Friday, November 8, 2013

Diane Ravitch takes a break

admin November 8, 2013 NPE News

Diane Ravitch announced on Thursday, November 7 that she has postponed upcoming events in Illinois and Wisconsin because of exhaustion and a bout of walking pneumonia. Below is post from Diane’s blog.

“Dear Friends,

I wanted to share some not very good news about my health.

This week, my hyperactivity and age caught up with me. It turns out I am not Wonder Woman but mortal me.

I have been in a hospital for two days in Brooklyn, where they determined I have blood clots in one leg and walking pneumonia. Doctors’ orders: rest.

That means I cannot fly to Chicago or Madison this week. I will resume my schedule afterwards but try to pace myself. I will Skype when I can.

Lately, I have been worrying about who will carry the fight when I no longer can do it. It was as though I had a premonition of my health issues.

I suddenly realized that you will do it. You–teachers, principals, parents, concerned citizens, students, administrators–will carry forward the struggle to gain respect, autonomy, and public confidence in our schools. You will fight for our children. You will stand up in every city, town, village, snd hamlet. The blinders are off, and there is a genuine movement determined to speak out for our children, for the future of our society. You know what’s right, and you won’t slow down until every child gets an education we can all be proud of.

This week I realized that Socrates was right: All men are mortal. So are all women.

I am going to take some time off and rest: Doctor’s order. And I will take better care of my health. I’m regretful about the reminder of my age and mortality, but I will be back. And we won’t give up.

Diane Ravitch

From http://dianeravitch.net/2013/11/07/bad-news-from-me/

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We thought we were done with Vallas but... he's back

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We thought we were done with Vallas but... he's back:

We thought we were done with Vallas but... he's back

Look out. Vallas is back in town.

We tried to finish him off back in 2001 but...

No sooner had I finished posting about how the Working Families Party and allies were running Paul Vallas out of Bridgeport, than I get the news that he has been selected as Gov. Quinn's running mate here in Illinois. Yes, the master of the disaster in from Philly to New Orleans and from Haiti to Chile, the buster of teacher unions, the school privatization guru himself, is back with a vengeance.

Sun-Times political reporter Fran Spielman and David McKinney call it, "a stunning political move that puzzled many American-American politicians."

What was Quinn thinking? friends ask. Is this a way of sticking it to Rahm? Madigan? To the state's unions? Doesn't he need those unions to defeat the Republicans? Maybe not. Or maybe they will support him anyway. After all, they (including the teachers unions) were probably going to overlook his role as pension buster and turn out their members for him.

Quinn is most likely hoping that Republicrat Vallas will bring him badly-needed votes in cities like Rockford where his ed consulting firm has been successful in bringing in privately run

San Antonio Districts Launch "Go Public" Campaign | The Texas Tribune

San Antonio Districts Launch "Go Public" Campaign | The Texas Tribune:

San Antonio Districts Launch "Go Public" Campaign

by Morgan Smith
November 8, 2013
2 Comments

photo by: Gabriel Pérez

Facing an influx of new charter schools to the area and coping with state-level budget cuts, Bexar County's 15 school districts have united behind a campaign to emphasize the benefits of traditional public schools.

The "We Go Public" effort, which will feature social media outreach along with radio and TV ads, will focus on what it calls the "core strengths" of local public schools, including the experienced teaching corps, a variety of extracurricular activities, diversity in learning experiences and the sense of community the schools provide. The initiative is co-chaired by three of San Antonio’s business leaders: USAA CEO Josue Robles, Toyota Manufacturing President Chris Nielsen, and CST Brands CEO Kim Bowers.

“The concept of educating all people regardless of race, class or socioeconomic status is the engine that has made America a great nation and an economic power,” Robles said in a statement. “Society has asked public schools to carry a heavier load, to cut back their budgets, to pass all the tests, to feed the hungry, to minister to the sick, to be all things to all people.

