Diane in the Evening 10-9-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Diane Ravitch on Arts Education

WRITE YOUR LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY

 

by dianerav

Readers of this blog know that we are collecting letters to send to President Obama by October 17.
Please join us in opposing high-stakes testing and privatization.
We call this action the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Instructions on where to send your email are here.
Lets begin now to make our voices heard.

Playing Games with Data in Louisiana

by dianerav

Yesterday I wrote a post about how the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education was pulling a few fancy tricks to inflate the scores of charter schools. This makes it easier to claim that they are incredibly successful (when they are not) and persuade the Legislature to add many more.
But it turns out that Louisiana is even slicker than Pennsylvania when it comes to playing games with the data. One of our readers, whom I deduce is or was an employee of the Louisiana Department of Education, has the 

23 Texas Districts Get Test Waivers

by dianerav

A group of Texas superintendents have been developing a different vision of what education ought to be. Different from the test-and-punish approach of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.
With the full-blown revolt against high-stakes testing in Texas, the superintendents now have a chance to show their stuff.
At the last session, the Legislature gave permission for a small number of districts to development a new 

Morning UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-9-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Write Your Letter to President Obama Today by dianerav Readers of this blog know that we are collecting letters to send to President Obama by October 17. Please join us in opposing high-stakes testing and privatization. We call this action the Campaign for Our Public Schools. Instructions on where to send your email are here. Lets begin now to make our voices heard. Hats Off to Tacoma! by dianerav I asked readers to tell me about good school districts that manage to offer a good education despite the testin... more »

LAUSD principals agree to use student test scores in their evaluations - LA Daily News

LAUSD principals agree to use student test scores in their evaluations - LA Daily News:

LAUSD principals agree to use student test scores in their evaluations

by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer

A one-year deal that uses student test data to evaluate principals was approved Tuesday by the school board, although a similar pact for teachers remains out of reach.

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles OK'd the deal last month as the district tries to comply with a judge's order to have a new data-based performance evaluation system for its educators in place by Dec. 4.

AALA President Judith Perez said, however, that the evaluation system envisioned by Superintendent John 

Hollywood actors, musicians, students applaud LAUSD's vote to add arts ed to school curriculum

by By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Unified board voted unanimously Tuesday to make arts education a core part of the curriculum following impassioned pleas from students and Hollywood entertainers.

New Center: Concerns About Online Options for Special Ed. Students - On Special Education - Education Week

New Center: Concerns About Online Options for Special Ed. Students - On Special Education - Education Week:

New Center: Concerns About Online Options for Special Ed. Students

By Nirvi Shah on October 9, 2012 11:05 AM

Nirvi Shah

Leaders of a new center designed to expand students with disabilities' access to online courses said in just a few months of work, they have some serious concerns about those students' participation in e-learning.

"Our preparatory investigations have already raised a number of concerns that we think are urgent enough to report even now," wrote Don Deshler of the Center for Research on Learning, David Rose of the Center for Applied Special Technology, Bill East of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, and Diana Greer of the Center for Research on Learning, in an open letter written this month.

In their letter directed at teachers, parents, students, product developers and policy-makers, the principal investigators of the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities said their initial steps have uncovered a number of issues, including:

• Complaints as parents and others raise concerns about how students with disabilities are served in online learning environments.
• Inconsistent policies from 

New Online Waiver System - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

New Online Waiver System - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces
New Web Tool to Save Schools Time and Money

Waiver Request System, 

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced the California Department of Education's (CDE) Waiver Office has created a new Web tool that allows local school administrators to submit state waiver applications online.

"This move to online waiver applications will save paper, save money, and save time, both for local school districts and the state," Torlakson said. "It's one more step we can take to work more efficiently with local school districts. And when you consider that we process more than 1,000 waivers a year, the savings will be substantial."

The CDE receives about 1,000 requests each year from districts seeking an alternative to the requirements of the stateEducation Code, including those related to class size, instructional time, and testing.

Until now, applying for a waiver often required school administrators to gather a great deal of information and fill out multiple forms that had to be mailed and emailed to the CDE. Now, school administrators can go online to the Waiver Request System, submit a password and start submitting information, greatly reducing the time involved.

The CDE's Web site also offers school administrators updated guidance to help move the waiver submission process along. This includes Web pages on frequently asked questions, the State Board of Education's waiver calendar, waiver contacts, data elements necessary for a waiver, list of requirement attachments, and examples of Education Code that administrators seek to strike. The new Web guidance also contains links to waiver reports that are submitted annually to the State Board, Governor, and Legislature; as well as links to the most current State Board of Education waiver policies.

For more information on these new developments, please visit the CDE Web page on Waivers.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Beware of false prophets… (i.e. "Special Master" Adamowski’s Plan for New London) - Wait, What?

