Thursday, April 18, 2013

UPDATE: Luetkemeyer Addresses Common Core Concerns With Arne Duncan + Peacefully Surrendering Our Republic | Truth in American Education

Peacefully Surrendering Our Republic | Truth in American Education:

Luetkemeyer Addresses Common Core Concerns With Arne Duncan

by Shane Vander Hart

Via Missouri Coalition Against Common Core:

Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) has written, and is gathering co-signers in Washington for, a letter expressing serious concerns with the manner in which the US Department of Education has involved itself with Common Core standards. The letter also notes the highly irregular process used to change the Congressional FERPA allowing the sharing of individual student records. The letter was written with the oversight of the House Education & Workforce Committee and already has interest from republican representatives in UT, IN, KS, MN, MI and even a democrat in IL.

Here is the letter:

Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer’s Letter to U.S Education Secretary Arne Duncan

Please contact your member of Congress and ask them to cosign this letter. We also need to encourage our members of Congress to work to strip any Common Core funding with upcoming House appropriations bills.

The post Luetkemeyer Addresses Common Core Concerns With Arne Duncan appeared first on Truth in American Education.

Peacefully Surrendering Our Republic

by Karen Schroeder

As Americans surrendered their educational system to the federal government, they also surrendered their republic.

During the 1960s, educational expert Benjamin S. Bloom wrote a set of Handbooks I through III which shaped ten educational goals for public schools. Nine of those goals focused upon changing the values and belief systems of American children so they would embrace Bloom’s vision of a “world view”. I remember that history textbooks used in my classroom in the 1970s typically provided only two sentences about America’s republic. One contained a superficial definition and the other stated that America was a republic. The rest of the chapter praised democracies.

We teachers had the freedom to provide supplemental materials that informed students that America’s founders were historians who were well informed about governments. Many teachers explained that our founders created a republic which provided God-given freedoms that cannot be taken away. Students read the writings of our founders which identified the many dangers inherent in democracies.

Those students would usually correctly answer questions about the type of government formed by the American Constitution. Students of dedicated teachers who diligently taught exactly what the textbook provided would remember wonderful things about a democracy and assume that America was a democracy.

Common Core State Standards and the International Baccalaureate curriculum share the same ten educational goals advanced by Bloom but with greater emphasis on transforming America. CCSS and IB focus on teaching

Am I Who I Say I Am? | My Island View

Am I Who I Say I Am? | My Island View:

Am I Who I Say I Am?

by tomwhitby

I just spent the morning viewing a livestream from an Education Forum from Education Week. For those who may be unaware a livestream is a live transmission of an event over the Internet. This was a forum that recognized Education Leaders. It was titled Leaders To Learn From 2013. I think what Education Week did was great and I hope not to diminish their contribution. I do have some observations that I would like to share.
My friend and colleague Kyle Pace, @kylepace, was the person who drew me to this forum. Kyle is a connected educator known to tens of thousands of educators as a collaborative, connected educator who engages people with knowledge and information in the realm of technology in education. If any educator deserves an award for collaborative leadership, Kyle would top my list of candidates. It is a well-deserved recognition.
What struck me about the other award winners recognized for their leadership accomplishments that other educators are supposed to learn from was that we as an education community have not heard from them before? I realize that not all educators are connected through social media. It also seems to me as an observer of social

Punishing Students For Who They Are, Not What They Do | The Nation

Punishing Students For Who They Are, Not What They Do | The Nation:

Punishing Students For Who They Are, Not What They Do

Chloe Angyal on April 17, 2013 - 10:05 AM ET

A student reads at a school in New Jersey. One in four black students were suspended in 2009-10, compared to one in fourteen white students. (AP Photo/Jose F. Moreno.)

Until last month, I had never seen a stop-and-frisk happen. Despite the amount of attention devoted to the controversial New York City policy in the last year, despite the protests, and despite having lived in the city for almost four years, I had never witnessed a stop-and-frisk. And then, a few weeks ago, I watched as two policemen stopped middle-aged black man on 98^th Street, and frisked him. I wondered, not for the first time, what it would take for those same policemen to stop and frisk me. Controlling for all other factors—location, time of day, behavior—what would it take for the cops to stop and frisk a pretty white lady on the Upper West Side?

