Missouri Education Watchdog: What is going on with special education?

Missouri Education Watchdog: What is going on with special education?:

What is going on with special education?

by stlgretchen

Something is happening with special education. Seemingly random reports are coming in, from parents with children who receive special services from school, showing that those services are changing. Is this part of a bigger picture? 

In one district they are consolidating IEP's for third and fourth graders because they are switching to a "standardized" IEP report. Even teachers are unclear where this "standardized" report form is coming from. 

In another district a mother was told her special needs child no longer qualified for the summer program at school, one that he had attended every year previously without the parent even having to request it. The mother might have been content to accept the school's determination that her child no longer 

Follow-up: Title I Funding DOES NOT Make Rich States Richer! | School Finance 101

Follow-up: Title I Funding DOES NOT Make Rich States Richer! | School Finance 101:

Follow-up: Title I Funding DOES NOT Make Rich States Richer!

by schoolfinance101

In one of my earliest posts, I took on a myth created and shared by many DC Think Tanks that the Title I funding formula inappropriately favors “rich states” and school districts in urban areas.
This myth has its origins in a handful of policy papers and poorly constructed analyses, some of which eventually made into print – albeit in law review journals that tend to be light on reviewing quantitative evidence.
Today, after many conversations over the years, Lori Taylor of Texas A&M, Jay Chambers, Jesse Levin and Charles Blankenship of the American Institutes for Research and I finally published our article in the journal Education Finance and Policy in which we critique the arguments that Title I is making rich states richer. In short, much of confusion boils down to the mis-measurement of income and poverty, an issue I’ve discussed extensively on this blog.
The assertion from prior reports is that the Title I aid formula includes a number of critical flaws that ultimately lead to providing disproportionate funding to states that are relatively high income and can spend more than other states to begin with, and to school districts in urban and suburban areas, shorting the rural districts which on their face may appear to have comparable or even higher poverty in some cases. We summarize this literature as follows:

UPDATE: Rebranding Rahm. + “Good morning Senator Martinez. Vote no.” | Fred Klonsky

“Good morning Senator Martinez. Vote no.” | Fred Klonsky:

Guess who’s coming to dinner? “The problem is not these white babies up north. They’re not the problem. They deserve a world-class education, but so do our babies.”

by Fred Klonsky

Parents and students from three South Side schools slated to close gather outside Pritzker Elementary School in Wicker Park, after trying to enroll there, but being told the school has a 

Rebranding Rahm.

by Fred Klonsky

“It is a new beginning. We are putting the past behind us, it is time to turn the page,” said CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.
Hmmmm.
Not so fast.
With at least three federal court challenges to the largest school closing in American history, the past is still the present and the future. The communities, the parents, the students and the teachers are not quite ready to turn the page yet.
That’s what is happening in the courts.
There is also what is happening in the streets.
Chicago Summer: Everything from acts of civil disobedience to massive 

“Good morning Senator Martinez. Vote no.”

by Fred Klonsky

I interrupted my coffee long enough to place another call to my State Senator, Democrat Iris Martinez.
These calls have gotten easier now that there are 48 hours left in the state legislative session.
Unlike some of my friends, I don’t get tired of this. It’s part of my morning routine. Shower. Dress. Walk the dog. Pour some coffee. Call Senator Martinez or Representative Toni Berrios. Or both.
At 7AM Senator Martinez wasn’t in the office yet.
I left a message.
“Good morning Senator Martinez! This is Fred Klonsky.” And I left my phone number. “As you know, I am a 

Can Schools Overcome Poverty and Racism? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Can Schools Overcome Poverty and Racism? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Can Schools Overcome Poverty and Racism?

