What Makes a Public School Public? « Diane Ravitch's blog

What Makes a Public School Public? « Diane Ravitch's blog:

What Makes a Public School Public?

by dianerav

And now we step into a debate about charter schools and public schools:
Pulling public funds together to run public systems, such as public schools, is what communities do. By taking out the “per pupil” funds for the children going elsewhere, the community suffers.
The public school IS the community’s for better or worse. Therefore, the community MUST take pains to make it the best it can be in order to provide for community success. I think working to improve the public school is what some in Cynthia’s community are trying to do. However, it appears that the wants of this faction of the community are falling on deaf ears. This is where the community must take the fight to the next level.
Here we are getting into very subjective territory of “wants.” If the school is not in violation of its “requirements,” 

When Policymakers Attack: Two Key Lessons :: Frederick M. Hess

When Policymakers Attack: Two Key Lessons :: Frederick M. Hess:

When Policymakers Attack: Two Key Lessons

by Frederick M. Hess  •  Aug 10, 2012 at 9:22 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Over at This Week in Education, the sharp-penned John Thompson offered his take on Monday's RHSU post(in which I advised educators to get over their policy allergies). Thompson wrote, "When 'smart, talented leaders complain about ill-conceived accountability systems,' Hess tells them to, 'get over themselves.'" He's got that partly right--but not entirely.

I'm not telling educators to meekly accept ill-conceived accountability systems. What I'm telling them to do is stop complaining that policymakers want to hold schools accountable. As I noted Wednesday, I'm hugely in favor of educators offering up concrete, workable approaches to school and educator accountability (and, truth be told, so are most policymakers). Indeed, what's typically absent when so many educators lament the state of school reform today is an understanding of why contemporary approaches to school and system accountability (a la NCLB) or to teacher evaluation have tended to take the form of clumsy, heavy-handed mandates. I'd argue it's NOT because of nefarious philanthropists, a "neoliberal" cabal, or sheer idiocy, but for reasons that are much simpler and far less conspiratorial.

Starting in the 1990s, policymakers and advocates (especially progressives like Ted Kennedy, George Miller, 

Brizard plays Eddie Haskell to the CPS board. « Fred Klonsky

Brizard plays Eddie Haskell to the CPS board. « Fred Klonsky:

Brizard plays Eddie Haskell to the CPS board.

by Fred Klonsky

PopoutFor those of you old enough to remember the old Leave it to Beaver show, you will instantly know what I mean when I say that CPS CEO JC Brizard is our town’s own Eddie Haskell.
Over the years, Eddie Haskell has become a cultural stereotype, the insincere ass kisser. Beaver Cleaver’ dad 

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part VI (Last)

Jersey Jazzman: The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part VI (Last):

The Incoherent World of Arne Duncan, Part VI (Last)

by Duke

I've been breaking down Arne Duncan's interview with Tom Moran of the Star-Ledger all week:

• Part I: Duncan's signature program, Race To The Top, has little evidence to back it up.
• Part II: The real legacy of Duncan, Rhee, and Klein.
• Part III: Arne has a lot to learn about what makes teachers tick.
• Part IV: Duncan's totally befuddled thoughts about testing.
• Part V: Duncan doesn't understand poverty or logic.

And so we come to Arne's final words of wisdom:

Q. You’ve said Newark has potential to be a national model. Why?

A. You have a mayor who is actively engaged. A lot of mayors run from education because it’s difficult and challenging. He’s running to it. I have a lot of confidence i

Corporate Reformer Bain Capital Much Like Terrible Corporate Education Reformers | Alternet

Corporate Reformer Bain Capital Much Like Terrible Corporate Education Reformers | Alternet:

Corporate Reformer Bain Capital Much Like Terrible Corporate Education Reformers

 

 

 

Bain Capital has received a lot of negative press lately from President Barack Obama's reelection campaign as it's the corporation once run by current Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

As it turns out Romney made a killing from his time as CEO of Bain, but he was far from a job creator. Through his work thousands of people lost their jobs. The corporation uses a "Corporate Reform" model that looks a lot like the current model being used by billionaire-backed Astroturf groups claiming it will fix schools.

 Bain's a private equity firm that specialized in "leveraged buyouts."According to Slate.com:

Leveraged buyouts, which are what private equity firms do, load companies with debt, extract value for middlemen, and displace workers.


