SCHOOL JACK, UNIONISM* Diane Ravitch, are you listening? This is former state Sen. Gloria Romero calling. I am the author of California’s first Parent Trigger law, the first parent trigger law in the nation. Since I first wrote that law, some 15 other ... more »

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National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education

National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress | U.S. Department of Education:


National Indian Education Study Reveals Varying Progress


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

Average math scores for fourth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools have improved since 2009 according to a national study released today, though the overall academic progress of these students has stalled since 2005.
The National Indian Education Study (NIES) study, which provides data on the educational achievement and experiences of AI/AN students, also reveals details about these students’ cultural exposure, academic aspirations, school conditions, and curriculum.
“For too many American Indian and Alaska Native students, progress in closing the achievement gap has been too slow,” said Joyce Silverthorne, Director of the Office of Indian Education. “This report provides a key opportunity for increasing our understanding of the challenge and fostering the collaboration necessary to erase the achievement gap.”
About one-half to two-thirds of AI/AN fourth-and eighth-graders score at or above the Basic level in mathematics and reading, according to the study.
“American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, and the wide and persistent gap between our fourth- and eighth-grade Native students and their peers highlights that we need to do more to help these students,” said Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education.
First conducted in 2005 and again in 2007, 2009, and 2011, the NIES reports results for the overall AI/AN population. Additionally, results are broken down by eligibility for the National School Lunch Program, gender, and type of school. The report categorizes public schools as—“high density,” where 25 percent or more of the students are AI/AN, and “low density” schools, where less than 25 percent of the students are AI/AN. The report also shows results for AI/AN students attending schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). NIES uses data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted in 2011. A national sample of approximately 9,500 AI/AN students at grades 4 and 8 participated in the 2011 reading assessment, and the same number participated in the mathematics assessment. In addition to the national results, the study includes results for 12 states with relatively large populations of AI/AN students: Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington.
Findings include the following:
  • There was no significant change in average reading scores for fourth- or eighth-grade AI/AN students compared to 2009 and 2005.
  • Forty-seven percent of AI/AN students at grade 4 and 63 percent at grade 8 performed at or above the Basic level in reading in 2011. Eighteen percent of AI/AN fourth-grade students scored at or above Proficient in reading; 22 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above the Proficient level.
  • The 2011 average mathematics score for AI/AN students was not statistically different from that of 2009 or 2005 in either grade.
  • Two-thirds of AI/AN fourth-graders performed at or above the Basic level in mathematics in 2011. Fifty-five percent of AI/AN eighth-graders performed at or above the Basic level in 2011. Twenty-two percent of AI/AN fourth-grade students scored at or above Proficient. Seventeen percent of AI/AN eighth-graders scored above this level.
  • In both reading and mathematics, AI/AN students in low-density public schools scored higher than those in high-density public schools or BIE schools.
  • The 12 states ranged widely in performance of their AI/AN students. For example, in fourth-grade reading, 61 percent of AI/AN students performed at or above the Basic achievement level in Oregon compared with 26 percent at this level in Alaska.
NIES also explores the educational experiences of AI/AN students. Students, teachers, and administrators provided information about their communities, the integration of AI/AN culture into their classroom practices, and interactions between the school and the AI/AN community.
Findings include the following:
  • Fifty-six percent of all fourth-grade AI/AN students and 63 percent of eighth-grade students reported knowing some or a lot about their tribe or group’s history. These percentages were higher in BIE schools than in low density public schools.
  • Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of AI/AN eighth-graders report never talking to a school counselor about classes for high school or about what they wanted to do after high school.
  • Seventy-three percent of AI/AN fourth-graders reported getting help with their schoolwork from a parent or family member once a week or more. Sixty-two percent reported getting help from a teacher at least once a week.
  • Higher percentages of students in BIE schools than in high or low density public schools had teachers who learned about AI/AN students to at least a small extent from living and working in an AI/AN community.
The full report, as well as the NIES Data Explorer, can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/.
NIES is sponsored by the Office of Indian Education, within the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences. This report was ordered in 2004 to assist American Indian and Alaska Native students in meeting challenging academic standards in a manner consistent with tribal traditions, language, and culture.

NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association

NEA Representative Assembly - California Teachers Association:


NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY

NEA RA 2012 - NEA: We Educate America
Friday, June 29 - Friday, July 6, 2012 - Washington, DC
 Registration for the NEA RA is now closed 
The NEA Representative Assembly is the largest democratic deliberative assembly in the world. California sends more than 1,000 delegates to the NEA RA each summer. During this annual meeting, CTA members help set policy and chart the direction of NEA business through participation on  various committees, constituencies, caucuses, and leadership groups.