by Deborah Meier

Dear Michael,
I just recently wrote a blog column for my website (deborahmeier.com) about the problem I have with data—the "facts." Still, I'm not an atheist about data, just an agnostic, including data in the form of graphs.
Graphs can correlate, but they cannot tell us what poverty does to people. My interpretation of the data leads me to suggest that "my" reforms are better than "yours." (I've spent too many years in the schoolyard!) So, five "thoughts" on schooling and poverty, plus race:
I. You are right; it isn't money "alone" (it actually rarely comes alone) that damages the children of the poor. Still, we both agree that money helps. For example, the poor are more likely to be in school while suffering from pain (e.g. toothaches, nausea, or a fever or untreated wound.) Going to the doctor, finding someone to stay home with the baby, taking a day or two off work are advantages that money buys. Poverty means you are unlikely to 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-30-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

NC Teacher: How Our Legislature Is Driving Bad Policy

by dianerav

Could things get worse in North Carolina? Here, a teacher describes the bills that are moving towards passage, all of which will undermine public schools and transfer public funds to private corporations.

Why Is Philadelphia in Crisis?

by dianerav

Philadelphia is once again facing catastrophic budget cuts that threaten to gut public education.
Who is killing Philadelphia’s schools, asks journalist Daniel Denvir. Here is the sordid story.
The state has had control of the Philadelphia schools since 2002. It took control because of a budget deficit. The state School Reform Commission made the deficit worse.
Paul Vallas took over as superintendent and launched the nation’s most sweeping privatization plan. It failed. 

Jersey Jazzman on the Hess-Austin Kerfuffle: Haul Out the Fainting Couch

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman is fast on the draw. Here he dissects Rick Hess’s defense of Ben Austin.
JJ wonders how Hess would feel if the parents of Newark and other cities in New Jersey–which have not had 

Don’t You Wish You Were Invited to Mackinac Island?

by dianerav

Sorry, you were not invited. Neither was I.
Mackinac Island is the exclusive resort where 1,500 business and government leaders met to ponder education.
The guests of honor were Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee.
What, you thought they might want to hear from teachers, people who know something first hand about education?
No, no way. They came to hear thought leaders prophesy the elimination of public education and the reign of the 

New York Rally Against High-Stakes Testing on June 8

by dianerav

Carol Burris of South Side High School in Rockville Center, New York, sent out the following notice:
Thank you again for signing the petition against high stakes testing. It will be delivered on June 8 at the Rally for 

Pennsylvania: Cyber Charters Are a Scam

by dianerav

Pennsylvania is overrun with cyber charters. There are 16 of them competing for customers, sucking money out of real public schools, supplying a terrible education. Some are under investigation. The legislature protects them because of campaign contributions.
Meanwhile public schools are suffering due to budget cuts while these sham schools make profits.
They have extracted $4 billion from the state’s taxpayers in inflated costs, padded enrollment data, and legislative beneficence. This is legal graft.

Choice Zealots Take Control of Wealthy Douglas County, Colorado

by dianerav

There are times when reality is zanier than satire.
Read about Douglas County, Colorado, where choice fanatics run the district.
They want students and families to choose schools the way you choose a color for your car or a brand of cereal.

 Diane in the Evening 5-29-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Louisiana Believes Course Choice Providers Should Defraud the State | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

Louisiana Believes Course Choice Providers Should Defraud the State | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

Louisiana Believes Course Choice Providers Should Defraud the State

by crazycrawfish

It’s become increasingly clear that Louisiana believes that a certain amount of fraud, waste, and graft is a good thing, and a lot of any of these things is a whole lot better!
From the outset, Course Choice (ala carte online courses children can take to supplement their educational diets paid for by tax payers) has been fraught with what most states would consider scandalous and irresponsible - at best. Providers of Course Choice do not require certifications to teach or offer classes, and the rigorous approval John White has alluded to in various interviews is simply copying the names of the courses(from adobe .pdf files provided by vendors) into a spreadsheet, and then verifying that the names are entered correctly into the Course Choice database. A former DOE staffer related this story about verifying Course Choice providers and their credentials.

