FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, April 2, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Judge adds twist to school yoga case

Education Headlines

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Bassett Unified Superintendent Martin Galindo resigns

History appears to be repeating itself at Bassett Unified where now the second district leader in less than three years has resigned because of irreparable tensions with the school board.

Temecula schools forming own special education plan

Temecula educators are a step closer to taking control over delivering special education programs to students.

Judge adds twist to school yoga case

A routine courtroom hearing to set a date for a lawsuit challenging yoga classes in Encinitas schools took an unexpected turn Thursday morning when the judge assigned to the case revealed that he practices yoga himself.

Denair schools need cash, new leadership

The Denair Unified School District will run out of money before year's end, its fiscal adviser predicts, but the district might avoid a devastating state takeover if it nails down its financial course and lines up new leadership.

Ripon educators receive lesson on 'critical incidents'

Teachers and administrators at Ripon High School on Monday received an education on how to handle and prepare for "critical incidents."

Monday, April 1, 2013

USDA snack rules will have indirect impact on schools

Newly proposed rules on the nutrition of snack foods that Chico schools don't produce and don't directly sell, are having an impact on the district's nutrition program.

11 O.C. districts expect trouble paying bills

Financial reports filed by Orange County's 28 school districts this month show that while fewer schools are facing cash problems than last year, 39 percent of districts are still reporting difficulty meeting their financial obligations.

Dublin schools to use drug-dog patrols again

Drug-sniffing dogs are returning to Dublin middle and high schools to deter students from bringing alcohol, drugs or weapons on campus.

When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post | School Finance 101

When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post | School Finance 101:

When Real Life Exceeds Satire: Comments on ShankerBlog’s April Fools Post

by schoolfinance101

Yesterday, Matt Di          Carlo over at Shankerblog put out his April fools post. The genius of the post is in its subtlety.  Matt put together a few graphs of longitudinal NAEP data showing that Maryland had made greater than average national gains on NAEP and then asserted that these gains must therefore be a function of some policy conditions that exist in Maryland. In the Post-RTTT era, Maryland has been the scorn of “reformers” because it just won’t get on board with large scale vouchers and charter expansion and has resisted follow through on test-score based teacher evaluation. Taking a poke a reformy logic, Matt asserted that perhaps the low charter share and lack of emphasis on test score based teacher evaluation… along with a dose of decent funding might be the cause of Maryland’s miracle!
Of course, these assertions are no more a stretch than commonly touted miracles in Texas in the 1990s, Floridaor Washington DC, most of which are derived from making loose connections between NAEP trend data and selective discussion of preferred policies that may have concurrently existed.  The difference is that Matt was poking fun at the idea of making bold, decisive, causal inferences from such data. Such data raise interesting questions.
What I found so fun and at the same time deeply disturbing about Matt’s post is that the assertions he made in 

The Big Swindle | Bill Ayers

The Big Swindle | Bill Ayers:

The Big Swindle

by billayers

The road to the massive cheating scandal in Atlanta (NY Times 3/30/2013) runs right through the White House.
The former superintendent, Dr. Beverly L. Hall, and her 34 obedient subordinates now face criminal charges, but the central role played by a group of un-indicted and largely unacknowledged co-conspirators, her powerful enablers, is barely noted.
Beyond her “strong relations with the business elite” who reportedly made her “untouchable” in Atlanta, she was a national super-star for more than a decade because her work embodied the shared educational policies of the Bush and Obama administrations. In the testing frenzy that characterized both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top Dr. Hall was a winner, consistently praised over many years by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for raising test scores, hosted at the White House in 2009 as superintendent of the year, and appointed in 2010 by President Obama to the National Board for Education Sciences. When the Atlanta scandal broke in 2011 Secretary Duncan rushed to assure the public that it was “very isolated” and “an easy one to fix.”
That’s not true. According to a recently released study by the independent monitoring group FairTest, cheating is 

Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education — Whole Child Education

Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Connecting the Dots to Whole Child Education

April 2, 2013 by Thom Markham

Yesterday's date: April 1, 2013.