Somewhere in America, there’s a politically aware white high school student asking himself the same question, not about stop-and-frisk, but about school suspension. How much would I have to misbehave to run the same risk of suspension as my black classmates?

If you’re a white middle or high school student, and you don’t have a disability, your odds of being suspended from school are one in fourteen. If you’re a black middle or high school student without a disability, your odds are one in four. According to a new study by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, a quarter of black students were suspended in the 2009-2010 school year. A quarter. For students with disabilities, the odds are one in five. And for black girls, the numbers are a stark demonstration of what happens when two forms of discrimination intersect: Black girls are more likely to be suspended than black boys or white

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.' -- Rahm Emanuel

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.' -- Rahm Emanuel:

'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.' -- Rahm Emanuel

by Mike Klonsky

Popout

"This is simply not the time for politics." -- Rahm's PR flack, Sarah Hamilton

When the mayor can't find a good crisis, he manufactures his own. Taking a cue from House Republicans, he cooked up a budget crisis that, could only be avoided by shuttering 54 schools in primarily African-American neighborhoods. Despite all the evidence showing that boarded up schools and transporting tens of thousands of kids across dangerous territory, to overcrowded receiving schools, won't fix the city's money mess, the dye has already been cast. The crisis scenario worked. But now we have a real crisis facing us in the fall when schools open -- a crisis created by

What Is a Principal? — Whole Child Education

What Is a Principal? — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

What Is a Principal?

April 18, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

A recent Metlife survey (PDF) found that 75 percent of principals feel that the role has become too complex and a third are looking to move out of the role within the next five years. The role of principal has changed dramatically in the last decade and has, to many, become overwhelming. So what is the role of a principal? Or rather, what are the roles of a successful and effective principal?

It seems that each year another term describing the role of the effective principal gets introduced (visionary, instructional leader, change maker, CEO, CFO), but are these roles all compatible? Are they synthesizing, or is each an additional role and skill-set that each principal needs to master? And what of the role of building administrator—is that now obsolete?

We asked ASCD leaders, "What is a principal (in 2013)?"

"A principal is the primary leader in a school who establishes a culture of high expectations and belongingness for every child, staff member, and parent. A 21st century principal must be able to juxtapose visionary, instructional, and managerial leadership to support change and stability simultaneously. A 21st century principal strategically uses fiscal and human resources to tackle some of the world's toughest problems through the lens of the children who walk through our doors every day."

—Jessica Bohn, principal, Gibsonville Elementary School, Gibsonville, N.C., and ASCD Emerging Leader

"A principal is a FEARLESS individual who is always at the heart of the matter. She creates a vision and

Natalie Meier – Another Level of LGBTQ* Education Student Voice

Student Voice:

Natalie Meier – Another Level of LGBTQ* Education

by Editor Admin

I’ll be honest: before I came to college, I truly thought that asexuality was only an
expression. “I don’t have sex; I’m asexual.” It was a common phrase that I had heard
a lot, especially coming from a small town. But asexuality, as I quickly found out, is a
real identification, often discounted by society.
I recently found a documentary while flipping through Netflix called (A)sexual,
which featured San Francisco’s own resident, David Jay, an asexuality activist and
the creator of AVEN, the Asexuality Visibility & Education Network. David makes it
his mission to improve the visibility of individuals who identify as asexual, to create
a community of asexual individuals so they don’t feel so alone, and above all, to
educate others about asexuality.
To some people, asexuality falls somewhere under the LGBTQ* umbrella. To others,
it does not. According to the YouTube summary under the (A)sexual trailer, 1% of
the world’s population identifies as asexual. To me, just 1%, 0.5% or even 0.001% is

Meanwhile, Special Master Adamowski instructs Windham employees to forward Pelto emails to Pryor’s Office - Wait, What?

