APS watchdog delves into charter school chain with history of problems. Yet, APS board considers renewal. | Get Schooled

APS watchdog delves into charter school chain with history of problems. Yet, APS board considers renewal. | Get Schooled:

APS watchdog delves into charter school chain with history of problems. Yet, APS board considers renewal.

by Maureen Downey

You’ve probably heard the expression that there are two things you don’t want to see being made: Sausages and laws.
As a longtime reporter, I’ve often been surprised at how elected officials approve legislation or make critical decisions with very little information or with a complete disregard for the facts. I once sat a three-hour meeting of the House Judiciary Committee where 18 witnesses — including a national expert flown in by the committee — testified in opposition to the bill under discussion. The witnesses provided convincing and overwhelming evidence that the law would be a nightmare to enforce and would only worsen the problem it was supposed to solve. Not a single person spoke in favor it the law except the sponsors.
But the committee passed the bill anyway. And the state has been at the losing end of legal challenges ever since.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Atlanta school board’s debate over renewing the charter for Atlanta Preparatory Academy. Several of …

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS WEBSITE

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

A compilation of news articles about charter schools which have been charged with, or are highly suspected of, tampering with admissions, grades, attendance and testing; misuse of funds and embezzlement; engaging in nepotism and conflicts of interest; engaging in complicated and shady real estate deals; and/or have been engaging in other questionable, unethical, borderline-legal, or illegal activities. This is also a record of charter school instability and other unsavory tidbits.

Couldn't Find Your Own Special Charter School Scandal

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CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

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CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Be sure to check out two other Great blogs:

-THE BROAD REPORT (as in Eli) -THE PERIMETER PRIMATE

UPDATE: To Representative Elaine Nekritz and the other sponsors of HB6258. Glen Brown in two parts. Today: The law protects our pensions. « Fred Klonsky

To Representative Elaine Nekritz and the other sponsors of HB6258. Glen Brown in two parts. Today: The law protects our pensions. « Fred Klonsky:

John Dillon. Let’s hope our leaders don’t take the bait.

by Fred Klonsky

John Dillon:

Ellen Schultz warns in Retirement Heist, offering options is a ploy used in the private sector quite successfully.   “To enhance their chances at success, some companies started to use a strategy…creeping take-aways.“  This involves taking small steps – increase premiums a small amount, or perhaps start charging premiums in the future.  The retirees and unions ignore them.  Then, a few years later, the company cuts benefits in a big way, saying that the retiree’s prior lack 

To Representative Elaine Nekritz and the other sponsors of HB6258. Glen Brown in two parts. Today: The law protects our pensions.

by Fred Klonsky

By Glen Brown.

Defending and Protecting Public Employees’ Pensions against the Legislative Siege

Eric M. Madiar (2012), Chief Legal Counsel to Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton and Parliamentarian of the Illinois Senate, states: “Pension benefits are under siege for two reasons: opportunity and political motives (p. 179)… [Legislators] frame [the] larger discussion of whether the law provides states with a means to achieve a particular objective: the unilateral reduction of public pension benefits to avoid painful tax increases, service cuts, or both (p. 180)…

“In Illinois, New York and Arizona… by joining a pension system, public employees obtain absolute 

Illinois ranks third in the US in cuts to mental health services. Chicago school kids are being hit hard.

by Fred Klonsky

In a report that is a shocking indictment of the way Illinois and Chicago treats its young people who face mental health issues, Sarah Karp reports in Catalyst:

Troubled children, in fact, are often caught between a mental health system that is stretched thin and a parent who has trouble making time to deal with the problem, says Ashley Fountaine, a project manager with the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Mental Illness. Hospitalization is not always a bad option, Fountaine adds, because it serves a purpose in extreme cases.

Sometimes the assessment teams get pressure from schools to hospitalize a 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Who Benefits From Data Collection?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Who Benefits From Data Collection?:

Who Benefits From Data Collection?

by Anngie

"These datasets have been gathered from various agencies to provide detailed information on the state of education on all levels, from cradle to career and beyond. - Education Data Community" 

You are your digital footprint.

Almost a year ago the White House released a fact sheet UNLOCKING THE POWER OF EDUCATION DATA FOR ALL AMERICANS. The three page document contains the commitments of various partners to collect data on every student in America and make it as easy to access as possible for as many interested parties as possible. Ok, they may not have phrased it that way, but if you read what they wrote, that clearly is the intent.