NEA 2011 610x305 

The 2012 theme, "NEA: We Educate America," is the cornerstone of all we're about.  The 2011 convention underscored NEA’s readiness to increase our advocacy on behalf of students, public schools and our outstanding members; this year promises to continue that commitment and goal.  NEA is focused on moving forward with action to achieve our vision of Great Public Schools for Every Student by 2020.
Review the informative Newsletter which is chalk full of details in preparation for RA 2012. Other resources for a successful convention include:
 


See highlights from RA 2011:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION:


NEA STANDS WITH CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

With all eyes on Chicago as Rahm continues to push the teachers and their union to the wall, the NEA Regional Assembly voted overwhelmingly to support the CTU. The resolution came out of the Illinois Delegation. Here's brother Fred making the pitch.

Popout

 Unanimous! Solidarity!

Cleveland's corporate reform bill signed by Kasich

Ohio Tea-Party Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hug after Jackson talked about the agreement that was reached on the Cleveland reform plan. (Plain Dealer)
Privatizers' dream, union goes along

Two things are predictable when states pass school reform laws that only apply to one city. First, that city has a largely poor, black and brown school population and second, the reform is more about privatization, charter schools and "turnaronds" than it is about anything affecting teaching and learning.

Such is the case in Ohio where T-Party Gov. Kasich just signed the Cleveland Plan For Transforming Schools into law. "Cleveland is now leading the way in school reform," Kasich said to cheers from reform supporters and 

Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic! | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:


Honor the Fourth of July-Keep Our Schools Democratic!

Recently I posted about the requirements of the new Race to the Top grants for school districts. The federal Dept. of Education has doubled down on the emphasis on standardized tests by moving to use them not only to judge schools, but also to judge teachers and administrators. Even more  disturbing is the new requirement that tests for schools boards be developed.  Is this just another way to end democratic control over public education?

The slow ceding of democratic control began with the charter school movement. The only thing public about charter schools is the money that funds them.  A charter school’s teachers aren’t public employees nor are their governing board members elected. Those governing boards spend public money, but aren’t accountable to the public. No one votes them into office and parents can't vote them out if they don't like the way the school is governed. Their only option is to vote with their feet.

Another anti-democratic "reform" element is mayoral control. Using the mantra of "accountability" the public has 

Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics

Jersey Jazzman: International House of Education Statistics:


International House of Education Statistics

I'll be doing the #soschat tonight on the Twitter machine, which should be fun (if TweetDeck for Mac stops acting so quirky). Stop in if you can: 9:00 PM EDT.

We needed a topic, and I'm sick of talking about Chris Christie, so I thought we'd talk about international comparisons. Why? Because they seem to be a lynchpin of the entire reformy argument: "Our kids suck compared to the rest of the world! Even our kids who we say don't suck really suck! 'Cause their teachers suck!" Blah, blah, blah...

It's just not true, and we need to say so. I thought it might be helpful, therefore, to have some links to my stuff and others about this topic.

First, here's me:
Tino Sanandaji is an economist who has blogged about this stuff before. He hasn't had a lot of play in the 

D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post:


D.C. wants experienced charter operators, in a hurry

Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky

Justice was our floor strategy. « Fred Klonsky:


Justice was our floor strategy.

PopoutA couple of folks came up today and asked me if I had a floor strategy.
At an NEA RA that’s what the big boys do. When you want to control the speakers, you plant folks at different microphones who then give their time over to those prepared to speak.
The Illinois caucus had already voted for the New Business Item calling for the NEA to support the AFT Chicago teacher local in their negotiations with Rahm and his hand-picked school board.
It had now been assigned a number: NBI 13. And this afternoon, after Joe Biden gave a rather sleepy speech to the RA, it would come to the floor.
I had no floor strategy. I would move  it on behalf of the Illinois delegation. I would get three minutes to speak. I had asked some others to speak who were more than willing. A couple of young teachers, some from out-of-state, came up to me and said they had gone to CPS and felt very emotional about the issue and would I mind if they spoke?
Mind?
Please!
I spoke.
As I look around the hall there must be hundreds, if not more, delegates involved in bargaining right now – my own local in Park Ridge is a case in point.
The NEA supports us all.
So why pass a

Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World

Jersey Jazzman: The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World:


The Shot Against Charters Heard 'Round the World

A citizen revolution has been brewing in Newark for some time, with local citizens getting increasingly sick and tired of being left out of decisions that affect their own children.

So, if this is a revolution, yesterday was the Battle of Lexington and Concord:
The Newark public schools uneasy relationship with the city’s charter schools stirred more debate last night, as the district’s advisory board rejected leases to share space with the alternative schools. Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson, however, appeared poised to overrule and let the leases proceed. 
The proposed leases of five district buildings to charter school operators for next year has been the latest source of friction in a long run of contentious community meetings surrounding the state-run schools. 
Unable to make a decision last week, the district advisory board met in a special meeting last night to further consider them. The state has a deadline for issuing its final charters for next fall by July 15. 

