8-14-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Read this: My friends from Occupy Naperville were arrested at the ALEC protest.

By Patricia Herrmann, Occupy Naperville From Paul Sjordal’s “news:” Police Charge Into Demonstrators at ALEC Conference in Chicago (4min video, these arrests happened before Maddie Sullivan was arrested) �In the first part of this video we see police using metal barriers to hem in demonstrators in front of The Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago, site of the 40th annual conference of the America

2 by Fred Klonsky / 18min

The in box. At the anti-ALEC protest.

  Outside the Palmer House. My friends from Occupy Naperville. From Truthout. Writing on the building outside the Palmer House Hotel in downtown Chicago says “igniting passions since 1871.” The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held its 40th anniversary conference at the hotel, igniting the passions of protesters who came out to inveigh against ALEC’s agenda during a demonstration Augu

2 by Fred Klonsky / 17min 

The in box. Teach for America’s civil war.

From The American Prospect: Teach for America is at universities, recruiting high-achieving graduates to teach in the nation’s underserved urban and rural areas. It’s at school boards, lobbying districts to renew its contracts and import hundreds of its members. It’s in corporate boardrooms, asking for tens of millions in funding. With more than 32,000 alumni, its former participants helm the maj

1 by Fred Klonsky / 9min 

Less there than meets the eye.

  Click on image to enlarge. H/T PURE.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 5min 

Mark Stefanik: They’re back.

  Middle school teacher and activist Mark Stefanik. By Mark Stefanik The Springfield Poltergeist have returned.   Just received a survey mailer from Democratic State Representative Robyn Gabel which begins “… it is my privilege to serve as your advocate.”   Hoo-Boy… With advocates like Robyn, who needs enemies?   Along with Republican-in-Democrat’s-clothing Senator Dan Biss, these ‘advocates’ of

2 by Fred Klonsky / 16min 

Jason Richwine. The racist wind bag that is a gift that keeps on giving.

H/T: Micah Uetricht Back in March I first heard of Jason Richwine when he appeared on a panel along with my brother Mike and Brother Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) discussing Rahm’s school closings. Brother Mike and Brother Jitu explained why the closing were wrong. Richwine babbled on about how throwing money at schools was a bad thing. Although I have never unde

1 by Fred Klonsky / 4min 

Rahm’s chaotic rule: District school close. Charters open.

  The bodies are barely cold. The summer began with the closing of 50 Chicago public district schools, mainly on the south and west sides where Black students attended them. Yesterday the district issued a request for proposals to open new charter schools. In a 52-page PDF posted without fanfare on the district’s website, CPS is asking for new charter operators and campuses for the 2014-15 and 20

by Fred Klonsky / 35min 

Losing seniority rights means running schools on the cheap. The CPS budget means winners and losers.

  Graphic: Catalyst. The always ridiculous CPS spokesperson Becky Carroll admitted there are winners and losers in the CPS budget. The losers are students and families in district run schools. No surprise that charters are winners when it comes to budgeting. The Catalyst’s Sarah Karp reports: 70 percent of district-run schools lost $100,000 or more (not including the 49 schools that were closed t

1 by Fred Klonsky / 4min 

8-13-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: The in box. Support for Logan Square TIF – Schools rally Sunday.From Will Guzzardi: Many of you joined with us in our struggle this past winter to keep Brentano Elementary open. Principal Salgado and the rest of the Brentano family are thrilled that the school will be opening its doors for another sch

by mike simpson / 10h 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-14-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Pearson Goofs on 4,000 Test Scores in Virginia

Mega-publisher Pearson admitted that it released the wrong grades for 4,000 students in Virginia. “Pearson issued a similar apology last spring for making mistakes in the scoring of admissions tests for gifted and talented programs in New York City public schools. Other scoring problems by Pearson in recent years caused delays in final test results in Florida and Minnesota. “Pearson and state edu

2 by dianerav / 6min 

U.S. Department of Education Abandons Federalism

There is a sacrosanct principle that has informed the actions of the U.S. Department of Education throughout its 33-year history: federalism. That is, a recognition that the federal government has limited authority, and that states and localities have the primary responsibility for education. George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind was a direct assault on federalism because it asserted the power of

1 by dianerav / 3min mark as read  //  save

Principal: John King Hurt My Students

In response to my call for John King’s resignation, this principal in New Tork wrote: “Thank you, Diane! Last night I finally had the heart to review my school’s test scores, child by child. As I read their names and numbers, I saw their little faces on the days of the testing, so many in tears, and I cried. “This is so wrong for children. “I have an excellent school, smart, hard-working kids an

by dianerav / 9min 

NYC Teacher: The Common Core Standards Are Broken and Can’t Be Fixed

This letter was written by a New York City teacher to his union president. “I am writing as a loyal union member and as a special education teacher in a middle class ethnically diverse neighborhood who knows a lot about testing because I spent nearly two decades assessing disabled children as part of a school assessment team.until this Mayor deemed my psychometric skills to be worthless Neverthele

by dianerav / 4min mark as read  //  save

Gary Rubinstein: Analyzing the Success Academy Success

Gary Rubinstein has a well established reputation as a careful investigator of miracle schools. On many occasions, he has debunked miracle claims. See his wiki site here. In this post, he takes a close look at the scores of Success Academy on the new Common Core tests. I don’t think Gary would classify the Success Academy schools as “miracle schools,” because they don’t have the same demographic p