What has been committed?

Federal Student Aid (FSA) commits to providing a "MyData download 

Are we preparing students for life? « My Island View

Are we preparing students for life? « My Island View:

Are we preparing students for life?

by tomwhitby

We are preparing our students for life. I hear so many educators use this sentence when asked, what is the purpose of education? Many years ago I believed that to be true as well. Maybe many generation s back it may have been true. In consideration of all that I observe, even with some great innovation,  and a whole bunch of technology integration that is taking place in so many schools across the country, I don’t believe “preparing our students for life” is the focus or goal of education today. The real irony is that school for kids is real life, a fact often overlooked by educators.
The most obvious reason this is not the case is that we don’t have a clue what the future holds for our children. We will have them in public schools for 13 years. Try to envision what it was like looking backwards to the world as we knew it then. 1999 was quite a different world. We had scarcely a clue of what to expect to find in 2012. The only way to prepare kids for life was to make adjustments every step of the way. The education system 

The Price of Uniformity :: Frederick M. Hess

The Price of Uniformity :: Frederick M. Hess:

The Price of Uniformity

by Frederick M. Hess  •  Dec 12, 2012 at 8:44 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

There was a timely conversation yesterday in New York Times's "Room for Debate" about whether it makes sense for standards and funding to vary by state. (You can find it here.)

The NYT's query was: "The Common Core State Standards, adopted by the overwhelming majority of states and supported by the Obama administration, have worried liberals who question their quality and conservatives who fear they erode states' traditional responsibility for education. At the same time, the budget pressure of the impending 'fiscal cliff' could reduce federal support for education, which would add to the state and local responsibility. As these trends collide, Americans can take a step back and ask: Should education standards and funding vary by state?"

The debate included ten brief responses, some more thoughtful than others, from NYU prof Pedro Noguera, Kentucky state chief Terry Holliday, Jeb Bush, a Philadelphia principal, yours truly, and so forth. The 

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

When Silence is Not Golden

by dianerav

EduShyster gets amazing tips.
This is a description of the typical day of a child in a new “no-excuses” school.
She answers questions with a programmed response.
She walks in silence.
She does exactly what she is told.
The teacher speaks in scripted language.
The child obeys.
What did this child do to 

Will John Dewey High School Survive?

by dianerav

Gail Robinson writes about education in New York City. This post is about the fate of John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, about which I posted earlier.
In this article, published in June, she detailed the dreams and anticipated demise of John Dewey High School. Once it was seen as the cutting edge of progressive reform. Over time, the school became a dumping ground for students excluded from other schools, and city officials expected the school to die a quiet death. Dewey was one of 24 schools slated to close over the summer, but the execution was stayed by a judge.
But WAIT! I just received an email from an anonymous student who insists that John Dewey WILL NOT DIE.
He writes:
Hello Ms. Ravitch,
I am a student at John Dewey High School, as you may know, JDHS is one of the schools the NYCDOE

Yong Zhao on TIMSS Results

by dianerav

The release of the latest international test scores has set off a new round of wailing and gnashing of teeth about America’s schools.
Yong Zhao has a completely different take on the scores and what they mean. It is a long post but well worth reading.

A Scholar Joins the Honor Roll

by dianerav

Bruce Baker of Rutgers joins the honor roll, not as a champion of public education, but as a champion of honesty, accuracy and integrity.
Scholars must go where the evidence takes them, not where it is popular or politically expedient,
Today, Baker is outraged that the Néw York state education department continues to press for adoption of its

The Good News on TIMSS Tests

by dianerav

GF Brandenburg has a great post on the latest TIMSS test.
It puts paid to the customary hand-wringing (did you hear that, Wall Street Journal?) about the international test scores.
No crisis.
The real question, aside from the horse race, is whether the scores mean anything at all. The US came in last 

Hats Off to TFA!

by dianerav

Teach for America is an amazing organization. It has a board of directors with some of the most powerful corporate leaders in the nation. In its twenty two years, it has sent about 33,000 young college graduates to teach for a while in the nation’s neediest schools. This year, about 10,000 corps members started teaching.
Wendy Kopp often says that the TFA mission is not to replace the nation’s teachers, which is clearly impossible at the rate of 10,000 per year or even double or triple that number, but to produce leaders. It is interesting to note 

