UPDATE: Every Chicago public school is my school. Our schools. VIDEO + The in box. + I’m stickin’ to the union. | Fred Klonsky

I’m stickin’ to the union. | Fred Klonsky:

Every Chicago public school is my school. Our schools. VIDEO

by Fred Klonsky

Popout

The in box. The union movement will be a youth movement.

by Fred Klonsky

Fred, may I tell you a quick story?
I was a local prez of an urban local here in Massachusetts. I heard repeatedly over the years that young teachers don’t “get” unions any more, that they “don’t understand” and that they won’t stick to the union.
In 2007 we were on strike, with 100% participation. Not one scab. Every young teachers, too. They were great. So, we’re picketing in the city square, and we are done and leaving. A reporter comes up to me and says, “So what’s the mayor’s press conference about?”
I said, “Press conference?” Damn, everybody had already left. Except a group of the young teachers. I told them about the sneak conference the Mayor was trying to have. They pulled out their phones and texted like madmen…and women. I’m old…I just watched. A half hour later I had 350 people who came back justlikethat.

I’m stickin’ to the union.

by Fred Klonsky

Popout.
In 1957 when my family was moving from Philly to LA in a 1951 black Mercury, we did what any American family would do when driving mile after mile after mile.
We sang.
This was before the completion of the interstate highway system and we were on old Route 66. Mile after mile after mile.
We had no money and dad had spent a couple of hundred buck on the old beater. To make the final part of the journey across the Mojave desert in the middle of the night, Dad had my brother and me chew gum to stick on

The iZone and the valley of death | Digital

The iZone and the valley of death | Digital:

The iZone and the valley of death

by Anya Kamenetz

Popout The Gap App from NYCDOE iZone on Vimeo.

If you hang around conferences, incubators or hackathons devoted to K-12 blended learning, you'll constantly hear people lament the so-called "valley of death"--the slowness of the public procurement process in particular, and bureaucracy in general, that provide an unbridgeable divide between innovations and students, teachers and classrooms. There's a metabolism mismatch here: In Silicon Valley the mantra is "fail fast" and an organization that spends 18 months and several million dollars before closing down without impacting many users isn't necessarily considered a failure, just a bump in the learning process. In public schools, that is a scandal. But there are emerging solutions. In Slate, Katherine Mangu-Ward, a writer with a conservative and libertarian background, asks if onerous regulations and teachers' unions will "kill" virtual learning. She calls seat-time and line-of-sight requirements that demand that students be physically in front of teachers for a certain number of hours per day or per year outdated, given the current reality of blended, hybrid, competency-based, and distance learning. And she calls teachers unions "obtuse" for suing to limit the number of children in charter schools, to close virtual schools, and to try to limit enrollment in such schools to the physical districts where online schools are based. Over on Pandodaily, a tech news site that is spending this month plunging into the world of online 

UPDATE: Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Standards and JC Penney's: Tales of Failure?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Standards and JC Penney's: Tales of Failure?:

Message to DESE: Please Allow Comments and Questions on Your Common Core Videos

by stlgretchen

The latest from DESE and another Common Core video:

Do we have to wait until Chris Nicastro comes to town hall meetings (if Senate Bill 210 passes) to discuss Common Core and ask questions?  Two main points in this video: Common Core standards will ensure students are successful and this principal talks about the time that would be wasted if the standards were not implemented.  What she doesn't tell you is that these standards that she thinks will make students successful are untested and non-researched.  How can she make these claims?

With all due respect, I would like to ask this teacher what she thinks about these articles about Common Core in kindergarten and the resulting disaster on children:

•  http://www.edweek.org/media/joint_statement_on_core_standards.pdf....Statement signed by 

And Yet Another Teacher Says "Enough"

by stlgretchen

Here is another letter from a teacher disillusioned with Common Core and other special interest education reform mandates.  I don't know where this teacher is from, but she might as well have been from Missouri because, well, we are ALL "common".  How will DESE spin this letter?  What will be different in Missouri since we are all under the same mandates?

