EDUCATION: Funding can vary widely among local schools:

EDUCATION: Funding can vary widely among local schools

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Students at Buena Vista Elementary School in Carlsbad Albert Azpeitia, left, and Matthew Penman learn about Disneyland from Michaelann Montoya during a "living library" at the school on April 23. The Carlsbad district has one of the lowest rates of per-pupil spending in North County. BILL WECHTER | bwechter@nctimes.com

8 hours ago  •  By STACY BRANDT sbrandt@nctimes.com

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Though Carlsbad is a pretty wealthy area, its school district receives and spends the least amount of money per student than all other districts in North County.

It's an example of erratic education funding that causes per-pupil revenue and spending to vary substantially across the region. Others local districts take in and spend significantly more than the roughly $7,000 per student that Carlsbad Unified spends, according to budgets adopted recently. 

For example, Fallbrook's high school district spends more than $9,200 per student; Escondido's 

TO LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH « Diane Ravitch's blog

New Jersey: The Cesspool of School Reform « Diane Ravitch's blog:

New Jersey: The Cesspool of School Reform

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman describes the web of political and financial connections that are working together to bring for-profit virtual charter schools to the Garden State.
This is a must-read.
The more I learn about the profits and the political shenanigans that facility profiteering, the more it astonishes me.
If the American people ever figure out that their elected officials are giving away the authority to make money off

This Is the Most Startling Post of the Day

by dianerav

Darcie Cimarusti is a mother in New Jersey. She is not a teacher. She does not belong to a teacher’s union. She cares about public education. She became active as “mother crusader” in the last year or so, and she has demonstrated the amazing power of an informed citizen.
She has a voice and a blog. She speaks out. She does research. She is heard. She is making a difference.
When I travel and speak, people often say to me, “what can I do? how can I help? what role is there for a solitary

Why VAM Is Junk Science

by dianerav

Since Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education and unleashed the Race to the Top, almost every state has adopted laws to evaluate teachers by the test scores of their students. Most teachers know that this is unfair because the factors that have the greatest influence on students’ test scores are not within the control of teachers. Reformers tell us that teachers are the most important influence within the school on student scores, and that is right. But the teacher contribution to scores is dwarfed by the influence of family and other out of school factors.
It is also obvious to everyone but the U.S. Department of Education that when testing becomes the determinant

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

by dianerav

Lance Hill of the Southern Institute of Education and Research reflects on the evolution of charter schools in New Orleans.

Charter schools that perform better by recruiting and retaining better students don’t exist in a vacuum: skimming the best and most profitable students affects other schools, though it is hard to detect in systems with few charters.  The systemic effects are easier to see in a “closed system” as we have in New Orleans in which 80% of students attend charters.  Every high-performing charter creates a chronically low-performing school somewhere in the system. The students that charters reject, who are high-needs and high-cost, become concentrated in a separate set of schools.  These “dumping schools” concentrate 

The Appropriate Role for Computers

by dianerav

I agree completely with this reader’s comment, in response to the post about Waldorf schools. The computer has a very important role in our lives. We will call upon it daily, and in many cases, hourly, and by the minute. Many of us will spend our waking hours in front of a computer. But a computer should not be at the center of education. It is a tool and should be used as a tool. Above all, children need healthy cognitive, emotional, social and psychological development. To the extent the computer aids in that process of development, good. To the extent that it is extraneous, so be it. The computer is a tool (I repeat) and should not be our master. We should use it wisely and not allow it to use us.