20th vs. 21st Century Teaching | My Island View

20th vs. 21st Century Teaching | My Island View:

20th vs. 21st Century Teaching

November 8, 2013 by tomwhitby

This week’s #Edchat was about teacher-centric learning vs. student-centric learning. It is a topic that often gets teachers actively involved in discussion. The reason why so many teachers are so passionate about this subject is unclear, but if Twitter chats and tweets are any indication, it is obvious that many of our connected educators strongly favor student–centric learning. Many view it as 20th century education vs. 21^st century. In fact we have been having the “sage on the stage” vs. “ guide on the side” argument for quite a few decades.

Direct Instruction and Lecture are methods of education that have dominated our lessons in education for centuries. They are probably the lessons that most Americans imagine when they are asked to think of what a typical lesson in school should look like. It is the way that most content experts often deliver content to their students. Lecturing is the mainstay of college courses. The majority of the work in this model falls on the teacher to take in and understand the content and deliver it in digestible chunks to the students. This is then noted and memorized by the students for a later summative assessment. That would be the model applied from: chapter to chapter, unit to unit, subject to subject, and textbook to textbook. Both teachers and students were programmed into this model for the most part. Does any of this sound familiar?

The last few decades however have had teachers experimenting with other ways to deliver content. I remember the first time I used simulations in an

Greening Calif. Schools a ‘Win-Win’ for Students, Districts - New America Media

Greening Calif. Schools a ‘Win-Win’ for Students, Districts - New America Media:

Greening Calif. Schools a ‘Win-Win’ for Students, Districts

en espanol

SACRAMENTO- The Met is a high school with a unique style and design: It has recycled glass counters in front of the administration office, ceilings made of recovered wood from old gym bleachers, and landscaping that was designed to use less water.

A model of energy efficiency, The Met is where most schools in the state would like to be, and thanks to a new funding stream many could get that chance.

Sensors in the Met shut off air conditioning and heating systems when students leave the classroom, and fluorescent lights replaced incandescent ones in the school’s lighting system. Large windows, meanwhile, let in abundant sunlight while effectively blocking out noise.

“Greening our schools will save us energy costs, give our kids healthier places to learn and prepare our students for future jobs in a green economy,” said Jonathan Raymond, superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), at an event celebrating the completion of renovations to the school in February 2012.

The new Met appears more avant-garde than your everyday public school building. It is the result of a $7 million renovation of an old downtown building funded by Measure I, a school construction bond approved by city voters in 2002.

In the last few years, a broad drive toward sustainability has reached into the classroom, with green schools sprouting up across the country. Green schools are lauded as a win-win proposition –

LA Teachers and students protest spending and reliance on iPads

LA Teachers and students protest spending and reliance on iPads:

LA Teachers, Students Protest Reliance and Spending on iPads

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Vanessa Romo

As daylight faded and red brake lights of rush hour cast their eerie glow, a group of LA Unified teachers and students marched through downtown streets yesterday, demanding a reversal of district policies that value testing over “authentic” learning.

Drivers honked and pumped their fists in solidarity as students waived their banners:

“Technology for Teaching, Not 4 Testing”

“iNeed a College Counselor, Not an iPad”

“iPrefer Better School Food!”

Organizers said the rally was one of 20 across the country, protesting a national education policy that they say prioritizes and funds standardized testing and curriculum that is detrimental to student learning.

In LA, the timing couldn’t have been better, said substitute teacher Charles Brandick.

The protest came on the heels of a special school board meeting devoted to scrutinizing the district’s billion dollar iPad program. With the first of three phases complete, board members are now debating whether to continue with the controversial tablet rollout.

Alex Caputo-Pearl, who is running for UTLA president against incumbent Warren Fletcher, helped organize the demonstration.

