Sunday, August 11, 2013

8-11-13 Perdido Street School

Christine Quinn And The Legal Drop-Out Age

From Daily Politics:Kids would be legally barred from dropping out of high school until they turn 18 under a proposal announced Sunday by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.The mayoral hopeful is pushing to raise the legal drop out age to 18 from the current minimum of 17. “As a government, we give students permission to drop out of school at 17. When they’re children, we give them the permissio

by reality-based edu... / 2min

Why Is The Daily News Going Light On Sheriff Andy Cuomo?

Following the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo received $400,000 in campaign donations direct into his account or to a Democratic Party account that his campaign could tap for ad money from a real estate developer and his affiliates in return for $35 million in tax breaks, the Daily News is kinda sorta calling for an investigation into Cuomo:The commission investigating Albany’s outrageous tax give

by reality-based edu... / 44min

Common Core Testing

by reality-based edu... / 9min

Can Spitzer Buy His Way Into The Comptroller's Office?

The NY Post reports that Eliot Spitzer has spent more than 10 times what Scott Stringer has spent in the comptroller's race:It looks like Eliot Spitzer will be a financial “steamroller” this time around. Spitzer, who’s self-funding his campaign, has put in $3.7 million since declaring his candidacy for comptroller on July 7.What’s more, the former love gov spent $2.6 million on the race for comptr

by reality-based edu... / 2min

Don't Worry, We'll Fix The Low Test Scores With More Test Prep!

Buried in this New York Daily News story about how the "achievement gap" between white and Asian students and black and Latino students widened with the new Common Core tests and how schools they had more high needs students did worse on the tests than schools with fewer high needs students is this doozy:Despite launching several reforms to close the achievement gap, like Mayor Bloomberg’s Young M

by reality-based edu... / 4min

Bronx Success Academy 2 Ranks 3rd In State On Test Scores

In the middle of this Michael Goodwin propaganda piece on Eva Moskowitz in today's NY Post, we get this:The numbers tell the tale. Success Academy Bronx 2 was the top-performing nonselective school in the city and ranked third out of more than 3,500 schools across the state. Some 97 percent of its students passed math and 77 percent passed English, despite a poverty rate of 85 percent. The school

by reality-based edu... / 10min

Perdido Street School 8-10-13

Perdido Street School: TODAYAdd The SLO's And The City Tests To Next Year's Battery Of State TestsA parent made the following comment on the Newsday article about the Opt Out movement:My son gets almost 90's on every one of his "real" tests. He doesn't need to sit for 420 minutes of standardized testing in April, nor countless dozens of other hours for SLOs, benchmarks, field test questions and wh

by mike simpson / 7h

ONLY ON 3: Low pay forces teacher of the year candidate to quit | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News

ONLY ON 3: Low pay forces teacher of the year candidate to quit | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News:

ONLY ON 3: Low pay forces teacher of the year candidate to quit

Submitted by Holden Kurwicki on Fri, 08/09/2013 - 5:58pm.

BOILING SPRING LAKES, NC (WWAY) -- We’re just weeks away from the start of school and the Brunswick County school system is losing one of its top educators.

Richie Brown is leaving his post at South Brunswick High School for a job in the private sector, but says he is worried that more of his former colleagues may soon follow if there isn’t a change in the bottom line.

"I was about to be a seventh-year teacher, and I would be paid the same as I was as a second-year teacher,” said Richie Brown. “When you get into education you know you're not going to become a millionaire. I wasn't getting into this because of the money, but you still expect to be compensated fairly"

Brown and his wife Kristina, who is also a teacher, were trying to have another child and realized that it was going to be extremely difficult on them financially.

