Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature - Wait, What?

Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature - Wait, What?:

Senate President Williams, Speaker of the House Sharkey; Commissioner Pryor is mocking you and the Legislature

by jonpelto

Last week the Bridgeport Board of Education voted 5 to 4 to illegally appoint Paul Vallas as Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools effective March 4, 2013.

However, as you will recall, during the “education reform” debate, Commissioner Pryor provided the General Assembly with draft language that you adopted and was signed into law that modified the certification process for superintendents by expanding the Commissioner’s ability to waive certification requirements in various situations.

Although Commissioner Pryor’s language was intended to remove barriers for waiving certification for Paul Vallas, the Bridgeport Board of Education’s action fails to follow the procedures laid out in the very language Pryor persuaded you to adopt.

As you are undoubtedly aware, Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-157 sets forth the process that a local board of education must follow when selecting a Superintendent 

State/SEBAC retirement settlement finally reached…

by jonpelto

Last September I inaccurately reported – ALERT/UPDATE: Arbitrator rules against Malloy Administration on significant retirement issue.   Last November I wrote a post entitled, Is another Connecticut State Employee Early Retirement Incentive coming?.

The rumors and hypothesis all revolved around two factors.  What was deemed to be a potentially illegal move by the Malloy Administration to grant certain hand-selected individuals special early retirement benefits almost two years ago and the broader recognition that the Malloy Administration desperately wants to reduce the state workforce — thereby moving costs from the General Fund over to the Pension Fund.

Well, while details are still sketchy, an agreement was finally reached between late last week between the Malloy Administration and SEBAC on the early retirement grievance 

A Realistic Approach to Better Testing - Bridging Differences - Education Week

A Realistic Approach to Better Testing - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

A Realistic Approach to Better Testing

by Deborah Meier

Eric Hanushek continues his discussion with Deborah Meier on Bridging Differences today.
Dear Deborah,
Whenever there is any discussion of accountability, there is always an overhang of issues of testing and the use of tests. Testing clearly falls into the knee-jerk reaction zone, but I'm hoping not to inspire such reactions. Instead I want to lay out a simple idea of how to deal with a number of the current problems and objections in order to see if you agree with it.
Let me just give a quick overview of where I think testing under accountability stands. While ultimately we may differ on the weights attached to different observations, that is not central to what I propose. This is just meant to motivate the idea that I want to set out and not to be the subject of any debate.
From the scientific evidence, I conclude that the introduction of testing into accountability has had generally positive effects. In particular, test scores in grades subject to accountability have risen nationally. They have also exposed some embarrassingly large achievement gaps by race, ethnicity, and income levels that have helped to focus attention on the most vulnerable populations. And, as crude as these measures of achievement are, there 

UPDATE: Koch brothers to buy the Trib? + signed on to the moratorium on school closings? + Fraud. | Fred Klonsky

Fraud. | Fred Klonsky:

Ten minute drawing. Koch brothers to buy the Trib?

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

Has your alderman, state rep or state senator signed on to the moratorium on school closings?

by Fred Klonsky

Thousands of parents and teachers have shown up at hearings all across our city to express opposition to school closings.
It was only a matter of time for the politicians to see the writing on the wall.
The latest manifestation was the press conference yesterday consisting of Chicago alderman the the General Assembly’s Black and Hispanic Caucuses.

