Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire Boys Club couldn't buy L.A. School Board elections

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire Boys Club couldn't buy L.A. School Board elections:

Billionaire Boys Club couldn't buy L.A. School Board elections

by Mike Klonsky

"This is a testament to the voters. Voters put their belief in skills and expertise.... It sends the clear message that school board seats are not for sale." -- Monica Ratliff. 

Fifth-grade teacher Ratliff gave the corporate school "reformers" a real kick in the butt this week when her popular, but poorly-funded campaign for school board ended in victory. Her opponent in the race to represent east San Fernando Valley, described in the Washington Post as, "the well-connected Antonio Sanchez" received some $2 million from donors including the Coalition for School Reform, the political-action committee started by outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and  funded in large part by wealthy outside reform advocates.

Ratliff

WaPo's Valerie Strauss reports:

Ratliff and Sanchez were thrown into a run-off in March elections for three school board seats, 

Cooper Union Protesters Living High Life Out of President’s Office - NYTimes.com

Cooper Union Protesters Living High Life Out of President’s Office - NYTimes.com:

Cooper Union Protesters Living High Life Out of President’s Office

As embattled encampments go, the president’s office at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is not exactly Zuccotti Park in the fall of 2011. Rather than a warren of improvised shelters with a loud drum circle, the gracious office has open views through seven arched windows, and the only percussion comes from the tapping of laptop keys.

On May 8, students moved in to protest the school’s decision to charge undergraduate tuition for the first time in 150 years. Since that day, their perch atop Greenwich Village has become an Occupy Wall Street in miniature. A steady stream of students has passed through the office — some staying for just a few hours, others for nearly the whole time — to spread word about the rebellion, posting various satires and subversions to the Web, searching for a better solution to Cooper’s financial 

IEA wants you to support benefit cuts. End of discussion. Comments are closed. | Fred Klonsky

IEA wants you to support benefit cuts. End of discussion. Comments are closed. | Fred Klonsky:

IEA wants you to support benefit cuts. End of discussion. Comments are closed.

by Fred Klonsky

I got the usual weekly email link to the IEA website featuring the usual Vimeo of IEA head lobbyist, Jim Reed.
No matter our differences, Jim and I have always had cordial conversations.
I got the notice on my iPad.  The iPad layout of the IEA website is different than the one I see on my MacBook.
When I got to the bottom of the post, it said “Comments Are Closed.”
Closed?
I went my MacBook.
It doesn’t say “Comments Are Closed.” But there are no comments.
Comments on earlier posts haven’t exactly been running heavily in support of the We Are One/Cullerton SB2404.
Some of my readers have told me that their critical comments never see 

Prom for students with special needs promotes access, acceptance for all | OregonLive.com

Prom for students with special needs promotes access, acceptance for all | OregonLive.com:

Prom for students with special needs promotes access, acceptance for all

by Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

Joann Guenther could hardly sleep this week -- she was too busy thinking about her first prom.

Guenther's mother, Laura Cross, had helped her prepare for weeks. By Wednesday night, the Multnomah Education Service District student had the sequined pink dress, the new shoes, the freshly highlighted hair.

For most high schoolers, prom is an inevitable milestone. But for special education students like Guenther, who needs a wheelchair, that's not always the case.

Just last week, a Lake Oswego High School student in a wheelchair couldn't attend his prom because the venue couldn't accommodate him. Some special needs students can't get access to a nurse or aide for a night event. Others may get too overwhelmed by the crowds and the lights.

Such issues led Brett Bigham, a Multnomah Education Service District teacher, to start a 

The Current Education Policy May Be Hurting Latino Students | NewsTacoNewsTaco

The Current Education Policy May Be Hurting Latino Students | NewsTacoNewsTaco:

By Emily Deruy, ABC News/Univision

A group of Latino education experts from across the country urged policymakers in Washington, D.C., this week to take steps to improve education for Hispanic students.