Yesterday's lead education article: How should we handle homework?

Yesterday's lead statistic: ADHD diagnosed in 11 percent of U.S. children.

Today's question: Can we connect the dots?

No, this was not an April Fool's question. It's a simple scattergram, a graph of disparate facts and headlines arranged into no particular pattern—until you begin to probe and ponder.

It's possible to see no pattern, like the pictures that are supposed to show two different faces depending on your perspective, but you can never see the second one. From this perspective, the fact that 11 percent of our children have been diagnosed with dysfunctional brains is a shame. How sad that so many fine minds have been damaged by media, bad parenting, toxins, or other unknown causes. How difficult that makes our jobs as educators, as we're forced to contend with inattentive students, outbursts, lack of self-control, and other disruptions to our routine. How are we ever going to get these 11 percent to do their homework?

UPDATE: PSAT Part 1: A parent’s request to stop school closings + Never let a tragedy go to waste Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Never let a tragedy go to waste:

Never let a tragedy go to waste

by admin

Hadiya Pendleton’s mother, Cleopatra, and brother, Nathaniel, Jr.

Murdered CPS student Hadiya Pendleton’s family is moving forward with plans for an anti-violence foundation in her honor. Bless their efforts – we hope this project gives them some measure of comfort.
According to the Tribune, others  are looking to see how they can get involved, too, though motivation in some of these cases may be more complicated:

Along with Emanuel and the Obamas, other high-profile people have reached out, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Shayne Evans, director of the 

PSAT Part 1: A parent’s request to stop school closings

by admin

From Melissa Lindberg and Democracy for America:
I’m the parent of a child who attends a Chicago public school. Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to institute the largest wave of public school closings in US history right here in our city, all so he can open private charter schools to replace them.
I strongly oppose these closings. Every community deserves strong, public, union-protected schools. Join me in leading the movement to resist the privatization of Chicago public schools.
Closing public schools is bad for the students and neighborhoods affected. It’s bad for special needs children. It’s bad for Chicago teachers. And privatization deals almost always have hidden costs — when Washington, DC

PSAT for 4-2-13 Part 2: Save the date for MTAS Play-In!

by admin

More Than a Score is sponsoring a Play In at CPS to drive home the message that children need play.
The youngest learners in Chicago Public Schools are facing multiple standardized tests—as many as 14 in some kindergarten classrooms—inappropriate amounts of seatwork, homework, and a lack of opportunities for play, exploration, and creativity.
We know that young children learn through play. We want opportunities for play, the arts, and active exploration returned to early childhood classrooms across this city.
Come before report card pick up to demonstrate the power of play to the CPS Board of Education:
Wednesday April 17th
9:30-11am
CPS headquarters, 125 S. Clark St., Chicago
Help organize or share your concerns about the removal of play from early childhood education by joining our Facebook group.
Sign up for the Play-In!

Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching Specialties - US News and World Report

Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching Specialties - US News and World Report:

Hiring Heats Up in K-12 Teaching Specialties

Changing curriculum standards and demographics are driving demand for teachers in various specialties.

By RETT FISHER

April 2, 2013 RSS Feed Print

Job openings for K-12 teachers who specialize in special education and STEM fields are increasing.

Big changes in education, driven by changing curriculum standards, demographics and diagnoses of kids with special needs, are creating opportunities for graduates with the right skill sets. Josh Fernandez is one new teacher who has capitalized on these changes. In 2008, Fernandez, a communications grad of East Carolina University, began working as a paraprofessional at Maryland's Gaithersburg High School, helping a paraplegic student with his day-to-day activities.

