Fight For Philly takes on Comcast, Philly school funding with bologna sandwiches | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Fight For Philly takes on Comcast, Philly school funding with bologna sandwiches | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Fight For Philly takes on Comcast, Philly school funding with bologna sandwiches

by thenotebook on Aug 02 2013 Posted in Latest news

="" style="color: rgb(76, 153, 72); cursor: pointer; float: left; padding: 0px 2px;">

Share on email

COMMENTS (0)PRINT

Photo: Kimberly Paynter/WHYY

Tina Kluetmeier, mother of 2 in Philadelphia, protests corporate tax breaks at the Comcast Center Friday. 

by Shannon McDonald for NewsWorks

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Unless you were outside the Comcast Center in Center City Philadelphia Friday afternoon.

Fight for Philly handed out bologna sandwiches "to symbolize Comcast giving out baloney to Philadelphia citizens while taking their own free lunch in the form of tax breaks like a building abatement and loopholes like the Delaware loophole."

The sandwiches were part of a rally to demand fair funding for Philly schools, and a shot at Comcast exec David Cohen.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

Diane in the Evening 8-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

How Tony Bennett Raised the C to an A

Since Tony Bennett got caught fixing the grade of his favorite charter school, he has loudly defended his actions and described the claims against him as vicious and unfounded. In this post, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg of the University of Wisconsin explains how Bennett tried to protect his favorite school and how he distorted the truth afterwards. Ellenberg writes: “This was an act of aston

by dianerav / 6min 

NC Governor: Phony Claims About Education

Governor Pat McCrory presented his budget and boasted it was the largest education budget ever. But it isn’t true. Adjusted for inflation, North Carolina is spending half a billion dollars less than in 2008. The fibs just kept on coming at a news conference. “Gov. McCrory also repeated a claim he made as he signed his tax reform package into law that teachers making between $40,000 and $45,000

by dianerav / 34min 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why Did CPS Award a $20 Million No-Bid Contract?How many times have we heard that the a Chicago Public Schools are broke? Isn’t that why CPS laid off thousands of teachers and closed 50 elementary schools? But wait: this week, CPS gave a $20 million no-bid contract to a for-profit corporation called Supes Academy to train principal

by mike simpson / 2h 

Tony Bennett's Day of Reckoning Has Come: Is Corporate Reform Far Behind? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Tony Bennett's Day of Reckoning Has Come: Is Corporate Reform Far Behind? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Tony Bennett's Day of Reckoning Has Come: Is Corporate Reform Far Behind?

By Anthony Cody on August 2, 2013 1:06 PM

Special Big Education Ape Salute to Tony Bennett Greatest Hits- rags to riches

For months the question has hung in the air: When will the weight of deception bring the corporate reform project crashing down? For some, the day of reckoning has come already.

The emails of one of the nation's leading "Chiefs for Change," Tony Bennett, were simply too much this week. The former state superintendent from Indiana was found to have done backflips to prevent the favored charter school endowed by one of his big donors from receiving a C on the state's accountability system. One email stated: "If you can't tell, I am more than a little miffed about this. I hope we can come to the meeting today with solutions and not excuses and/or explanations for me to wiggle myself out of the repeated lies I have told over the past 6 months."

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

But wiggle as he would, Mr. Bennett could not escape his lies and manipulations on behalf of the schools he favored. And this has revealed, at least in his case, that the "accountability" project he has championed was driven to produce results that would stigmatize public schools and promote charter schools. And when the numbers did not come out the way they wanted, 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Here comes the annual back-to-school media campaign

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Here comes the annual back-to-school media campaign:

Here comes the annual back-to-school media campaign

'Research shows...'

Twenty-seven students who will enter fifth grade at receiving school,  Brennemann, 4251 N. Clarendon Ave., stood along the wall behind the podium during the event, all receiving handshakes from the mayor when he entered the room.(DNAInfo)

Amid the chaos of Chicago's mass school closings and draconian school budget cuts,the Mayor Rahm & Byrd-Bennett are launching their annual opening-of-school day media campaign. They want of course, to see more students in their seats in on opening day, which will generate more state funds for bankrupt CPS. I do too.

But the campaign so far is lackluster. For thousands of south and west side students there's little to get excited about this opening day, given the closing of their neighborhood school, the loss of their favorite teacher, destroyed special ed programs, limiting of arts and music, 

Perdido Street School: A Tale Of Two Michelles: Rhee And Malkin

Perdido Street School: A Tale Of Two Michelles: Rhee And Malkin:

A Tale Of Two Michelles: Rhee And Malkin

Michelle Malkin took it to Tony Bennett in a Townhall post today:

The resignation of Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett couldn't have come at a better time. His disgraceful grade-fixing scandal is the perfect symbol of all that's wrong with the federal education schemes peddled by Bennett and his mentor, former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush: phony academic standards, crony contracts, big-government and big-business collusion masquerading as "reform."