Leaders of the Illinois Legislature’s black and Latino caucuses on Monday accused CPS of preparing to close schools without having a comprehensive plan in place and called for a moratorium on closings for the 2013-2014 school 

Stand for Children PAC. $35,000 to Dan Biss.

by Fred Klonsky

Stand for Children IL PAC
D-2 Quarterly Report
7/1/2012 to 9/30/2012

This report has 24 itemized Transfers Out totaling $242,500.00

Print this list

Received By	Address	Amount	Expended By	Purpose
	Citizens for Elaine Nekritz	PO Box 2563 Glenview, IL 60025	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Fred Crespo	940 S Frontage RdSte1600 Woodridge, IL 60517	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Kirk Dillard (for Senate)	PO Box 345 Westmont, IL 60559-0345	$7,500.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Kyle McCarter	40 Commerce Dr Lebanon, IL 62254	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Luechtefeld	700 E North St Okawville, IL 62271	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Matt Murphy	952 N Arrowhead Dr Palatine, IL 60074	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Michael P McAuliffe	PO Box 31488 Chicago, IL 60631	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Noland	PO Box 1025 Elgin, IL 60121	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Tom Morrison	117 E palatine Rd Ste108 Palatine, IL 60067	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Citizens for Unes	PO Box 8171 East Peoria, IL 61611	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Committee to Elect David harris	323 S Pine Ave Arlington Heights, IL60005	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Committee to Elect RichMorthland	PO Box 233 Port Byron, IL 61275	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Daniel Biss for State Representative	PO Box 7026 Evanston, IL 60204-7026	$35,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends for Saviano	PO Box 657 Addison, IL 60101	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Andy Manar	PO Box W Bunker Hill, IL 62014	$20,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Carol Sente	1152 Goergetown Wy Vernon Hills, IL 60061	$20,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Deborah Conroy	385 N Highland Ave Elmhurst, IL 60126	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Laura Fine for State Rep	1700 Constitution Dr Glenview, IL 60026	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Scott Drury	PO Box 283 Highwood, IL 60040	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Sue Rezin	PO Box 932 Morris, IL 60450	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Friends of Susan Sweeney	411 Grand blvd Park Ridge, IL 60068	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Joe Neal for Senate	38933 N Delany Rd Wadsworth, IL 60083	$10,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Joe Neal for Senate	38933 N Delany Rd Wadsworth, IL 60083	$15,000.00 9/21/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution
	Team Demmer	PO Box 192 Dixon, IL 61021	$5,000.00 9/6/2012	Transfer Out Stand for Children IL PAC	Contribution

Fraud.

by Fred Klonsky

I’m no expert on high finance.
So I don’t understand how the Securities and Exchange Commission works.
When I read the news yesterday that the SEC had found that the state of Illinois was guilty of fraud I didn’t quite know how to react.
The SEC concluded two things.
They found that the state had not met its obligation to adequately fund the state’s public employee pension systems.
They found that the state had hidden that fact from investors who bought state bonds.
I didn’t know about the lies to investors. But we have been talking 

Schools Matter: Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools

Schools Matter: Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools:

Learning about Hippies in Louisiana's Voucher Schools

by Jim Horn

Beka Books is owned by Arlin and Beka Horton, who both graduated from Bob Jones "University" in 1951.  The company, which now has an extensive product line of semi-literate ultra-fundamentalist teaching materials, made headlines a couple of years ago by changing the Christian unfriendly "Slave Trade" to the "Atlantic Triangular Trade."  How offensive an unwholesome to talk about slavery in a Christian environment.  From Political Research Associates:

On May 21, Texas School Board member Cynthia Dunbar opened the board’s meeting with an invocation: “Whether we look to the first charter of Virginia, or the charter of New England, or the charter of Massachusetts Bay, or the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the same objective is present—a Christian land governed by Christian principles.”¹ The board then voted nine to five, along party lines, to adopt new standards that will be used to teach the state’s 4.8 million students—resisting the pleas of educators, historians, and even Rod Paige, a former U.S. secretary of education under President George W. Bush. The new standards emphasize the role of Christianity in U.S. history and promote conservative values. A New York Times editorial pointed out that the Texas board did back down on a few of its “most outrageous efforts”—such as renaming the slave trade, the 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts | Truth in American Education

The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts | Truth in American Education:

The U.S. Department of Education’s Data Mining Efforts

by Joy Pullman

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating how public schools can collect information on “non-cognitive” student attributes, after granting itself the power to share student data across agencies without parents’ knowledge. The feds want to use schools to catalogue “attributes, dispositions, social skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal resources, independent of intellectual ability,” according to a February DOE report, all under the guise of education.

