Jersey Jazzman: The New Segregation in the New Newark

Jersey Jazzman: The New Segregation in the New Newark:

The New Segregation in the New Newark

by Duke

This is a very important post; not because it's in response to me, but because it comes from a Newark parent - someone with his child's future on the line:   

Jersey Jazzman: Newark Will NEVER Have Control Of Its Schools

Thoughtful and angry counterpoint on state-appointed superintendent Cami Anderson’soverriding the locally elected school board’s vote against leasing school buildings to charter schools.

[...]

It’s true that there are a lot of mediocre and even ineffective charter schools in Newark. A search on GreatSchools.org, which evaluates schools on a one-to-ten scale based on standardized testing results, shows that there are, indeed, many charters that don’t do better than their public school counterparts. There are also public schools that are great—Ann Street school in the Ironbound has been a Blue-Ribbon winner in years past.

The challenge is to figure out how the effective models are scaled up across the 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: There's no fix without a fight

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: There's no fix without a fight:

There's no fix without a fight

by Mike Klonsky

Mayor Frank Jackson, center, and Cleveland Teacher's Union president David Quolke, right, listen as schools CEO Eric Gordon talks about the agreement that was reached on the mayor's school plan.

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal headline:

A School Fix Without a Fight
Cleveland Mayor Works With Governor and Teachers to Link Pay to Test Scores

By Stephanie Banchero

The Republican governor of Ohio, the Democratic mayor of Cleveland and the local teachers union have united to overhaul how teachers are hired, fired and paid, a rare example of cooperation in education that some critics warn could still face challenges in the implementation.

The overhaul, signed into law by Gov. John Kasich this month, will allow the district to link teachers' pay, in part, to student test scores, and to lay off teachers based on performance 

PSAT for 7-10-12: More reasons for an elected school board Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 7-10-12: More reasons for an elected school board:

PSAT for 7-10-12: More reasons for an elected school board

by admin

The leadership of the Chicago Public Schools has once more shown its utter disrespect for our communities by announcing a nonsensical budget on a Friday evening and then scheduling hearings all on one day, 5 days later.
No matter that this violates the law by missing the June deadline, as Substance News points out.
No matter that they have ended what had become some sort of a tradition of opening the budget hearings at Lane Tech High School, which usually drew the largest crowd of any of the hearings.
No matter that they can’t explain the budget in a way that makes sense to anyone — for example, why do all the administrators from Brizard on down get the same 2% raise even though they are not being asked to work even 2% more time, in contrast to the extra 20% of time teachers are being asked to put in for their 2%?
Still, even as planned, the hearings do provide a rare opportunity to speak out about CPS issues without having 

Don’t Be Fooled By Rick Scott’s Clever Rhetoric on High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

Don’t Be Fooled By Rick Scott’s Clever Rhetoric on High-Stakes Testing | Scathing Purple Musings:

Don’t Be Fooled By Rick Scott’s Clever Rhetoric on High-Stakes Testing

by Bob Sikes

Desperate for a PR winner to defend his high-stakes tests regime, Rick Scott may have found one with a simple rhetorical tool: Change the wording. One now. One later.  Let’s take a look:

“Parents and taxpayers expect measurement. We’ve got to measure, we’ve got to find out who the best schools are,” Scott said at a convention of newspaper editors. “We have to have a goodmeasurement system, but we have to make sure we don’t have too much of it.”