The Latino Elected and Appointed Officials National Taskforce on Education was formed several years ago. They wanted to make sure the needs of Latino students and English Language learners were recognized as talks about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act got underway. That act authorizes federally funded education programs that are administered by the states.

That program morphed into No Child Left Behind under former President George W. Bush and subsequent attempts to amend it and reauthorize it as the ESEA have failed, meaning policies put in place by NCLB still hold. Advocates for the more than 13 million Hispanic students enrolled in public schools around the country think several things need to change to better serve this group.

There are three they most definitely want addressed:

Click HERE or on the picture to read the full story.

The Politics Behind the Move to Dismantle Wisconsin’s United Council |

The Politics Behind the Move to Dismantle Wisconsin’s United Council |:

The Politics Behind the Move to Dismantle Wisconsin’s United Council

by Angus Johnston

Last night brought shocking news for supporters of student involvement in university governance in the United States, as a Republican-controlled budget committee of the Wisconsin state legislature moved — with little debate, and after refusing a stand-alone vote  — to eliminate the primary funding stream of the nation’s oldest and most respected statewide student association.
The United Council of University of Wisconsin Students (UC) has been the democratic voice of students in the UW system since 1960, and it has earned a strong reputation for effective advocacy for students’ rights and interests.
Last night’s change to state law, if approved by the full legislature, would bar United Council from funding itself through campus student referenda, as it has done for decades. The move to defund United Council was made with no notice or warning, and comes at the end of a budget process in which United Council worked closely with Republican legislators to enact a two-year tuition freeze (a freeze which ironically was approved in the same omnibus budget proposal as the attack on UC itself).
Where did this assault on UC come from, and why is it happening now? One Wisconsin politics blog reports that 

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It's All About the Marketing — Whole Child Education

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It's All About the Marketing — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It’s All About the Marketing

May 24, 2013 by Ruth Taylor

The Challenge

The school nutrition program at Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Ga., already goes above and beyond U.S. federal nutrition standards, serving 50 percent whole grains and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. The challenge was how to get to the next step: getting kids to actually select the healthy foods. After all, food isn't nutritious until it's eaten. The problem was not about changing menus or the food offered, as the menus and the food choices are already healthy. As area supervisor of Fulton County School Nutrition, my challenge was "How do we engage the students to want to eat healthy?" I believe it's about marketing the food.

The Solution

Rather than re-create the wheel on the next step—getting kids to put healthy foods on their lunch trays—Fulton County is using existing community resources. Last spring I reached out to Children's Health Care of Atlanta (CHOA), one of the largest clinical providers of pediatric healthcare in the U.S., and found they wanted to help schools. I believe it's a novel partnership for a children's health care system to partner with a school system. CHOA offered training for our school nutrition managers through its Strong4Life program. The program empowers cafeteria workers to understand the problem of childhood obesity in Georgia and also

Diane in the Evening 5-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Anthony Cody: Who Supports Mayoral Control?

by dianerav

Anthony Cody describes the campaign to put mayors in charge of school districts and the reasons behind it.
The biggest supporter of mayoral control is Arne Duncan. When mayoral control was up for renewal in Néw York City, he weighed in to support it. He lobbied against any effort to give the mayor’s appointees set terms; he insisted they should serve at the pleasure of the mayor to give his absolute authority over every decision.
That allowed the mayor to ignore protests against school closing and charters, both of which are priorities for 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Temps Scoring Essay Questions on State Tests by dianerav This article may explain why the big testing corporations won’t machines to score essays. How do you think they score them now? How do you think they have been scored for many years? By temps. By people earning $10-12 an hour with no particular skills and minimal training. Not long ago, I posted a story that said that Pearson was advertising on CraigsList in Texas for people to score John White Makes Exc... more »

Why Chicago's School Closings Are Racist | NewsTacoNewsTaco

Why Chicago's School Closings Are Racist | NewsTacoNewsTaco:

Why Chicago’s School Closings Are Racist

by Gozamos

By Hector Luis Alamo, Jr., Gozamos
This week, hundreds, if not thousands, of angry parents, teachers and their supporters marched on Daley Plaza to voice their opposition to Mayor Emanuel’s planned school closings — currently slated at 54, which would make it the largest school closing in the nation’s history. The rally is the culmination of three days of marching ahead of the Board of Education’s vote.
That all of the school closings are taking place on the city’s South and West Sides — well, except for the two on the North Side — has prompted many of the mayor’s opponents to label him a racist for what they deem to be a flagrantly racist campaign against the city’s black and Latino neighborhoods.
While calling the mayor a racist may seem a bit much, it’s unfortunately dead on.
Admittedly, when Mayor Emanuel had his people come up with a list of schools to close, the motive wasn’t to target black and brown Chicagoans intentionally. The Rahminator didn’t order his minions to devise a plot that would lower the city’s education budget while simultaneously gutting black and brown neighborhoods.
What he did demand is that they do it in a way that wouldn’t affect the people who helped him win City Hall two 

Layoffs for Connecticut Residents, Retainers for out-of-state consultants: The Malloy-Pryor-Mass Insight Contract - Wait, What?

Layoffs for Connecticut Residents, Retainers for out-of-state consultants: The Malloy-Pryor-Mass Insight Contract - Wait, What?:

Layoffs for Connecticut Residents, Retainers for out-of-state consultants: The Malloy-Pryor-Mass Insight Contract

by jonpelto

Despite a FOI request to do so, the Connecticut State Department of Education has failed to turn over their contract with Mass Insight, an education reform company that was hired to provide services to Connecticut communities struggling to meet the mandates under Governor Malloy’s “Education Reform” law.

While more will be known once the contract is finally released, what is known is that despite the professional talent left in Connecticut’s State Department of Education and the outstanding work that was being done by Connecticut’s Regional Service Centers (RESCs), Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, saw fit to turn his back on Connecticut’s existing expertise and hire an out-of-state “education reform” company to provide consultants to help Connecticut’s poorest towns get access to the funds provided in the new Commissioner’s Network program.

The cost of this arrogant decision is not only the fact that hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be flowing out-of-state, but at least two of the Regional Service Centers have already been forced to lay off staff who had been working with these school 

Most Screwed Local Public School Districts Update 2009-2011 | School Finance 101

Most Screwed Local Public School Districts Update 2009-2011 | School Finance 101:

Most Screwed Local Public School Districts Update 2009-2011

by schoolfinance101

Here it is – my annual update of America’s most screwed school districts. This time, for stability purposes, I’ve used a 3-year average based on 2009-2011 data (2011 data being released earlier this week).
As I’ve explained in my previous posts on this topic (from last year’s post on screwed districts)…
It’s important to understand that the value of any given level of education funding, in any given location, is relative. That is, it doesn’t simply matter that a district has or spends $10,000 per pupil, or $20,000 per pupil. What matters is how that funding compares to other districts operating in the same labor market, and for that matter, how that money relates to other conditions in the region/labor market. Why? Well, schooling is labor intensive.  And the quality of schooling depends largely on the ability of schools or districts to recruit and retain quality employees. And yes… despite reformy arguments to the contrary – competitive wages for teachers matter!  The largest share of school district annual operating budgets is tied up in the salaries and wages of teachers and other school workers. The ability to recruit and retain teachers in a school district in any given labor market depends on the wage a district can pay to teachers a) relative to other surrounding schools/districts and b) relative to non-teaching alternatives in the same labor market.
In our funding fairness report, we present statewide profiles of disparities in funding with respect to poverty. But, I 

Memorial Weekend: "Good Job, Teach!" - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Memorial Weekend: "Good Job, Teach!" - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Memorial Weekend: "Good Job, Teach!"