Bennett stepped down Thursday after the Associated Press reported that he had meddled with charter school accountability ratings in Indiana last fall while serving as that state's schools superintendent. The beneficiary of his intervention? Big GOP donor and charter school operator Christel DeHaan, who has forked over nearly $3 million to Republicans (including $130,000 to Bennett).

...

Emails showed that Bennett was far more concerned about how a low grade would look than about maintaining the integrity of the grading system. Evaluators "need to understand that anything less than an 'A' for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work," Bennett complained. "This will be a HUGE problem for us," he worried in another message obtained by the AP.

Cronyism and corruption come in all political stripes and colors. As a conservative parent of public charter school-educated children, I am especially appalled by these 

Applications for latest Race to the Top and share of $120 million due Oct. 3 SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:


Applications for latest Race to the Top and share of $120 million due Oct. 3By Kimberly Beltran
Friday, August 02, 2013

Money Fairy is coming to your District, Well Maybe!

School districts with innovative strategies for personalizing each pupil’s learning experience through enhanced student-teacher relationships could receive millions of additional dollars under the Obama Administration’s 2013 Race to the Top-District grant program, details of which were announced this week.

In releasing the application for its latest Race to the Top competition, the U.S. Department of Education said it would provide up to $120 million to support “bold, locally-directed improvements in learning and teaching” that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.

“The Race to the Top-District competition is an opportunity for trailblazing districts across the country to implement models of personalized learning so that every child graduates college and career ready,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement. “The program is designed to support teachers and school leaders in their use of innovative strategies as we seek to build a stronger future for America’s students.”

Since 2009, the administration’s RTTT grant program has funded education reform nationwide, leading 46 states and the District of Columbia to pursue higher college- and career-ready standards, data-driven decision making, greater support for teachers and leaders, and turnaround interventions in low performing schools. Although it applied, California was not among the states winning an award.

In 2012, the Department rolled out its first district-only competition to support original, locally-driven educational 

Okay, I’m connected. Now what? | My Island View

Okay, I’m connected. Now what? | My Island View:

Okay, I’m connected. Now what?

August 2, 2013 by tomwhitby

The latest big thing in education is getting educators connected. The Department of Education is even declaring the month of October as Connected Educators’ Month to place an emphasis on and using, information, sources, and recruitment as key components in supporting a goal of connecting educators.

What is a connected educator? As a generalization, defining anything for educators is always a task, since educators try to make all definitions as inclusive and complete as possible to account for any contingency. It is as if someone can point out an exception to the rule, the definition must be flawed. As a result some bloggers try to qualify definitions in order to accommodate skeptical, or questioning educators. With that in mind, this is my definition of a connected educator. If it does not suit you make up your own. For me a connected educator is one who uses technology and social media to personalize learning for both personal and professional growth.

Of course someone will step up and say that we can do that face-to-face so we don’t need technology. Of course that is true, and that is the way that it was for many thousands of years, but we are no longer living with the limitations of past centuries. With the advent of the printing press, the radio, the telephone, the television, the calculator, the computer, and now the Internet, we have tools to get beyond face-to-face limitations. We can connect globally or locally without concerns for time or space. We live in an anytime, anywhere 

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Where are is the Legislature with the McCleary Mandate?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Friday Open Thread:

Friday Open Thread

Seattle Schools Wants Parents/Students for Hiring for Coaches

After the abysmal issues at Ballard and Roosevelt, this is good news (from Mirmac 1):"...we now have new guidelines for hiring athletic coaches. We are now required to have a parent and student on the interview committee when we interview coaches. If you would like to participate on an interview committee please fill out the following form and submit it. We will be hiring a Girls Soccer and Ultima

by Melissa Westbrook / 9min 

What is the Seattle Times Trying to Do?

The Times (finally) wrote a story about the misleading flyer put out by supporters of Suzanne Estey. That, in fact, it was the Chamber of Commerce PAC (CASE) plus a couple of wealthy guys, Don Larson and Matt Griffin )who have created their own PAC in support of Estey called Great Seattle Schools) who paid for it.  (Griffin and Larson have also given the full $1800 each that they are legally able

by Melissa Westbrook / 20min 

West Seattle K-5 STEM Debate Goes On

Over at the West Seattle Blog, they have a story about the K-5 STEM location debate, complete with links to two "viable" proposals.  More good reading on this subject.