The company profits off of lowering the standard of living for workers It cuts 

Schuette sues to oust 7 members of Detroit school board | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Schuette sues to oust 7 members of Detroit school board | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com:

Schuette sues to oust 7 members of Detroit school board

• By Shawn D. Lewis and Maureen Feighan
• The Detroit News
• 20 Comments

Detroit— Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette asked a Wayne County court Thursday to remove seven of the 11 members of the Detroit Board of Education, as a power struggle over the state's largest school district heated up.

Schuette said in a release issued by his office that the seven members were holding office illegally because Detroit Public Schools lost its status as a Class 1 district in September 2008.

Schuette said that meant all 11 school board members should have been elected at-large in the most recent election in November 2011, instead of four at-large and seven from districts.

"For far too long, the children of Detroit have received a second-class education," Schuette said in the release. "It's time to improve their quality of education, and that starts at the top."

As Schuette was announcing the lawsuit, the DPS board was asserting i

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120810/SCHOOLS/208100379#ixzz239L7F1Kd

Robinson, State Board Back Down – Polk Gets its Own Charter Schools | Scathing Purple Musings

Robinson, State Board Back Down – Polk Gets its Own Charter Schools | Scathing Purple Musings:

Robinson, State Board Back Down – Polk Gets its Own Charter Schools

by Bob Sikes

The curious opposition against Polk county schools desire to open its own at-risk charter schools ended yesterday. Writes Merissa Green in the Lakeland Ledger:

 BARTOW | The Polk County School District got the go-ahead today to open six charter schools for at-risk students.
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson told The Ledger that the Board of Education and his department have approved giving the identification numbers the School District needed.
“We’re very interested in seeing how everything evolves,” Robinson said. ‘‘The FLDOE looks 

The Gulen Charter School Teacher Supply Problem « School Finance 101

The Gulen Charter School Teacher Supply Problem « School Finance 101:

The Gulen Charter School Teacher Supply Problem

by schoolfinance101

There’s been some increased interest in recent months in what are often referred to as Gulen Charter Schools, or those schools affiliated with Fethullah Gulen. I’ve tried to stay off of this topic for the most part because I don’t like to write about “conspiracy theories” or even potentially inflammatory religious/cultural issues – at least on this blog.  Here are a few recent video clips/new stories:
From Ohio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qDbELO12uo
From 60 Minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4OtHpUCqy0&feature=related
New York Times article on Texas Gulen Schools: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html
There are also a handful of websites that provide additional highly critical information on these schools.
What has intrigued me when I’ve watched these news clips and when I’ve read other news stories, is that when 

See No Evil… - Wait, What?

See No Evil… - Wait, What?:

See No Evil…

by jonpelto

As noted by a Wait, What? reader…

Yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting began with the swearing-in of a new student member…

“Do you solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, so long as you continue a citizen thereof; and that you will faithfully discharge, according to law, the duties of serving on the State Board of Education to the best of your abilities; so help you God.”

And then the meeting continued without properly dealing with the inappropriate use of no-bid contracts by Commissioner Stefan Pryor or the illegal use of no-bid contracts by Paul 

School vouchers lead to strange bedfellows: Why a hard-core Republican group is backing Democratic candidates - JSOnline

School vouchers lead to strange bedfellows: Why a hard-core Republican group is backing Democratic candidates - JSOnline:

School vouchers lead to strange bedfellows: Why a hard-core Republican group is backing Democratic candidates

By Barbara Miner

Aug. 9, 2012

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Two powerful school voucher groups that ordinarily work behind the scenes have made headlines and raised eyebrows in Milwaukee in recent weeks: The American Federation for Children and School Choice Wisconsin.

The American Federation for Children is a national school voucher group led by prominent Republicans. Yet it is promoting Democratic pro-voucher candidates in several Milwaukee races, touting the candidates’ anti-Republican Party bona fides in order to win over voters in Democratic strongholds.

School Choice Wisconsin, meanwhile, opposes a City of Milwaukee ordinance requiring playgrounds at new elementary schools, including private voucher schools. Such a measure would “significantly limit 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-10-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

In China, the Cost of High Test Scores

by dianerav

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and billionaire Bill Gates and gadfly Michelle Rhee wring their hands over American students’ test scores. They look enviously at Shanghai and wonder why we can’t be like them.
But the Los Angeles Times had a story explaining that Chinese educators have mixed feelings about those high 

Why the Koch Brothers Are Disappointed with Corbett

by dianerav

A columnist in Pennsylvania reports that the billionaire Koch brothers are disappointed by Governor Tom Corbett.
They feel that he didn’t push his voucher bill hard enough, so they are planning a major advertising campaign to put pressure on legislators.
There is no reason for them to pay attention to the unimpressive results of twenty-one years of vouchers in