Realizing that he'd found his calling, Fernandez pursued a 

UPDATE: I’m not an educator. I just play one while working at the state capital. Interesting info on data points from #SXSWedu – @ the chalk face

@dianeravitch is talking about @shankerinst who’s talking about MD – @ the chalk face:

#edTPA fun fact number one…

by Chalk Face, PhD

… you can successfully “calibrate” your ability as a scorer by putting in all 3′s on the five point score scale, without ever reading the actual TPA document.
And that was edTPA fun facts, brought to you by At the Chalk Face

Student writes #YOLO on his test and is suspended, #stuvoice?

by Chalk Face, PhD

TX high schooler suspended for refusing to take standardized test,writing “YOLO :)” on it & turning it in: gawker.com/5993322/school… #FreeKyron
— Micah Uetricht (@micahuetricht) April 2, 2013

I’m not an educator. I just play one while working at the state capital.

by Timothy D. Slekar

Yesterday, Carnegie Mellon University English professor Kathy M. Newman published an opinion piece about high stakes testing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that has since gone viral.  The title was simple: Why I Won’t Let My Son Take The PSSA.  The passage itself was powerful and very well articulated.  For example after talking about the problems the PSSAs (NCLB tests in PA) were causing at home, Professor Newman said:

Then one day this March it dawned on me. I am getting angry at my son about a test. A test that I do not like. A “high-stakes” test that will put so much pressure on Jacob that it probably will not reflect his true abilities. I also realized something else: Jacob does not love to read.
After doing some research and talking with other parents, my husband and I decided to “opt out” Jacob from the PSSA tests. We are opting him out because we do not like what high-stakes tests are doing to Jacob, to our family, to his teachers, to his school and, ultimately, to our entire education system.

I immediately thought of my son Luke and how at the point of frustration

@dianeravitch is talking about @shankerinst who’s talking about MD

by Chalk Face, PhD

I’m in MD. Might I know something about it?
I don’t really follow Matt Di Carlo, but I have to say that I don’t quite get the satire. If you have to explain it’s satire, then I think you missed it. Stick to what you know, best advice.
In any event, MD gets some pretty good results, if by results you rely on test scores. But the NAEP is something that I can live with. MD has numerous very wealthy counties, like Howard and Montgomery. Rich kids carry the state, while other kids languish in Baltimore City, PG County, or Dundalk. I think this is the reason for such high scores. You have to be the richest of the absolute rich to afford private schools, so most of the affluent still rely on decent public schools in their areas.
MD is a right to work state, so the unions aren’t really so powerful.
MD did implement market-based reforms, with increased testing

Interesting info on data points from #SXSWedu and #edtech community, @leoniehaimson

by Chalk Face, PhD

To what extent will data be used in schools, if the tech gurus get their way:

The personalized learning that ed-tech pioneers are talking about now involves using data points like test scores, attendance and, perhaps someday, information about students gathered from games or their internet searches, to home [sic] in what students need academically. Maybe more high-tech systems and detailed data would have helped teachers recognize how far behind many students were on the path to graduation. [emphasis added]

Who on earth, especially in their school, would have or should have info on students’ internet searches? Hey wait, didn’t a school get sued for snapping webcam photos of students on school issued laptops? YES, AND THE DISTRICT SETTLED!
This is a huge privacy issue and we shouldn’t let any ham-fisted argument, like the following, convince us to give 

Conspiracy theories. | Fred Klonsky

Conspiracy theories. | Fred Klonsky:

Conspiracy theories.

by Fred Klonsky

“A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what’s going on.”  - William S. Burroughs.
Some pundits (Yes. I’m looking at you Eric Zorn and Laura Washington) have dismissed the accusation of racism when it comes to school closings.
They sneer at Karen Lewis for suggesting such a thing as the Mayor closes schools that are over 90% African-American in a district with 42% African-American enrollment.
I wonder what they will say if and when lawyers go into federal court and file a civil rights complaint against the CPS? What if a judge orders an injunction?
Will these pundits side with the board?
CTU President Lewis has called on families to show up at their schools on opening day.
Will these critics stand in the school-house door?
There is another issue which could be even more of an Achilles Heel for the Mayor’s

It’s time to stand up against Chicago’s school closings. VIDEO.

by Fred Klonsky

Popout
 

Ten minute drawing. Counting the protesters.

by Fred Klonsky

Click on drawing to enlarge.