The report suggests researching how to measure and monitor these student attributes using “data mining” techniques and even functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, although “devices that measure EEG and skin conductance may not be practical for use in the classroom.” It delightedly discusses experiments on how kids respond to computer tutors, using cameras to judge facial expressions, an electronic seat that judges posture, a pressure-sensitive computer mouse, and a biometric wrap on kids’ wrists.

But that’s not all the feds want to know about your kids. The department is also funding and mandating databases that could expand each kid’s academic records into a comprehensive personal record, including “health-care history, disciplinary record, family income range, family voting status, and religious 

Savings from STAR suspension would net about $15 million SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Savings from STAR suspension would net about $15 million

By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A plan to suspend some statewide testing in advance of transition to new assessments based on the common core standards would save the state about $15 million, according to an estimate released Monday by the California Department of Education.

State schools chief Tom Torlakson has recommended that California move quickly to begin testing students based on new common core curriculum standards by the spring of 2015.

As part of that goal, Torlakson would suspend the current Standardized Testing and Reporting program beginning in 2013-14. Assessments required to meet federal mandates and those used in the Early Assessment Program would not be suspended under Torlakson’s plan.

There is interest in using some or all of the money saved by test suspensions to pay for other transition costs, especially those tied to the new computer-aided assessment system.

However, the overall expense for transitioning to the new standards could run as high as $1 billion to pay for such things as new textbooks aligned to the standards, teacher training, and technology needed for the new test itself.

The contract costs for the entire STAR program, however, runs about $50 million.

The Torlakson transition plan was delivered to the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown in January. Two bills are currently pending that would authorize the state to take the next step – one by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, AB 484, would 

Pass / Fail : Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers | 89.3 KPCC

Pass / Fail : Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers | 89.3 KPCC:

Despite increase in funding, school districts still sending layoff notices to teachers

by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Teachers, parents and supporters rallied last year to protest budget cuts and layoffs. Credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP
Year after year, March 15^th has been a date of dread for California public school teachers. The date, which falls on a Friday this year, is the preliminary deadline for school districts to send out "Reduction In Force" notices for cuts to next year's staff.
But Governor Jerry Brown said two months ago that this year would be different. He proposed a state budget without funding cuts to schools. The news was welcomed by educators still reeling from five years of intense budget cuts that led to tens of thousands of layoffs across the state.
But that doesn't mean there won't be any RIF notices, although they will be “significantly less this year than it 

Shanker Blog » A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools

Shanker Blog » A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools:

A Controversial Consensus On KIPP Charter Schools

by Matthew Di Carlo

A recent Mathematica report on the performance of KIPP charter schools expands and elaborates on their prioranalyses of these schools’ (estimated) effects on average test scores and other outcomes (also here). These findings are important and interesting, and were covered extensively elsewhere.
As is usually the case with KIPP, the results stirred the full spectrum of reactions. To over-generalize a bit, critics sometimes seem unwilling to acknowledge that KIPP’s results are real no matter how well-documented they might be, whereas some proponents are quick to use KIPP to proclaim a triumph for the charter movement, one that can justify the expansion of charter sectors nationwide.
Despite all this controversy, there may be more opportunity for agreement here than meets the eye. So, let’s try to lay out a few reasonable conclusions and see if we might find some of that common ground.
When KIPP works, it works very well, but it’s not a sure bet. Regardless of what you think of KIPP’s approach, the evidence thus far suggests that students who attend these schools tend to improve more quickly on tests compared with similar regular public school students. They show meaningfully large relative gains in all 

UPDATE: Department Of Defense Schools Await Furlough News + Military Schools Grapple With Budget Cuts Confusion, Instability