Just a few days before, Scott would have used accountability and accountable instead of my emboldened measure and measurement. He and his allies have probably realized “accountability” is making taxpayers cringe as it simply means “high-stakes tests.”
And in Scott’s interview with editors last week he set up the big whopper with, “we have to make sure we don’t 

Shanker Blog » Low-Income Students In The CREDO Charter School Study

Shanker Blog » Low-Income Students In The CREDO Charter School Study:

Low-Income Students In The CREDO Charter School Study

by Matthew Di Carlo

A recent Economist article on charter schools, though slightly more nuanced than most mainstream media treatments of the charter evidence, contains a very common, somewhat misleading argument that I’d like to address quickly. It’s about the findings of the so-called “CREDO study,” the important (albeit over-cited) 2009 national comparison of student achievement in charter and regular public schools in 16 states.
Specifically, the article asserts that the CREDO analysis, which finds a statistically discernible but very small negative impact of charters overall (with wide underlying variation), also finds a significant positive effect among low-income students. This leads the Economist to conclude that the entire CREDO study “has been misinterpreted,” because it’s real value is in showing that “the children who most need charters have been served well.”
Whether or not an intervention affects outcomes among subgroups of students is obviously important (though 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, July 10, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Chinatown San Francisco

Education Headlines

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Fruitvale sues over defective gym construction

Fruitvale School District has filed a lawsuit claiming that construction companies were negligent in building and installing a gymnasium floor at its junior high school, court filings show.

Schools facing tighter budgets

Sonora High School, Summerville High School and Calaveras Unified School District have all approved budgets for the next fiscal year that anticipate steep drops in revenue, setting the stage for more possible cuts to programs.

Los Angeles, Long Beach districts scale back summer school due to cuts

A line of students snaked out the door of the Canoga Park High attendance office Monday morning, with scores of teens hoping to get a seat in Los Angeles Unified's smallest-ever summer school program.

Galt high school district finally closes books on years-long project

Trustees for the Galt Joint Union High School District have closed the financial books on a years-long project, but not before shelling out an additional $168,612 for construction work already performed.

Group contests raises to Central Unified's top employees

Central Unified teachers, parents and faculty say they are not giving up in their fight to overturn a contract approved last month that gives pay raises to the district's top employees. The contract will give five administrators annual merit-based raises each year if they get a satisfactory performance review.

School closures loom in San Diego

The merry-go-round of dire and familiar budget cuts continues at the San Diego Unified School District. The school board is once again laying the groundwork to shutter campuses to cope with the state's relentless fiscal crisis.

Summer squeeze: LAUSD offers limited summer school classes

With a bare-bones budget of $1 million, the district's Beyond the Bell branch is offering summer school at only 16 of its high schools. Classes are limited to core subjects and enrollment to failing students - seniors get priority - who need to make up credits to graduate.

Caltrans awards $48.5 million for Safe Routes to Schools improvements

Caltrans has awarded $48.5 million through its Safe Routes to Schools program to help fund construction of sidewalks, bike paths and other improvements near campuses throughout the state.

First LEA waivers looking for relief from pre-K program

As school officials statewide begin preparing transitional kindergarten programs to be offered this fall, nine districts are calling on the California State Board of Education to give them a reprieve from the mandate because of fiscal restraints.

Baron: Schools short of API targets prepare to lose millions in aid

Although the State Department of Education hasn’t yet released the final list of schools that will be asked to exit the program, about 30 percent of last year’s 474 QEIA schools fell short in at least one required area. Of those, the schools that missed their Academic Performance Index targets are most likely to be dropped. So far, 39 have asked the State Board of Education for waivers from their API growth targets and all but one were denied. (More on that in a minute.)

Monday, July 9, 2012

Alhambra Unified turns over files detailing teacher misconduct

More than three months after a public records act request was submitted by this newspaper, the Alhambra Unified School District released the names of two former teachers who resigned following district investigations into misconduct.

School district violated discrimination law

The Temecula school district discriminated against special education students at Vail Ranch Middle School by denying them instruction in social studies and science, according to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Judge: Tustin district did not illegally move students

A Riverside Superior Court judge ruled the Tustin Unified School District followed state law when it approved construction projects at four schools and transferred students to a vacant elementary school while work is being done.

Schools aren't keeping up with anti-bullying law, grand jury says

Not all Orange County schools have posted anti-discrimination and anti-bullying policies in public places as required by law, an oversight that should be immediately corrected as educators work to curb verbal and physical harassment among students, an Orange County grand jury panel has found.