Meanwhile, Special Master Adamowski instructs Windham employees to forward Pelto emails to Pryor’s Office - Wait, What?:

Meanwhile, Special Master Adamowski instructs Windham employees to forward Pelto emails to Pryor’s Office

by jonpelto

Just when you think you’ve seen it all…

Steven Adamowski, Hartford’s former superintendent of schools, is in his second year as the Malloy Administration’s Special Master. His responsibilities include “overseeing” the Windham and New London School systems on behalf of the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Adamowski’s $225,000, plus benefits, “no-bid” contract was run through the State Education Resource Center (SERC) in order to avoid Connecticut’s bidding laws. Although he is a consultant to SERC, he reports to Stefan Pryor, Malloy’s Commissioner of Education. As a state (or state-related) consultant, he must abide by Connecticut’s Freedom of Information and ethics laws.

Over the past two years, it has become increasingly clear that Mr. Adamowski’s approach to “governance” is heavy-handed, arguably abusive and far from the open and honest

Top Ten List: Why “Choice” Demonstrates That Money Matters | National Education Policy Center

Top Ten List: Why “Choice” Demonstrates That Money Matters | National Education Policy Center:

Top Ten List: Why “Choice” Demonstrates That Money Matters

by elaine

Julian Vasquez Heilig

Source:

Cloaking Inequity

Apologize for the CI hiatus. I have six PhD students that want to graduate, which translates to about 1,000 pages dissertation reading these past few days.
I recently had a conversation with a conservative Harvard-trained attorney last Saturday in Houston. We were discussing Finland (I blogged about Finland a few weeks ago) and her point was that the United States and Finland are not comparable. I noted that Finland was discussed by school reformers because of their turnaround over the past few decades, but you know what, you don’t have to go to Finland to find model schools and for an example that money matters. There are those that are always arguing the meme that “money doesn’t matter” for US schools. What is interesting is that we have to look no further than the “choice” movement for evidence that money DOES matter. Without further ado, a top ten list of evidence from the “choice” movement that money does matter.
PeopleEHanushek82511

10. Eric Hanushek. Who is he? Here is his Wikipedia’s bio:

Eric Alan Hanushek (born, 1943) is a Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He is an expert on educational policy, and the economics of education. His research spans both the economics of school policy and the impact education on individuals and on economies… He is perhaps best known for the controversial assertion that“money doesn’t matter”—that is, he says that the amount of money spent in an American school district is not related to the amount of student learning in that district—and he is often called to testify in court about school funding schemes.

Ever wonder what the public schools in Eric Hanushek’s neighborhood spend (Palo Alto) compared to the state of California? Well, it turns out that Palo Alto schools per pupil spending is about 35-40% more than the state average. There are perks to being able to choose to live in a home valued at more than a million and have excellent public schools to choose from…
red-magnet

9. Magnet Schools. The public school choice that almost everyone is okay with— yet they are not cheap. For example, in Connecticut, magnets received 25% more funding than traditional public schools.
screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-11-28-54-pm

8. Knowledge is Power Program Charters (KIPP). They know that money matters. In a recent post, I discussed that KIPP has raised approaching a half a billion dollars over the past decade.

In sum, across the nation, since 2003, KIPP has received $308,999,543 from foundations, corporations and individuals. You can see the national spreadsheet here. KIPP in Texas has acquired about 25% of those monies— $75,981,765 from foundations, corporations and individuals. You can see the Texas spreadsheet here.

In my response to KIPP’s critique of our peer-review study of their African American attrition, I stated:

KIPP is incorrect. NEPC also thinks so here. Its hard to argue with publicly available data that they themselves are required to report by law. Per student revenue for KIPP Austin ($17,286) and KIPP Houston ($13,488) relative to Austin ISD ($10,667) and Houston

Jack Hassard

April 17, 2013

Public Education Fights for Its Life

Public Education Fights for Its Life:

Public Education Fights for Its Life

Wednesday, 17 April 2013 16:46By Max Eternity, The Eternity Group | News Analysis

Parents and teachers protest planned school closures during a public Philadelphia school board meeting at Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia, Dec. 19, 2012. The Philadelphia school district has proposed a plan to close 37 schools by June, citing deep financial troubles and a growing budget deficit. (Photo: Mark Makela / The New York Times)

Austerity measures are eroding America’s public school system. With massive increases in school closures and class cancellations, advocates say educational opportunities for students of all ages are increasingly being diminished.