 From bgfay750blogspot.com and I am a teacher, and I am tired:

*********************************************************************** 
by savanna 

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

Common Core Standards and JC Penney's: Tales of Failure?

by stlgretchen

The Wall Street Journal wrote about Ron Johnson leaving as Penney's CEO as the company has floundered under his leadership.  One paragraph caught my eye and could be applied to the adoption/implementation Common Core process.  From Penney CEO Out, Old Boss Back In:

The board's decision ends a brief and turbulent career in the corner office for Mr. Johnson. He arrived at Penney to great fanfare in November 2011, but lost the confidence of directors and investors after he rolled out an ambitious plan to reinvent Penney's stores without following the usual retail practice of testing the changes first. Sales tanked, with no sign of improvement. In the most recent fourth quarter, including the crucial holiday season, sales dropped 28.4%, contributing to a net loss of $552 million, the worst of the year. 

Mr. Johnson's ambitious plan to reinvent stores without first running a retail test to determine if the plan 

Teacher Quits Because of Common Core. How Would DESE Respond?

by stlgretchen

From the Washington Post and Teacher’s resignation letter: ‘My profession … no longer exists’:

STEM rules the day and “data driven” education seeks only conformity, standardization, testing and a zombie-like adherence to the shallow and generic Common Core, along with a lockstep of oversimplified so-called Essential Learnings. Creativity, academic freedom, teacher autonomy, experimentation and innovation are being stifled in a misguided effort to fix what is not broken in our system of public education and particularly not at Westhill.

A long train of failures has brought us to this unfortunate pass. In their pursuit of Federal tax dollars, our legislators have failed us by selling children out to private industries such as Pearson Education. The New York State United Teachers union has let down its membership by failing to mount a much more effective and vigorous campaign against this same costly and dangerous debacle. Finally, it is with sad reluctance that I say our own administration has been both 

Louisiana Educator: Attacks on the Teaching Profession Continue

Louisiana Educator: Attacks on the Teaching Profession Continue:

Attacks on the Teaching Profession Continue

by Michael Deshotels

HB 478 by Representative Simone Champagne who represents Iberia and Vermilion Parishes is purportedly an attempt to keep the best teachers in the classroom when teacher layoffs are necessary. (Click on the bill number to see the bill) It would do away with all seniority rights of teachers in determining the teachers selected for layoff and would instead use the teacher's ranking on the new Act 54 evaluation system. This means that the teachers ranking lowest on the evaluation system would be the first to be laid off. To the average observer, this may seem to be a fair and logical method for determining which teachers will stay and which will go in the event of a layoff. But let me explain the serious pitfalls of such a system.

Suppose a school system experiences a drop of student enrollment because maybe a large employer in the area shifts operations to another state causing many families to move. Suppose the local Superintendent determines that four teachers must be laid off from grades 3 through 5 out of a teaching staff totaling 25 

Schools Matter: Tennessee's Latest Stupidity: Take Food Away from Hungry Kids for Not Passing the State Test

Schools Matter: Tennessee's Latest Stupidity: Take Food Away from Hungry Kids for Not Passing the State Test:

Tennessee's Latest Stupidity: Take Food Away from Hungry Kids for Not Passing the State Test

by Jim Horn

I was in my hometown of Erin, TN for their Irish Day Celebration in March, and I was talking to an old friend of mine, now a judge.  It occurred to both of as we were talking that when we were growing up there in the 60s, our town and our state was a much richer place with more to offer and more to gain.  Since then the state's politics and policies have become increasingly conservative as most people in the state have become poorer, less healthy, and more desperate.   And so today we see a kind of proto-fascist extremism in the state legislature and the Governor's Mansion that leverages its corporate power through hate, divisiveness, fear, resentment, 

Opt Out's Four Day Occupation Video Archive

by Jim Horn

In mid-livestream, you might say.  Find other speeches here.

Arne Duncan's Next $5 Billion Corporate Bonanza Based on Same Mythology

by Jim Horn

For years the ostensible guru of value-added testing, Bill Sanders, told anyone who would listen that teachers are the most important factor influencing student achievement.  When Richard Rothstein, Gene Glass, and others pointed out the obvious falsity of this lie, the language shifted among corporate ed reformers to argue that teachers are the most important school-based factor in raising student achievement.