Military Schools Grapple With Budget Cuts Confusion, Instability:

Department Of Defense Schools Await Furlough News; More Early Education Details From Obama Administration: Ed Today

by Joy Resmovits

More Early Ed Details? Yesterday, President Barack Obama's education advisor Roberto Rodriguez addressed the Council of the Great City Schools legislative conference, and gave folks a few more details about Obama's early ed plans, according to Education Week. The program is apparently a full-day preschool program that is to be overseen by school districts, he said. "We want to go beyond the three-hour-a-day preschool model," Rodriguez said. But he still wouldn't provide any details on how much money the federal government would spend on the initiative.

Sequestration Nation? Department of Defense schools stillhaven't learned the extend of the effects of sequestration cuts, a fact that has rankled DoD teachers and families across the globe, we report. DoD schools across the globe could face up to 22 days of furloughs, but the body that governs these schools is still figuring it out. Some teachers want to find other cuts. "It seems odd that we're told we're mission-essential, but now, we can suddenly be furloughed," one teacher in the UK told me.

Middling Reform In Virginia? According to the Washington Post, Gov. Bob McDonnell's attempts to reform 

Military Schools Grapple With Budget Cuts Confusion, Instability

by Joy Resmovits

When BettyLou Cummins became a teacher in Defense Department schools 34 years ago, she knew that her livelihood would depend on the federal government.

"It's been said that Congress is our school board," said Cummins, who teaches at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base in Germany and serves as a vice president of the Federal Education Association.

But now, she said, that school board has failed her. "And the stress level is through the roof."

Over the past week, since Congress failed to prevent the implementation of across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, parents of students in Defense Department schools around the globe have heard all sorts of rumors regarding how the cuts will affect them. Concerned parents have approached teachers raising 

Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members | Hechinger Report

Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members | Hechinger Report:

Teachers union still draws support, money from retired members

by Sarah Butrymowicz

At a synagogue in Surfside, Fla., last month, about 40 former teachers gathered for cupcakes, cheesecake and a PowerPoint presentation by a pair of union representatives from New York. The teachers were members of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) retiree chapter, and the representatives had been sent by the UFT and New York State United Teachers to pass along information about budget counseling, Medicare, and pet insurance. Ken Goodman, the UFT Florida retiree chapter leader, called the meeting to order by announcing updates about the following month’s annual retiree luncheon. Buses would pick the members up from Surfside and ferry them to the event in Boca Raton, where UFT President Michael Mulgrew would deliver the keynote address just weeks before his re-election bid. Despite being out of the classroom—in many cases, for decades—retirees make up a 

MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Brian Ford Says: Repeat After Me

by dianerav

Brian Ford, teacher and author, writes:
Repeat after me:
THE GREAT MISTAKE AND OVERRIDING DANGER TO PUBLIC EDUCATION IS THAT
THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS WILL BE LINKD TO HIGH STAKES STANDARDIZED TESTS, TEACHER EVALUATIONS AND SCHOOL CLOSINGS
I know it is not catchy, but say it twice more:
THE GREAT MISTAKE AND OVERRIDING DANGER TO PUBLIC EDUCATION IS THAT

Will College Adjuncts Qualify for Food Stamps?

by dianerav

I recently posted a news story from Grand Rapids, about teachers who say their pay qualifies them for food stamps.
Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune writes that college adjuncts are not likely to qualify for health care. At their current low wages, they already qualify for food stamps.
The New York Times wrote recently that the college degree is akin to a high school degree. Just to get a job as 

What If Tom Sawyer Battled the Bronte Sisters?

by dianerav

EduShyster is very excited about Joel Klein’s new product. It is not only software but a real tablet!
And yes, there is even some App where Tom Sawyer battles the Brontes.
The question is whether any of the students have ever read Tom Sawyer or anything written by the Brontes, or were they too busy reading informational text?