To be able to afford his expanding family Richie says he was forced to look for another job

Let’s Not Expect Everyone to Run a 4 Minute Mile - School Leadership 2.0

Let’s Not Expect Everyone to Run a 4 Minute Mile - School Leadership 2.0:

Let’s Not Expect Everyone to Run a 4 Minute Mile

I don’t know about you but when I occasionally run in 5K a 9 minute mile avera

ge pace is pushing it for me. Now I’m sure there are some very fit, athletic 50 year olds who can do much better, but clearly if we expected (or mandated) that everyone at my age should run a 4 minute mile the results would be much like what we see in the recently released NYS assessment failure rates. The standard setting equivalent of expecting all to perform at high levels that are dubious in terms of attending to the stated goal of college and career readiness is akin to saying that the health of individuals is tied primarily to how fast they run.

Our first obligation is to do no harm. I am convinced that those who claim to be pushing a reform agenda in the name of helping children are doing quite the opposite. There is great harm being seen and heard in the aftermath of the release of these results to all who live and work with children as well as the students themselves. Those of us who support, and celebrate the individual uniqueness of our students have strong aspirations for all of them.

No, we should not expect everyone to “perform” at the same level using a select set of measuring sticks. In reality, we all have unique strengths that must be honored and celebrated. In fact, let us insure that we do not marginalize the poets, musicians, and artists of the future in the name of getting the data to show higher percentages of 3s and 4s. The engineers, mathematicians, and scientists would also do well to experience a strong well-rounded foundation in their primary and secondary educational experiences. All current and future citizens benefit from time to play and

Chicago Teachers Union to Washington to fight for Trayvon | The Daily Caller

Chicago Teachers Union to Washington to fight for Trayvon | The Daily Caller:

Chicago Teachers Union headed to Washington to fight for Trayvon, against foreclosures

The Chicago Teachers Union has announced that it will send a bus to the 50th Anniversary March on Washington, a full week of events to be hosted by the four children of Martin Luther King, Jr. and several organizations including Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

The march will celebrate The Great March on Washington, which took place 50 years ago in the summer of 1963 and culminated with King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. It set to occur Aug. 21 through Aug. 28.

The Chicago Labor Freedom Riders bus trip is slated for Aug. 23 to 25.

The first day of school for students in Chicago Public Schools is Monday, August 26. However, Aug. 23 is scheduled as an official Teacher Institute Day. Any teacher taking the bus to the march will be absent that day.

The actual march will occur on August 28.

A mass email sent out to the Chicago entire Teachers Union’s mailing list urges union members to attend the march to protest foreclosures, the Second City’s recent rash of school closings and, of course, the verdict in favor of George Zimmerman, a Hispanic man who shot a black teenager during an altercation.

“The attack on the working people of Chicago and the country — school closings, high rates of unemployment, evictions and foreclosures, mass incarceration of our youth, lack of

Thinking About Schools: Testing: Here's What. So What? NOW What? (19 suggestions)

Thinking About Schools: Testing: Here's What. So What? NOW What? (19 suggestions):

Testing: Here's What. So What? NOW What? (19 suggestions)

Here’s What

Schools have always used standards, designed curriculum, taught kids, and assessed learning and acknowledged there is a lot of room for improvement. Still, SAT, ACT, and AP participation and scores are up as is college attendance and hundreds of thousands, millions of student success stories.

But after the “Nation At Risk Report” in the ‘80s and other critiques going back to the late ‘90s, politicians and CEOs saw an Achilles heel that would advance their interests on the backs of kids and teachers while ignoring administrators and local school boards. Well intended efforts to “level the playing field” and “a new civil rights movement” were about as sincere as billionaires using the momentum of

Arthur Getzel: Small Lies, Big Lies, and School Statistics - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Arthur Getzel: Small Lies, Big Lies, and School Statistics - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Arthur Getzel: Small Lies, Big Lies, and School Statistics

By Anthony Cody on August 11, 2013 8:59 AM

Guest post by Arthur Getzel.