Well, that is sort of accurate in a misleading sort of way, with some caveats and contextual factors to consider, which has led even the conservative Education Writers Association to conclude that

Research has shown that the variation in student achievement is predominantly a 

Shanker Blog » The Plural Of Anecdote Is Data

Shanker Blog » The Plural Of Anecdote Is Data:

The Plural Of Anecdote Is Data

by Esther Quintero

Last week, I attended a Center for American Progress (CAP) discussion, where UC Berkeley professor David Kirp spoke about his research on Union City’s school system, and offered some ideas from his new book,Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools.
Kirp’s work and Union City have received a lot of attention in the last month or so, and while most find the story heartening, a few commentators have had more skeptical reactions. True, this is the story of one district in onestate finding success through collaboration and hard work, but research from other disciplines – sociology, business, management, organizational studies – suggests that similar human dynamics can be observed in settings other than schools and school districts. I would like to situate Kirp’s work in this broader framework; that is, among a myriad of studies – case studies, if you will – pointing to the same fundamental phenomena.
Union City is a community with an unemployment rate 60 percent higher than the national average, where three-

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Governor Malloy of Connecticut Opposes School Funding Lawsuit

by dianerav

This is a sad reversal for Connecticut’s poorest children.
As a candidate for governor, Dannell Malloy supported a lawsuit that would guarantee that the children of the state have a constitutional right to a quality education.
Now that he is governor, he is trying to quash the lawsuit he once supported.
Go figure.

Burris to Parents: The Common Core Assessments Are “Bunk”

by dianerav

Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Rockville Center, New York, explains here why parents should take the results of the new Common Core assessments with more than a grain of salt.
They will be used in New York to determine whether students ages 8-14 are “college-ready.” Can you imagine that? A test taken by a child of 8 will tell you whether he or she is college ready!

Illinois House Blocks Online Charters

by dianerav

The Illinois House moved to set a three-year moratorium on virtual charter schools after some suburban districts rejected them.
I wonder if the representatives understand that the quality of cyber charters is low, test scores are low, graduation rates are low. And the quality of education is poor.
But the companies make big profits.

EduShyster Skewers Mark Zuckerberg

by dianerav

Really, EduShyster has done it again.
The rich, powerful, and famous end up as toast when skewered by her sharp satirical lance.
In this post, she has Wonder Boy Mark Zuckerberg solving the problem of the “skillz gap” by hiring a rightwing operative to run a national campaign. This campaign will use our public schools as the enemy, the schools that fail to provide the entry-level workers (willing to work for less), thus making it necessary for him to import foreign talent (willing to work for less).
What will those hapless billionaires think of next?

The Big Money Behind Parent Revolution

by dianerav

You have no doubt heard the story of Parent Revolution. That is the group that wants to “empower” parents to seize control of their schools so they can turn it overto a charter operator.
The founder of Parent Revolution previously worked for Green Dot charters. Then he got funded by Walton, Gates, and Broad to start Parent Revolution.
A typical corporate reform sham since there are no parents involved, unless you count Ben Austin, the executive 

Chicago: CPS Underestimates Harm to Children

by dianerav

A new report from CReATE, an organization of education researchers in Chicago, says that the Chicago Public Schools dramatically underestimated the number of children who will be affected by the mass elimination of public schools in that city.
No one will ever accuse CPS of undue compassion, concern, or attention to the city’s neediest children. As their legacy, they will be remembered for their cold and ruthless indifference to the children who are most at risk.
Please read the CReATE report:
“CReATE Researchers on Impact of Proposed School Closing”
CReATE researchers Josh Radinsky and Federico Waitoller (University of Illinois-Chicago) have prepared a report 

Gary Rubinstein Visits a KIPP High School and Finds…..

by dianerav

By now, we have all read the encomia heaped on KIPP, and we know that KIPP presumably has what Mayor Rahm Emanuel once referred to as the “secret sauce.” That is the extra ingredient that
magically turns ordinary kids into scholars bound for Harvard.
Gary Rubinstein, ex-TFA, went to visit a KIPP school. He didn’t see the magic. He saw young teachers struggling to control their classes.
Read it to see what goes on, and be sure to read the comments

Diane in the Evening 4-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Jersey Jazzman: Is NY Commissioner John King a Hypocrite? by dianerav Jersey Jazzman is really steamed about NY State Commissioner John King. Is it because he wants to share the personal, confidential data of ll the state’s public school students with a marketing consortium? Is it because he is pushing the Common Core standards without first determining how they will affect real Connecticut OKs Charter Executive to State Board by dianerav Jonathan Pelto reports that the Connecticut House approved the nominati... more »

UPDATE: Don’t let the word Democrat confuse you… - Wait, What?