1 by dianerav / 34min 

Schneider: My Experience Teaching the Common Core Standards

Mercedes Schneider often writes analyses of politics in Louisiana and elsewhere and statistical critiques of studies. She has a Ph.D. in statistics and research methodology. But she has a day job. She teaches English in high school because that is what she loves. Recently she has been immersed in learning the Common Core standards. Here is her account of her experience with them.

by dianerav / 6:20 AM UTC-7 

Proof that There is No Liberal Media

This article from the Daily Kos proves there is no liberal media by listing the stories almost never mentioned in the major newspaper and TV shows. Think how little attention the reform wrecking ball has gotten. Only a major scandal like Bennett’s grade-fixing is noticed. No major paper would touch John Merrow’s exposé of cheating under Rhee. No one in the media cares about the US having the hig

1 by dianerav / 11min 

Chile: The Most Pro-Market School System in the World, Part 3

This is the third and final post about Education in Chile by Professor Mario Waissbluth, which he wrote for this blog to help us understand a system that took Milton Friedman’s advice and relied heavily on testing and choice.   Chile´s Education (III): A necessary change of course. In my two previous columns I described the Chilean political, economic and educational model. In short, growth with i

1 by dianerav / 14min mark as read  //  save

John King Should Resign

New York’s Commissioner of Education John King should resign. The job of state commissioner is to support and strengthen education and educators, not to undermine them. In his short tenure, King has used his position to wreak havoc on the state’s education system. He has demoralized educators. He has imposed an evaluation scheme that no one understands, but which he famously described as “building

100+ by dianerav / 1h 

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

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Fort Wayne School Board Votes to Disregard Bennett A-F GradesThe Fort Wayne Community School Board passed a resolution by a vote o 6-1 to discontinue using the A-F grading system created by disgraced former State Superintendent Tony Bennett. The South Bend, Indiana, school board is considering the same resolution:   RESOLUTION OF T

by mike simpson / 3h 

8-14-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

Please bear with us as we mourn

When Leaves on the Current met him in a gas station in the southside of Virginia, they called him Midnight. She renamed him Cielito he looked like the heavens at night, with a splash of white He joined our household in May 2005, when we already had four rescued felines. He was only 9.  Last week he had some problems and we took him to the vet - he clearly had an infection, so they took blood for

5 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 7h 

 

8-13-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: Eugene Robinson asks "What NSA reforms?"In this Washington Post op ed Robinson notes The modest reforms Obama proposed do not begin to address the fundamental question of whether we want the National Security Agency to log all of our phone calls and read at least some of our e-mails, relying on secret judicial orders from a secret court for permission. The president indica

by mike simpson / 11h 

Head Start limiting enrollment, cutting programs as sequester kicks in | EdSource Today

Head Start limiting enrollment, cutting programs as sequester kicks in | EdSource Today:

Head Start limiting enrollment, cutting programs as sequester kicks in

August 14th, 2013 | Add a Comment | 
By Lillian Mongeau

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Credit: EdSource Today

Hundreds of children across the state will be shut out of preschool in September as the federal sequestration cuts to Head Start take effect.

The across-the-board reductions to large portions of the federal budget were triggered in March, when Congress failed to reach an agreement on balancing the budget by raising revenue or making specific cuts. Head Start, the national child care and education program for low-income children, received a 5.27 percent cut that is just catching up to local programs now. It’s forcing most to enroll fewer children, lay off staff, shrink the school calendar and, in some cases, even close facilities.

In El Dorado County, five spots have been cut from the 125-child program. In Long Beach Unified, 178 fewer students will be served this fall. In Ventura County, 72 fewer children will receive services. And in Fresno County, 76 fewer children will begin at a Head Start preschool this fall.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education Head Start and its affiliates served 22,000 children inthe 2012-13 school year. They’ll serve 900 fewer children in the upcoming school year – cutting off a vital resource for needy families, said Keesha Woods, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Head Start program.

“This may have been the only experience they would have of a hot meal and a research-based curriculum” before starting kindergarten, Woods said. “By us cutting services for that child, there are no other services in the county that parents can afford.”