Aaron Pallas on Why Teachers Leave

by dianerav

I like to introduce readers of this blog to people I respect, to scholars and writers who are thoughtful and insightful.
Here is someone you should read.
Aaron Pallas of Teachers College, Columbia University, is one of the wisest, most perceptive observers of trends

Another Charter Disappointment

by dianerav

Indiana has been in the forefront of pushing school choice and ignoring the needs of its public schools.
Indiana was once known nationally for its great public schools, but now it is known as a national leader in vouchers and charters and high-stakes testing.
The news from Fort Wayne, the second largest city in the state, does not bode well for the rightwing reform agenda of Governor Mitch Daniels (soon to be president of Purdue) and his superintendent Tony Bennett.
When the state scores were released, Fort Wayne’s three charter schools were among the lowest performing

What Do Teachers Do?

by dianerav

One reader–obviously not a teacher–has expressed his disdain for teachers and public schools repeatedly. Apparently he thinks teachers don’t work hard enough. Since public schools have not ended poverty, he asks why we should bother to pay for them. This is a site for discussion, and several readers have responded. This teacher explains here what he does.

I appreciate that you understand that public schools cannot be run like a corporate kind of business. I’ll try to address some of your questions by describing what I do (along with the other teachers in my district). At the school that I teach at, I am evaluated

Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill | EdSource Today

Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill | EdSource Today:

Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

After laying dormant for a year, a bill to overhaul the state’s teacher evaluation law will resurface Monday, subject to continuing negotiations over its cost and some disagreements over its content.

AB 5 author Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes

AB 5’s prospects have improved with the support of the California Teachers Association. CTA expressed reservations a year ago, but the bill’s author, Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, agreed last summer to a few key changes, so now the union favors it, CTA lobbyist Patricia Rucker said this week. One amendment would require training administrators to do uniform and knowledgeable evaluations.

The bill, which would require that all districts evaluate every teacher based on a set of attributes and practices outlined in the bill, is similar to an evaluation framework that the union adopted earlier this year

Viewpoints: State must change way schools are financed - Viewpoints - The Sacramento Bee

Viewpoints: State must change way schools are financed - Viewpoints - The Sacramento Bee:

Viewpoints: State must change way schools are financed

By Jonathan Raymond and Ted Lempert
Special to The Bee

Published: Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 13A

Californians have reason to worry about the toll that the state's budget problems are taking on our students' education. After enduring years of recession, cuts to educational resources, overcrowded classrooms and fraying infrastructure, our public schools face fiscal disaster if voters reject a tax increase in November.

The 2012-13 budget lays out stark choices when it comes to the amount of funding our schools receive. If voters don't approve the governor's initiative, K-12 education would be pounded with $5.5 billion in cuts, and school districts would have the authority to shorten the school year by a staggering three weeks.

The budget also leaves unresolved a critical discussion about the way California schools are funded. The governor was on the right track when he proposed replacing the current, convolute

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/10/4712017/state-must-change-way-schools.html#storylink=cpy

Why Alabama is going slow on charter schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Why Alabama is going slow on charter schools - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Why Alabama is going slow on charter schools

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Larry Lee, who led the study “Lessons Learned from Rural Schools,” a look at 10 high-performing, high-poverty rural schools in Alabama. This appeared in the Birmingham News.

By Larry Lee

The collective sigh heard across Alabama recently came from educators pleased to hear Gov. Robert Bentley tell the Alabama Association of School Boards he would not include charter school legislation in his next package of bills.

“There was just very little support for the charter school bill, including among Republicans,” the governor explained.

Any good politician is astute at reading the way the wind is blowing 

New school year: doubling down on failed ed policy

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Lisa Guisbond, a policy analyst for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known asFairTest, a Boston-based organization that aims to improve standardized testing practices and evaluations of students, teachers and schools.

Read full article >>

Three core values of science, engineering and how ed reform contradicts them

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.

By Arthur H. Camins
President Obama and countless reports all say that improving science and engineering literacy and ensuring a next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers are vital to our future. With the notable exceptions of

Two Languages Better Than One for Kids' Brains: Study - Hispanically Speaking News

Two Languages Better Than One for Kids' Brains: Study - Hispanically Speaking News:

Two Languages Better Than One for Kids’ Brains: Study

Bilingual children excel at problem-solving, creative thinking, research suggests.