Brilliant! Opposite Day in Ohio with StudentsFirst

by dianerav

This may be the best blog post of the year. Read it. It is priceless!
Welcome to Opposite Day in Ohio!
Veteran educator Maureen Reedy explains what “education reform” meant on Opposite Day.
This is the day when StudentsFirst came to the Ohio Legislature to tout the virtues of charter schools, even 

Diane in the Evening 12-11-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Karen Lewis: Where Corporate Reform Is Going by dianerav A Comment from Karen Lewis about the simultaneous deluge of “reforms,” none of which is grounded in research or experience: “Any decent researcher knows that when you change more than one variable in an experiment, you have to do some pretty heavy lifting in order to determine which one had more effect than another. So in Chicago we have a new evaluation, Common Core, a longer day and year, a new contract, school closings and the usual suspects Teacher: Please Hear Me, Mayor Bloomberg by dianerav ... more »

Achievement First: Expanding discrimination in New Haven - Wait, What?

Achievement First: Expanding discrimination in New Haven - Wait, What?:

Achievement First: Expanding discrimination in New Haven

by jonpelto

The ugly truth about Achievement First, charter schools and discrimination…

Yesterday’s Wait, What? blog highlighted the discrimination being perpetrated by Achievement First – Hartford.

Achievement First, Inc. is the large charter school management company that was co-founded by Stefan Pryor, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education.  Today, Dacia Toll serves as the organization’s President and CEO.

As parents know, local public schools MUST provide services to any child who is a resident of that community.  They cannot discriminate.  (Town borders may create de 

Experts Challenge High Schools to Revamp Outdated School Day, Year - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Experts Challenge High Schools to Revamp Outdated School Day, Year - High School Notes (usnews.com):

Experts Challenge High Schools to Revamp Outdated School Day, Year

By KELSEY SHEEHY

December 12, 2012 RSS Feed Print

High schools don’t need a longer day, but need to be smarter with the time already allotted, one expert says.

Students at select public schools inColorado, Connecticut,Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee will spend more time in class next school year—at least 300 hours more.

The move will impact more than 19,500 students at 40 elementary, middle, and high schools across 11 school districts, according to a joint announcement last week 

Bobby Jindal’s alternative education universe:

Bobby Jindal’s alternative education universe

Posted by Valerie Strauss on December 12, 2012 at 7:00 am

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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, architect of a statewide voucher program that sends public money to religious schools which teach that humans and dinosaurs co-existed, ventured to the Brookings Institution in Washington to present his alternative education universe. Jindal, a rising figure in the Republican Party, spoke for more than an hour defending his voucher program — which was declared unconstitutional by a Lousiana state judge who said it improperly diverts public state and local money to private institutions — without actually mentioning the word “vouchers,” instead using euphemisms such as “scholarships.” Quite a feat.

You can watch the video here:

Jindal said in his keynote speech that the ruling against his voucher program would be 

Proposed Loudoun charter school loses supervisor's support

by Valerie Strauss

A member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has withdrawn his support from a proposed charter school -- which would be the first in Loudoun if allowed to open -- because of "controversy" and concerns over a number of key operational issues.
Read full article >>

The Educated Reporter: Measuring Up: District Race to the Top Winners and International Test Scores

The Educated Reporter: Measuring Up: District Race to the Top Winners and International Test Scores:

Measuring Up: District Race to the Top Winners and International Test Scores

by Emily Richmond

The U.S. Department of Education has announced the 16 district-level winners that will receive between $10 million and $40 million each to fund school improvement efforts. There were 372 applications nationwide. The winners represent 55 school districts (smaller districts were encouraged to join forces), 11 states and the District of Columbia.
 
Among the winners is the Carson City School District, which will use its $10 million grant to hire new teachers and implement a new data system aimed at making it easier for parents to track their children's academic progress.