The Atlanta Cheating Scandal

The Atlanta Cheating Scandal:

The Atlanta Cheating Scandal

by Sam

There was a good conversation last night on the new prime time MSNBC Chris Hayes show about the Atlanta Cheating scandal. Still waiting to see if the investigation in DC ever gets as extensive as this — and, if it does, to what extent it exposes similar willful ignorance:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NYC Educator: UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition

NYC Educator: UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition:

UFT's Fake Opposition Hates Being Called Fake Opposition

by NYC Educator

Someone just sent me an email received from the New Action Caucus. Most of it is not of any interest, but I was struck by this:

MORE has shifted its campaign - from attacking Unity to attacking Unity/New Action. We weren't really expecting this, but it's not a great surprise either. (Even though they assured us a few months ago that they would not do this).  Looks like they panicked when they saw how widely our literature had gotten out.

We haven't responded, at least not yet. We don't think too many people will be fooled.  It's pretty obvious that New Action is independent of Unity, supports them when they are right, opposes them when they are wrong, and tries to point them in the right direction when they are in between. 

There are several issues here. One is the plain, unvarnished fact that Unity-New Action is a partnership. Unity cross-endorses ten New Action members, and in return, New Action endorses Michael Mulgrew and pretends to be an opposition. The notion that Unity 

Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Trying to Understand the KIPP Approach

by Deborah Meier

Today, Deborah Meier starts a month-long blog conversation with Elliott Witney, a former KIPP educator who now serves as the executive director of strategic initiatives and innovation in the Spring Branch independent school district in Houston, Texas. Mr. Witney was school leader at the first KIPP—Knowledge Is Power Program—charter school for 10 years.

Dear Elliott,
First, thank you for agreeing to take part with me in this public discussion. I think this is a particularly interesting and important discussion to have because we are associated with reform movements that, in many people's minds, could hardly be further apart. And, probably, I'd have agreed, until our mutual friend, Emily Gasoi (with whom I rarely disagree) studied KIPP Houston, for her dissertation research. She suggested that we might find considerable common ground.
Emily's commendations aside, however, I'm generally predisposed to a negative reaction to the KIPP model—both for its reputation for accomplishing testing "miracles" and for its approach to discipline. Some years ago I visited a KIPP school that both challenged and reaffirmed some of these preconceptions. Talking with the KIPP teachers I felt more comfortable than I expected. They said they had a lot of autonomy in directing the work of 

UPDATE: Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago Schools Matter: Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7

Schools Matter: Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7:

Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago

by Jim Horn

Click to enlarge.

Why I Am Going to DC April 4-7

by Jim Horn

I am coming to ODOE2 to remember and honor so many who cannot come and for so many of the forgotten victims of high stakes standardized testing.

I am coming to DC for that Louisiana 4^th grader in 2002 whose heart could be heard pounding across the desk by the teacher who had to tell him he would be in the 4^th grade for the third time because he didn’t pass the state test.

I am coming to DC for that other 4^th grade child who scooted from his wheelchair and hid under the bed, for god’s sakes, because he was ashamed to tell his mother he had failed the test again.

I am coming to DC for unknown numbers of the kids who have hurt themselves because a test labeled them as failures.

I am coming to DC for those in prison who learned failure at an early age by high stakes testing.

I am coming to DC for the parents who attended all the “Lean on Jesus” test prep prayer meetings hoping for a miracle.

I am coming to DC for the tens of thousands of teachers and principals whose 

Charter schools possess no magic formula: Opposing view:

Charter schools possess no magic formula: Opposing view

More money gives KIPP schools an edge.