This is not a new problem, per se. It is, however, an escalating one, and one that is being resisted.

Currently in Chicago—under the auspices of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, the former chief of staff for President Obama—it was announced in March that 54 public schools will be closed, with 61 schools scheduled to be closed before the 2013–2014 school year begins. Emmanuel says that the closings are a “done deal.” Not everyone agrees with Emmanuel, and countering his assertion Karen Lewis says ‘it’s pretty much indicative that he [Emmanuel] has no respect for the law.” Lewis is president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and says that there are supposed to be hearings for each school, and that Emmanuel’s unilateral actions show “the depth of his contempt for people” in the community, especially those who are not “wealthy” and well-connected.

Right now in California, City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is on the verge of losing its accreditation as a direct consequence of a $53 million dollar loss in state funding. Because of this, many classes are no longer being offered. Additionally, the cost of [in-state] tuition at CCSF has risen 25% in the last 2 years, and to boot, student

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, April 18, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Diana Rodriguez for State Assembly, District 9

Education Headlines

Thursday, April 18, 2013

New Fillmore school to serve growing area, superintendent says

A south Fillmore campus set to open next school year will help the school district serve a growing part of the community, the interim superintendent said Tuesday night at a school board meeting.

Conejo Valley school board considers bond measure

Fifteen years after Thousand Oaks voters approved Measure R to provide money for school renovation, the Conejo Valley Unified School District is considering putting a bond on the ballot again.

Rio school board studies options to cope with growth

As part of an effort to deal with steadily increasing enrollment, the Rio school board on Wednesday weighed proposals that included building a new school and converting some schools into campuses for kindergartners through eighth-graders.

How will Sonora High spend bond money?

Sonora High School will get a new aquatics center and updated buildings under a preliminary plan for spending $23 million from a bond measure passed last year.

Brea Olinda looks at new school bond

With the defeat of a multi-million-dollar bond still fresh, Brea Olinda Unified officials might soon again ask voters to pass a new measure to generate revenue for the district's high-performing schools.

SAN JACINTO: School trustees promote administrator to top job

San Jacinto’s deputy school superintendent will be promoted to superintendent on July 1 after nearly eight-year veteran administrator Shari Fox retires, school trustees decided Tuesday, April 16.

Modesto's Sylvan school district OKs change in hours, hires superintendent

The Sylvan Union School District will try early-day Wednesdays next year to give teachers time to collaborate, board members ruled. The vote Tuesday night was 3-1 to cut the school day by an hour midweek and extend it 15 minutes on the other four days. Board President Cynthia Lindsey was absent.

Public will get say on Chico school bond projects

In a series of separate items on Wednesday, the Chico Unified School District board of trustees took steps to issue bonds connected to Measure E, begin the public input on what to do with those dollars, and began to think about new solar power projects that could happen without bond funds.

LAUSD board votes to improve abuse investigations

With 278 Los Angeles Unified educators sitting in "teacher jail," the school board voted Tuesday to streamline and improve the investigations of those accused of serious physical abuse or sexual misconduct.

Education advocate Michelle Rhee fends off accusations

Michelle Rhee, head of a group that advocates using student test scores to evaluate teachers, fends off accusations that she failed to pursue evidence of cheating when she ran the D.C. school system.

Frey: Bill restricting ‘willful defiance’ for suspending students moves ahead

With new data showing that more than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, the Assembly Education Committee voted 6-0 on Wednesday to move forward a bill that would restrict the use of the vague category by school administrators.

Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, April 18, 2013

What Is a Principal?

Best of the Ed Blogs

Public Education Fights for Its Life

Education Headlines