Don’t let the word Democrat confuse you… - Wait, What?:

Adamowski says Windham Stem Academy Magnet Operations Plan being “revised” and “clarified”

by jonpelto

Adamowski even says it will be voted on by the Windham Board of Education…

At the Windham Board of Education meeting last night, April 11, 2013, Special Master Stephen Adamowski finally addressed the issue of the Operations Plan for the Charles H. Barrows Stem Academy

It would be difficult, if not impossible, for Wait, What? readers not to know the story surrounding the infamous Windham STEM Academy Operations Plan.

Under Connecticut law, a magnet school must have an approved Operations Plan on file with the State Department of Education.

Apparently, Special Master Adamowski has managed to have multiple versions of an Operations Plan filed.  The only problem is not one of them was (a) accurate or (b) 

Don’t let the word Democrat confuse you…

by jonpelto

Connecticut Mirror, March 22, 2010;

“The state Supreme Court [ruled] that Connecticut schoolchildren are guaranteed an adequate standard of quality in their public schools — a crucial legal victory for a coalition seeking to force a dramatic increase in state spending on education.”

Connecticut Mirror, April 10, 2013:

“State moves to dismiss long-standing challenge to education funding

Calling their demands “extreme and radical” as a trial draws nearer, the Connecticut attorney general has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by parents and educators demanding more funding for education.

In a motion to dismiss filed earlier this year, Attorney General George C. Jepsen argues that the education problems in the complaint dating back to 2003 have since been addressed by lawmakers through the changes to state law made in 2012.”

So there you have it.  Democrat Attorney General, George Jepsen, calling the Connecticu

Parent Trigger Removes Parents Seat at the Table | Scathing Purple Musings

Parent Trigger Removes Parents Seat at the Table | Scathing Purple Musings:

Parent Trigger Removes Parents Seat at the Table

by Bob Sikes

Parent Trigger makes a stop at the Senate Education Appropriations Committee today. A well-paid lobbyist or two from Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future will be there and insists that the bill is all about giving parents a seat at the table. We found out yesterday that this mantra isn’t even true.  Miami Herald writer Daniel Shoer Roth took a closer look at what happened at the other California school where Parent Trigger was successfully utilized.

In California, Parent Revolution, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group, trained and provided pro bono services to the Desert Trail Parent Union. Following the group’s advice, the parents distributed two petitions. The first one sought to reform the school through class-size reductions, extending school hours, acquiring more technological resources for students and requiring master’s degrees for teachers. The second one, which would supposedly be used only as a way of pressuring Adelanto school district officials to accept the terms of the first petition, proposed 

How two South Georgia districts ended segregated proms: Lessons from Turner and Montgomery counties | Get Schooled

How two South Georgia districts ended segregated proms: Lessons from Turner and Montgomery counties | Get Schooled:

How two South Georgia districts ended segregated proms: Lessons from Turner and Montgomery counties

by Maureen Downey

Two nearby school districts have already gone through what Wilcox County is facing: ending the practice of private segregated proms. (AP Images.)

Veteran educator Henry Walding used to joke that if he ever became a high school principal, he would do away with prom.
Now principal of Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon, Walding will spend Saturday night chaperoning his school’s first official prom in nearly a half century.
And the prom is integrated, which wasn’t always the case in this small southeast Georgia district where white and black students once attended separate proms.
In the aftermath of 1970s-era integration, many small-town Southern white parents didn’t want race mixing at social events, while administrators feared proms would exacerbate tensions around the closing and merging of 

Announcing Student Voice Live!’s Keynote Speaker: Andrew Jenks Student Voice

Student Voice:

Announcing Student Voice Live!’s Keynote Speaker: Andrew Jenks

by admin

Andrew Jenks is an award-winning filmmaker, host of MTV’s critically-acclaimed series “World of Jenks,” and author of Andrew Jenks: My Adventures as a Young Filmmaker.

