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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

10-29-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:






Seattle Educators Honored
From SPS Communications:KCTS 9 announced that Kristen Bailey-Fogarty is a winner of the 2013 Annual Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Education. Bailey-Fogarty, a reading intervention teacher at Eckstein Middle School, was one of nine educators across the state honored for making a positive difference in Washington state education from early childhood through high school.From Seattle Magazine:A
by Melissa Westbrook / 2h 


The Real Issue at Horace Mann
Let me begin by setting a foundation. EVERYONE agrees that African-American students have been mis-educated by Seattle Public Schools and by public school districts across the nation. Black students have been presented with inadequate and inappropriate academic opportunities, they have been denied equitable access to programs and services, they have been disproportionately disciplined and dispropo
by Charlie Mas / 9min 


How the Voting Going at Your House?
Last I read, King County Elections has only about 10% of the ballots back and, in an off year, may only get 30% back, so naturally, every vote counts. It counts even more for School Board elections as the number of people who actually vote for School Board candidates is even smaller than say, for Mayor. Proud to say, our household has cast four solid votes for Sue Peters in District IV.
by Melissa Westbrook / 3min 



Tuesday Open Thread
When the Silas Potter incident was exposed, naturally I was following it very closely.  But when Potter took a plea, I was less interested and so forgot that one of his co-conspirators was going to trial.  According to the Times Potter and David Johnson are turning on each other.    Mr. Johnson is on trial for 42 counts of theft.What is slightly amusing is that Potter testified that he forged John
by Melissa Westbrook / 16min 


10-28-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Falling Ed Reform Dominoes (This Time in LA) - What Could it Mean for Seattle?Los Angeles Superintendent John Deasy told his district's top leadership that he would be leaving in a few months.  He came from the Gates Foundation and is yet another Broad superintendent to get exited or who left a job.  He has been on the job since 2011. Into this issue wades Rob
by mike simpson / 1h

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FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, October 29, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:









Education Headlines

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Bond financier pleads in South County

A central figure in the South County schools corruption case has pleaded guilty to two felony charges of conspiracy to bribe officials and board members.

Greenfield seeks schools chief

The Greenfield Union School District is in the hunt for a permanent superintendent.The district began advertising the position earlier this month, according to a news release, and has set a Nov. 8 deadline for applications.

Monterey Peninsula school district retirees angry with changes in benefits

After her long history with the district, Mae Johnson felt it was an insult when she received a letter a couple of weeks ago letting her know her medical benefits would no longer be covered as of Jan. 1.

Momentum builds for retaining Deasy as LAUSD chief

As civic groups mobilized in support of Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy, board member Steve Zimmer expressed optimism Monday that the embattled schools chief can be persuaded to stay on as head of the nation's second-largest district.

Rancho Cucamonga officials examining school security in wake of brawl

What began as a tense, but spirited high school football game between hometown rivals Friday ended in a melee that has school administrators concerned about safety at future athletic events in Rancho Cucamonga.

Fresno Unified's Michael Hanson: Community partnerships key to student achievement

Superintendent Michael Hanson gave an emotional pitch on Monday to an audience of about 450 teachers, administrators and city leaders at the annual state-of-the-district event, asking them to give more of their time and attention to students, many from hardscrabble roots with the "cards stacked against them," he said.

So many students - so little (counseling) time

Many public high schools in the Sacramento region saw their counselor ranks shaved in the economic downturn, leaving them scrambling to meet the needs of their students.

L.A. schools improved, but Deasy fell short of ambitious goals

On the eve of discussions over his future, Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy can count on broad support from the civic elite, but by his own yardsticks, his performance fell notably short this year.
Monday, October 28, 2013

Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson wants longer day at some schools

Fresno Unified officials are pitching a plan to lengthen the school day next year, an idea that's getting flak from teachers union representatives who say educators could get burned out.

Proposed Orange complex at Peralta voted down

The Orange Unified School Board has ditched a plan to add a 340-unit apartment complex at the former Peralta school campus.

Denair Unified board extends olive branch

A rare flicker of hope came at the very end of the contentious Denair Unified Board meeting last week, when the board and the union seemed on the cusp of agreeing to abide by third-party recommendations for a contract.
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The Great Wall of Excellence | EduShyster

The Great Wall of Excellence | EduShyster:

The excellence express heads to Shanghai
Reader: that sound you hear is the excellence express touching down after a whirlwind trip to China to extract that country’s closely-held recipe for secret sauce. And talk about an all-star tour: our tour guide was none other than Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp, who practically invented excellence. But is there an amanuensis of excellence whom we can task with distilling our many excellent lessons 
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Bobby Jindal is clearly not running for President | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

Bobby Jindal is clearly not running for President | Crazy Crawfish's Blog:

Bobby Jindal is clearly not running for President

Posted on October 29, 2013
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Recent articles have been cropping up about speculating that Bobby Jindal is running for President of the United States in 2016. Jindal has repeatedly denied these rumors as premature, ridiculous and perhaps insane, and I for once I find myself having to agree with him.
He [Jindal] has been largely mute on his national ambitions since February, whenhe told Fox & Friends anyone considering a run at that time should “get their head examined.”
Here are the reasons I think it is unlikely Jindal is contemplating a Presidential run:

Popularity (or lack thereof)

According to recent polls, Jindal’s popularity is at an all-time low. As few as 17% of Louisiana’s think Bobby Jindal should make a run for President. In a hypothetical matchup between Bobby Jindal and Hillary Clinton, Clinton easily defeats Jindal, in his own state, in a general election. Louisianan’s prefer gay marriage almost twice as much as they approve of Bobby Jindal running for President and 13% more believe Barak Obama is doing a good job as President compared to just 28% feeling Jindal is doing a good job as Governor.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President
Barack Obama’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 41%
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UPDATE: The Education Reform Conversation We Need Vs. The One We Have

The Education Reform Conversation We Need Vs. The One We Have:

The Education Reform Conversation We Need Vs. The One We Have






This past week, two videos captured just about everything you need to know about the status of the movement known as “education reform.
The first filmic event was a staged encounter between two prominent advocates for what is conventionally thought of to be “opposing points of view” in the current debate over how best to implement top-down government mandates for public schools.
On “the right” of this crossfire was the American Enterprise Institute’s chief “scholar” on education policy Frederick Hess, who speaks voluminously of the need for “busting” through and “breaking the status quo” that apparently confine the nation’s schools.
Stage left, we had President Obama’s chief PR spokesperson on education, Secretary Arne Duncan, who incessantly calls for “raising the bar” and racing “to the top.”
Ostensibly, amidst all this busting and breaking and raising and racing, there was to emerge some kernels of wisdom to clarify the best pathways forward for America’s public schools, which are uniformly deemed to be in “crisis.”
But the most clarifying moment by far actually came after the cross-pontification when an audience member dared to bring up “the

Chicago Youth Organizer Featured in PBS Documentary

Posted on: Tuesday October 29th, 2013
Stephanie Alvarado, a youth leader with Voices of Youth in Chicago Education and the Southwest Organizing Project, is one of six Latino/a students featured in a new PBS documentary about the dropout crisis and its effect on low-income students of color. Learn more about the documentary, "The Graduates/Los Graduados," here on PBS!
Watch an introductory clip about Stephanie below:
And here is the full trailer:

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Who Can We Boycott?: Who Benefits From or Invests in Pearson and Teach for America? | Cloaking Inequity

Who Can We Boycott?: Who Benefits From or Invests in Pearson and Teach for America? | Cloaking Inequity:

Who Can We Boycott?: Who Benefits From or Invests in Pearson and Teach for America?

Screen Shot 2013-10-29 at 11.55.44 AM
Common Core’s Corporate Relations with Pearson and Teach for America (TFA)
by Michelle Maher, Ph.D.
Diane Ravitch’s new book Reign of Error outlines how hedge fund managers and investment advisors have organized a corporate takeover of public education, with dismal results. This blog points to which organizations that have invested in the Common Core/Race to the Top educational reforms. In other words, it names the organizations who have a financial stake or relationship with Pearson and Teach for America, two central aspects of the high-stakes testing and the replacement of teachers.
AT&T—donor for Teach for America
Bank of America—Corporate Partner/Sponsor/Supporter/Investor with TFA
Bertelsman (and by extension Time Warner, Sony, BMG)—Pearson Board Member’s Corporate Relationship
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—Pearson Board Member’s Corporate Relationship
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona—donor for Teach for America
British Petroleum—Pearson Board Member’s
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When you are Rich, there is no Limit/Law to what you can Buy: Bloomberg, Gates each put $1 million behind pro-Amendment 66 campaign - The Denver Post

Bloomberg, Gates each put $1 million behind pro-Amendment 66 campaign - The Denver Post:

Bloomberg, Gates each put $1 million behind pro-Amendment 66 campaign

By Kevin Simpson
The Denver Post
POSTED:   10/28/2013 02:45:46 PM MDT103 COMMENTS| UPDATED:   108 MIN. AGO


New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates top the donor list to proponents of Amendment 66, the school finance measure that includes a $950 million tax hike.
Bloomberg Philanthropies added $1.05 million to the effort, and the Gateses contributed $1 million, pushing the Yes on 66 fundraising total past $10.2 million.
Those two contributions accounted for the vast majority of the $2.54 million raised in the last two-week reporting period for Colorado Commits to Kids, the issue committee behind the measure.
Bloomberg's involvement in Colorado issues already has proved a political lightning rod.