I was at one meeting last fall. Ken Bradford, Dave Lefkowith, and others from the “content team” 

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:

@rweingarten has some explaining to do re: #AFT #commoncore survey

by Chalk Face, PhD

At the Chalk Face was joined by intrepid researcher and educator Mercedes Schneider for an interview in January of this year as she demolished the state of LA’s flawed school evaluation data. You can listen to that here. My, how time flies. Today, she really dug into the March 2013 survey of teacher attitudes towards the […]

solidaridad: Parent Trigger: Stop the Lies! Hear the Truth Rally in the Valley 2013-June-04

by rdsathene

solidaridad: Parent Trigger: Stop the Lies! Hear the Truth Rally in the Valley 2013-June-04

Good to see a Mr. @john_merrow coming to his senses

by Chalk Face, PhD

As this open letter to the architects of the common core indicates. Hmm. Could it have something to do with a recent interview perhaps? Hmm. Listen and see if you can hear any clues. I’m inclined to say, “YES!” Follow the arrow to the top. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: common […]

I get these things from @educationsector

by Chalk Face, PhD

I get some emails about new reports from this tank of thinkers. Back in the day, man, I loved me some Sara Mead. But now, oy, some trifling neoliberal nonsense. Example from a recent message touting a new report on keeping “top talent,” or some other consultant terminology. Here’s an abstract: Attracting and Retaining Talented 

From “Surplussed” to “Excessed:” Dumped Memphis Teachers Go to Court

by Jim Horn

With the blessing of Bill Gates and State Commissioner, Kevin (formerly Mister Michelle Rhee) Huffman, principals across Memphis and Shelby County are illegally dumping hundreds of tenured teachers in favor of TFA, TeachPlus, and TeachMemphis corporate missionaries, who are hired to instill in Memphis’ impoverished children the corporate psychology that can be summed up as “you can […]

Enough of the “I am a white person and I refuse to acknowledge the opportunity gaps created by poverty” narrative.

by Timothy D. Slekar

Today in EdWeek, teacher (not really. instead she is a Teach Plus teaching fellow) Casie Jones attempts to use the poverty is no excuse crap to pat her own back and talk about how she makes a “substantial difference.” There is no doubt that a caring individual will help any child regardless of socio-economic situation.  Love […]

Alexander Russo’s vicious attack on Weigand Elementary School Teachers

by rdsathene

Photo courtesy of LS4C1. Alexander Russo’s vicious attack on LAUSD’s Weigand Elementary School teachers should be noted by everyone. In a piece where he gleefully sides with AEI’s Hess’ smear on the distinguished Professor Ravitch, he also decides to take aim at the hardworking women and men teaching at the school recently shot up by […]

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER 5-29-13

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: Chiefs for Change or Puppets for Propaganda? by Timothy D. Slekar The “Chiefs for Change” led by Hanna Skandera have put their collective foot down. There will be no stopping, pausing, or breathing when it comes to implementing and shoving high stakes test down the throats of Common Core adoption states. According to Skandera, “Accountability delayed isn’t real accountability.” Why do we care what Hanna Skandera thinks? […] Innovation Like 1954!: The Technology Khan Continues MAY 29, 2013 BY PLTHOMASEDD LEAVE A COMMENT Sal Khan is the twenty-fi... more »

The biggest irony in Chicago’s mass closing of schools:

The biggest irony in Chicago’s mass closing of schools

By Valerie Strauss, Published: May 30, 2013 at 5:00 amE-mail the writer

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President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. (ed.gov)

There’s some deep irony in this:

In 2002, Arne Duncan, then the head of the Chicago public schools system, announced that he was closing three elementary schools because they had been failing students for years. It was the start of a strategy of closing down schools that were academically failing or under-enrolled and reopening them as a new school.