“I fought for more technology in schools for years when I was teaching at Crenshaw

NYC Public School Parents: The record of Andres Alonso, possible candidate for New York City Chancellor

NYC Public School Parents: The record of Andres Alonso, possible candidate for New York City Chancellor:

The record of Andres Alonso, possible candidate for New York City Chancellor

Many names have been floated as possible candidates to be the next Chancellor, in Gotham Schools and the NY Post. Among the possibilities offered are several who seem unlikely, including Bob Hughes of New Visions, given that he has never been educator and has focused on expanding the New Visions charter school network, all of them co-located in DOE buildings – as well working to preserve the network structure, which is almost universally despised by parents, teachers and principals, and which Bill de Blasio has promised to eliminate.

Other unlikely names include Carmen Fariña, former Deputy Chancellor under Klein, who is apparently happy in her retirement; and Shael Suransky, the current second in command at DOE, who helped devise the current school grading system that relies 85% on test scores, and who has defended the current regime of school closings and charter expansion.

Among the more reasonable names put forward are Kathleen Cashin, a highly respected Board of Regent member from Brooklyn and former NYC Superintendent. Two other possible candidates who have been cited are Joshua Starr, currently Superintendent in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Andres Alonso, former Deputy Chancellor under Joel Klein, who recently left his job as Superintendent of Baltimore’s schools.

Although Alonso is not as toxic as some of the other men who have served as top educrats under Klein, including Chris Cerf, John White, Jean-Claude Brizard and Marc Sternberg, his record has not been unmarked by controversy. Below is a brief summary of his

11-8-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG: Throughout November: Supporting Student Success and the Common Core — Whole Child Education

Throughout November: Supporting Student Success and the Common Core — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Throughout November: Supporting Student Success and the Common Core

November 4, 2013 by Klea Scharberg

"Educators need to prepare kids to be career and college ready, but they also need to prepare them for their present world. The Common Core State Standards set out to do that. They're not perfect, but they are a starting point" (Peter DeWitt).

The standards are not a curriculum. Standards are targets for what students should know and be able to do. Curricula are the instructional plans and strategies that educators use to help their students reach those expectations. Central to a supportive school are teachers, administrators, and other caring adults who take a personal interest in each student and in the success of each student. Join us throughout November as we look at how we are designing course content, choosing appropriate instructional strategies, developing learning activities, continuously gauging student understanding, adjusting instruction accordingly, and involving parents and families as partners to support our students' success.

A whole child approach to education is essential to realizing the promise of the standards. Only when students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged will they be able to meet our highest expectations and realize their fullest potential.

The Whole Child Podcast

Download the Whole Child Podcast Thursday, November 7, for a discussion on supporting students and the Common Core. You'll hear from

Peter DeWitt, an elementary school principal in New York and the School Administrators Association of

Sharing Blue Ribbon Strategies for Success

New one-page profiles of the 2013 National Blue Ribbon schools highlight each school's mission, demographics, culture, and goals. The 286 schools—210 elementary schools, 22 middle schools, 53 high schools, and one K–12 school—represent promising ideas in different settings, from rural areas to major cities. Schools were recognized in one of two categories: Exemplary High Performing, based on overa

by Melanie Olmstead / 16min

11-7-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG Common Core: An Educator's Perspective — Whole Child Education

Common Core: An Educator's Perspective — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGCommon Core: An Educator’s PerspectiveNovember 7, 2013 by Steven WeberIf the state of North Carolina decides to pull the plug on the Common Core State Standards, it will be a slap in the face to the teachers and administrators who have spent countless hours (most on their own time without reimbursement) preparing t

by mike simpson / 21h

Tom Harkin, George Miller Preparing Preschool Bill To Reflect Obama Plan, Early Draft Shows

Tom Harkin, George Miller Preparing Preschool Bill To Reflect Obama Plan, Early Draft Shows:

Tom Harkin, George Miller Preparing Preschool Bill To Reflect Obama Plan, Early Draft Shows

Retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, are preparing to introduce an extensive bill that would legislate President Barack Obama's plan to expand preschool dramatically, according to an early draft of the bill obtained by The Huffington Post.