Beware of false prophets… (i.e. "Special Master" Adamowski’s Plan for New London) - Wait, What?:

Beware of false prophets… (i.e. “Special Master” Adamowski’s Plan for New London)

by jonpelto

First Steven Adamowski was the superintendent of schools in Hartford.  Then Governor Malloy’s administration made him the $225,000 “Special Master” of Windham’s Schools.  And then they made him “Special Master” of New London’s schools as well.

Over the weekend, New London’s, The Day newspaper, ran an informative news story about what Special Master Steven Adamowski is calling his sure-fire solution, a plan that will not only “save New London’s schools, but New London as well.” (See article)

The “plan” is specific to New London, but it reminds us that “education reformers” are fond of building things, renaming things, moving things around, and then declaring victory.  Their modus operandi (aka standard operating procedure) seems to be to announce lots o

Regent-gate: Up to 22 Board of Regent employees may have gotten raises.

by jonpelto

Categories: Budget Cuts, Higher Education, Malloy Tags: Budget cuts, Higher Education, Malloy The controversy surrounding pay raises at Malloy’s new Board of Regents goes well beyond the one Vice President who received a $49,000 pay raise last week. Unconfirmed reports are that up to 22 Board of Regent employees received pay raises, some well into the tens of thousands of dollars. As the CTMirror is reporting, “the [...] Anyone remember Gilda Radner (as Emily Litella) “Oh,Never Mind” by jonpelto Categories: Higher Education, State Employees, State Legislature Tags: Higher Education, Malloy, Mike Meotti Gilda Radner as Emily Litella: “What is all this fuss I hear about the Supreme Court decision on a “deaf” penalty? It’s terrible! Deaf people have enough problems as it is!” . . The news anchor (Chevy Chase or Jane Curtin) interrupted Litella to point out her error, along the lines, “That’s death, Ms. Litella, not deaf … death.” Litella would [...]

Principals approve new evaluations but object to workload - latimes.com

Principals approve new evaluations but object to workload - latimes.com:

Principals approve new evaluations but object to workload

School officials on Tuesday formally approved a one-year agreement for evaluating principals in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but the head of the administrators union also asserted that principals will be overburdened by a new teacher-evaluation system.
The new evaluation system for principals, which will incorporate student-achievement data, was ratified by the Board of Education after previous approval by the administrators union.
“We appreciate the collaboration with the district’s bargaining team during negotiations,” said Judith Perez, 

Walking in Their Shadows: ED Officials Team Up with Principals | ED.gov Blog

Walking in Their Shadows: ED Officials Team Up with Principals | ED.gov Blog:

Walking in Their Shadows: ED Officials Team Up with Principals

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Cameron Brenchley

In celebration of National Principals Month, dozens of senior ED leaders and staff members are visiting schools today, tomorrow and Thursday across the country as part of an organized effort in which federal education officials are shadowing school leaders.

These shadowing visits, in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and New Leaders for New School, will offer Department staff a glimpse into the daily work of principals, while also providing principals with the opportunity to discuss how federal policy, programs, and resources impact their schools.

To complete the week-long partnership effort, principals and ED staff who participated in the job shadowing will join Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Friday afternoon for a debrief discussion to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned. Earlier this year, ED officials shadowed fifty teachers across the country as part of Teacher Appreciation Week.

Stay tuned for stories from our participants and see a complete list of who is participating and at what location.

Cameron Brenchley is director of digital engagement at the U.S. Department of Education

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Pro-Charter Forces Now over $8M

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Pro-Charter Forces Now over $8M:

Pro-Charter Forces Now over $8M

by Melissa Westbrook

Kind of takes your breath away.  Of course, it isn't like the donors are any big surprise.  There's:

Bill Gates - he's thrown in another $2M (he's at about $3M but that doesn't count the money he threw to get 1240 on the ballot)

Alice Walton (of Wal-Mart) - must really love charters in Arkansas and Texas because she put in another $1.1M (that makes about $1.7M altogether)

A U.S. congressman from Colorado, Jared Polis

DeShaw - --> "a global investment and technology development firm"

An interesting couple, Anne Dinning and Michael Wolf, from NYC who have helped create Turnaround for Children, a non-profit that helps low-performing schools with high-needs students (wonder if they help all those low-performing charters).  What's interesting is here's 

BEX IV Update

by Melissa Westbrook

From Superintendent Banda today:


·         Arbor Heights Elementary: Replace existing building with new/expanded facility by 2019. The school will be at an interim site starting in 2017. We understand the building is in need of replacement, but we will not have enough cash flow from levy funding to move this project up within BEX. However, we will analyze the pros and cons of other funding options to hopefully start this work sooner.