Over the past few days, I was torn whether or not to publish a letter I wrote to Michael Mulgrew. I was hesitant for several reasons. First, I hold a position with the United Federation of Teachers and I was in no mood for flak from those just above me because I would be publicly disagreeing with the leader of my union. Second, I thought that if I sent the head of my union a personal letter disagreeing with him, I should at least have the courtesy to wait until he replied. Right now, it is over three days since I sent the letter and as of yet, no reply. What prompted the letter was an email to union members critiquing Bloomberg's reaction to the recent results of the ELA and Math Common Core State Assessments. In a nutshell, he made two statements that I had to disagree with. One, that educators developed the Common Core and that the Common Core is the way to make our students college and career ready as well as develop deep higher level thinking skills.

In the last seventy-two hours, three things convinced me that I have to publish the letter. First, I asked the opinion of several bloggers who I greatly respect. One wrote me saying that I should not care what he thinks while the other blogger said that my letter was powerful and needed to be heard. Next, I read a great blog from NYC Educator critiquing Mulgrew's email

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-11-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch

Photo of the Day from Philadelphia Parents

Here it is. A carefree governor paddling away while the children of Philadelphia lose arts, sports, computers, guidance counselors, librarians, books, etc.

by dianerav / 26min

Our Kids Are OK, the Tests Are Not

Stephen Dyer in Ohio can’t believe that 2/3 of the children in New York failed the state tests. He says if he or his wife wrote an exam that 69% of students failed, the shame would be on them or the tests, not the students. The Néw York scores lack face validity. Dyer says: “Does anyone really, I mean really, believe that more than 2 out of every 3 children in New York State are failing? Or that o

3 by dianerav / 5min

A Gift for You This Sunday

This is a favorite of mine. I think you will enjoy it, and the singer is gorgeous. Would someone please tell the mayors and governors and legislators to stop laying off teachers of music and the other arts?

1 by dianerav / 3min

Wikipedia Page on Vouchers Revised to Favor Vouchers

A sharp-eyed reader noticed that the Wikipedia description of vouchers has been revised to put vouchers in a favorable light. The entry somehow slides past the fact that voters have turned down vouchers whenever they were put on the ballot. Every voucher program in the U.S. was enacted by a state legislature–or in the case of D.C.–by Congress. Not one of them was adopted or approved by voters. Th

by dianerav / 4min

Breaking News: Common Core Tests Widen Achievement Gaps

According to an exclusive report in the New York Daily News, the Common Core testing widened the achievement gaps between high-needs students and their advantaged peers. The Daily News had access to a study by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. “According to the Annenberg report, schools with the highest concentration of special-education students saw a 64% decrease in reading scores and 7

2 by dianerav / 5min

Losing the Heart of the Community

What happens when privately managed charter schools replace public schools? when experienced teachers are replaced by TFA temporary teachers? A reader comments: “From what I can tell, Arizona’s TFA teachers are thought of as rock stars in education. Knights in shining armor to save the school day. It’s the new baby and everyone loves it. Charters are popping up all over the place. The buildings ar

1 by dianerav / 27min

Who Was Your Favorite Teacher?

This is a terrific website. Readers answer the question, “who was your favorite teacher and why?” It is fun to read the responses. People write about teachers who were strict and demanding; they write about teachers who were passionate about their subject; they write about teachers who were inspiring; they write about teachers who were fun and pulled pranks; they write about their physics teacher,

2 by dianerav / 31min

New Group Forms in New York State to Fight Common Core

A parent in New York contacted me to tell me of a new group that she and other parents created to fight the Common Core in New York. She writes: My name is Yvonne Gasperino. My husband and I have started a grassroots effort named Stop Common Core in New York State on April 3, 2013. Here is the link to the website: www.stopccssinnys.com or www.stopcommoncoreinnewyork.com, we also have a FB group p

1 by dianerav / 38min

As Philadelphia Schools Die, Governor Corbett Goes Kayaking

This just in from a retired Pennsylvania school superintendent: “Beyond Belief! “On the August 9 front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools makes a desperate last minute plea for adequate funding to give his city’s school children some semblance of equal educational opportunity. “And the state and city leadership response is similar to the legend of Nero f