Children who speak more than one language seem to have a learning advantage: Being bilingual can improve children’s problem-solving skills and creative thinking, a new study suggests.
The mental sharpness needed to switch between two languages may develop skills that boost other types of thinking, explained researchers from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Bilingualism is now largely seen as being beneficial to children but there remains a view that it can be confusing, and so potentially detrimental to them,” study leader Fraser Lauchlan, a lecturer at the University of Strathclyde’s School of Psychological Sciences & Health, said in a university news 

Book Giveaway: Break The Habit by Tara Betts | The Jose Vilson

Book Giveaway: Break The Habit by Tara Betts | The Jose Vilson:

Book Giveaway: Break The Habit by Tara Betts

by Jose

Hello and welcome to this installment of The Jose Vilson Book Giveaway, where I’ll do my best to offer the latest and greatest books I can scrounge up … and all for free.
< whooping and hollering here >
This week, I’m offering a very special, exclusive book for any and all contestants who wish to participate. Before I continue, though …
The rules are as follows:
1. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post with the words: “Back in ’94 they call me Chi-town’s Nas, Now 

Schools Matter: Freedom of Information Act and Education

Schools Matter: Freedom of Information Act and Education:

Freedom of Information Act and Education

by Judy Rabin

The Freedom of Information Act 

It's time to demand the information on where our tax dollars are going.

End education corruption

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana's education chief has refused to provide records from the deliberations over how schools were chosen to participate in Gov. Bobby Jindal's new statewide voucher program, which is using tax dollars to send students to private and parochial schools.

The Department of Education isn't claiming an exemption in public 

Jersey Jazzman: Broadies Ready To Take Over Camden

Jersey Jazzman: Broadies Ready To Take Over Camden:

Broadies Ready To Take Over Camden

by Duke

The NJDOE paves the way for the Broadie takeover of Camden:

Warning that that the school district needs “fundamental and transformational reform” because it is “in crises,” state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf personally delivered an in-depth review of the district’s failings this morning in Trenton to Interim Superintendent Reuben Mills and other district personnel. 

Cerf told school administrators, who will meet with the board of education tonight during a special meeting, that the district needs “a radical new approach to leadership, staffing and district management” to assure high-quality education and readiness for work or college for all students.

“Dynamic Conservatism” and Stability in Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“Dynamic Conservatism” and Stability in Teaching | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

“Dynamic Conservatism” and Stability in Teaching

by larrycuban

Why has the act of teaching in public schools (including charters) that serve wealthy, middle-class and poor children looked so familiar to generation after generation of journalists, researchers, parents and grandparents who enter classrooms? In short, why has there been so much continuity in teaching over the decades?

Surely, things have changed in classrooms. Desktops and laptops are prevalent in schools; teachers use the 

Friday Finance 101: On Parfaits & Property Taxes « School Finance 101

Friday Finance 101: On Parfaits & Property Taxes « School Finance 101:

Friday Finance 101: On Parfaits & Property Taxes

by schoolfinance101

Public preference for property taxes stands in perfect inverse relation to the public taste for parfaits. Everybody loves parfaits[i] and everybody hates property taxes.[ii] No, I don’t plan to spend this blog post bashing parfaits. I do like a good parfait. But, even more blasphemous, I intend to shed light on some of the virtues of much maligned property taxes.
I often hear school funding equity advocates argue that if we could only get rid of property taxes as a basis for funding public schools, we could dramatically improve funding equity. The solution, from their standpoint is to fund schools entirely from state general funds – based on rationally designed state school finance formulas – where state general fund revenues are derived primarily from income and sales taxes.  In theory, if the state 

Reforming School Reform - Philadelphia Writing Project | Journal

Reforming School Reform - Philadelphia Writing Project | Journal:

Reforming School Reform 

---

by Matthew L. Mandel, NBCT

It’s not about the children.

The education reform movement, at least here in Pennsylvania, may be about a lot of things, but it certainly isn’t about our children.

If it were, efforts to bridge the achievement gap and advance opportunities for all children would look a hell of a lot different.

If it were about children, each and every public school would be awash in resources and technology. A licensed school nurse would be in each and every building so that the health and safety of kids were not compromised. All schools would have these necessities, not just “experimental” and privately-managed schools who are flooded these and then labeled a success.

If it were about children, students in the poorest neighborhoods—those most at-risk—would step into vibrant learning environments each morning—schools that met their intellectual, artistic, and athletic needs and inclinations. Schools would not be turned into grim test-prep facilities, with a curriculum narrowed to core, state-

It’s not about the children.