by Nancy Flanagan

We live in a time when our former Secretary of State, in a speech I find utterly mind-boggling, declares our public schools a threat to national security. I'm spending this holiday weekend thinking about the real-life influence-as opposed to cheap politicization-- of public schooling and schoolteachers on children's safety, well-being andpatriotism. On Monday morning, I will join the Northport Community Band in a concert at the Northport, Michigan Village Cemetery. And Sunday, in church, I'll share the story of my uncle, Donald Tjapkes, killed at 19 in the first wave of Marines on Iwo Jima, in 1945.
All weekend I'll be wishing for good weather, so marching bands and taps-playing trumpeters across the nation can commemorate the dead-- and inspire their communities.
The piece below is an updated reprint.
I'm not much of a flag waver, really. I always thought that author James Baldwin captured my feelings precisely in Notes of a Native Son when he wrote:
I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this 

Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix | EdSource Today

Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix | EdSource Today:

Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla

The Assembly has produced its own version of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, further complicating the governor’s goal of passing school finance reform as part of the new state budget by July 1.

Taking the form of a one-page set of principlesthat the Assembly Budget Committee’s subcommittee on education finance approved on Thursday, with one Republican not voting (Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert), it endorses the basics of Brown’s LCFF while suggesting complex variations to key aspects of it. The full Budget Committee is expected to adopt it Tuesday, sending it to conference committee where it must be melded with the Senate’s alternative to LCFF and negotiated with Brown.

Brown’s aim is to create a more equitable and uniform school funding system by directing more money to high-needs students. The Assembly’s version agrees, but it also responds to complaints by suburban districts they they’ve been treated unfairly and by some districts with pockets of poverty that argue their high-needs students are being shortchanged.

“We’re taking the pragmatic view, with limited dollars, of wanting to meet needs of all students but 

CA holds solid lead over nation in tech employment, compensation SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

CA holds solid lead over nation in tech employment, compensation

 By Tom Chorneau

Friday, May 24, 2013

From the Obama administration down to the local school board, there has perhaps never been a time when so much attention, time and money has been focused on improving student performance in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math.

A new survey on tech employment nationally illustrates why – not that anyone in California needs convincing.

Last year there were nearly six million people employed in technical occupations, earning an average salary of $93,800, almost double the average private sector salary of $47,400 , according to a survey from TechAmerica Foundation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research group.

In total, the tech section provided an annualized payroll of $558 billion in 2012.

While much of the economy was still shrinking, the tech industry produced a modest 1.1 percent gain with software services leading the way growing by 3.5 percent or almost 64,000 jobs.

Much of that vigor took place in California – which remains the nation’s leader in tech employment boasting more than twice as many tech jobs (968,800) as the next closest rival, Texas (485,600).

After that comes New York with 318,200 tech jobs

Feds offer new grant to improve outcomes for children on SSI

As advocates for the disabled rallied this week in Sacramento on state budget issues, federal officials unveiled a new grant program aimed at improving the educational and employment outcomes of low-income children with disabilities.

Alarmed by the high dropout rates and unemployment among recipients of Supplemental Security Income who are under the age of 23, the Obama administration plans to make available up to $60 million annually to states interested in building new service programs.

Michael Yudin, who oversees special education and rehabilitative services at the department, said in a statement the goal is to “provide strong and effective partnerships with agencies to build capacity to achieve better results and outcomes for child SSI recipients and their families.”

Among the outcomes that the program would hope to address is improving the number of SSI recipients that graduate from high school and are both college and career ready. From there, federal officials are hopeful that more SSI clients will find employment and reduce, over time, their reliance on government assistance.

The SSI program provides cash payments to the elderly and the disabled – including children that have little income or other resources. The monthly maximum award in California this year for a disabled minor child is $773.

A total of 1.3 million children were enrolled in the program last year and received about $9.5 billion in benefits.