7 by dianerav / 2h

Jersey Jazzman Explains NY’s Triple Lindy Testing Mess

Remember when teachers wrote the tests for their students to determine way they knew and what they needed to study again? Remember when testing was feedback intended to inform instruction? It’s all over! Jersey Jazzman explains the crazy way that Néw York state decided to grade the tests. Only a mad psychometricians would come up with a process so convoluted. It’s a triple Lindy. Maybe a quadrup

4 by dianerav / 2h mark as read // save

Why Wall Street Loves Charters

This is not satire. It is real. In a guest post for EduShyster, a hedge fund manager explains why Wall Street loves charters. To them, the way to manage schools is to treat them like a stock portfolio. Keep the winners, dump the losers. Report the success of the winners, forget about the losers. It is a great formula. The CREDO study has been cited as evidence that charters are getting better but

13 by dianerav / 2h

Diane in the Evening 8-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: REIGN OF ERROR COMING SOON (CLICK here)Demolition Derby in Michigan for School DistrictsUnder a recently passed state law in Michigan, two school districts will be dissolved. Inkster and Buena Vista school districts no longer exist. Their students and teachers have scattered. The students are looking for schools, the teachers are l

by mike simpson / 51min

Philly state lawmakers to Corbett: Give extra money to schools now | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philly state lawmakers to Corbett: Give extra money to schools now | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Philly state lawmakers to Corbett: Give extra money to schools now

by thenotebook on Aug 10 2013 Posted in Latest news

COMMENTS (19)PRINT

by Holly Otterbein

Money is so tight in the Philadelphia School District that Superintendent William Hite said he may not be able to open schools on time if he is not assured soon that more city funding is on the way.

Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke both want to provide extra cash, but they're quarreling over how to do that.

In light of the schools' massive budget shortfall, Philadelphia-area state lawmakers are trying to push Gov. Tom Corbett to immediately give the District millions of dollars that have been set aside. But the Corbett administration argues that the District's unions must make major changes before the cash is released.

Corbett's funding package for Philly's schools, announced in June, includes a one-time infusion of $45 million that originated from an apparent settlement with the federal government. Before Corbett hands over that money, state law requires his education secretary to certify that the District has begun to implement financial, educational and operational "reforms."

State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said that the School District has already executed big changes, like closing schools and slashing its budget. He believes that the Corbett administration legally can, and should, release the $45 million payment ASAP.

"Hopefully they'll get to the point where they will not stand in the school doors of these kids who deserve to have the adults act like adults," he said. "[The School Reform Commission has] closed 31 schools to try to make a much more efficient

When Charter Schools Are in Churches, Conflict Is in the Air - NYTimes.com

When Charter Schools Are in Churches, Conflict Is in the Air - NYTimes.com:

When Charter Schools Are in Churches, Conflict Is in the Air

By MORGAN SMITH

Published: August 10, 2013S

Three years, 5,000 door hangers and several garage sales after its opening, Beta Academy has a long waiting list but an empty bank account.

Enlarge This Image

Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune

Latisha Andrews hopes to convert her private elementary school, which is housed at an Assembly of God church in Houston, into a charter school.

Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization. To join the conversation about this article, go totexastribune.org.

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But if the school’s founder, Latisha Andrews, has her way, Beta, a private elementary school that operates out of the Houston Christian Temple Assembly of God Church, will soon transform into a new operation: a publicly financed charter school.

If the state approves Ms. Andrews’s application this fall, Beta Academy will join the many charter schools that have partnerships with religious institutions that have cropped up in cities across Texas since the charter school system was established in 1995. In the past three years, 16 of the 23 charter contracts the state has awarded have gone to entities with religious ties.