In 2010, Jenks created the innovative documentary series “World of Jenks” for MTV. In each 30 minute episode, we saw Jenks live with a different person (from a homeless teen to a rapper) for a week, giving audiences a glimpse into their lives. With more than one million viewers per episode, the first season of “The World of Jenks” was a strong addition to MTV’s lineup.

The second season of “World of Jenks” not only follows the unforgettable journey of three young people over six months, but also follows Jenks’ journey as being a part of their lives. It premiered March 4, 2013 as the #1 series in its timeslot among 12-34 year-olds. In Season 2’s new one-hour format, Jenks follows the lives of D-Real, Chad and Kaylin, and along the way, gives viewers a raw look at their struggles to overcome the constant threat of gun violence, the challenges of living with autism, and battling the fear of cancer returning at such a young age. The show airs Monday nights at 11:00pm EST/PST on MTV.

Scholastic released Jenks’ first book on March 1, 2013: Andrew Jenks: My Adventures as a Young Filmmaker, a collection of personal stories and anecdotes, along with Jenks’ own photographs and images of sentimental memorabilia, and inspiring life lessons.

Jenks led MTV’s Election coverage by informing, engaging and amplifying the voices of his generation throughout the 2012 election. As the face of MTV’s “Power of 12” campaign, Jenks spoke with young voters around the country, elevating the issues they care about through a 

After the Billionaires Kick Down Teachers and Students, Who Is Next? | toteachornototeach

After the Billionaires Kick Down Teachers and Students, Who Is Next? | toteachornototeach:

After the Billionaires Kick Down Teachers and Students, Who Is Next?

by aristotlethewise

After the Billionaires Kick Down 
Teachers and Students, Who Is Next?

by John Thompson
Commentator Jim Hightower’s metaphor nailed the latest assaults launched by the bubble-in school “reform” movement. The quotable Texan observes that a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked.
Over the last 20 years ago, non-educators have stumbled over our troubled inner city schools. These elite do-gooders were shocked that poverty still existed. Because the post-modern world was bestowing great bounty on them, the “Billionaires Boys Club” assumed that poor children of color just needed to follow their footsteps into the digital economy. Without bothering to study the complex history of urban education, numbers-driven “reformers” adopted the venture capitalist’s model of “disruptive innovation.” These do-gooders made the snap judgment that the way to help kids was to destroy the system that they defined as the “status quo.”
So, with the best of intentions, these novices assumed the mantle of “accountability.” Market-driven “reformers” set out to destroy education schools, teachers’ due process, and local systems of governance. These accountability hawks had great political success, but educationally they failed. Corporate “reformers” never understood why it is easier to kick down a barn than to build one. So, tens of billions of dollars has been wasted 

Update: Tony Smith and AIMS - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Update: Tony Smith and AIMS - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

Update: Tony Smith and AIMS

By awoodall
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 at 4:39 pm in charter schools, lawsuits, OUSD central office, superintendent search, Tony Smith, Uncategorized.

At 6 p.m. tonight, the OUSD board is expected to speak publicly for the first time about the resignation of schools superintendent Tony Smith last week. There is nothing on the agenda but the board will say a few words and maybe we should expect some public comment.

In the meantime, at 5 p.m., AIPCS teachers will be “laying all details on the table” about efforts to oust AIMS board members Jean Martinez and Nedir Bey.  The teachers have invited parents and the public tonight (at the AIPCS II campus, 171 12th St.) to hear why the two should leave the board — as of tomorrow, Thursday. I can’t get to the rally tonight because of a breaking story and the OUSD board meeting at 6 p.m.

“Our goal is to inform the public, and put pressure on Dr. Jean Martinez and Nedir Bey to resign,” an AIMS teacher wrote in an email about their efforts.

Bey and Martinez are allies of former AIMS Director Ben Chavis, accused of fraud by state auditors. The OUSD board yanked the schools’ charter on March 20.

As long as Martinez and Bey are on the board, the thinking goes, Chavis is not far behind pulling the puppet strings. And as long as that’s the case, AIMS doesn’t