·         Bagley Elementary: Modernize and build an addition by 2020.

·         Fairmount Park building: Open this existing building with necessary upgrades, add classrooms and a 

The No on Intiative 1240 campaign needs YOU! | Seattle Education

The No on Intiative 1240 campaign needs YOU! | Seattle Education:

The No on Intiative 1240 campaign needs YOU!

by seattleducation2011

From People for Public Schools:
We are definitely in full “on the ground” campaign mode now – and we’re really rolling up our sleeves and getting to work!  There are several ways to get involved this week so please jump on in, the water’s great!!
1.  Phone bank – TOMORROW, Wednesday, October 10th, 5:30-8:00 pm. at our Seattle office 1914 N. 34th Street, Suite 209.  We have a great group coming, but can still use more volunteers.
Also, mark your calendars with the following scheduled phone banking dates: Tuesday, Oct 16th and Wednesday Oct 17th, Wednesday Oct 24th, Tuesday Oct 30th, and Monday Nov 5th.  They will all be held at our offices, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
2.  Doorbelling -  We are starting with our targeted voters, and will kick off our efforts this weekend at Orca K-8, 5215 46th Ave S, Seattle WA 98118 by the playground.  Call  206 853-7594  that day if you have questions. Locations will vary in the future. Please try to make it to a few shifts. And bring you friends!
Other scheduled future dates for doorbelling, so you can plan ahead:
Sat Oct 13, two shifts: 10:00 a.m.-12:00, 12:00- 2:00 p.m.
Sun Oct 14, one shift:  3:00 pm- 5:00 p.m.
Sat Oct 20, two shifts: 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 pm. 12:00 pm – 2:00 p.m.
Sun Oct 21, one shift:  3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Sat Oct 27, two shifts: 10:00 a.m.-12:00, 12 – 2:00 p.m.
Sat Nov 3, two shifts:  10:00 a.m.-12:00, 12 – 2:00 p.m.
3.  Signs – anytime you want to pick up yard signs, swing by our office. Phone ahead  (206) 545-1240 .
4.   Donate to the campaign – we are facing enormous financial resources on the other side, and every penny counts.
5.  Spread the Word – Follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

Initiative 1240: Don’t be charter fooled, the song

by seattleducation2011

For more videos, go to Educationrumination.

Join the Campaign for our Schools: Write a letter to President Obama | Parents Across America

Join the Campaign for our Schools: Write a letter to President Obama | Parents Across America:

Join the Campaign for our Schools: Write a letter to President Obama

by pureparents

We are passing along a request from Diane Ravitch who is working with teacher blogger Anthony Codyon what they are calling the Campaign for our Schools:

Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.

You can write it now and follow instructions here.

Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.

We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.

Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.

Here are the instructions:

You can send your letter to Anthony Cody (anthony_cody@hotmail.com) or this blog.

Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.

You can write it now and follow instructions here.

Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.

We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.

Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.

Here are the instructions:

You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.

Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.

Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.

1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.

2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.

All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.

In ADDITION to this,

3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500

4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.

One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.

Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.

Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.

Let’s act. Start here. Start now.

Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.

Diane)

or to this blog.

Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.

Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.

1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.

2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.

All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.

In ADDITION to this,

3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500

4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.

One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.

Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.

Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.

Let’s act. Start here. Start now.

Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.

Diane

Jersey Jazzman: Joel Klein On the Fainting Couch

Jersey Jazzman: Joel Klein On the Fainting Couch:

Joel Klein On the Fainting Couch

by Duke

The EduShyster is fast becoming one of the real reform movement's all-stars. Here, he skewers corporate edu-vulture Joel Klein:

What’s that haters, you’re still not buying it? You think that Mr. Klein is nothing more than a glorified snake oil salesmen peddling techno gimmickry to schools in order to sop up tax payer money? Jeez, go easy on the brother, haters! It turns out Mr. Klein doesn’t think much of you either:

The critique that really ignites a response in me, however, is the idea that education companies are motivated only by money. Like any other business that invests its capital to develop and market products or services, educational businesses need to secure a return on their investment. But there are no guarantees for educational entrepreneurs, just like there are no guarantees in other fields. You take a risk and hope for a return. But that doesn’t mean that entrepreneurs are motivated solely by profit. If you have any doubts about that, just ask the people at Facebook or Twitter, who surely want to change the world (but won’t be able to unless they can provide their investors a return). This kind of attack on motive—i.e., that profits are all that innovators care about—is not only wrong, it’s frankly deeply offensive. [emphasis mine]

Quickly, someone get Joel the fainting couch! He is deeply offended that anyone would ever question his 

Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs —

Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs —:

Chavez Monument Offers Inspiration for Farmworker Advocates

AFOP Commends the Dedication of the César E. Chávez National Monument and Reflects on the Path Forward

Washington, D.C.—Yesterday afternoon, President Barack Obama established the César E. Chávez National Monument recognizing the legacy of the workers’ rights champion. The dedication of the monument honoring the farmworker advocate and civil rights leader marks the first time in living memory that a Mexican American has been officially honored.