While charter school advocates say the practice often reflects no more than smart budgeting, some educators and others question whether the schools receive the proper oversight to ensure that religious groups are not benefiting from taxpayer dollars intended for public school students — or that faith-based instruction is not entering those

NYC Educator: Education, Cajun Style

NYC Educator: Education, Cajun Style:

Education, Cajun Style

US Education Secretary Arne Duncan famously stated that Katrina was the best thing to happen to education in New Orleans. But hey, you can't just flood the whole country. First of all, even if you have a very important job like Arne does, you still don't get power over time, space, and nature.

Unfair though that is, you have to deal with it. There has to be another way. After all, New Orleans proved a perfect opportunity to close down virtually the entire public school system and replace it with charters. This is a bonanza for your BFFs who heretofore had not been making a dime from education. Sure they aren't really doing very well. But that's not really the point, is it?

Arne knows a lot about education. After all, he's never been a teacher, so he's unencumbered by the special interests and prejudices that come with that job. However, he did run the Chicago school system. While it's true his program failed utterly, that's not the point either. If we can't simply produce hurricanes to improve education, how can we help the entire country make our BFFs more wealthy like we did in Chicago and New Orleans?

Clearly, this Common Core stuff is a bonanza. If we can introduce tests for which students are unprepared, if we make people who don't even speak English take them, if we fail to allow for poverty, handicaps, or learning difficulties, we can cause an enormous drop in test scores. Once we reach a 70% failure rate, it will be a true crisis and we can start closing schools even in affluent districts. Eva Moskowitz and Geoffrey Canada can come riding to the rescue, and if they fail, what's the dif? The unions will be gone and the money we wasted on teachers will now

Nutter, Clarke disagree on solution for schools - Philly.com

Nutter, Clarke disagree on solution for schools - Philly.com:

Nutter, Clarke disagree on solution for schools

Mayor Nutter (left) and Council President Darrell L. Clarke (center) differ on allocating prospective bailout money.

By Troy Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer

POSTED: August 10, 2013

At the heart of the impasse that Philadelphia School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. says is threatening his ability to start class on time this fall are two men - Mayor Nutter and City Council President Darrell L. Clarke - who have known each other for decades and rarely seem to agree.

Their latest difference of opinion centers on part of a state bailout for the schools that calls for the city to borrow $50 million against future sales tax collections.

Clarke says the state gave Philadelphia a "bad deal" without consulting key city politicians, and he wants to change the terms of the bailout.

Nutter says that he doesn't like the deal either, but that the School District of Philadelphia is in such dire straits that Council needs to back the plan now. Hite has to book the $50 million by Friday to start classes Sept. 9 "on time and safe," the mayor said.

Nutter said Friday that negotiations on education funding have been going on all summer "out of the public eye."

But on Thursday, when Hite made the extraordinary announcement that he might postpone the opening of 212 district schools, the rift with Clarke was laid bare.

Two hours after Hite spoke, Nutter called the superintendent's comments "one of the most chilling statements that I've ever heard a school leader . . . make."

Clarke, on the other hand, said he was "comfortable with what Dr. Hite did."

As for the mayor?

"Mayor's entitled to his position," Clarke said. "Our position is our position."

Nutter and Clarke met again Friday afternoon, along with State Sens. Anthony Hardy Williams and Vincent Hughes, and State Rep. Cherelle L. Parker. They emerged without a deal, but with less biting rhetoric.

Tony Bennett Emails Jeb – Count the Errors #HugeFail | Continuing Change

Tony Bennett Emails Jeb – Count the Errors #HugeFail | Continuing Change:

Tony Bennett Emails Jeb – Count the Errors #HugeFail

This is an email written by our former Florida Commissioner of Education, Tony Bennett. The email is addressed to Jeb Bush. Both men call for higher standards in public schools and for more accountability.

Read one paragraph from the email below. Answer the questions that follow.

Question: How many grammatical errors can you find in one paragraph of the email ?

A. Too many
B. Can you believe this guy ran education?
C. I can see why Jeb likes him
D. All of the above

‪#‎AccountabilityGoesBothWays‬

email: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/files/bennett_email-1.pdf