I'm still interested in answers to Politics K-12's Five Unanswered Questions about the selection process. 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What would Dr. King say about 'Right-to-Work' Michigan?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What would Dr. King say about 'Right-to-Work' Michigan?:

What would Dr. King say about 'Right-to-Work' Michigan?

by Mike Klonsky

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks at a 1968 strike support rally for public sanitation workers in Memphis seeking recognition under AFSCME. ( Pan-African News Wire File Photos)

What would Dr. King tell Michigan's Tea Party Gov. Rick Snyder about the so-called "right to work" bill his party is rushing into law? Here's what he said in 1961:

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as 

Impressions From a Florida State Board of Education Meeting | Scathing Purple Musings

Impressions From a Florida State Board of Education Meeting | Scathing Purple Musings:

Impressions From a Florida State Board of Education Meeting

by Bob Sikes

Yesterday’s live feed of the Florida state board interviews with candidates for education commissioner provided me the first opportunity to see board members unplugged and without the protection of prepared press releases, sound bites or filtered quotes to reporters. Here are some take-aways.
* I actually came away liking Charles Hokansons Jr. Although clearly in the camp of the “privatization choicers” (It was clear those are the type of candidates this board would want to interview) the former George W. Bush-era DOE official was measured and thoughtful. A bit on the wonkish side, Hokansons was the anti-Tony Bennett, approachable and a consensus builder.  And he displayed a bit of moxie by appearing to take a swing at 

Ed Notes Online: MORE Says: Raise your voice on the evaluation issue! Bring petition and copies of the resolution to the DA

Ed Notes Online: MORE Says: Raise your voice on the evaluation issue! Bring petition and copies of the resolution to the DA:

MORE Says: Raise your voice on the evaluation issue! Bring petition and copies of the resolution to the DA

by ed notes online

Approaching a thousand sigs and a number of school chapters have passed resos in support. MORE will attempt to place a resolution -- see below -- in front of the DA tomorrow. Last time the meeting ended ---cough, cough -- before the opportunity came up. The Unity leadership does not want this reso to see the light of day. I will be there holding up the above sign and with petitions for you to take back to your school. Let's get the numbers into the thousands by the January deadline. We know that this is a contract change and legally should be voted on but what does legal mean in the UFT?

Here is the post from the MORE web site:

Facing an arbitrary 12/21/12 deadline imposed by Chancellor Walcott, a growing wave of bloggers have begun speaking out against any teacher evaluation scheme that harms teachers and ignore

Teachers Don't Suck !: Why We Should Expect Disrespect !

Teachers Don't Suck !: Why We Should Expect Disrespect !:

Why We Should Expect Disrespect !

by Walt S.

This memo was distributed to the staff at a local suburban high school was posted on the town's Internet message board.

******

Folks- oversight on my part - but an important piece from Mr. F as we move to the mid-point of the year.

Quoting Mr. F

"As many of you are aware we have had an inexcusable number of fights and events in our building over the last few weeks. As Dave and I work together to manage discipline I have been experiencing a number of extremely disrespectful students. This behavior is not acceptable on any level. If you confront a student who is disrespectful please send them down and they will be dealt with accordingly. To help alleviate discipline problems please aim to plan lessons and activities that begin and continue through the bell. Also, your presence in the hallway between periods is 

It’s good to be King: More Misguided Rhetoric on the NY State Eval System « School Finance 101

It’s good to be King: More Misguided Rhetoric on the NY State Eval System « School Finance 101:

It’s good to be King: More Misguided Rhetoric on the NY State Eval System

by schoolfinance101

Very little time to write today, but I must comment on this NY Post article on the bias I’ve been discussing in the NY State teacher/principal growth percentile ratings. Sociologist Aaron Pallas of TC and economist Sean Corcoran of NYU express appropriate concerns about the degrees of bias found and reported in the technical report provided by the state’s own consultant developing the models. And this article overall raises concern that these problems were simply blown off. I would/and have put it more bluntly. Here’s my replay of events – quoting the parties involved:
First, the state’s consultants designing their teacher and principal effectiveness measures find that those measures are substantively biased:

Schooling in the Ownership Society: TFA rakes in the cash

Schooling in the Ownership Society: TFA rakes in the cash:

TFA rakes in the cash

by Mike Klonsky

Diane Ravitch posts:

TFA may be the most effective fund-raising operation in the education sector. Between 2006 and 2010, TFA raised $907 million dollars in gifts from foundations, corporations, and other sources. -- Hats off to TFA

J. Crew...

is selling a $32.50 cotton t-shirt with a giant orange apple on the front to benefit Teach for America. (JCPenney has also supported Teach for America; earlier this year, the retailer asked customers to make donations to the group.) Only x-small and xx-small are