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel Urges Delegates to Stay Strong



NEA President Dennis Van Roekel opened the National Education Association's 91st Representative Assembly today with a challenge to members to stand up for their profession and come together in a united mission to transform America's public schools into world class institutions of learning.

PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools) Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools):


PSAT for 7-3-12: Call for equality (especially in the schools)

For our nation’s birthday – let’s give some thought to what it really means to be a great nation.
(I’m trying to take a little work break in honor of July 4th so I’m just going to share the most recent Action of the Week from the Parents Across America June 28 newsletter.)
The Supreme Court has upheld the federal healthcare reform law. My long-time friend and PURE colleague Johnny Ho;mes said to me that by next year, people will simply be calling Obamacare “healthcare.”
Can we really turn the corner and become a nation that offers its people medical care regardless of status or situation? If we can do that, can we also turn off the message from the “reformers” that it’s OK to offer children different educational opportunities based on their status and situation?
The so-called education “debate” is really just a one-sided propaganda campaign


More elected school board petition drive dates



From Parents 4 Teachers:
Elected School Board Campaign Needs YOU This Week
We need your help this week, next week and the rest of July to circulate petitions to get a referendum for an elected school board on the November ballot.

  • Thursday, July 5: Logan Square, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Meet at the Starbucks on California and Logan Blvd.
  • Thursday, July 5: West Town, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Meet at 2002 W. Superior.
  • Tuesday, July 10: West Rogers Park, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Meet at 6635  N. Mozart.
Please email info@parents4teachers.net if you can help out on any of these nights! YOU are the key to this campaign’s success!
Looks Like We’re Getting Under Their Skin
CPS Board President David Vitale was forced to respond to parents’ demands last week after P4T and other groups held a press conference and testified at the June 27 board meeting asking for smaller classes, a better (not just longer!) day, fair compensation and protections for teachers, and improved school facilities.
Read the Sun-Times coverage of the event. The board says it doesn’t have the money to provide all the things parents and teachers want for their schools.  Call CPS at 773-553-1500 and tell them to get their priorities straight and fund the things our kids need most!
Please share this email with your friends!
For more info, visit www.parents4teachers.net


LSC training by Wanda

You know she’s the best. PURE’s Wanda Hopkins will be offering LSC lessons 1 and 2 on Thursday, July 19 from 9 to 1 pm at Leslie Lewis school, 1431 N Leamington Ave.
All LSC members are welcome. Please let her know you are coming by sending an e-mail to wjhoppo4@yahoo.com.
There will be no charge for this training.
If you would like to have Wanda come out to your school for LSC training, please e-mail or call her (773-663-5420). Your LSC can donate some of your :SC trainign money to help defray our costs. We would also like to be able to invite other LSC members to join in any other training that Wanda offers.

Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog

Why Elected Local School Boards Matter « Diane Ravitch's blog:


Why Elected Local School Boards Matter

Lance Hill in New Orleans knows what it is like to have no democratic control of schools funded with taxpayer dollars (so do people in New York City, but that’s another topic).
He writes:
Local democratic control of schools is the last remaining obstacle to the complete privatization of public education. For that reason alone, the movement to save public education needs to make this a central program tenet.Locally elected boards are the only entity that has the mission of keeping public schools public. They have a vested interest in retaining public control of schools and ensuring quality education since their actions directly impact local community life. That don’t always live up to that mission, but democracy allows us to hold them accountable.
State control is no different than federal control since 



For the Children?

A note from a teacher who was one of those rehired for a turnaround school.
Thank you, Michael Bloomberg and Arne Duncan, for the unnecessary damage you inflict on schools, communities, students and teachers, all the while publicly proclaiming that it’s “for the children.”
Yesterday I made a sojourn into my school, one of the 24 closing schools. (I say my school because I was hired back although the bloodletting that followed the ridiculous interview process fills one with survival guilt.) I called first to make sure the building was open and was told “Yes” and headed in to feed my classroom fish.When I arrived at school you would have thought I was trying to penetrate the Pentagon or CIA. I was told by 



Memphis: Stand for Children Responds

I received the following comment from Kenya Bradshaw, the executive director of Stand for Children in Tennessee. She was responding to the posts about the transition plan for merging Shelby County and Memphis. The transition plan envisions an expansion of the number and proportion of students in privately managed charter schools, from 4% to 19%, and a transfer of $212 million out of the Memphis public school budget.
Ms. Bradshaw seems to be a sincere and committed person, and I suspect she has no idea of the enmity that Jonah Edelman of Stand for Children generated by his performance a year ago at the Aspen Ideas Festival, when he boasted of stripping away job protections from teachers in Illinois, specifically in Chicago. Or the enmity he created when he launched a campaign in Massachusetts to eliminate teacher job protections. Or the enmity he gained by converting Stand for Children into a multi-million dollar corporate organization that advocates for privatization as well as the reduction of teachers’ job status. There was a time when Stand for Children was a 




Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish

Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish:


Joe Biden To Teachers: Mitt Romney Thinks You're Selfish

Vice President Joe Biden thinks that teachers face a "fullblown assault" thanks to people like Mitt Romney.