Some observers expect the introduction of the "Early Childhood Education Improvement Act of 2013," as it's called in a draft dated Nov. 6, as soon as next week. The bill is described as a 10-year initiative to improve education for children from birth through their fifth year. It would create a new federal-state formula for grants to fund the expansion of preschool for poor 4-year-olds. States would funnel the new money down to various entities, ranging from school districts and charter schools to child care centers and Head Start programs, that demonstrate they can be "high-quality, local providers," according to a bill summary.

"I'm glad they are proposing a structure that allows states to make sub-grants to a

This Year is Different | Connected Principals

This Year is Different | Connected Principals:

This Year is Different

November 8, 2013

By rgallwitz

At Centerburg Local Schools, we are in our second year of using Google Apps for Education. In that short amount of time we have

begun to see a shift in the way students and teachers share. As expected students and teachers are sharing resources, using collaborative docs and learning how to take full advantage of the tools provided by Google to support learning. Students are also sharing their thoughts and reflecting on the school year in their own blogs.
Take a look at a blog post written by one of our middle school students named Sierra.

Last year I didn’t do very well in school. I didn’t do all of my work. I didn’t really respect my teachers as well as I could have. I could have turned in my work and studied, but I didn’t, and that was a terrible mistake! I really regret not doing that.
I feel like I have let my grandpa Jerry down because of the grades I got last year. So that is why this year I have been working hard, doing my work and turning it in on time. I just want to please my grandpa Jerry. Even though he is no longer with us, I want to make him proud of me.
I want to do anything I can to get my grades up and stay up. So far this year I haven’t

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, November 8, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

L.A. Unified loses round in effort to keep teacher ratings secret

Education Headlines

Friday, November 8, 2013

Cohn: California deserves praise not punishment for common sense school reforms

California is ushering in a long overdue return to common sense. For that, it should be rewarded with praise, not punishment.

Tulare County school district sued in sexual abuse case

A small Tulare County school district, the Tulare County Board of Education and a former teacher who is now in prison for child molestation are targets of a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Fresno County Superior Court.

High school site called toxic, unsafe

Toxic and unsafe, that’s how some city leaders and members of the public have described the proposed site for Irvine’s fifth high school when mentioning it at public meetings.

Embattled Twin Rivers trustee Cortez Quinn to take 90-day leave of absence

Twin Rivers Unified School District board member Cortez Quinn told fellow trustees Thursday night that he is taking a 90-day leave of absence after a hastily called closed-session meeting.

West Contra Costa school leaders respond to federal report revealing rampant sexual assaults, harassment

One day after a damning federal report revealed widespread sexual misconduct at West Contra Costa school district campuses, district officials asserted Thursday that improvements have been made.

More lenient school lice policies bug some parents

Some parents are scratching their heads over less restrictive head lice policies that allow children with live bugs in their hair to return to the classroom.

Mongeau: California students among worst performers on national assessment of reading and math

California students performed about the same in reading and math on this year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress as they did in 2011, ranking among the 10 lowest performing states in the country.

Teacher pensions deficit grows $22 million a day

It's still just a speck on the horizon, but getting closer by the second: the point at which California's oldest pension fund -- and the only real retirement security for more than 800,000 educators -- will, without a major infusion of cash, be flat broke.

Fensterwald: After 5 hours of testimony, State Board sends funding law regs back for revisions

Staff and members of the State Board of Education promised to revise proposed spending rules for the new school funding system after hearing speed testimonies Thursday from Californians from all corners of the state. The speakers disagreed on what they wanted but largely agreed they didn’t like some of what they saw.

L.A. Unified loses round in effort to keep teacher ratings secret

The Los Angeles Unified School District has lost a key round in a legal battle to keep the performance ratings of individual teachers confidential.

Tensions over PRA, Brown Act

The question is simple: Should local governments pick up the tab for complying with California’s laws requiring local open meetings and access to public records? But the answer is not so simple.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Teach Elementary needs a campus by next year, district panel says

Teach Elementary - a San Luis Obispo magnet school for academically accelerated fourth- to sixth-grade students - should be moved to its own permanent school site by the 2014-15 school year, a district committee on accelerated learning recommends.