As one who concentrates his study on the intersection of technology and culture, I see schools like Waldorf as an extremely positive development. We who have not grown up with computers fear that our children will not Annals of Privatization in Pennsylvania by dianerav Recently, the FBI raided the offices of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, because of concerns about the intermingling of various for-profit businesses that were created by the school. The school has revenues of about $100 million or more and has spun off a number of other businesses. Apparently, the former governor Ed Rendell made some moves to seek greater accountability and transparency in the school’s booming business, but the current Corbett administration relaxed that effort. This makes for fascinating reading, if you have any interest in how privatization works and how it is possible to Test Scores or Creativity? by dianerav The Los Angeles Times notes in an editorial that there must be a balance between testing and creativity. It points out that the Asian nations that we claim to admire for their test scores–Japan, Singapore, China–wish they could unlock the creativity that has long characterized American culture and education. Yong Zhao has made this point powerfully in his books, especially in the one that was published just weeks ago,World Class Learners. Indeed, it is not balance he emphasizes, but the necessity of de-emphasizing rote Disgrace in Detroit Is “For the Children” by dianerav Remember that the emergency manager in Detroit imposed a new teachers’ contract in which class sizes would be allowed to rise to absurd levels? Remember that the contract permits classes of up to 41 children in grades K-3, up to 61 children in grades 6-12? Remember all that? The emergency manager just said in an opinion article in the Detroit Free Press that “it’s a good contract for our Cyber Scam Expands by dianerav The latest news from Indiana is that the state education department–which seems to be in lockstep with the rightwing group ALEC–has given the green light to for-profit online corporations to expand without accountability. The three largest and oldest cybercharters have received a D and two Fs. But unlike public schools, there are no consequences for the cyber schools. They can keep expanding regardless of the lousy education they offer up to gullible students. The state currently has 4,000 students in these pretend schools, and the number is expected to double or triple because of legislation passed last year that makes it easier for them to expand, increases their payment per What, No Computers? by dianerav Thanks  to reader Linda for reminding me of this article in the New York Times about the school that Silicon Valley high-tech entrepreneurs choose for their own children. It is a Waldorf school. It has no computers. The school has 196 students. Three-quarters of them are from high-tech families, deeply involved in the creation and design of computer technology. But this school doesn’t believe that computers have a place in the classroom and it discourages their use at Charter Chain Evolves by dianerav When former City Council member Eva Moskowitz started in the charter school industry, her goals were clear: she planned to open schools in Harlem to save poor black and Hispanic children. She called her chain Harlem Success Academy and it was branded HSA. She said early on that her goal was to open 40 schools. Now she is opening schools in some of the most affluent neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the GERM in India by dianerav The Global Education Reform Movement (Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg’s apt term) is advancing privatization, competition, choice, testing, accountability, data-driven decision-making tied to test scores. It’s wreaking havoc in this country and in other parts of the world. Here is a comment from a reader in India: The Testing Regime and “Cognitive Non-Engagement” by dianerav A reader responds to the friendly exchange between Carol Burris and Robert Pondiscio: I think Carol’s penultimate sentence is the critical point, around which all of us should rally. Cognitive non-engagement plagues our schools — indeed, the regnant standardized testing regime demands it — and those in power are promoting it more and more. To be sure, there are differences, among those of us who love learning, about what the *relative* priority between inspiration and conveying knowledge should be. But that debate of yore is one we no longer have the luxury of indulging in. Now, rote learning and an obsessive emphasis on just math and reading — a curriculum thus devoid of substantive richness, projects, self-direction, or any other humanistic values — dominates. The Relay techniques in the video show all this in reductio ad absurdum fashion. It, and the mandatory cognitive non-engagement it represents, has to stop.

solidaridad: Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed

solidaridad: Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed:

Backed into a corner by a monster it helped create, LAUSD fights back against charter colocation greed

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

First Published on Schools MatterAlthough the bungalows are used for after school programs, art classes, festivals and special education speech therapy space, according to the number of enrolled students at Micheltorena, the bungalows have been deemed empty and available for tenancy by any charter that requests them. — Lulu Wilson
The Los Angeles Times' LAUSD fights court order to give more space to charter schools highlights how the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has asked corporate friendly Judge Terry A. Green's "court to reconsider its decision. The school system is also preparing an appeal."

Recall Monica Garcia! Picket outside LA Chamber of Commerce

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

Popout

A Must Read Piece on the impact of inadequate school funding. - Wait, What?

A Must Read Piece on the impact of inadequate school funding. - Wait, What?:

A Must Read Piece on the impact of inadequate school funding.

by jonpelto

Fellow Connecticut blogger and public education advocate Wendy Lecker had a “Must Read” piece in the Stamford Advocate last week that was then picked up by Valarie Strauss in the Washington Post.  Wendy is heading up Connecticut’s new Parents Across America Chapter, is a former president of the Stamford Parent Teacher Council and previously worked as an attorney in a major school funding lawsuit in New York.

You can find this full piece here:  http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Wendy-Lecker-The-cost-of-underfunding-schools-is-3705427.php

The cost of underfunding schools is high

Many of us have not heard of the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Formula, the state’s 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Romney's version of corporate socialism

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Romney's version of corporate socialism:

Romney's version of corporate socialism

by Mike Klonsky

Anthony Gardner, writing for Bloomberg, reports that Mitt Romney's specialty during his years at Bain Capital, was privatizing gains and socializing investment losses. 