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min

Uncle Miltie

Many conservatives have spent this week celebrating the birthday of Milton Friedman (which was July 31).  He was economic adviser to Reagan and couldn't say enough about a free market economic system.   His contribution to public education (from Wikipedia): (bold mine)In his 1955 article "The Role of Government in Education" Friedman proposed supplementing publicly operated schools with privately

by Melissa Westbrook / 34min 

Where are is the Legislature with the McCleary Mandate?

Good wrap-up from John Stang over at Crosscut.  Pieces of that question include: What's "steady progress"? What does a 2018 deadline really mean? If you measure progress on a make-believe linear graph, where does Washington stand? How does the lack of a cost-of-living raise for teachers factor in? "Did they define 'steady progress?' " asked Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia. "They did not define 'st

by Melissa Westbrook / 49min 

First weekend in August and it's starting out cool (but I'm not complaining as I know we have more great weather to come).

Report from KING-5 on the upcoming Board races.   I spent awhile talking with the reporter and yet a lot of it didn't make it here.  I also want to say that this statement I made in the story:

The difference in achievement between different ethnic groups is another tough issue facing the board. 
"If a child's not in school, a child's not learning," Melissa Westbrook said at Seattle Schools Community forum.

What NOT about the achievement gap but about disproportional discipline.

I did say this:

"If they are disrupting learning in the classroom, something has to be done, but 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 2, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Sacramento County schools superintendent to co-chair task force

Education Headlines

Friday, August 2, 2013

Teacher returning to classroom despite repeat DUIs

A teacher at a Kern County alternative school is scheduled to return to her job when classes resume later this month despite having been caught driving under the influence of alcohol three times since 2011.

Sausalito Marin City School District taps SoCal administrator as chief

Steve Van Zant, 50, who headed the Mountain Empire Unified School District for the last five years, begins his new job Friday.

Alisal board tables music contract

Following a stream of comments from people in support of Youth Orchestra Salinas, the Alisal Union School District board of trustees Wednesday night held off on approval of a new contract for $95,000 in music instruction.

Lode dropout rates released

High school dropout rates in the Mother Lode remain comparatively low, but local educators say one dropout is still too many.

Sacramento County schools superintendent to co-chair task force

Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon will co-chair a statewide task force charged with producing recommendations for revamping civics curriculum in California schools.

Snafu leaves Manhattan Beach's school calendar one day short

It might seem like an easy fix, but a few months after discovering the upcoming school calendar is one day short, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District still doesn't have a solution.

Former Carson High student alleges LAUSD denied him transportation for field trips

A former Carson High School student with cerebral palsy is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District for allegedly denying him accessible transportation for field trips, road baseball games and the Grad Night trip to Disneyland, according to court papers obtained Thursday.

Simi Valley school district trustee says board violated Brown Act

A newly elected school board member in Simi Valley has filed a complaint with the Ventura County grand jury against the rest of his board, alleging Brown Act violations.

L.A. Unified teachers ratings should be disclosed, judge rules

The performance ratings of individual teachers in the city school district are matters of keen public interest and should be released to the Los Angeles Times, a judge ordered Thursday.

Race to Top dollars modernize Galt school libraries, extend hours

This year the 3,855 students in the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District have high-tech libraries equipped with laptops, staffed with technicians and open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday.

Teacher convicted of molesting five students

After deliberating only six hours, a Santa Clara County jury on Thursday convicted former elementary teacher Craig Chandler of molesting five of his former students in his classroom at O.B. Whaley Elementary School in a case that rocked the community and called into question whether schools follow the law and report suspicions of sexual abuse.

Coachella Valley USB member requests restraining order against former member

A current member of the Coachella Valley Unified School Board asked a Riverside County judge for a restraining order against a former board member he claims is harassing him.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Fresno, Clovis schools make progress on construction projects

The steel beams forming the outer perimeter of the new Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School in southwest Fresno will soon be covered by cement plaster and metal tiles. Construction crews are sweating through summer to complete the new school -- named after Fresno Unified School District's first African-American principal -- by next August, just in time for the 2014-15 school year.

New charter school opens at New Millennium site in Fresno

Charter Academy, run by Lancaster-based Learn4Life charter school network, will open at New Millennium’s former campus in southwest Fresno on Aug. 19.

Galt offers a different kind of kindergarten

For the first time, the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District will have two independent transitional kindergarten classes this fall.

Blue Engine: The Next—and Better—Teach for America?:

Blue Engine: The Next—and Better—Teach for America?

This organization is successfully preparing rookie teachers for the challenges that lie ahead in the classroom.