In the News: CTU says CPS "lied," diverted funds | catalyst-chicago.org

In the News: CTU says CPS "lied," diverted funds | catalyst-chicago.org:

In the News: CTU says CPS "lied," diverted funds

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By: Cassandra West / July 10, 2012

Tags: budget Chicago Teachers Union

The Chicago Teachers Union issued a news release on Monday contending that, based on a Freedom of Information lawsuit it filed, Chicago Public School diverted about $70 million to avoid paying teachers a promised 4 percent raise last school year.

The money instead was given to the Chicago Police Department, mostly as payment for services previously rendered under prior agreements. The union also says CPS "lied" to the public about the Police Department payments.

Chicago Public Schools is holding three simultaneous hearings Wednesday 

California Food Literacy

Home | California Food Literacy:

Our StoryThe California Food Literacy Center came to life in July 2011 at a nonfiction food book store in San Francisco. Smitten with the idea of telling the story of our food, and being part of a community that could sustain a store selling nothing but food literacy, the dream was sparked. As a food writer, founder Amber Stott spent years researching and writing about the need for increased education of our food system. With a lifelong career in nonprofit management, she decided to merge her personal passion with her professional skills to fill the need.

Weeks later, the mission was born to create change today for a healthy, sustainable tomorrow through community food education. Today, Amber is joined by community members who make up the center’s board, volunteer committees, and support system. As a growing team, they’ve combined their creative ideas and energy surrounding eating, growing, learning, and reading to change the community.
Our mission:

To inspire change today for a healthy, sustainable tomorrow through enduring community food education.

Our Vision:

To promote a food literate population in California. We help Californians understand the story of their food. (See our definition of “food literacy” below.)

Food Literacy [fu: d lit-er-uh-see]noun: Understanding the impact of your food choices on your health, the environment, and our community.


Why Food Literacy Matters:Did you know that only 14% of Americans eat five servings of fruit and veggies daily? In California, 38% of children are overweight—a rate three times higher than it was 30 years ago, when the obesity epidemic began. Researchers believe we are two generations away from the majority of our country knowing how to cook. Meanwhile, the entire global food chain may account for a third of what’s heating our planet. Our current food system is taking a toll on our health, the environment, our kids, and our communities.
People are hungry for knowledge and for change: the recently introduced Edible Education 101 course at UC Berkeley offered public tickets in addition to student enrollment. They sold out in 12 minutes!


Who We Serve:Teaching children is our primary objective. By educating them in schools, we help them develop healthy food habits while they are young.  Parents are our secondary audience. Our curriculum inspires kids to bring home what they’ve learned to influence the food choices their families make.

What We Do:We teach. Financial literacy, learning to read recipes, basic cooking skills, gardening, and environmental impacts (bees, water)—these are just some of the lessons in our life-changing curriculum, which is tied to California Education Standards to ensure maximum benefits to the schools we visit.

We feed. By introducing healthy, sustainable menus in public entertainment venues, like zoos and theme parks, we demonstrate to families that good food is fun!

Our Approach:
We believe that good food should be fun! We focus on the positive side of food, sharing practical, affordable, and approachable ways to eat well, rather than harping on what foods people should avoid or eliminate. We aim to engage rather than frighten.

Results:We don’t rely on anecdotes to know that our programs are working. We test and measure our programs, using evaluation data to improve as we discover best practices to create lasting change.

How YOU Can Help:Be part of the solution. Contact us to learn about scholarships that bring our curriculum into schools, sponsorship opportunities, and to volunteer: Amber Stott, Founder:amber@californiafoodliteracy.org.

Harlem Project Shirley Chisholm

Harlem Project Shirley Chisholm:

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm is an inspirational American figure.  As a black woman, she spent her life battling discrimination and prejudice not only because of her race, but also her gender.  As both educator and politician, she fought for the rights of the disenfranchised and minority populations.  Chisholm was the first African-American woman to serve in the United States Congress, the first major black candidate for the United States Presidency, and a constant advocate for the rights of minorities.
She is also an author of two books, Unbought and Unbossed and The Good Fight and countless essays and position papers.  Read here one such essay “Women Must Rebel.”