Alum on Coachella Valley High's Arab mascot: 'Times are changing'

A national anti-discrimination group is pressuring Coachella Valley High School to abandon its longstanding mascot — a sneering, hook-nosed “Arab,” sometimes with a single tooth.

From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda | the becoming radical

From Spellings to Duncan: Using NAEP as Policy Propaganda | the becoming radical:

FROM SPELLINGS TO DUNCAN: USING NAEP AS POLICY PROPAGANDA

While Secretary of Education (2005-2009), Margaret Spellings announced that a jump of 7 points in NAEP reading scores from 1999-2005 was proof No Child Left Behind was working. The problem, however, was in the details:

During President George W. Bush’s tenure, NCLB was a corner stone of his agenda, and when then-Secretary Spellings announced that test scores were proving NCLB a success, Gerald Bracey and Stephen Krashenexposed one of two possible problems with the data. Spellings either did not understand basic statistics or was misleading for political gain. Krashen detailed the deception or ineptitude by showing that the gain Spellings noted did occur from 1999 to 2005, a change of seven points. But he also revealed that the scores rose as follows: 1999 = 212; 2000 = 213; 2002 = 219; 2003 = 218 ; 2005 = 219. The jump Spellings used to promote NCLB and Reading First occurred from 2000 to 2002, before the implementation of Reading First. Krashen notes even more problems with claiming success for NCLB and Reading First, including:
“Bracey (2006) also notes that it is very unlikely that many Reading First children were included in

Shanker Blog » Words Reflect Knowledge

Shanker Blog » Words Reflect Knowledge:

Words Reflect Knowledge

Posted by Esther Quintero on November 8, 2013

I was fascinated when I started to read about the work of Betty Hart and Todd Risley and the early language differences between children growing up in different socioeconomic circumstances. But it took me a while to realize that we care about words primarily because of what words indicate about knowledge. This is important because it means that we must focus on teaching children about a wide range of interesting “stuff” – not just vocabulary for vocabulary’s sake. So, if words are the tip of the iceberg, what lies underneath? This metaphor inspired me to create the short animation below. Check it out!

You can also download the slides in PDF here.

2013 NAEP Scores Show (Again) That Test-and-Punish Hasn’t Worked | janresseger

2013 NAEP Scores Show (Again) That Test-and-Punish Hasn’t Worked | janresseger:

2013 NAEP Scores Show (Again) That Test-and-Punish Hasn’t Worked

Posted on November 8, 2013 by janresseger

Yesterday the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores from 2013 were released. According to Education Week, eighth grade math scores rose by one point with a three point gain in reading. Fourth graders gained a point in math with no significant change in reading.

The NAEP is a test given across the states every two years. It is used neither to diagnose students’ specific learning needs nor to evaluate any specific child’s performance nor to evaluate teachers or specific schools. Not all schools are tested and not all children who take the test are given the entire test. It is administered across the country as an overall assessment of how America’s public schools are doing.

Diane Ravitch, who served for several years on the National Assessment Governing Board, explains the operation and significance of NAEP in her new book Reign of Error: “NAEP is central to any discussion of whether American students and the public schools they attend are doing well or badly. It has measured reading and math and other subjects over time. It is

Friday, November 8, 2013

James Baldwin said it best:

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

TODAY

YESTERDAY

Nite Cap 10-30-13

Diane Ravitch takes a break

We thought we were done with Vallas but... he's back

20th vs. 21st Century Teaching

Greening Calif. Schools a ‘Win-Win’ for Students, Districts

The record of Andres Alonso, possible candidate for New York City Chancellor

Throughout November: Supporting Student Success and the Common Core

Tom Harkin, George Miller Preparing Preschool Bill To Reflect Obama Plan, Early Draft Shows

This Year is Different

Education Headlines

FROM SPELLINGS TO DUNCAN: USING NAEP AS POLICY PROPAGANDA