Thursday, October 10, 2013

10-10-13 Schools Matter

CHICAGO (CBS) – The head of a Chicago parents group was warning parents the Chicago Public Schools system plans to upload personal student information into a national database run by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch.Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE), said the InBloom database upload is an invasion of privacy, masquerading as a program to

2 by Jim Horn / 29min

TFA is Losing Its Luster

There is still good, quality, genuine education going on around the country despite the teacher anti-teacher, anti-intellectual and misogynistic meme of accountability and performance, test scores, and measuring every student every year, over and over and over again, on standardized fill in the bubble sheets.TFA, just like so much of corporate education reform, fails to acknowledge the "appro

by Judy Rabin / 1min mark as read // save

Evidence Presented in the Case Against Growth Models for High Stakes Purposes

Posted earlier today at Substance News:Evidence Presented in the Case Against Growth Models for High Stakes PurposesDenise Wilburn and Jim HornThe following article quotes liberally from The Mismeasure of Education, and it represents an overview of the research-based critiques of value-added modeling, or growth models. We offer it here to Chicago educators [and educators everywhere] with the h

2 by Jim Horn / 5min

Calling Wendy Kopp!

With the government shutdown, a great opportunity exists for those entrepreneurs who see education as fertile ground for their innovative innovations.Wendy Kopp, here is an idea for you—free of charge:Govern for AmericaCall on bright young college grads with no expertise or experience in government to commit to 2-year (House) or 6-year (Senate) stints in the U.S. Congress![You're welcomed..]

1 by P. L. Thomas / 50min

10-9-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Confessions of a "Bad Teacher" Confronting Treachery During an Age of "Reform"I read Rafe Esquith’s Real Talk for Real Teachers and James Owens’ Confessions of a Bad Teacher during the same week. Esquith described many types of educational malpractice being imposed in the name of “best practices” that I have seen. In fact, he recounts disgusting incidents that a

by mike simpson / 8h

Feds give seed money to help get older students off SSI rolls SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Feds give seed money to help get older students off SSI rolls
By Kimberly Beltran
Thursday, October 10, 2013

California won $50 million grant from a federal program aimed at developing creative new strategies for reducing the number of families and young adults receiving Supplemental Security Income.

The Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income, or PROMISE program, made a total of $211 million available in five-year grants to implement model demonstration projects to promote “positive outcomes” for children who receive SSI such as higher high school graduation rates, improved college attendance, job training opportunities and transition into the work force.

“All children deserve a chance to achieve their educational and career goals," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement earlier this month. “The PROMISE initiative provides services and support to help our most at-risk students and their families so that they can focus on their education and a brighter future.”

The SSI program for children provides cash payments to low-income families that have a child under the age of 18 that has a severe disability – either mental or physical.

The PROMISE program is limited to families with qualified children between the ages of 14 and 16. States are being required to recruit at least 2,000 participating children and their families and have been given two years to get their projects underway.

The expectations from federal officials is that state efforts can be evaluated for clear findings of success or failure with

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » A PURE plan for Chicago schools

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » A PURE plan for Chicago schools:

A PURE plan for Chicago schools

he Chicago Tribune, the noted corporate reform cheerleader, has requested the public’s input into various phases of a proposed master plan for Chicago. This week they are looking at the schools.

Although the paper has been reluctant to share other pieces of wisdom from PURE and yours truly, I felt it might be worth a few minutes to dust off previous work and send it in.

Here’s what I just sent to PlanForChicago@tribune.com. You might want to take a few minutes to share your thoughts there, too.

A PURE Approach to School Improvement

How do we improve struggling schools? Studies by the Consortium on Chicago School Research¹ show that the most effective reform efforts are wholistic – and that reforms that fail to address all key areas will generally fail. In the 1990′s, principals and local school councils were creating and monitoring school improvement plans (SIPs) that addressed all key areas. Under Paul Vallas and NCLB, SIPs turned into plans to raise reading and math test scores. We think it’s time to go back to comprehensive plans that work.
Who should be running schools? We believe in balanced governance – local decision making with centralized support and, where appropriate, collaborative intervention. Designs for Change has done key research² on the difference in results between top-down and local decision making, finding that schools that kept local control saw remarkable achievement gains from 1990 to 2005 while schools at similar starting points which were subject to CPS interventions essentially flat-lined during the same period.