In her essay, Chisholm writes "I am both black and a woman." What twoelements does she state are creating a social revolution AND why does she say this is a disadvantage?

As a student at Brooklyn College, her academic interests led her to identify with women such as Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony; women who fought for the equality of others.  Susan B. Anthony’s efforts in fighting for equality for women would not only leave an impression that affected Chisholm personally, but an impression that would steer her through her political career.

After graduating from Brooklyn College, Chisholm took a job teaching at Mount Calvary Child Care Center, a nursery school in Harlem. While there, she began her master’s

Democurmudgeon: The Voucher Tax!!! David Hazen, chief financial officer for Racine District: “It’s a tax, and we might as well admit it."

Democurmudgeon: The Voucher Tax!!! David Hazen, chief financial officer for Racine District: “It’s a tax, and we might as well admit it.":

The Voucher Tax!!! David Hazen, chief financial officer for Racine District: “It’s a tax, and we might as well admit it."

Republicans voted for a tax increase, just to pay for Voucher Tax!!! That’s how much they hate public schools. Where's Grove Norquist when you need him?

Read the section below! This is the best explanation of vouchers, and the impact on taxes and schools, I’ve come across in my coverage of this whole privatization effort.

Republican Voters are okay with paying more of their hard earned money in a “voucher tax.” If I’m not mistaken, that would be called a tax increase, wouldn’t it?

It’s about ideology, not about taxes. It’s about “big government,” and “big public schools.” Never mind every other industrial nation has a national system of education. We’ve got American Exceptionalism build into our DNA.

Scott Walker expanded vouchers in the Racine Unified School District, something he wanted to do statewide. How’s that working out?:

Mt. Pleasant Patch: Racine Unified School District officials are looking at possibly closing at least one elementary schools to avert an impending long-term structural deficit in the 2013-14 school year. David Hazen, chief financial officer for the district, said part of the reason the district's property tax is increasing in 2012-13 is because of what he calls a “voucher tax,” which will continue to take its toll on future budgets.

This is the easy explanation, something even your conservative neighbor can understand:

School programs that work in Seattle and beyond or why we don’t need charter schools in the state of Washington | Seattle Education

School programs that work in Seattle and beyond or why we don’t need charter schools in the state of Washington | Seattle Education:

School programs that work in Seattle and beyond or why we don’t need charter schools in the state of Washington

by seattleducation2011

Someone asked me yesterday about programs that have been successful in Seattle in terms of meeting their goals and having an established track record. I quickly named off the top of my head schools that I could think of and sent the e-mail.
When I arrived in Seattle I was impressed with the programs that Seattle had to offer all students. I refer to them as the gems in the Seattle Public Schools system and they are available to all.
I decided to post the list and everyone in our state is welcomed to add to this list.
This was my response:
In Tacoma there is the School of the Arts (SOTA), the Science and Math Institute (SAMI) and Lincoln Center, an 

Daily Kos: The GOP’s crime against voters

Daily Kos: The GOP’s crime against voters:

The GOP’s crime against voters

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

is the title of this must read column in today's Washington Post by Pultizer Prize winner Eugene Robinson.  I was surprised that it was not featured in today's pundit roundup.
Robinson begins this powerful column thusly:

Spare us any more hooey about “preventing fraud” and “protecting the integrity of the ballot box.” The Republican-led crusade for voter ID laws has been revealed as a cynical ploy to disenfranchise as many likely Democratic voters as possible, with poor people and minorities the main targets.Recent developments in Pennsylvania — one of more than a dozen states where voting rights are under siege — should be enough to erase any lingering doubt: The GOP is trying to pull off an unconscionable crime.

an unconscionable crime -  that is to my mind a more than fair assessment.  Robinson focuses on Pennsyvania, whose new law will potentially disenfranchise  758,939 registered 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Why is Diane Ravitch Ambivalent on Common Core Standards? Am I Missing Something?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Why is Diane Ravitch Ambivalent on Common Core Standards? Am I Missing Something?:

Why is Diane Ravitch Ambivalent on Common Core Standards? Am I Missing Something?

by stlgretchen

Questioning if federal mandates are wise educational reforms? Why the ambivalence?