"I can't think of a candidate for president who's ever made such a direct assault on such an honorable profession," Biden said at the National Education Association's annual convention, in front of thousands of teachers in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning.

Romney and Republicans, Biden asserted, want to increase the influence of private schools "and strip you of your voice because he doesn't think you know much about education, and he characterizes you as not caring about the students but caring about yourselves."

Biden made these points in a speech he called an "honest-to-God" conversation about the differences between 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, July 3, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:
Mono Lake Tufa SNR

Education Headlines

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The story behind school superintendent's dubious degree

In July 1996, FBI agents raided a nondescript office building beside a church in Mandeville, La., a small town near New Orleans. That long-ago raid, half a nation away, came home late this spring when questions were raised at a school board meeting about the educational attainment of Columbia Union School District Superintendent John Pendley.

SF Superintendent Carlos Garcia ends 37-year career

For a city accustomed to a school district plagued by scandal and a school board prone to histrionics and hissy fits, the five-year term under Superintendent Carlos Garcia by comparison has been one big San Francisco snooze fest. The retiring Garcia, who officially ends his 37-year career in public education Tuesday, has arguably been one of the most boring school chiefs this city has ever seen.

Castro Valley schools face $4.3 million deficit

Castro Valley Unified School District faces a $4.3 million structural deficit for the coming school year. Superintendent Jim Negri said the shortfall is a result of the district not receiving the money it should be getting from the state.

Second year of science remains a mandate

Advocates of strengthening – or at least not weakening – the teaching of math and science won a partial victory in the final budget that Gov. Brown signed last week. A second year of science for high school graduation remains a state mandate, at the Legislature’s insistence, contrary to Brown’s proposal to make it optional.

Judge nullifies statewide charter granted to Aspire

A Superior Court judge in Alameda County has thrown out the State Board of Education’s approval for Aspire Public Schools to open charters throughout the state, bypassing local school districts. Judge Jo-Lynne Lee has given Aspire a year to obtain local charters for the half-dozen schools it now operates under the State Board’s authority.

LAUSD rejects all inspector general candidates

The Los Angeles Unified board has rejected all of the finalists to succeed the district's retiring inspector general and will launch another nationwide recruiting drive for candidates, officials said Monday.

Blue Ox school marches on, despite budget crunch

Since 1999, Blue Ox Community School has taken about 25 kids a year and put them through a rigorous academic program that pairs a traditional curriculum with a craft-based one that teaches traditional skills like woodworking, blacksmithing, typesetting and more.

School year could be cut by 20 days if tax initiative fails

Humboldt County school districts will be able to consider slashing up to 20 days from the school year if California voters do not approve Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax measure in November, the county superintendent of schools said.
Monday, July 2, 2012

School districts get $52M to pay for controversial construction plan

Two Coachella Valley school districts have received about $52 million for school construction projects from the state allocation board.

O.C.'s public face of education retires

For the past decade, Bill Habermehl has served as the unofficial Ed McMahon of the Orange County education scene, bursting into classrooms with balloons and cameras and an entourage to deliver trophies and $15,000 checks to Orange County's Teachers of the Year. Habermehl, 69, an unabashed cheerleader and champion of Orange County schools, retired Friday after 11 years as county schools superintendent.

Outgoing Twin Rivers trustee finds vindication in grand jury report

After years of being dismissed as an ill-informed troublemaker, Twin Rivers Unified School District outgoing trustee Alecia Eugene-Chasten is feeling more than vindicated in the wake of Thursday's release of a critical grand

Clock is ticking on pay for Sweetwater boss

Sweetwater schools Superintendent Ed Brand — just approved to stay on through December at $20,000 a month — might not do so.

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally

With A Brooklyn Accent: The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally:


The Battle Against Corporate School Reform Must Be Waged Locally Before It Can Succeed Natinonally


For the foreseeable future, the battle to save public education from uncontrolled testing and Corporate control will not be won at the national level. Both political parties are in the pockets of the Billionaire reformers, and the national leadership of teachers unions are desperately trying to save their organizations by making compromises that will leave them free to fight another day, if in fact there is anything left worth fighting for. This means that teachers, students and parents are on their own in challenging policies which dumb down the curriculum, undermine creative thinking, squeeze out the arts, and put young people’s health at risk by eliminating physical activity both during and after school. Every policy being promoted nationally, by both political parties,