Teaching alongside experienced educators has proven to be both beneficial to students and the rookie teachers. (Photo: Washington Post/Getty Images)

Rapper Lupe Fiasco skipped the platitudes often served up in commencement speeches when addressing a group of graduating students from Chicago’s public school last month. He opted instead for frank and brutal.

He told the crowd: “Congratulations, you’ve just graduated from one of the worst, substandard schools in the entire world...You have just spent the last...12 years receiving one of the worst educations on Earth. You are at least four to five steps behind people that are younger than you.”

The words stung, but were (surprisingly) met with applause.

Diary of a First-Year Teacher: Did I Serve Them Well?

Fiasco’s point—that a diploma from a low-performing high school does not adequately prepare students for future academic success—is one that education reform advocate Nick Erhmann has been making for years. His attempt to change that is what led him to launch Blue Engine. 

Founded in 2009, the New York-based 

Mandate Block Grant - Categorical Programs (CA Dept of Education)

Mandate Block Grant - Categorical Programs (CA Dept of Education):

Mandate Block Grant

Mandate Block Grant program detailed funding information.

---

Funding

Fiscal Year 2013-14

Mandate Block Grant Funding 2013 Funding Profile - Program Description and Funding
Mandate Block Grant Funding 2013 Results - Entitlements, Apportionments and Letters (coming soon)

Fiscal Year 2012-13

Mandate Block Grant Funding 2012 Funding Profile - Program Description and Funding
Mandate Block Grant Funding 2012 Results - Entitlements, Apportionments and Letters

Other Fiscal Information

List of Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) Participation Status

2013-14 LEA Participation Status
2012-13 LEA Participation Status 05-Nov-2012 (XLS)

Request for Application/Letter of Intent

2013-14 Mandate Block Grant Letter Requesting Funding/Request for Application2012-13 Mandate Block Grant Letter of Intent/Request for Application

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Mandate Block Grant Program

Correspondence

2013-14 CDEfisc Notification of 01-Aug-2013

Average Daily Attendance

Chart of ADA Used to Calculate Mandate Block Grant (coming soon)

Mandated Activities Links

Commission on State Mandate 
State Controller's Office 

Legal References

Government Code sections 17575-17581.7 
2013 Budget Act Item 6110-296-0001 

Louisiana Educator: Bennett Resigns; White Continues to Flaunt Authority

Louisiana Educator: Bennett Resigns; White Continues to Flaunt Authority:

Bennett Resigns; White Continues to Flaunt Authority

The Washington Post reports in this article that Tony Bennett, Commissioner of Education in Florida has resigned as a result of favored treatment given to a charter school owner when he was still Superintendent in Indiana. The Indiana Association of Educators pointed out that what Bennett did for the charter school amounted to cheating and that such actions should never be tolerated.

What about in Louisiana where it has been known for years that various charter schools and some regular schools have repeatedly used cheating on state tests to boost their scores and prevent state takeover? (See this recent LENS story) The former Director of Accountability in Louisiana, Dr Scott Norton, told me over a year ago that the DOE has a policy of not investigating alleged incidents of cheating on state tests even when erasure analysis and whistle blowers indicate that cheating has probably taken place. The state policy is that local authorities are informed when there are allegations of cheating and it is the responsibility of the local superintendent to investigate and take action against cheaters. All the state does is invalidate the school scores in the most blatant cases. This is like the IRS telling a taxpayer that even though your records show you cheated on your income tax, the government is going to leave it up to you to 

Teach for America Apostates: a Primer of Alumni Resistance

Teach for America Apostates: a Primer of Alumni Resistance:

Teach for America Apostates: a Primer of Alumni Resistance

By Owen Davis, Truthout | Article

• font size   
• Print 
• Email

(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout )Brianna stands beside the conductor's podium in the band hall of Chicago's Uplift High School. An engrossed audience is packed on the risers. Mirrored sunglasses obscure her expression, and her only sign of nervousness is in the movement of her hands, clasping and unclasping before her.

Brianna was a public school student in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. In the wake of the flood, whole neighborhoods were destroyed. Approximately 1,300 people had died and hundreds of thousands were yet to return. Amid all this, she had faith her schools would weather the storm.

Instead, she found that her school was one of the many consolidated into charter schools, which draw public funds but are privately managed. Thousands of school employees had been fired (a move later ruled illegal), and many of the replacements were young, lightly trained recruits from Teach for America. By 2007, nearly half of the city's teachers were in their first three years of teaching. TFA became embeddedin the fabric of the district, and one in three New Orleans students can now call a TFA recruit their teacher.

Brianna was vexed by her young new teachers, who were adversarial and fixated on data. "Everything was taken away," Brianna said. "And then the teachers don't even care about you."

Complicating matters, many of the new teachers in the majority-black district were