I don't understand Diane Ravitch's ambivalence on whether to support untested and underfunded common core state standards that will plunge states into millions of dollars of debt.  Am I missing the elephant in the room?

A National curriculum is illegal. The Pioneer white paper Road to a National Curriculum makes this very clear (pg 3).  Common Core standards and Race to the Top bypassed state legislators...and voters.  The standards and assessments are being crafted by private companies, not state educational 

ED-Green Ribbon Schools Gets a Facelift for 2012-2013 | ED.gov Blog

ED-Green Ribbon Schools Gets a Facelift for 2012-2013 | ED.gov Blog:

ED-Green Ribbon Schools Gets a Facelift for 2012-2013

by Andrea Falken

Now that the 2012 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools are recognized, the Department has refined the selection guidance it provides to state nominating authorities to make for a smoother competition for states and schools in the second year.  The award was created to recognize high-achieving schools striving for 21^st century excellence by:

1)     Reducing environmental impact and costs;

2)     Improving the health of schools and wellness of students and staff; and

3)     Providing effective environmental and sustainability literacy, incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways.

For ED-GRS 2012-2013, ED implemented suggestions from stakeholders and partners to improve the site and nomination infrastructure, especially the following:

• 2012-2013 Criteria explain the program’s purpose, vision, eligibility, requirements and the Department’s authority for creating such an award.
• Each state or nominating authority is assigned a maximum number of possible nominees.
• An updated Resources page serves as a clearinghouse for hundreds of programs, grants and tools in all areas of the award.
• A Framework provides recommended measures by which to evaluate schools and select nominees to ED for eligible nominating authorities.
• The Sample Application is offered as another optional tool for nominating authorities to assist them in selecting schools.

ED encourages state education agencies to use the following dates to guide their nominee selection:

September:  States begin selection processes.

February 15: States submit nominees to ED.

April 22:  ED announces honorees.

June 3: ED honors selectees at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

Already, over 30 states have indicated their intent to nominate schools for the 2012-2013 year.
While the award is designed to highlight and communicate the innovative practices by just a few exemplary schools, all schools may sign up for the Green Strides Webinar Series to connect with resources and programs available to them. The series aims to provide all schools the tools they need to reduce their costs and environmental impact; improve health and wellness; and provide effective environmental and sustainability education.  To learn more about the 2012 ED-GRS cohort’s exemplary practices, read Highlights from the 2012 Honorees and a Snapshot of the 2012 Cohort.
Connect with ED-GRS on Facebook.  Sign up for ED-Green Ribbon Schools updates here.

HechingerEd Blog | Teachers want the role of unions to change, survey says

HechingerEd Blog | Teachers want the role of unions to change, survey says:

Teachers want the role of unions to change, survey says

by Sarah Butrymowicz

Critics have portrayed teachers unions as impediments to reform efforts around the country because they have fought against changes such as pay-for-performance and the abolition of tenure. But stories of unions working with school district officials to craft new teacher quality initiatives are slowly becoming more common. And, according to a new study that surveyed more than 1,000 teachers, that’s exactly what a growing number of teachers think unions should be doing.
“Trending Toward Reform: Teachers Speak on Unions and the Future of the Profession,” released Tuesday by 

Abdicating reasoning: Surrendering the debate over teaching, testing and assessment to the constables of obedience training | Dailycensored.com

Abdicating reasoning: Surrendering the debate over teaching, testing and assessment to the constables of obedience training | Dailycensored.com:

Abdicating reasoning: Surrendering the debate over teaching, testing and assessment to the constables of obedience training

by Danny Weil

In 2010 I wrote what follows below.  Since then, if you go to Truthout (GOP Declares no more critical thinking in schools, (http://truth-out.org/news/item/10144-texas-gop-declares-no-more-teaching-of-critical-thinking-skills-in-texas-public-schools) one can clearly begin to see just how damaging the forces of ideological control are and how irrationalism and unreason litter America’s cultural landscape.