Although the program has had no major eligibility changes over the last 10 years, the numbers of children receiving 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, May 24, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

CTA sides with Brown in debate over restructuring school finance SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources: CTA sides with Brown in debate over restructuring school finance *By Tom Chorneau* Thursday, May 23, 2013 In what may prove a decisive development in the looming struggle over rival plans for restructuring of school funding, the California Teachers Association moved Wednesday to give its support to Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula. The endorsement came as part of a lobby-day at the Capitol for the 325,000-member teachers’ union – arguably the state’s single most influential voice on education issues. But both in a morning n... more »

Education Headlines

Friday, May 24, 2013

Chino Valley Unified approves salary increase for top employees

All assistant superintendents were given a "step" or raise increase of $5,612 except for the facilities planning and operations employee. In addition to board members Andrew Cruz and Irene Hernandez-Blair voting against the increase, a number of certificated employees voiced their disappointment over the agenda item.

Exit interviews a new grad requirement

A new graduation requirement in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District this year calls for all 12th-graders to successfully complete a senior exit interview.

Linden Unified superintendent placed on paid leave

Linden Unified School District Superintendent Michael Gonzales was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday night, roughly two hours after the last Linden High graduate crossed the stage to mark the end of the 2012-13 school year.

Two Irvine schools to balloon beyond size allowed by district policy

Stonegate and Woodbury elementary schools will each add four portable classrooms to school grounds by fall, potentially boosting student populations at each school to more than the maximum amount allowed by district policy.

Transcript ruling made in school corruption case

A judge presiding over the corruption case involving 15 South County officials and contractors ruled tentatively Thursday that out of the 4,200 pages that make up the grand jury transcript, less than five pages will be redacted.

Women accused of stealing school funds appear in court

The six women accused of fraud and misuse of $15 million in public education funds pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court Tuesday to the 205 felony charges they face in the case.

Frey: As legislators debate adult ed proposal, Oakland reinstates its program

The Oakland school board has called off plans to shutter its adult education programs, voting Wednesday to fund the programs for at least one more year.

Fensterwald: San Jose teachers, board adopt landmark teacher evaluation system

Breaking new ground in California, San Jose Unified has adopted an innovative teacher evaluation process that gives teachers a role in reviewing their peers and greatly revises the current – and some say outmoded – method of measuring teacher success.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Salinas elementary teachers fret leadership void amid chief's sick leave

It has been nearly 18 months since the superintendent of the Salinas City Elementary School District began a battle with cancer, and some employees believe her frequent absences are taking a toll on the district's leadership.

Upland school board reviews suggestions on how district can save $9 million

The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday were updated on the district's fiscal crisis as well as several ways to save a necessary $9 million in the next fiscal year.

Field upgrades at Temecula schools a priority

Thanks to local voters, the Temecula Valley Unified School District is beginning to pour about $35 million -- the first available chunk of the $165 million Measure Y bond measure approved last November -- into several facilities projects.

Common Core Fight Holds Up Michigan Education Budget | Truth in American Education

Common Core Fight Holds Up Michigan Education Budget | Truth in American Education:

Common Core Fight Holds Up Michigan Education Budget

by Shane Vander Hart

Below is an excerpt from a Michigan Information and Research Service report (subscription-based) last night.

A conference committee was originally scheduled to meet at 8:45 a.m. this morning to consider the MDE budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. But by the end of the day, Sen. Howard WALKER (R-Traverse City) reported that the meeting has now been pushed back to next week.

The reason for the delay, confirmed Rep. Bill ROGERS (R-Brighton), is Common Core, a set of education standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Asked if it was fair to say Common Core was the reason that discussions on the MDE budget are ongoing, Rogers responded, “That’s not even fair. It is. It is a discussion over the Common Core issue.”

He added, “There’s still a lot of questions in regard to Common Core.”

States were supposed to voluntarily adopt the Common Core standards. And the Michigan State