Charter Schools and the Future of Public Education

by dianerav

Stan Karp of New Jersey, who taught for 30 years, here explains the long-term impact of charter schools on public education. He understands that the original idea of charters was progressive: they were supposed to be teacher-run schools that reached out to the neediest students.
But now they have become a means of privatizing the schools.
As Karp writes:
“It has become impossible to separate the rapid expansion of charter networks from efforts to privatize public education. Commissioner Cerf has spoken of replacing the current “school system” with “a system of schools.” Former deputy commissioner Andy Smarick campaigned to “replace the district-based system in America’s 

Anthony Cody and I Talk About the Network @TheChalkface

by dianerav

Tim Slekar and Shaun Johnson are fearless education activists who operate on many fronts to support public education. They write, they blog, they make videos, they spoof the loony ideas called “reform.”
On March 11, Anthony Cody and I were interviewed @TheChalkface about the new Network for Public Education. We described how we hope to provide a means for grassroots groups to get connected to one another; to supply them with information and research on important issues; and to let them know that they are not alone. We will oppose the misuse of testing to punish or reward teachers, and to close schools.
When we clear away all legal issues, we hope to be able to endorse candidates and to let voters in state ad local elections know which candidates truly care about strengthening their public schools. We even intend to have a Seal of Approval for our allies.
Listen in here.

NASSP: The Danger of Misguided Evaluations

by dianerav

It is rare to see a high-ranking leader of a major association speak hard truths to power. For her courage and candor, Joann Bartoletti joins the honor roll as a champion of public education.
In the March 2013 issue of NASSP’s “News Leader,” Bartoletti, the executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, blasted the new teacher evaluation systems that were foisted on the nation’s schools by Race to the Top and its highly prescriptive waivers.
She notes that these dubious, non-evidence-based evaluation systems are coming into use at the very time that

Why Charter Schools Failed in Louisiana

by dianerav

Mike Deshotels wrote an amazing post about the shortcomings and failures of charters in Louisiana. I asked him for his permission to repost it in full and he graciously granted it. Mike blogs athttp://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/. Mike, an experienced educator, taught high school science in Louisiana.
NOLA.com, Blackboard Wars Reveal Charter Shortcomings
Recent reports in NOLA.com have described California charter school developer Steve Barr’s problems with expanding his charter concept to New Orleans. Barr has a contract with Oprah’s OWN network to produce a documentary series on his efforts to turnaround John McDonogh high school in New Orleans

Diane in the Evening 3-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 54 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Student Leader Is Running for Board of Education! Please Help! by dianerav Stephanie Rivera is a wonderful student activist in New Jersey. She is a junior at Rutgers and is preparing to be a career educator. Stephanie is running for the New Brunswick, NJ, school board! For the past 20 years, every member of the New Brunswick school board was appointed by the same mayor (you can see how that did not work). Next month is the town’s first school board election. Please help her in any way you can. She is a brave youn... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation

Missouri Education Watchdog: Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation:

Professor of Education Policy and Research Written Testimony Supporting the End of Common Core Standards Implementation

by stlgretchen

The following written testimony by Mark Garrison, Ph.D. was entered to support MO SB 210 and HB 616and end the implementation of Common Core State Standards:



EXPERT TESTIMONY OF MARK GARRISON, PH.D., IN OPPOSITION TO THE
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE (CCSSI).

March 3, 2013

Based on my research, I have concluded that the CCSSI should be opposed for four reasons.*
They are:

1. There is no evidence that the CCSSI will improve the quality of education, reduce
inequalities, or ensure students are prepared to contribute to society or engage in
higher learning. For example, researchers have compared states with higher standards
to those with less challenging ones, and found that the existence of higher, better or
clearer standards did not result in demonstrably better results on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or other international tests. There is,
however, a great deal of research that suggests the CCSSI will further narrow
curriculum, further mechanizing teaching. It needs to be understood that the archite