“As a former farmworker, I found it to be an inspirational event honoring a great civil rights leader and his hard work to protect the farmworkers who harvest our nation’s food,” said Jesús Gamboa, president of the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) and Proteus, Inc. Chief Operations Officer.

The historic occasion took place at La Paz in Keene, California, where the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) is headquartered and Chávez lived. It was attended by President Obama; Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, an ardent defender of farmworkers; Paul Chávez, the son of the César Chávez; and thousands more, including many notable Latino advocates, farmworkers, and school children, who came to pay homage to the man who made so many sacrifices to ensure safer and more humane working conditions for workers.

Some in the advocacy community have questioned the administration’s actions yesterday, however, given its withdrawal earlier this year of updates Secretary Solis proposed to the safety rules for children employed in agriculture.

“We commend the Obama Administration for establishing this monument, but are still profoundly disappointed in its action in April to pull the updates to the Hazardous Orders for children employed in agriculture. Without those updates, farmworker children’s lives continue to be put in jeopardy harvesting America’s food,” said Norma Flores López, director of AFOP’s Children in the Fields Campaign and chair of the domestic issues committee for the Child Labor Coalition. “It was a missed opportunity to follow in the footsteps of César Chávez who advocated so persuasively for the protection of the nation’s farmworkers.”

Those rules, which have not been updated in more than 40 years, came after changes were made to the Hazardous Orders for children employed in non-agricultural occupations; those proposed changes were implemented with little fanfare or difficulty.

“While some things have improved for farmworkers over the years, AFOP knows much remains to be done, and I was encouraged to hear the President underscore that point during his speech yesterday,” said Gamboa. “This historic step provides us with motivation for the path forward. In the words of César Chávez, ‘¡Si se puede!’”

The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs is the national federation of nonprofit and public agencies that provide training and employment services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. 

For additional comment or interview, please contact Ayrianne Parks at  (202) 828-6006 x140 or Parks@AFOP.org

Daily Kos: Bus tour with teacherken: In Cleveland with labor and seniors

Daily Kos: Bus tour with teacherken: In Cleveland with labor and seniors:

Bus tour with teacherken: In Cleveland with labor and seniors

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

This is crossposted from the National Education Association's Education Votes blog, for whom I am serving as an embedded blogger on the Stop the Greed Agenda Bus Tour. This post focuses heavily on Voter Suppression.

On Monday afternoon the East bus for Patriot Majority USA’s Stop the Greed Agenda Bus tour stopped near a complex of union offices in Cleveland.  Several groups hosted us, with the stop organized by AFSCME, along with the Ohio Education Association, the AFL-CIO, and especially the Laborers Union, outside of whose offices our bus was parked and we held our rally.

Mariah Hatta of Patriot Majority USA begins the event:

Mariah is a native of the region, having grown-up in nearby Oberlin.  Both her mother, a social worker, and her father, a retired teacher, were present.

Harriet Applegate, Executive Secretary, North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor spoke next:

please continue Daily Kos: Bus tour with teacherken: In Cleveland with labor and seniors:

Initiative 1240: Don’t be charter fooled, the song | Seattle Education

Initiative 1240: Don’t be charter fooled, the song | Seattle Education:

Initiative 1240: Don’t be charter fooled, the song

Posted on October 9, 2012 by seattleducation2011 | Leave a comment

For more videos, go to Educationrumination.

http://www.no1240.org/

Learning from Chicago | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Learning from Chicago | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Learning from Chicago

by thenotebook

Sub Title: 

As charters and cuts erode teacher jobs here, Philadelphians draw lessons from the organizing successes of another big-city union.

Author: 

by Bill Hangley, Jr.

Author Bio: 

Bill Hangley, Jr. is a freelance contributor to the Notebook.

Asked what “portfolio management” means to him, Jerry Jordan’s answer was swift and certain:
“Big business. Outsourcing. It’s literally getting rid of public service,” said the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
But when asked about the PFT’s strategy for slowing a trend that has seen thousands of teaching jobs shifted to non-union charter schools, Jordan’s answer was more general: “We have to work more closely with the parents and the people in the community in order to make sure our schools are funded adequately. We can’t survive another billion-dollar cut.”

Image: 

Image Caption: 

Anissa Weinraub of Teacher Action Group

Photo Credits: 

Harvey Finkle

read more