Reactionary forces understand that in order to maintain high levels of concentration of social wealth alongside rampant inequality that both need each other and run concurrently, the average citizen must not know that he or she is being controlled.  Freedom truly must become ignorance and this ‘alchemy’ is accomplished through neo-feudal ideological forces that pose as education while assuring false 

Are Parent Trigger Laws Our New 'Superman' – Or Union Kryptonite? | | AlterNet

Are Parent Trigger Laws Our New 'Superman' – Or Union Kryptonite? | | AlterNet:

Are Parent Trigger Laws Our New 'Superman' – Or Union Kryptonite?

Though they're being pushed by the biggest names in corporate education reform, and politicians of every stripe, there's little proof that parent trigger laws actually work.

AlterNet / By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D.

Here’s a question for you: Which political party, Republicans or Democrats, supports expanding charter schools, test-based teacher evaluation, and most recently, parent trigger laws? (In school, this would be called a trick question.) The answer is: both. The latest piece in the corporate education reform puzzle, parent trigger laws reveal just how desperately Republicans and Democrats are seeking ways to appease corporate America’s hunger for education reform -- without addressing the central issue of poverty that lies at the root of an overburdened U.S. education system. These laws, which allow a majority of parents “to sign a petition to trigger one of a narrow set of options -- firing all or some of the staff, turning the school over to a charter operator, or closing the school,” are packaged as free-market levers to empower parents with children trapped in poorly performing public schools -‑ a similar strategy to that being used to support the expansion of charter schools across the nation. As Stephanie Simon reported for Reuters, politicians are

Common Core Challenges for California « InterACT

Common Core Challenges for California « InterACT:

Common Core Challenges for California

by ACT Guest Blog Posts

Today’s InterACT guest blog post comes to us from Alice Mercer, an elementary school teacher, educational technology guru, and blogger. Her recent attendance at the ISTE 2012 Conference provided an opportunity to consider again the process of Common Core State Standards implementation.  Here’s a link to her prior guest posts at InterACT.

Conference exhibit halls offer educators a plethora of Common Core-aligned products

I spent my last week of June at the ISTE Conference (International Society for Technology in Education) in San Diego, CA. Given that the new Common Core standards feature the use of technology by student prominently, I expected the standards to be front and center at the conference. Since I’ve been blogging about Common Core lately, I looked forward to hearing more. The conference program promised a number of sessions on the subject. Many of these were put on by vendors, who were no doubt seeking to make money off the fear of 

Charter schools aren’t the answer to state’s education problems | Regional Voices - The News Tribune

Charter schools aren’t the answer to state’s education problems | Regional Voices - The News Tribune:

Charter schools aren't the answer to state's education problems

TheNewsTribune.com - ‎5 hours ago‎

In the mid-1990s, two issues that captured my attention were bullying and increasing the number of counselors in elementary schools. I urged my fellow PTA members attending Legislative Assembly to make “my issues” the Washington State PTA’s priority issues.

Why were they my issues? In sixth grade, I experienced having my head slammed repeatedly into a concrete bathroom floor during school. While a teenager, my mother broke my nose. I left home in my sophomore year. My grandmother became my legal guardian and then unexpectedly died.

While finishing high school and working part time, I became an emancipated minor. Using current terminology, you would have called me an “at-risk” student.

Today’s stressed-out “at-risk” students are often shared as data points on graphs. They are labeled

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/10/2209854/charter-schools-arent-the-answer.html#storylink=cpy