What about accountability? We believe that accountability must start with the entity legally responsible for providing public K-12 education – that is, the state. And Illinois is a shameful state when it comes to meeting that responsibility; we are a wealthy state that funds its schools poorly. With respect to assessment, we support a balance of very limited standardized testing combined with performance and portfolio assessment which give students more control over their own progress and help them relate their work to their own lives. There are ways that this kind of assessment can be monitored and reported for accountability purposes.³We oppose student retention, a very expensive practice (costing some $100 million per year) which does not work and actually harms students.

What can be done about unmotivated students and parents? At the very least, students need curriculum and instruction that goes beyond test preparation, which offers them few rewards and lots of punishment. Regarding parents, briefly, we believe parents need to be welcomed in the school, given specific, meaningful ways to be involved, and offered a real voice in decision making. This position is shared by national parent involvement guru Joyce Epstein,⁴ and is reflected in PURE’s 2006 report on parent involvement in CPS.⁵
What should CPS do instead of closings schools, flunking children and firing experienced teachers? Our children need more from CPS.Because too many children are not receiving the help they need, PURE recommends that schools create a personal learning plan(PLP)for any child determined to be behind or at risk of falling behind academically. CPS’s role would be to assure that schools have adequate resources to implement each PLP, that PLPs are being implemented, and that they are effective.

http://pureparents.org/index.php?blog/show/What_works_and_what_doesnt_coming_soon_from_the_Consortium

2. http://www.designsforchange.org/pdfs/BP_rpt_092105.pdf

3. http://www.edaccountability.org/

4. http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/center.htm

5. http://pureparents.org/data/files/Pure%20Report%20OL.pdf.

- See more at: http://pureparents.org/?p=20913#sthash.HMTokQTa.dpuf

Threats to student privacy unite parent and advocacy groups

Press release October 10, 2013 for immediate release Contact: Julie Woestehoff, More Than a Score and PURE – 773-715-3989 Threats to student privacy unite parent and advocacy groups New statewide coalition calls on state board and Chicago schools for more information on inBloom program Chicago, IL: A new coalition of local and national parent and advocacy organizations today raised questions a

by admin / 1h

Alberta Darling Proposal Could Evict 3500 Public School Students to repalce with Private Schools | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Alberta Darling Proposal Could Evict 3500 Public School Students to repalce with Private Schools | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Senate proposal could evict 3,500+ MPS students from their schools, including some of the most successful in the city

Published: October 9, 2013 MPS

Proposal to strip local control over school facilities comes as MPS sees first enrollment increase in a decade

MILWAUKEE – A new proposal discussed in Madison Wednesday could evict more than 3,500 Milwaukee Public Schools students from their current schools, some of which are among the most successful schools in the city.

Senate Bill 318 would force MPS and the city of Milwaukee to sell buildings, including ones the district is currently using to expand successful programs. MPS would be forced to sell one of the buildings of its successful Golda Meir School, rated “Exceeds Expectations” on the recent state report cards. The school expanded in 2012-13 into a once-unused former middle school property and is expanding to serve high school students for 2014-15.

Other affected schools include one of Milwaukee’s oldest high schools, North Division, which currently houses both a small charter high school and MPS’ new teacher educator center; the growing School of Career and Technical Education inside the former Custer site; Community High School, which is located in the Burroughs complex; and the brand-new Universal Academy for the College Bound, which just opened this year and is growing one grade per year. Another example is the new Carmen High School of Science and Technology – Northwest Campus, modeled after Carmen’s successful South Campus, which was ranked among the top 10 high schools in the state this year by U.S. News and World Report.