FILE -- This July 23, 2012 file photo shows Co-founder and Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates (Jim Watson, Getty Images)
Colorado Republicans have blistered Bloomberg ever since Democrats unveiled their package of gun-control legislation in February. They called Bloomberg, who founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the "de facto governor of Colorado


Read more: Bloomberg, Gates each put $1 million behind pro-Amendment 66 campaign - The Denver P













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College-career readiness can include remediation rates, diploma quality SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:


College-career readiness can include remediation rates, diploma quality 
By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, October 29, 2013


In the search to define and measure college and career readiness, state and local officials throughout the U.S. are looking at university remediation rates and early performance indicators of middle school students, according to a new study.
Pressed by the Obama administration to evaluate how schools prepare students for life beyond the K-12 system, educators and state policy makers are exploring other indicators beyond graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment. As a result, 43 states now link student data from K-12 to the postsecondary system while 17 take it a step beyond to include workforce data, according to a new study from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
The report analyzed 25 rating systems used by school districts, states and even news organizations to evaluate national trends in measuring school performance. Only those systems that resulted in a single, overall rating were included in the review and only those that were also publicly available.
“Before we can ensure all children have access to a high-quality public school, we have to know which schools are high quality,” Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance, said in a statement. “This report helps us 
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Think the law protects our children from bullying? Think again. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Think the law protects our children from bullying? Think again. | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Think the law protects our children from bullying? Think again.

by thenotebook on Oct 29 2013 Posted in Commentary
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by David J. Berney and Kevin Golembiewski




It began in 6th grade. A girl we'll call “Meghan” was called “bitch,” “faggot,” and “it” nearly every day at school. At lunch, Meghan’s peers pulled and spit in her hair. In the hallway, students punched and pushed Meghan as she made her way to her next class. In 7th grade, during gym class, a student put a trashcan over Meghan’s head. When Meghan removed the trashcan, a group of students knocked her down then punched and kicked her. School officials were repeatedly notified about incidents like this. Nonetheless, Meghan suffered through these physical and verbal assaults until she dis-enrolled from Philadelphia public schools this past year.
For "Dante," it started in 3rd grade. Dante has a visual impairment and peers targeted him because of his disability. He was called “dumbass,” “retard,” and “bitch.” On a good day, classmates would take Dante’s things and taunt him. On bad days, which were frequent, Dante was attacked by groups of students in the hallways and restrooms. In 4th grade, Dante’s sister found him attempting to hang himself with an extension cord in the family home. Dante survived, but bullies continued to harass him until he left the Philadelphia School District.
Meghan and Dante’s stories are far from unique in Philadelphia or nationwide
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Louisiana Educator: Setting Up Public Schools for Failure

Louisiana Educator: Setting Up Public Schools for Failure:

Setting Up Public Schools for Failure



Were you encouraged by this year's significant improvement in school performance scores? Very few Louisiana public schools are rated “F” and many schools have moved up to “B” or “A”. The new SPS system combined with a huge push by local school administrators and teachers to improve student performance seems to have finally paid off. Educators should enjoy it while they can. They certainly have worked very hard and deserve the better ratings.
Unfortunately that will all change very soon with the implementation of the PARCC testing for the Common Core. Our state superintendent knows very well that Louisiana has been set up for failure. Soon we will experience a huge unfair blow to the image of our public schools and to the teaching profession in Louisiana. How will this happen? Please read on. . . .

The proponents of school privatization and the standardized testing craze have perfected the art of telling politically correct lies about our public education system as a way of promoting their schemes. These changes in public education, particularly in Louisiana are expected to produce enormous profits for the 
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Common Core Standards Distract From Real Educational Reform - US News and World Report

Common Core Standards Distract From Real Educational Reform - US News and World Report:

A Distraction from Real Education Reform

The emphasis on common standards is drawing attention away from bigger problems

By 
October 28, 2013 RSS Feed Print
Create an SAT or ACT study schedule that allows you to pace yourself to avoid burnout.
Policymakers and reform advocates alike have rallied around introducing a set of national content standards, suggesting that this will jump-start the stagnating achievement of U.S. students. As history clearly indicates, simply calling for students to know more is not the same as ensuring they will learn more. Discussions of the Common Core standards are actually sucking all of the air out of the room, distracting attention from any serious efforts to reform our schools.
To be sure, it is a real problem when students in one state learn very different things than those in other states, and in particular when many students lack the skills needed for our modern economy. We really do have a national labor market, implying that significant numbers of our population end up living and working in a state with different needs than the one where they were born and went to school. The presumption behind having national standards (whether voluntary or coerced) is that having a clearer and more consistent statement of learning objectives across states will tend to lessen the problem of students 
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Will We Permit the Theft of Our Democracy? | janresseger

Will We Permit the Theft of Our Democracy? | janresseger:

Will We Permit the Theft of Our Democracy?

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This past Sunday afternoon, I had occasion to watch democracy at work.  As I describe here, I was part of the audience in Fort Wayne, Indiana as a panel including the president of the state senate committee on public education, a member of the state school board, and the president of the local Fort Wayne Board of Education discussed state education policy that dictates vouchers, an “A through F” rating system for public schools, and rapid charterization.
Although I am definitely not a political science expert, I could see that representatives of state agencies listened more carefully (or felt more threatened) when they were confronted by the president of the local school board than when the individual teachers and parents in the audience made comments and asked questions.  The president of the elected local school board carried the power of most everyone in the room and the majority of Fort Wayne’s voters, after all.
My recent experience in Fort Wayne reminded me of something I heard in New Orleans during the crisis after Hurricane Katrina, when a state Recovery School District was imposed 
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