What’s clear from a review of the public record during his management of the private-equity firm Bain Capital from 1985 to 1999 is that Romney was fabulously successful in generating high returns for its investors. He did so, in large part, through heavy use of tax-deductible debt, usually to finance outsized dividends for the firm’s partners and investors. When some of the investments went bad, workers and creditors felt most of the pain. Romney privatized the gains and socialized the losses.

The report describes Romney's style of "casino capitalism" that produced quick profits for big investors but led to 

Geaux Teacher!: A QUESTION OF CONSTITUTIONALITY?

Geaux Teacher!: A QUESTION OF CONSTITUTIONALITY?:

A QUESTION OF CONSTITUTIONALITY?

by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT)

Governor Jindal and his superintendent John White say that parents know best what is right for their children. This blog was written by a parent who has decided to compare what JINDAL and WHITE say is right for his child and his own research so that he can make the right CHOICE!

Background - The Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators and 30 Louisiana School Boards have sued the State of Louisiana regarding the constitutionality of the new voucher legislation which will use taxpayer money to fund vouchers for private and parochial schools. This parent has looked into the merits of the case himself. Unlike the Judge Tim Kelly who presided over the first hearing and determined that the voucher legislation could proceed until further court hearings, this parent is not married or related to any of Governor Jindal's former staff. (Judge Kelly married Jindal's former Chief of Staff Angele Davis). So his perspective may not be skewed in the same direction. What do you think about his analysis?




Does the Louisiana voucher program pass the public choice test?

Posted on July 8, 2012

From Wikipedia:

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court which tested the allowance of school vouchers in relation to the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Sound familiar? This Supreme Court case overturned precedent and opened the way for the Louisiana K-12 

Stocks and jocks. « Fred Klonsky

Stocks and jocks. « Fred Klonsky:

Stocks and jocks.

by Fred Klonsky

I was invited on a local Chicago radio show to talk about teacher pensions.
The morning show is called Stocks and Jocks.
Luckily they didn’t ask me  any jock questions.
Or any stock questions, for that matter.
Stocks and Jocks is a radio show that is aimed at the small investor. The host, Tom “The Chief” Haugh, has a certain populist approach to investment issues. At one point he even offered to join me in hanging some of the

Mediator’s report due out. CPS and CTU still need to bargain it.

by Fred Klonsky

The report from the mediator is due this week.
Reports are that it will contain a proposal for a 15 to 20% salary increase.
Word is that the CPS board has offered 2%.
Jeff Sharkey, CTU VP commented to the press yesterday.

On Sunday, union Vice President Jesse Sharkey, who declined to comment on the arbitrator’s report, said the union must consider many issues beyond wages.“We’ve said to our teachers that we want fair compensation,” Sharkey said. 

New Business Item 13. The NEA supports the CTU.

by Fred Klonsky

Photo Credit: Adam Heenan

Schools Matter: The New Totalitarianism

Schools Matter: The New Totalitarianism:

The New Totalitarianism

by Judy Rabin

Sara Robinson at AlterNet offers a sobering assessment of our new reality under corporate domination and why public education is intentionally being destroyed along with academic freedom and critical thinking.  Have a good day.

Education: Testing, Not Teaching

My eighth-grade civics teacher used to terrify our class with grim stories about the education endured by our unlucky peers in the USSR. Communist education, she said, was nothing but rote learning -- no discussion, no critical thinking skills, all 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Jesse Sharkey, CTU vice-president

"We've said to our teachers that we want fair compensation. We've also said we want a better (school) day and we want to make sure class sizes don't spike. (Our members) know that we simply don't have a wage demand." -- Chicago Tribune

Jacky Grimshaw

“If he [Rahm] ignores the community, if he ignores the aldermen, if he continues to be driven by what comes out of his brain and those of his advisors to the exclusion of the community, that’s a problem for him. Then, it becomes a charade that you really don’t want public input.” -- Sun-Times, "Crime, schools and race all hound Rahm Emanuel"

Penny Pritzker

Jodi Kantor and Nicholas Confessore

Schools Regularly Restrain, Seclude Students With Behavioral Issues - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Schools Regularly Restrain, Seclude Students With Behavioral Issues - High School Notes (usnews.com):

Schools Regularly Restrain, Seclude Students With Behavioral Issues

By KELSEY SHEEHY

July 16, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Inclusion, positive reinforcement, and individual attention can prevent disruptive behavior in students.

Physical restraint and seclusion are ineffective tools for managing students with developmental and behavioral disorders, experts say. But both approaches are used regularly at U.S. schools.