The discussion of Senate Bill 318 comes days after MPS submitted a fall enrollment count of 78,502 students, up from 78,461 last year. This is the first enrollment increase for the district in a decade.

The proposal would also force the district to sell buildings it has plans for, including the former Dover, 88th Street, Hayes and Malcolm X school sites. Discussions on converting the Dover site into housing for teachers or young professionals have been ongoing since March 2013 and the district is in negotiations for the sale of Malcolm

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, October 10, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Somis school board decides to build new school instead of renovating

Voting unanimously, the Somis Union School District board agreed to move forward with plans to buy property to build a school. The decision means leaving the 90-year-old Somis School on North Street, which sits on four pipelines.

Simi Valley school board gives superintendent new, longer contract

After heated debate, the Simi Valley school board Tuesday night approved a new superintendent's contract that gives her an additional year on the job. Kathryn Scroggin, superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District, has been at the center of a controversy that helped spark a recall effort against two board members.

Fresno Unified hires Florida woman as communications chief

The Fresno Unified School Board voted 6-1 Wednesday to hire a public schools spokeswoman from Palm Beach, Florida, to fill the district's top communications slot recently vacated by Jamilah Fraser.

Poor travel routes, emphasis on cars mean fewer students walk to school

Only a few generations ago, walking to school or a bus stop was a regular part of daily life for millions of students in California. These days, more than half of students in California and close to 60 percent in the Sacramento region are shuttled to and from campuses in private vehicles, according to a 2013 report, “Travel to School in California.”

San Diego schools seek diverse workforce, tolerance

Race has been pushed to the forefront of the agenda in San Diego schools, as the district takes measures to diversify its workforce and promote tolerance in the classroom.

L.A. teacher's angry classroom rant goes public amid interschool tension

An audio clip of a high school English teacher repeatedly dropping the F-bomb during a classroom outburst has gone viral amid tensions between two schools sharing the same Los Angeles campus.

Riverside school board names interim superintendent

Deputy Superintendent Mike Fine will be Riverside Unified School District’s interim superintendent beginning Nov. 4.

Morgan Hill turns down charter petition; Santa Clara County Board of Education approves another charter on appeal

After weighing passionate arguments on both sides of the issue, the Morgan Hill Unified School District board on Tuesday denied a petition by Navigator Schools to open an elementary charter school in August.

LAUSD official fighting to keep sexual-harassment suit alive

Attorneys for a Los Angeles Unified facilities executive filed a motion Wednesday to keep alive his lawsuit claiming the district defamed him and invaded his privacy while trying to settle sexual-harassment allegations involving retired Superintendent Ramon Cortines.

Investigator: How Judith Oakes stole $1.8M in lunch money from Rialto Unified

Three out of four days at work, Judith Oakes stole money from the Rialto Unified School District, according to an independent audit commissioned by the district.

School board president Vladovic denies harassment claims

Los Angeles school board President Richard Vladovic apologized Wednesday for abrasive behavior over his career, but again denied accusations released this week of sexual harassment, verbal harassment and retaliation against two unidentified employees.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

State funding questions continue to worry Fillmore schools' chief

The local control funding formula is expected to funnel more money to poor and English-learning students, which could benefit the Fillmore Unified School District because of its demographics. However, interim Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino said during his bi-weekly report that the district is in a state of uncertainty as it remains unclear how much funding Fillmore schools will receive under the new formula.

Fensterwald: Amid heavy lobbying, Brown must decide teacher dismissal bill

Gov. Jerry Brown has saved a much-disputed bill on teacher dismissals for the last batch of bills facing him before Sunday’s deadline for deciding legislation.

Settlement in lawsuit that torpedoed Monterey Peninsula USD candidate

Lake Elsinore Unified School District officials settled the sexual harassment lawsuit that became a flashpoint when a district administrator was about to get the top job at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

Riverside school board doesn’t fund adult program

Riverside Unified School District won’t fund or reopen the Life School special education class for adults, despite requests to reconsider the decision.