When Duncan was named education secretary in 2008 by Barack Obama, the president-elect praised Duncan’s record of closing and reopening schools — as if it was a strategy that enjoyed great success, according to this WBEZ story:

He’s shut down failing schools and replaced their entire staffs, even when it was unpopular. This school right here, Dodge Renaissance Academy, is a perfect example. Since this school was revamped and reopened in 2003, the number of students 

solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Alexander Russo's vicious attack on Weigand Elementary School Teachers

solidaridad: @TCFKSM: Alexander Russo's vicious attack on Weigand Elementary School Teachers:

@TCFKSM: Alexander Russo's vicious attack on Weigand Elementary School Teachers

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

First published on @TCFKSM on May 29, 2013

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Photo courtesy of 

Alexander Russo's vicious attack on LAUSD's Weigand Elementary School teachers should be noted by everyone. In a piece where he gleefully sides with AEI's Hess' smear on the distinguished Professor Ravitch, he also decides to take aim at the hardworking women and men teaching at the school recently shot up by Ben Austin's latest corporate drive by. Here's an excerpt of Russo's bile laden commentary.

Given how they're being treated in the Times and by Ravitch (and by the teachers who appear to be more loyal to the principal than to the kids), the Weigand parents may be well be wishing that they'd opted for...

A clear response to these vicious accusations should be in order. The Parent Trigger is one of the most reprehensible tools in the neoliberal privatization and austerity toolkit. For 

UPDATE: Boundaries Work Session Seattle Schools Community Forum: Revelations

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Revelations:

Boundaries Work Session

by Melissa Westbrook

I'll try to hit the major points I heard along with quotes (and color commentary).

Just upfront, it was discouraging.  It's now 2013 and so many questions - Special Ed, Advanced Learning, K-8s and others - lack clarity and definition.  What was troubling is the number of "exceptions" to current policies thatare out there.  

There was also the issue of the so-called Program Placement Framework?  Where is this and should this be guiding the decisions made?

As well, the presentation used excerpted quotes from various policies - Board or Superintendent or WAC - to 

Revelations

by Charlie Mas

Much was revealed at the Growth Boundaries presentation this afternoon. Here is just a short list:

There will be new service delivery models for Special Education: Resource, Access, Behaior, Contained, and Distinct. We don't know what these mean or how they will work, and the whole thing is subject to the collective bargaining process, but it looks like radical change.

There will be a new delivery model for APP. The District isn't saying what it will be or how it will work. They won't even offer the pretense of engagement on it until next year - after they make all of the decisions.

There will be a new delivery model for Spectrum. It appears to be nothing. For many families this will be nothing new.

Just because a school chooses to become a STEM school it doesn't make it a STEM school. It's only a STEM 

Growth Boundaries email address

by Charlie Mas

Please send your comments on the Growth Boundaries project to their email address:

GrowthBoundaries@seattleschools.org.

Bad Advice Needs Own Thread

by Melissa Westbrook

A reader asked this:

I have a bright 4th grader in the Carnation area - we are considering some other options for her for next year, yes even at this late date. Where should I start looking? 

Me, going on my old school way of thinking, told this parent that he/she didn't have many options.  Not true (after talking with Tracy Libros in Enrollment).

So, to correct:

Kimble's Corner: Meeting Michele Bachmann for the First Time

Kimble's Corner: Meeting Michele Bachmann for the First Time:

Meeting Michele Bachmann for the First Time

by Representative Kimble

  

[The Following is excerpted from Profiles in Courageousness.  If you enjoy this blog, you're going to want to pick up your copy today.]

 

At this point, I was feeling toxic. Nobody wanted to talk to me and I just wanted a giant hole to swallow me up. What had I gotten myself into? My only friend was in the other party and his play in the NFL gave me absolutely no confidence in our relationship. When the moment finally came for us to take a short break, I welcomed it. I did what I did back in California when times were tough; I headed outside to be alone with my thoughts, or as alone as I could be on Capitol Hill.

As I stood on the porch, lost in my own thoughts, I failed to notice a woman approaching me. She was a raven-haired goddess, her black and white checkered shawl covering her simple black dress, but her conservative attire did nothing to hide the fact that this was a woman. Her perfume had hints of lilac and gardenia with just a small note of russet potato. I have always remained reasonably faithful to my wife, but I admit at that