During the 2009-2010 school year, there were nearly 39,000 incidents of restraint and more than 25,000 cases of seclusion at the K-12 level, according to a March 2012 report by the 

Why the Ticking Time Bomb of 'Sequestration' Could Decimate Education - Education - GOOD

Why the Ticking Time Bomb of 'Sequestration' Could Decimate Education - Education - GOOD:

Why the Ticking Time Bomb of 'Sequestration' Could Decimate Education

by Gene Carter

Congress has concocted a ticking time bomb that is set to go off on the nation's K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in January 2013. "Sequestration," a term you will be hearing more about in the coming months, is a fancy legislative word for cutting funding after it has already been budgeted. In practice, what this means is that Congress takes back federal funds after they've been dis­bursed.
How we got to this point is even more complex and convoluted than the word itself. As part of last summer's debt ceiling deal, congressional leaders were required to come up with a plan to trim $1.2 trillion from the national debt by Thanksgiving. As an incentive for both Republicans and Democrats to reach a deal, automatic across-

Critical Questions Democrats Must Ask About School Choice | California Progress Report

Critical Questions Democrats Must Ask About School Choice | California Progress Report:

Critical Questions Democrats Must Ask About School Choice

by megan

By Jeff Bryant
Campaign for America's Future
Left-leaning people everywhere recently got a hoot when the Texas Republican Party declared its opposition to the teaching of "Higher Order Thinking Skills," including "critical thinking skills," in public schools. Although a party spokesperson later back-peddled from that statement -- saying that including "critical thinking skills" in their declaration was a "mistake" -- there's little doubt that what these Republicans object to most is any sort of education that would challenge "fixed beliefs" and "authority."
Frankly, I don't see what Republicans are so rried about. Because when it comes to the subject of education, there's very little evidence that critical thinking is widespread these days, especially among the people who Republicans are supposed to worry about most -- Democrats.
read more

The GOP Orphans Its Referendum

by megan

By Peter Schrag
So the Republicans have formally thrown in the towel on their referendum to block use of the new state Senate maps drawn last year by the presumably non-partisan Citizens Redistricting Commission.
The main point of the referendum, the Republicans said, was to block use of the maps in this year’s election cycle. When the state Supreme Court ordered the maps to be used, their campaign people said, there was no point in pursuing it. The measure, Proposition 40, will however remain on the ballot. It’s just that there’ll be no GOP campaign.
But that may not end the confusion since, given the peculiarities of the California referendum process, a “no” vote is in fact a “yes” vote. Any voter wanting to reject the referendum in November, increase the Democrats’ chances of gaining real control in the Senate, or punish the GOP for attacking a process that it had once supported will have to be wily enough to vote ”yes.”
read more

Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund

Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund:

Selling Schools Out
Under the banner of high-tech progress, corporate lobbyists have rammed through legislation privatizing K-12 education across the country.

If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and privatization has a laboratory, it is Florida. It was one of the first states to undertake a program of "virtual schools" — charters operated online, with teachers instructing students over the Internet — as well as one of the first to use vouchers to channel taxpayer money to charter schools run by for-profits.

But as recently as last year, the radical change envisioned by school reformers still seemed far off, even there. With some of the movement's cherished ideas on the table, Florida Republicans, once known for championing extreme education laws, seemed to recoil from the fight. SB 2262, a bill to allow the creation of private virtual charters, vastly expanding the Florida Virtual School program, languished and died in committee. Charlie Crist, then the Republican governor, vetoed a bill to eliminate teacher tenure. The move, 

4LAKids Backgroumd: STACK RANKING, Microsoft’s Downfall?

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: 4LAKids Backgroumd: STACK RANKING, Microsoft’s Downfall?:

4LAKids Backgroumd: STACK RANKING, Microsoft’s Downfall?

MICROSOFT’S DOWNFALL: INSIDE THE EXECUTIVE E-MAILS AND CANNIBALISTIC CULTURE THAT FELLED A TECH GIANT

BY VANITY FAIR FROM VF DAILY | HTTP://VNTY.FR/PCV0OA

12:00 AM, July 3 2012




Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, on January 9.
Analyzing one of American corporate history’s greatest mysteries—the lost decade of Microsoft—two-time George Polk Award winner (and V.F.’s newest contributing editor) Kurt Eichenwald traces the “astonishingly foolish management decisions” at the company that “could serve as a business-school case study on the pitfalls of success.” Relying on dozens of interviews and internal corporate records—including e-mails between executives at the company’s highest ranks—Eichenwald offers an unprecedented view of life inside Microsoft during the reign of its current chief executive, Steve Ballmer, in the August issue. Today, a single Apple product—the iPhone