It is not yet clear how many fewer children will be served statewide. The California Head Start 

NYC Educator: Common Sense Says Reformy John King Must Go (Diane Ravitch Says So Too)

NYC Educator: Common Sense Says Reformy John King Must Go (Diane Ravitch Says So Too):

Common Sense Says Reformy John King Must Go (Diane Ravitch Says So Too)

If you haven't read Diane Ravitch today, it's time. She's calling for the resignation of NYS Education Commissioner Reformy John King. Ravitch is a voice in the education wilderness demanding we base decisions on research and practice. This flies in the face of common practice, which is to do whatever the hell Bill Gates wants and hope for the best.

He has imposed an evaluation scheme that no one understands, but which he famously described as “building a plane in mid-air.” He doesn’t realize that no one wants to ride on a plane that is being built in mid-air—not students, not teachers, not principals, not parents, not superintendents.

Not anyone with the remotest instinct for survival, when you get right down to it. But Reformy John is not about supporting the system. He's all about giving it away to his charter BFFs who got him the gig in the first place. This should be obvious to anyone observing the debacle that is the Common Core tests.

John King is the guy who singlehandedly imposed the insane system that will cause city teachers to be fired based on test scores. Of course, our union is complicit in this, as we took part in negotiations to enact the preposterous law that enabled it. Nonetheless, why isn't Reformy John judged by the scores of the very test he imposed?

If we are to judge teachers and principals by the rise or fall of student test scores, as King wishes, then so 

8-14-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

John King Thinks New York Has "Very High-Quality Common Core Assessments"

Yeah, he really does.He said so when he was asked by Gotham Schools if New York would be moving to the PARCC consortium assessments any time soon: “I suspect that we will perhaps move more slowly than some other states since we know that we have in place very high-quality Common Core assessments,” King said. Let's see, what were the complaints about those state tests last April?(NOTE: I refuse to

by reality-based edu... / 13min 

Assemblyman Steve Englebright Calls For NYSED Commissioner John King To Be Removed

Joining Diane Ravitch and Mark Naison in calling for John King's ouster is Assemblyman Steve Englebright:While Comsewogue Superintendent Joe Rella asked last week that his state legislators either help him change the state testing system, or remove him from office, his elected Assemblyman, Steve Englebright, would prefer that someone else be removed: the state Education Commissioner, John King. "T

by reality-based edu... / 21min 

Will The State Senate Hearings Into The NYSED/Regents Education Reforms Matter?

I missed this story from last week, but it looks to be an important one:The chairman of the New York State Senate Education Committee will hold hearings next month on the state's controversial educational reforms. Sen. John Flanagan, a Republican from Long Island, said he will hold several hearings across the state, starting in Long Island in mid-September. He said the topics will include, among o

by reality-based edu... / 21min 

Pearson Screws Up Again - This Time In Virginia

The incompetents at Pearson do it again:Pearson, the world’s largest education and testing company, provided incorrect scorecards for more than 4,000 students in Virginia who took an alternative assessment last school year. That mistake led to many parents receiving news this summer that their children had passed the test when they had failed it.“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this

by reality-based edu... / 9min 

Diane Ravitch Calls For NYSED Commissioner John King's Resignation

Send this call for King's removal around to everybody you know.Ravitch calls for him to resign but gives the Regents contact information, knowing that King will not go without pressure applied.I would add the contact information of the New York State Assembly and Senate members, along eith Speaker Sheldon Silver's contact information.Silver is very close to Merryl Tisch.If Shelly and his members s

3 by reality-based edu... / 30min 

Teen's Bad Grades Used As One Reason To Not Place Him On Heart Transplant List

This doesn't seem like a real story, but it is:Doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta estimate that without a heart transplant, 15-year-old Anthony Stokes will die within three to six months from heart failure. Yet despite his prognosis, they refuse to put Anthony on the transplant list, telling his family he doesn’t qualify due to “a history of non-compliance” characterized by “low grades an

by reality-based edu... / 8h

8-13-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: McGraw Hill Loses Regents Exams, NYCDOE Makes Students Retake The TestsJust outrageous:Students from a Chelsea high school have to retake their English Regents exams today after their original tests fell off the back of a truck on their way to be graded, the teachers union said last night. The United Federation of Teachers said about 75 11th-grade students from Chelsea Caree

by mike simpson / 9h 

Read the Common Core standards for kindergarteners:

Read the Common Core standards for kindergarteners

By Valerie Strauss, Published: August 14 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

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The new Common Core State Standardsare being implemented — with a lot of controversy — in most states, and there’s a great deal of discussion about them. But it is unclear whether everybody who is opining for or against them has actually read them.

To get an idea of what they say, below are the English Language Arts and math standards for kindergarteners. You should know that some early education experts have criticized the English-Language Arts standards, arguing that they do not square with what is known about early childhood development.

The one that may well be my favorite is this:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.4 Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

I can just picture a class of kindergarteners learning how to read emergent-reader texts with great purpose and understanding.

Here are Common Core standards for kindergarteners. Each standard is numbered; for example, RL.K.1 stands for Reading, Literature, kindergarten, standard 1.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS FOR KINDERGARTENERS

READING — LITERATURE

Key Ideas and Details

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key