(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• KIPP received, on average, as much as $5,760 more per pupil than local school districts.
• KIPP gives students more time in schools while placing a reasonable limit on class sizes.
• Given the additional money, public schools can certainly emulate this approach.

Studies of charter schools have usually shown they provide no benefits. But studies of schools run by KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) have shown strong performance. A new study suggests that KIPP middle schools may boost test-score growth by as much as eight months to eleven months over three years.

What sets KIPP apart from other middle schools? The core of the formula is clear: Students learn when they have opportunities to learn. So we would expect to see that the opportunities to learn are different at KIPP.

OUR VIEW: Charter school experiment a success

They are. But I doubt it's because of teaching methods or some magic charter formula. The true secret is more money, something public schools are starving to get. In 11 districts in the 2007 school year, KIPP received, on average, as much as$5,760 more per pupil than local school districts, according to a recent study. KIPP leverages this generous supplemental private funding in a straightforward way: giving students more time in schools while placing a reasonable 

Federal Judge Orders Michelle Rhee Suit to Go Forward, will Broaden to Concealment and Fraud Claims:

Federal Judge Orders Michelle Rhee Suit to Go Forward, will Broaden to Concealment and Fraud Claims

A US federal judge has denied a Motion to Dismiss by former DC Public School Chancellor Michelle Rhee in a wrongful termination lawsuit over the mass firings of DC Public School teachers back in 2009. Case to be amended to add concealment and fraud claims against Rhee and her CFO Noah Wepman.

For nearly three years, efforts by hundreds of DC Public School teachers who were victims of the much publicized mass firings by former Chancellor Michelle Rhee- herself hailed as a reformer and darling of major media- have failed to gain any traction in the courts.

However, in what may be a turning of that tide, US District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras has denied Rhee’s motion to dismiss claims by a music teacher that his firing was concocted by using a misapplied or non-existent job title to enable his poor evaluation and subsequent firing.

The suit involves Willie J. Brewer Jr., a 53-year-old teacher who worked for DCPS for 28 years before being terminated in October of 2009 due to “budgetary constraints” under a RIF (Reduction in Force). Under this circumstance, the pecking order of teachers to be terminated as determined by Rhee, were first those with poor performance evaluations. However, Brewer claims he was an instrumental music teacher and that his RIF competitive standing was erroneously governed by the standards for a vocal music teacher, a position that required a skill set different from his own. As a result, Brewer claims he scored a poor evaluation and was terminated.

Brewer has set out to prove that his circumstance was not the result of mere error but an illegal systematic effort by Rhee to replace teachers en masse- perhaps supported by Rhee’s own public statements regarding her ideology to aggressively fire, en masse, teachers she deems as failing.

(Read Judge Contreras’ Memorandum and Order for US District Court for the District of Columbia Civil Action No. 11-1206 http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?

Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial — MSNBC

Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial — MSNBC:

Atlanta cheating scandal puts national education policy on trial

Ned Resnikoff, @resnikoff

1:09 PM on 04/01/2013

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In this file photo taken Jan. 18, 2011 Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall, center, speaks with school board member LaChandra Butler Parks, left, and Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, vice chair of the board, right, during the city’s specially called public school board meeting in Atlanta. On Friday, Hall was indicted for allegedly conspiring to cheat on standardized tests across the Atlanta school system. (Photo by David Goldman/AP Photo, File)

The long-simmering cheating scandal in Atlanta public schools exploded Friday when a Fulton County Grand Jury indicted former Atlantic Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 other education professionals in the school district. According to astatement from the office of the Fulton County District Attorney, the indicted parties allegedly “conspired to either cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers” in order to boost the school district’s scores on Georgia’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT).

Prosecutors say that the educators cheated on the CRCT in order to reap “the benefit of financial rewards associated with high test scores.” Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), school districts which turn in low standardized test scores could be seriously penalized and even lose federal aid. Critics of NCLB and other recent school